Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

Two $1000 scholarships provided this year August 15, 2012 – Elgin, IL. From the many excellent scholarship applications received this year, EGS proudly awards 2012 Chester A. Bower scholarships to Madonna Davis Marks and Jesse Nasta. Madonna is currently seeking a Master’s Degree in Library Science with an emphasis on Special and Historical Collections at the University of Illinois. She believes “this career demands someone with not just desire but a passion for saving and preserving the pieces that make up a life.” Jesse is a PhD candidate at Northtwestern University in the Department of History. His fields of specialization are United States, Early Republic to Reconstruction; African American and legal history; comparative slavery and emancipation. This scholarship will assist in the completion of his dissertation research in which he “analyzes hundreds of previously unexamined court cases, initiated by African Americans in local courts in St. Louis and throughout Illinois”. ...

“Show-N-Share with Genealogy Experts” will be the theme of the Saturday, January 21, 2012 meeting of the British Interest Group of Wisconsin & Illinois (BIGWILL) from 10:00 am until 12:00 noon at the Community Church, 5714 Broadway, Richmond, IL. In informal roundtable discussion groups, members and guests may ask the genealogy experts questions regarding British Isles genealogical research. Attendees may move between the various groups to address questions to the other experts. Beginners in genealogy may want to attend the “Beginners” group. The topics and experts are: England - Ann Wells Ireland - Dan Kane Scotland - Karen Morrison Beginners - Margaret Zook Publications/Publishing - Judy Knoblock/Roger Higgs Members are encouraged to bring items they have published for the “Publications” table. BIGWILL, a genealogical special interest group for those who wish to research family history and ancestry in the British Isles, meets at 10:00 am on the third Saturday of Jan...

ISGS member society Tinley-Moraine Genealogists ( http://www.tmgenealogists.org/ ) will be holding the following event on September 1, 2011 starting at 7:00pm in Tinley Park: What’s New in Family History?” 7851 Timber Drive, Tinley Park, Illinois Presented by Lou Szucs From helpful new books and websites to great new tools and strategies, this presentation is designed to spark fresh ideas to help you break down old barriers. Loretto Dennis Szucs ("Lou") is vice president of community relations for Ancestry.com. She has served on advisory boards for the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation; the Illinois State Archives and the Cook County (IL) Circuit Court Archives as well as governing boards of several genealogical societies. She was founding secretary and is currently a board member of the Federation of Genealogical Societies. Lou previously worked for the National Archives-Great Lakes Region in Chicago, and has been with Ancestry for 19 years. Lore...

Ann Wells will present “Understanding GENUKI” at the Saturday, July 16, 2011 meeting of the British Interest Group of Wisconsin & Illinois (BIGWILL) from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm at the Community Church, 5714 Broadway, Richmond, IL. GENUKI is a virtual online reference library of genealogical information for the United Kingdom and Ireland, provided by volunteers in cooperation with several family history societies. GENUKI group has developed over 88,000 text pages (2.5 Gbytes of text) of primarily historical material for genealogists, such as parish registers, census transcripts, details of archives and their holdings, and much more. GENUKI is designed to act as a repository of the most useful information about British and Irish genealogy, and to provide links to other sites of relevance. This makes it a combination of a genealogy handbook and web directory. Ann Wells is a professional genealogist with 30 years experience and owner of Wells Research Associates, a professional g...

Saturday, September 24, 2011 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Grace United Methodist Church 300 E. Gartner Road Naperville, Illinois Building a Better Pedigree featuring noted genealogist Christine Rose Christine Rose is a Certified Genealogist, Certified Genealogical Lecturer and Fellow, American Society of Genealogists.   She has served on the faculty of the National Institute of Genealogical Research in Washington, D.C., and on the faculty of The Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University, as both an instructor and coordinator.   She is the author of several genealogy books including, Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures  and  Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case .   In addition, she has been awarded the prestigious Donald Lines Jacobus award for two Rose genealogies, and received top reviews for the book she co-authored,  The Complete Idiot's Guide to Genealogy . The one-hour ...

Using a Digital Camera and Scanner in Genealogical Research March 19, 2011 10:00 am to 12:00 pm - 5714 Broadway, Richmond, IL Presented by Jane Haldeman - Web: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wiilbig/ Jane Haldeman will present “Using a Digital Camera and Scanner in Genealogical Research” at the Saturday, March 19, 2011 meeting of British Isles Group of Wisconsin & Illinois (BIGWILL) from 10:00 am until 12:00 noon at the Community Church, 5714 Broadway, Richmond, IL. Ms. Haldeman will explain how genealogists can improve research efficiency and accuracy using digital cameras and scanners. She has 20 years of research experience and is the co-owner of “It’s Relative” - a genealogical service business. She is president of the Fox Valley Genealogical Society and the design /technical editor for the Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly Journal. She is a DAR historian, lecturer and consultant. BIGWILL, a genealogical special interest group for those who wi...

The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) announces the debut of its newly redesigned website available to the public on Saturday, January 15, 2011. Located at http://www.ilgensoc.org , the new ISGS website features links to ISGS projects as well as links to other records and resources throughout Illinois including those individual genealogical home pages with an Illinois connection! Visitors are invited to explore the new ISGS website and enjoy these features: The current issue of the ISGS Newsletter and archived copies back to 2008 Listings of ISGS events and events for Illinois genealogical societies Highlights of various ISGS projects and initiatives Free databases filled with information on Illinois ancestors A list of Illinois research resources New Members Section One of the new features of the ISGS website is a members-only section which will be populated with access to Illinois-related databases for those researchers with Prairie State ancestors. Over the cou...

Some great news here - Champaign County Genealogical Society now has their own blog! Click here to check out their blog for information on upcoming events and genealogy resources related to Champaign County. Also, don't forget to visit the CCGS website for even more useful resources! © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The Peoria County Genealogical Society has just created a Facebook page! If you are a Facebook member, go to  http://www.facebook.com/peogensoc  and make sure you click the Like button.  This way you'll receive all the latest PCGS news. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The Fox Valley Genealogical Society will hold its 17th Annual Conference entitled Ancestor Research: A Fresh Look at Classic Techniques on Saturday, September 25, 2010. The conference - held at the Grace United Methodist Church, 300 E. Gartner Road, Naperville, Illinois from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm - will feature noted genealogist D. Joshua Taylor. The one-hour lecturs include: Finding the Roots of Your Family Legends - Just because Great Aunt Mable said your ancestor was from Scotland, doesn¿t mean that he was. Learn how to uncover the truth behind family legends and stories, and how to integrate them into your personal writing and research. On and Off the Net: Locality Searching - Researching by locality is an essential research method for genealogists. Uncover the best resources (both online and offline) for research by localities. Highlights of this lecture include a look at the USGenWeb Project and the resources found in genealogical and historical societies. Successful Sear...

The 8th Annual Christian County Genealogical Society Cemetery Walk will take place this coming Sunday, September 12, 2010 at the Morrisonville Cemetery in Morrisonville, Illinois. This looks like an interesting program and a great way to show your support for the Christian County Genealogical Society! © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

A warm welcome to a new genealogy blog:   Christian County Historical Society and Museum . As stated in their byline: The Christian County Historical Society and Museum is dedicated to preserving the ancestry and the history of Christian County Illinois. We have extensive genealogical resources as well as an impressive collection of material culture. So come on out and learn a little bit about your ancestors or about the County in general! It is great to see more and more local historical and genealogical societies set up blogs as part of their web presence and social media program. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

Funny how something wonderful can sit right in front of your eyes and you don't see it until someone takes the time to point it out to you.  Such is the case with the Elgin Genealogical Society blog. The EGS blog not only has been highlighting activities of its society for the past 18 months, but it is also a "community blog," meaning there are several authors who post articles and make contributions.  This tells me that they are a pretty tech savvy group if they can round up eight folks who feel comfortable enough blogging! Not only does the EGS blog point out some valuable resources and post meeting announcements, but it also includes members stories which are interesting to read.  Check out their list of Internet genealogy sites with an emphasis on Illinois genealogy. * * * Thanks to ISGS Board member Julie Cahill Tarr of GenBlog for point this great genealogy blog out to me!  If you have an Illinois-related genealogy blog or resource that you want to se...

[This post has been submitted for the Carnival of Genealogical Societies , 3rd Edition at the California Genealogical Society and Library blog, California Ancestors .] The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) provides several unique offerings and services to the genealogy community.  These programs along with a dedicated group of board members and volunteers, makes for a dynamic group of genealogists committed to helping others locate their Prairie State ancestors. 1916 - 1947 Death Certificate Project : In 2002, the Illinois State Archives launched a searchable index of of Illinois death certificates from 1916 - 1950 .  In addition, free  uncertified copies were provided upon request.  Well, as you can imagine, the response who overwhelming - so much so that the program was discontinued within six months.  While the certificates are still accessible by visiting the  archives, ISGS stepped in to make it easier to obtain these certificates through...

The Genealogical Society of Southern Illinois is holding a workshop on Saturday, June 5, 2010 entitled " What Can That Cemetery Tell You? " at Stonefort Community Center. Presenters include Carol Crisp, Richard Kuenneke, Mike McNerny, and Jeanette O'Boyle, who will cover a variety of topics pertinent to cemetery research including effigy stones and how to "dowse" for graves. More information is available on the GSSI flyer (opens in PDF). © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society