Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

ISGS is excited to announce our speaker lineup for the 2023 Fall Conference! This year is our first IN-PERSON conference since 2019, and will be held at Heartland Community College in Normal! This year's conference will have 2 tracks that focus on Illinois research, repositories, and history, plus DNA tips and tricks. Check our our excellent lineup of knowledgeable speakers! Keynote Lecture from Dr. David Joens , Director of the Illinois State Archives! Caron Brennan : How I Use DNA in my Genealogical Research Laura Kovarik : Illinois History and Genealogy: Speed Version! David McDonald : Illinois Settlement Patterns: From the Colonial Era to 1850 Introduction to the Illinois Research Archives Depository (IRAD), featuring Illinois State University Teri Barnett : Researching Your Ancestors at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Kelly Hickey, DNAngels ( Back by Popular Demand! ): Unraveling DNA Mysteries: Inspiring Stories of Discovery Tina Beaird : Illinois County Resource Pri...

Check out these exciting upcoming events from ISGS Associate Members! The Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago's 41st Annual Family History Conference is coming! October 14-15th CAGGNI's Road Trip to the Wisconsin Historical Society is coming up September 28th-30th! The trip for CAGGNI members includes a tour of the Society, and plenty of research time. Registration closes on August 30th- CLICK HERE for more info! The Polish Genealogical Society of America will be holding their next webinar on Sunday, August 20th. Vera Miller will discuss the timely topic of emergency efforts to preserve Ukrainian genealogical records. Learn about efforts by FamilySearch and others to protect and digitize records of Ukrainian ancestors. CLICK HERE for more info and to register! © 2023, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The University of Illinois' Illinois Newspaper Project is offering a GREAT opportunity for libraries and societies who have microfilmed newspapers in their collections! The Illinois Newspaper Project (INP) is now accepting nominations for newspapers to be digitized as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. All Illinois cultural heritage institutions (including libraries, museums, archives, and historical and genealogical societies) are invited to nominate newspapers on microfilm held in their collections. 100,000 pages of newspapers will be digitized and made freely available online. Nomination Criteria Newspapers nominated for digitization: Must be available on microfilm Must have been published prior to 1964 Must be free of copyright restriction (note: issues published before 1928 are in the public domain) Must not already be freely available online For details on this fantastic opportunity, visit...

Mark your calendars for these upcoming family history events! REMINDER! The deadline for the ISGS Honors & Awards is Saturday August 5th! Nomination forms and information can be found on the ISGS Website , contact isgsawards@ilgensoc.org with any questions! The St. Clair County Genealogical Society will hold their next meeting via Zoom on Thursday, August 3rd at 7:00pm. Carrie Roberts and Melissa Richards will discuss "Searching the History of Land Parcels and Ownership" in St. Clair County. CLICK HERE for more info and to register! The Peoria County Genealogical Society will hold their next meeting on Thursday, August 10th at 6:00pm. Photography expert Ann Conver will present "Photograph Dating and Novice Restoration." CLICK HERE for more info and to register! The next  Southern California Genealogical Society  FREE webinar will be held on Wednesday, August 16th, at 4:00pm Central. Amy L. Wachs, JD, will present "Introduction to Tracing Your Roots in Eas...

Here is some exciting news from our ISGS Associate member, the Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago! ConferenceKeeper.org now has a NEW events calendar just for African American Research events! Check it out HERE! Thanks to ConferenceKeeper's Tami Mize for spreading the news! AAGHSC will be holding a Research Trip to the Allen County Public Library from August 25th-27th! Fees include bus travel and hotel. Payments are due by August 1st, contact AAGHSC for more info- aaghsc@yahoo.com. Be on the lookout for more info on AAGHSC's 41st Annual Family History Conference, scheduled for Sunday October 15th! © 2023, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The St. Clair County Genealogical Society will hold their next meeting Thursday July 6th at 7:00pm via Zoom. John Barr will present, "Deeds and Patents in Genealogical Research." CLICK HERE for more information and to register!  Also don't miss SCGS free genealogy series being held at the Belleville Public Library! Th next meeting will be Saturday July 15th, featuring "The Truth About Online Genealogy Resources." CLICK HERE for more info! The Peoria County Genealogical Society will hold their next meeting on Thursday July 13th at 6:00 pm, at the Peoria Public Library North Branch and via Zoom. A special screening of Diahan Southard's "Understanding your DNA Test Results" series will be featured. CLICK HERE for more info and to register! CAGGNI will hold their next meeting on Saturday July 15th via Zoom and in-person at the Schaumburg Township District Library. Stephen Szabados will discuss "Finding the Polish Records." CLICK HERE for ...

See a Rare Copy of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation at the ALPLM through June 30th! The ALPLM is celebrating Juneteenth by placing the Emancipation Proclamation on display in the Library from June 19th-23rd and June 26th-30th. The museum's copy is one of about 2 dozen that still remain, and is signed by President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward. There is NO CHARGE to see the document- don't miss your chance to view this rare and important piece of history! CLICK HERE for more info about the ALPLM! Check out the Fountaindale Library's Genealogy Club Events! Did you know the Fountaindale Library in Bolingbrook has a Genealogy Club that holds monthly meetings and events? Their next Zoom event will be Wednesday, June 28th at 11:00am. Genealogist Suz Bates will present "Downloading and Uploading," to help you learn tips and tricks to transfer digital genealogical data between websites and databases. CLICK HERE for more info and to registe...