Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

Join us on  Tuesday, May 10 , at 8:00 PM Central, when Stephen Szabados will present  Polish Immigration to America - When, Where, Why and How . To attend this webinar, register at  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9172454023411073281 Last week's webinar,  Letters, Ledgers, and Lodge Books: Finding Ancestors with Ethnic Resources , presented by Lisa A. Alzo, is now available to ISGS members in the Members Section of the ISGS website ( http://ilgensoc.org/members.php ). Upcoming Webinars May 10 - Polish Immigration to America - When, Where, Why and How Presenter: Stephen Szabados Registration:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9172454023411073281 June 14 - Using Social Media to Break Through Brick Walls Presenter: Amie Tenant Registration:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7540625935675352321 July 12 - Special Delivery: Using US Postmaster Documents in Family History Research Presenter: Jean Hibben, CG Registra...

When visiting the ISGS website, have you ever wondered “ Who are those people in the photos at the top of the page? ” The photo above and all the photos you see in the header of the ISGS Website were winners in the last ISGS Ancestor Photo Contest. ISGS is happy to announce the  2016 ISGS Ancestor Photo Contest  and asks this question:  wouldn't it be great to see our own ancestors' photos up there? Between April 1 and May 31, 2016, ISGS is asking members to submit photos of their own ancestors for use on the ISGS website. If your photo is selected, it will be displayed on a rotating-basis in the top banner of the ISGS website along with other member-submitted photos. You can view all the pervious years' winners at  http://ilgensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=156 . Not only will you be credited with the photo submission, but you'll also be able to provide a brief biography of the person or persons in the photo. Click  here  for more information and inst...

Title :   Letters, Ledgers, and Lodge Books: Finding Ancestors with Ethnic Resources Date : Tuesday, April 12, 2016, 8:00 pm Central Description : Ethnic resources often contain detailed personal and genealogical information, and yet, they are often overlooked by researchers. Learn how to locate letters, ledgers, lodge records, manuscripts, newspapers, and other ethnic resources. Discover hidden clues to track your ancestors and their friends, associates, and neighbors. Presenter : Lisa A. Alzo, M.F.A. Lisa A. Alzo , M.F.A., is a freelance writer, instructor, and internationally recognized lecturer, specializing in Slovak/Eastern European genealogical research, writing your family history, and using the Internet to trace female and immigrant ancestors. She is the author of ten books, including the award-winning Three Slovak Women , and numerous magazine articles. Lisa is a contributing editor for Family Tree Magazine, and teaches online courses for Family Tree Univ...

Join us on  Tuesday, April 12 , at 8:00 PM Central, when Lisa A. Alzo will present  Letters, Ledgers, and Lodge Books: Finding Ancestors with Ethnic Resources . To attend this webinar, register at  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3470676992813425922 Last week's webinar,  Researching in Archives & Libraries: Do’s and Don’ts , presented by Melissa Barker, is now available to ISGS members in the Members Section of the ISGS website ( http://ilgensoc.org/members.php ). Upcoming Webinars April 12 - Letters, Ledgers, and Lodge Books: Finding Ancestors with Ethnic Resources Presenter: Lisa A. Alzo Registration:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3470676992813425922 May 10 - Polish Immigration to America - When, Where, Why and How Presenter: Stephen Szabados Registration:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9172454023411073281 June 14 - Using Social Media to Break Through Brick Walls Presenter: Amie Tenant Registrati...

The  March/April 2016 issue  of the ISGS Newsletter is now available to both ISGS members and non-members. Visit the ISGS website at  http://www.ilgensoc.org  and click ISGS Newsletter to download the current issue (in PDF) and to view past issues going back to January/February 2008. © 2016, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The ISGS Webinar series has become so popular that we've had to institute a "cap" on the number of registrations we can accept - and as of this week, the webinar Researching in Archives & Libraries: Do’s and Don’ts is FULL. Currently, we can accommodate 500 attendees for each webinar and we have set a limit of 650 registrations. The reason: a review of our past 50+ webinars shows that about 30% of those who register never show up. So what can you do if you want to see the current month's educational content from the ISGS webinar series? Register early and also LOG IN EARLY at 7:30pm Central before the 8:00pm start time for the webinar. A registration does NOT guarantee a seat ! Those who log in first will get the first 500 seats. If you are a member of ISGS , wait until the next day when the recording of the webinar will be added to our library of over 50 webinars! And if you are not a member of ISGS, what are you waiting for? Join today and y...

Title :   Researching in Archives & Libraries: Do’s and Don’ts Date : Tuesday, March 8, 2016, 8:00 pm Central Description : Researching in archives, libraries, historical societies, courthouses and other repositories can be intimidating and scary for genealogists! Learn how to be prepared to do research at one of these wonderful record holding repositories. The archivists, librarians and clerks at these places are there to help you find those wonderful family records but most of them won’t do the research for you, so it is important to know the Do’s and Don’ts of conducting your research when you visit one of these facilities so that your visit is successful! Presenter : Melissa Barker Melissa Barker is a Professional Genealogist and Certified Archivist/Records Manager. She has been conducting her personal genealogy research for the past 25 years. In 2004 she started her own professional genealogy firm “Once Upon A Time Genealogy” and took research clients ...