Meeting February 11, 2020

The Ellis Island Experience

Presenter: Dan Niemiec

From 1892 until 1954, Ellis Island was the primary screening point for European immigrants entering the United States. About 100 million Americans are descended from the 12 million who came through Ellis Island. The unpleasant ordeal of the multi-week voyage was bad enough, but the ordeal of Ellis Island was likened by one writer to “the nearest Earthly likeness to the final day of Judgement”. Dan Niemiec will help you understand what your grandparents wouldn’t tell you about the experience they went through and survived.

Bio: Dan Niemiec has given over a hundred presentations locally for nearly two decades and has spoken at several national conferences. He has written a monthly genealogy column for “Fra Noi” (pronounced Frah-Noy) for over 15 years. Over a period of nearly 30 years, he has traced his ancestor lines in Italy back to the mid1600s and Poland to the mid1700s. By tracing the descendants of his ancestors to the present day, he has found, so far, approximately 87,000 relatives, none of whom will friend him on Facebook! Let’s hope the next 30 years is as much fun as the first 30!

Meeting January 14, 2020

January 14, 2020

Warrants & Patents & Deeds, OH MY!

Presented by Dan Hubbard, PhD.

You may think that land records are the “scariest” records in genealogy but it doesn’t take much courage to find much more in them than that your ancestor owned some land. We will look at some of the treasures you can find in land records, the process of acquiring and selling land and the documents produced. We will also look at the ways that your ancestors’ land was specified- metes and bounds system and the rectangular survey system.

Bio: Dr. Daniel Hubbard lives in Libertyville and is past President of the Lake County Genealogical Society. He is a former particle physicist and now a full-time professional genealogist and writer as well as owner of Personal Past. His research concentrates on American, Canadian and Swedish records. He a member of the Nordic Family Genealogy Advisory Board at the Swedish-American Museum in Chicago. Information about his presentations is at Products and Services on his website / blog, Personal Past Meditations. Librarians who have attended Dan’s presentations say he would be a very entertaining speaker, as well as thoroughly knowledgeable. Dan@thepersonalpast.com.

27th Annual Genealogical Conference

Saturday, October 19, 2019

The Web & DNA: Modern Techniques to Complement Traditional Research

Conference Registration/Schedule

Presenters: Tony Burroughs, FUGA, David Stumpf, MD, Ph.D

TIME		EVENT/TOPIC	PRESENTER
8:00 am		Registration and browsing. Coffee and doughnuts will be available for purchase
8:45 am		Welcome and Announcements
9:00 am		The Nature of Genealogy	Tony Burroughs
10:30 am	2A	It Ain’t All on the Web	Tony Burroughs
	2B	Genetic Genealogy	David Stumpf
1:00 pm	3A	Somewhere in France: Researching WWII	Tony Burroughs
	3B	Black Sheep	David Stumpf
2:30 pm	4A	Why You Don’t Find Your Ancestors	Tony Burroughs
	4B	A Physician’s Perspective of Genealogy	David Stumpf

Tony Burroughs An award winning internationally known genealogist, speaker author, and teacher, Tony Burroughs has appeared as a guest genealogy expert on over twenty-five national and international television broadcasts, including CBS Sunday morning, CBS News, ABC World News Tonight, BET Nightly News, National Public Radio (NPR) and many local broadcasts.
Dr. David Stumpf Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Stumpf combines his medical and genealogical knowledge to specialize in Genetic Genealogy, Adoptee Research, and Medical Genealogy. He is a genealogy software developer, and writes a genealogy blog.

26TH ANNUAL GENEALOGICAL WORKSHOP

26th Annual Genealogical Workshop – Come Join Us!

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Illinois at 200: Where Was Your Family?

Presenters: Curt Witcher, Daniel Hubbard, Ph.D, Debra M. Dudek

TIME		EVENT/TOPIC	PRESENTER
8:00 am		Registration and browsing. Coffee and doughnuts will be available for purchase
8:45 am		Welcome and Announcements
900 am		“Doing the History Eliminates the Mystery!”	Curt Witcher
10:30 am	2A	Who Went Where…And Did What?! Using Directories in Genealogical Research	Curt Witcher
	2B	Using Fold3 Library Edition	Debra Dudek
1:00 pm	3A	Mining the Mother Lode: Using Periodical Literature for Genealogical Research	Curt Witcher
	3B	DNA From A to B	Daniel Hubbard
2:30 pm	4A	Effective Use of the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center	Curt Witcher
	4B	Discovering Your UK/Irish Roots Online: Websites and Resources for English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish Ancestry	Debra Dudek

Meeting November 12, 2019

The Changing Memory of the Civil War

Presented by Robert Girardi

The Civil War was the most important era in United States History. A divided Union fought a fratricidal war that had unending consequences. The human toll exacted left all sides with a quest for meaning and a need to memorialize the huge sacrifice and heroic service. As the nation bound its wounds, reconciliation was facilitated by memorializing leaders of both sides. Over time, the meaning has been lost, as modern thinking refuses to understand the relevance of some monuments, and advocated their removal.

Robert earned his M.A. in Public History at Loyola University of Chicago in 1991. He is a past president of the Civil War Round Table of Chicago and a past vice president and newsletter editor of the Salt Creek Civil War Round Table. He belongs to two other Civil War round tables in the Chicago area. He is a fellow of the Company of Military Historians and is an associate member of the Sons of Union Veterans. He is on the editorial review board of the Journal of Illinois State Historical Society and was the guest editor of the 2011-2014 Civil War Sesquicentennial issues. He was the winner of the 2010 Civil War Round Table’s prestigious Nevins-Freeman Award. In 2012 he was named to the board of directors of the Illinois State Historical Society, and sat on the board of directors of the Camp Douglas Restoration Society 2013-2018. In 2014 he was awarded the Milwaukee Civil War Round Table’s Iron Brigade Association Award for Civil War scholarship. He was an extra in the movie, Andersonville.

Robert created a Civil War exhibit for the Bureau County Historical Society in Princeton, IL and has consulted for the Chicago History Museum (Chicago Historical Society).

Meeting September 10, 2019

DPO Flow – A Beginner’s Look at Organizing Digital Photos

Presented by Caroline Guntur

Join Certified Photo Organizer Caroline Guntur of OrganizingPhotos.net at for a closer look at how to best organize your digital photos! You will learn how to designate a digital photo hub (DPH), how to create a consistent file naming convention, and get help on figuring out your workflow. Additionally, you will understand the differences between referenced and managed files, and the learn the importance of bacsking up.

Caroline Guntur (formerly Nilsson), is a Swedish Certified Photo Organizer & Personal Historian, currently living in the US. She is a Professional Organizer, but instead of specializing in closets, she work with photos, memories, and family history. She is the founder of The Swedish Organizer, LLC to help other storytellers be more organized, so that more stories get told, and ultimately shared and preserved. With a solid background in both the genealogy and professional organizing fields, she has combined her two passions to assist others in organizing their digital photos.

Meeting August 13, 2019

What’s the Buzz About Billion Graves?

Presented by Debra Dudek

Billion Graves is contending to be the top cemetery search on the web. Toting a hot new app and an easy interface. Billion Graves is making cemetery transcription projects and research information more accessible to tech-friendly users. Get a look at this site as a researcher, transcriber, and in-the-field data gather.

Debra M. Dudek is Head of Adult and Teen Services at the Fountaindale Public Library District in Bolingbrook, IL. Ms. Dudek specializes in British genealogy and technology topics. She is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Genealogical, Paleographic & Heraldic Studies from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, and is the author of the World War I Research Guide: Tracing American Military and Non-Combatant Ancestors – Includes a Guide to Canadian Military Research which is available in paperback and as an ebook on Amazon.com.

Meeting July 9 2019

DNA – No Tree! No Response! Now What?
GEDmatches – DNA Shared Matches One Step Further

Presented by Suzan Bates

Q: I know how to use the Shared Matches also called In Common Matches tools. I have contacted some of my matches but with few responses. What else can I do with my DNA results?

R: Autosomal DNA test results from Ancestry DNA and Family Tree DNA can be uploaded to GEDmatch to glean more connections in your family tree. Let’s start with the basics of one-to-many and one-to-one tools to give you a new way of connecting through DNA. Learn about the settings and tools to help your family history tree grow.

Suz Bates has brought her expertise in genealogy to the public, spreading her enthusiasm for family history research to everyone during her workshops and presentations as well as with her private clients and small group consultations. She has been a family history researcher for over 40 years and a private consultant for 20 years. Suz earned a B.A. in Modern Foreign Language with a minor in History and an M.S. in education. Suz has been a member of various genealogy and history associations including the National Genealogical Society, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the NSDAR with local membership in the Du Page County Genealogical Society, the Fox Valley Genealogical Society, and CAGGNI She is listed in the Genealogical Speakers Guild and the Genealogy and Local History Librarians.

Meeting June 11, 2019

Tennessee Family History Research

Presented by Maureen Brady

Tennessee was one of the first states established after the American Revolution, and it provides a rich body of historical records. This presentation will offer a brief overview of Tennessee history and how that affects the availability of the records, online resources for Tennessee research and an overview of repositories and archives.

Maureen Brady, a former school librarian and computer educator, has more than thirty years’ experience with family history research. She has traced her own Scottish roots back to the end of the 17th century and beyond, and has also pursued Chicago area, the trans-Allegheny U.S., Quebec, Irish and Swedish research. She is the co-director and trainer for the Crystal Lake (IL) Family History Center.

Meeting May 14, 2019

Chicago land prehistory, emphasizing Lake County’s prehistoric Native American past

Presented by Dan Melone

Do you want to know what Chicago and Lake County were like before its current settlement? Dan Melone will discuss the people of the pre-Chicago period, and what was left behind. In addition, Dan will present his prehistoric and historic findings throughout the Lake County region.

Dan Melone is a Great Lakes Archaeologist, a Scientific Affiliate at Field Museum in Chicago and an Archaeologist and Education Coordinator at Raupp Memorial Museum in Buffalo Grove. He is currently conducting archaeological research of prehistoric and historic sites throughout the Chicagoland area. He is also conducting ethnographic research on identity and economic, political, religious, and social aspects between Native Americans and settlers of early Chicago.