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.

 

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).

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.

 

 

 

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

From Piles to Files: Let’s Get Organized

Presented by Teresa Steinkamp McMillin

Years of research can generate many documents. To keep track of all your valuable information, a workable organization plan is a must. Can you find the documents you have? When you receive a new document, do you know exactly where you’re going to put it so that you will find it easily? The lecture will discuss organization methods for paper and digital files.

Teresa is a Certified Genealogist who specializes in German-American and Midwest research, as well as reading German script. She has been interested in genealogy since she was a child and has actively researched her German ancestry, as well as her husband’s Chicago Irish roots. She presents quality genealogy lectures for local and national organizations. She has attended the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and has taken college-level German courses.

Teresa was the 2007 recipient of the National Genealogical Society’s Home Study Course, which she has completed. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society, as well as many local genealogical societies. She is the co-president for the Northwest Suburban Council of Genealogists.

Naturalization: Beginning of Your U.S. Family Heritage

Presented by Steve Szabados

Find your roots. Find the naturalization papers of your ancestors and see the beginning of your America History. This program starts with the history of the naturalization process and a review of the requirements and then discusses where your ancestors were naturalized, which is the key to finding their documents. Traditional and online sources are reviewed. This is a great program to find clues to your heritage.

Szabados is a lecturer and author who has given numerous programs to genealogy groups and libraries. He is the author of over ten genealogy books and is also a contributing editor for the Polish American Journal. He is a member of Polish Genealogical Society of America, Northwest Suburban Genealogy Society, Illinois Genealogy Society and a genealogy volunteer at his local library. He has a passion to share his love of family history and his courses cover the methods that he has found successful.

200 Objects That Made History in Lake & McHenry Counties

Presented by Debra Fanfrei

Every artifact tells a story.  Learn about the history of Lake County through the artifacts featured in the new book 200 Objects that Made History in Lake and McHenry Counties.  Debbie Fandrei, curator of the Raupp Museum in Buffalo Grove and project manager for the book, will show pictures and share stories of 30 of the different artifacts, ranging from a mammoth bone to a 1940’s football. She will also talk about the collaboration between 23 different museums which produced the book.

Debbie Fandrei was born and raised in Grayslake, and attended college in Minnesota and Virginia.  After an internship at the Milwaukee Public Museum, she decided she wanted to work in history museums because of all the great stories that museums share with visitors.  After twenty years at the Raupp Museum in Buffalo Grove, she still thinks she made the right choice…