Meeting August 18, 2020

“Researching Pennsylvania Records”

Presented By Jennie Warner

Do you or your spouse have Pennsylvania ancestors and don’t know where to start? Pennsylvania has many resources available to you. We will discuss the many resources available to you online and in paper form.

Jennie has been doing genealogy research for 42 years. She is a member of many Lineage Societies including Presidents and First Ladies, NSDAR, LGAR, DUVCW, NSDU, NSDOAF, National Society Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, National Society of New England Women, and National Society of Dames of the Court of Honor. She us also a member of many Genealogical Societies on the local, state and national level, including National Genealogical Society, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, and Illinois State Genealogical Society.

Jenny holds offices in many local lineage groups and genealogical societies. She is the current President of the DuPage County Genealogical Society, Incoming Chapter Regent of John Butler Chapter, NSDU, Incoming Vice President of Chicago Colony of National Society of New England Women and Incoming Treasurer of the Genealogy Speakers Guild.

She is a Genealogical Speaker, and speaks on many topics including lineage societies. Her favorite genealogy topics are anything military and research in New England and Pennsylvania areas.

 

Meeting July 14, 2020

The Connection between North Western Germany

and Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky

Presented by Dan Jungclas

Explore the connection as to why so many Germans emigrated from North Western Germany to Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

With 30 plus years of expertise behind him, Dan’s belief is that The Ancestry Guy’s extensive knowledge & research expertise will empower one with an objective approach & perspective to discovering one’s roots, heritage and family history. Dan began the journey himself at the young age of 26. Dan’s experience and expertise offers one opportunity to pursue their own journey through comprehensive exploration research & preservation.

Knowledge of more than just the basics of genealogy, Dan is familiar with vital, census, church, land, tax, emigration, immigration & naturalization records. Recognizing that each family is unique, Dan knows all too well that one’s journey will demand and must receive highly individualization attention. Dan specializes in a number of areas related to but not limited to Cincinnati, OH, Northern Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan and other areas of the USA as well as the National Archives, the Great Lakes, the Midwest, the US Civil War, WWI, WWII, and German Genealogy.

Meeting June 9, 2020

Central Europe Made Easy – Merci Napoleon!

Presented by Jacquie Schattner

Explore websites both European and American to locate family in the countries where Napoleon ruled (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Italy, and surrounding areas). Find church, census, military, maps & civil records. Links to over 40 websites both US and European and how to use them. (Recently updated with many new overseas websites.)
Jacquie has been actively researching her family’s ancestors since 1996. She volunteered at the Family History Center in Schaumburg for 15 years, teaches genealogy for Districts 211 and 214, beginning genealogy at area libraries and is active in several genealogy societies, including NWSGS. Jacquie received her B.S. degree from the University of Illinois. She is a retired school secretary, allowing her free time to pursue new information. Living in Palatine, she has been happily married for 37 years, has three grown children, and two sons-in-law and six adorable grandchildren.

 

Meeting March 10, 2020

Meeting March 10, 2020

First Frontiersmen: Scot’s & Irish

Presented by:  Maureen Brady

Some refer to them as Ulster Scots, others as Scots-Irish.  Whatever their name, they are the U. S. descendants of those who were “planted” in the Ulster province of Ireland in the 17th century and subsequently immigrated to the American frontier.  Their famous sons include Daniel Boone and Andrew Jackson, and we see their cultural influence in square dancing and country music.  This presentation will review the history of the Scots-Irish and suggest resources for researching their family histories.

Maureen Brady is a former school librarian and computer educator. She has over 25 years’ experience with family history research, is a professional genealogist and owner of Bare Roots Genealogical Services.  Maureen has made numerous presentations to Illinois and Wisconsin genealogical societies, libraries, conferences, and workshops, as well as presenting at the 2002 National Genealogical Society Conference.  She is co-director of the Crystal Lake, IL Family History Center and is a member of many genealogical and family history societies in the U.S. and Scotland.

Meeting February 11, 2020

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

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.