Elgin
Genealogical
Society

Mark your calendars for the first Tuesday of each month at 9:30 am and the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm and join us.

• July 8, 9:30 a.m. @GBPL
  Anne Weiss will present a program in costume about her Swedish grandmother who worked as a maid in Chicago at the Glessner House

• July 16, 7:00 p.m. @GBPL
  Dean Richardson presents "Genlighten"

  Dean is the creator of Genlighten.com, a powerful online resource for obtaining genealogical source documents with the help of skilled local researchers.  He enjoys discovering and blogging about web-based tools that make genealogy research more fun and productive. He also serves as a volunteer at the Family History Center in Wilmette, Illinois. 
  
  At some point, as they make the transition from “name-gatherers” to family historians, nearly all genealogy enthusiasts come to recognize the value of obtaining original source records to document their research.  Though online image database websites have made this task much easier, many crucial sources are still only available offline.  Tracking these records down can be time-consuming and expensive.

  Genlighten.com is a new web-based resource that can help genealogists obtain the documents they need – quickly and affordably.  In this workshop, attendees will learn how to tap the power of Genlighten’s lookup provider network to get help finding death certificates, obituaries, church records, city directory entries and more from repositories across the U.S. and beyond.  We’ll also discuss how genealogical enthusiasts can turn their research skills and access to local records into an additional source of income.

• August 4, 9:30 a.m. @GBPL
  David Bartholomew, Excerpts of plains pioneer Elam Bartholomew’s dairies.
  
  

  During the years 1871 to 1934, Elam wrote every day accumulating 22,000 entries on 5,600 pages. During these 63 years of diaries, Mr. Bartholomew traveled in Illinois and the barren frontier of western Kansas. The presentation will focus on Illinois, Lincoln and the post civil war era. Free copies of the published diary will be available.
  
  

• August 20, 7:00 p.m. @GBPL
  Matt Rutheford presents "Adoption Searches Past and Present"
  
  Having an adopted ancestor can often be one of the most frustrating and challenging aspects of genealogy research. In times past, records of adoptions were not as well kept as they are today, making searching for the link between birthparents and adoptees difficult.  And, in modern times, adoption searches are often hindered by legal barriers.  Successful adoption searching requires the utilization of alternative strategies and sources.  Come join Matt Rutherford, Newberry librarian and adoptee, as he discusses ways of unearthing details of an adoption when they are not readily available.  
  
  
• September 1, 9:30 a.m. @GBPL
  Linda Eder and Jane Smith. present
  Pioneer Families of Schroeder cemetery of Dundee Township.
  
  Linda and Jane will be discussing the efforts to publicize and protect the pioneer Schroeder cemetery.
  
  
• September 17, 7:00 p.m. @GBPL
  Kristen Newton Smith presents "Getting the most out of Heritage Quest"
  
  
• October 6, 9:30a.m. @GBPL
  Carol Magnuson presents "Passage Express"
  
  
• October 15, 7:00 p.m. @GBPL
  Ginger Frere presents "Looking for love in all the wrong places"
  A Search for Marriage Records
  
  
• November 3, 9:30 a.m. @GBPL
  Matt Rutheford presents "Using Non-population census schedules"
  
  When genealogists refer to "the census," we usually mean the population census, in which households are enumerated.  Invaluable though these are, we short-change ourselves if don't use all the other census information that is available for our research.  If you have ancestors who were farmers, slaves, or manufacturers, you'll want to avail yourself of the non-population census schedules.  Even those Americans who had other occupations often had a farming or manufacturing business on the side.  Don't lose out on all the census has to offer.  Come join Matt Rutherford, Newberry librarian, as he explains how to research non-population census schedules.  
  
  
• November 19, 7:00 p.m. @GBPL
  Sandy Granholm "Discussion about publishing a family history"
  
  
• December 3, 9:30 a.m. @ GBPL
  Annual combined meeting, Election of officers and Holiday Luncheon
  
  
• December 17
  No December evening meeting