British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois
Where and when we meet:
BIGWILL’s meetings are held at:The Community Church (New Location!)
5714 Broadway St.
(two blocks west of U.S. Route 12)
Richmond, Illinois
10am until noon on the third Saturday of the months of
January, March, May, July, September and November.
Visitors as well as members are always welcome. Refreshments are available for a donation at each meeting.
Getting to the Church On Time (village map)
“A” on the map above marks the location of the Community Church
Marching toward Richmond (area map)
Upcoming meeting dates and topics:
16 July 2011: “Understanding GENUKI” will be presented by Ann Wells, a former president of BIGWILL, current president of the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History, director of the British Institute, and member of the governing boards of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and Illinois State Genealogical Society. Additionally she does professional genealogical research as the owner of Wells Research Associates.
GENUKI is sometimes referred to as a virtual reference library of genealogical information relevant to the UK and Ireland. Ann will explain how GENUKI, a noncommercial service provided by an ever-growing group of volunteers in cooperation with several family history societies, has developed over 88,000 text pages (2.5 Gbytes of text) of primarily historical material (e.g., parish registers) for genealogists.
17 September 2011: “Using Maps in Genealogical Research” will be presented by Jeffrey Bockman, a well-known genealogy lecturer and writer from Naperville, Illinois.
Jeffrey will show how maps can help to explain research and how to find them. He will explain rural historical atlases and land-ownership maps; city maps; especially Sanborn Fire Insurance and panoramic maps; plus maps which show migration, topography and others.
19 November 2011: “Genealogical Resources of the Illinois State Archives and IRAD” will be presented by Greg Cox, an archivist with the Illinois State Archives.
The Illinois State Archives in Springfield is a repository for an extremely diverse range of records which can be useful to genealogists.
The Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD) are located on seven university campuses. These regional repositories house and service those records of local government which have been appraised as having long term value and have been transferred to the custody of the Illinois State Archives. The records include county board proceedings, land deeds, tax records, voter registration, naturalization records, probate records, court files, etc. Greg will discuss how to find out what is contained in these archives and how to access them.There will also be an election of BIGWILL officers (president, first vice-president, treasurer, and one director) for 2012-2013.
21 January 2012: “Show-N-Share with Genealogy Experts” will feature six experienced BIGWILL members who will try to provide answers to members’ vexing British Isles questions.
MEETING CANCELLED, due to poor driving conditions.
Members and guests will have the opportunity to address the experts in five topics at five separate tables or stations in an informal setting. If the questioner has more than one topic area that person can address questions to more than one expert. Beginners in genealogy may want to attend the “Beginners” group.The topic areas and experts follow:
- England – Ann Wells
- Ireland – Dan Kane
- Scotland – Karen Morrison
- Beginners – Margaret Zook
- Publications/Publishing – Judy Knoblock/Roger Higgs
17 March 2012: “Photo Retouching in Genealogical Research” will be presented by Larry L. Pepper, owner of Pepper Photography,
which specializes in photographic restoration and archiving.Using digital imaging software, Larry has carved out a niche as a specialist who digitally restores images that are faded, cracked, and heavily damaged, and then creates new photographs resembling the like-new condition of the old originals. Additionally, Larry provides advice regarding the safe storage of paper documents and photographs.
19 May 2012: A full-day seminar, given by Michael John Neill, is being planned.
21 July 2012: “The Family History Center Portal” will be presented by Maureen Brady, a professional genealogist, BIGWILL board member, co-director of the Crystal Lake, Illinois, Family History Center, and owner of Bare Roots Genealogical Services.
15 September 2012: A celebration of BIGWILL’s 20th anniversary is being planned.
17 November 2012: “National Archives and Records Administration Records” will be presented by Joan Kitchen Murrary, genealogical lecturer and owner of Roots2Leaves, an archival supplies business.
BIGWILL recognizes that occasionally roads may be dangerously icy or snow-covered on our winter-time meeting days. Meetings will only be cancelled if law enforcement advises us of hazardous driving conditions in the Richmond area. We will attempt to have cancellations aired on WGN (AM 720) and other area radio stations, but there is no guarantee. You may check on the meeting status up until 8:45 a.m. on meeting days by calling Prudy Sullivan at (262)279-3494. You can also check this website for last-minute meeting cancellation notices.
What would you like to hear about? What would you like to talk about?
BIGWILL is always on the lookout for program ideas, and Roger Higgs is our chief scout. Have you taken a trip to England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man? If so, consider giving a presentation to BIGWILL about what you saw and did. Have you heard a good talk at some other society’s meeting which was related to British Isles research? Or do you just know a topic you’d like to learn more about, even if you don’t know who could give a presentation on the topic? If your answer is “Yes” to any of these questions, help put Roger hot on the trail of another BIGWILL meeting topic. You can contact him by email, by phone (at 815-492-2613) or in person at almost any BIGWILL meeting. You can make a difference!There have been
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This site is maintained by Rollie Littlewood
This page was last modified on 30 January 2012