General Information...
Our general meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month, except the months of June, July, August and December. November meetings are held on the second Tuesday.
Meetings are held at the Forest View Educational Center in Arlington Heights at 7:30 pm and are open to the public. Donations are always welcome!
meetings for the current year...
September 18, 2007 - Introducing Package Express (Multi-media presentation software) - Carole Magnuson, has been researching her family history since 1981, and published books covering her maternal and paternal lines in the late 1980’s. After she retired in 2002, Carole began working as a professional genealogy researcher. She has also presented lectures to the DuPage County (IL) Genealogical Society and the South Suburban Genealogical & Historical Society. She is an active member of both societies. In 2005, the Jefferson Project, makers of Passage Express, asked Carole to represent them as a vendor at genealogical conferences around the Midwest where she demonstrates and sells Passage Express Software.
October 16, 2007 - Buried Treasure: What's in the English Parish Chest? - Paul Milner, a professional genealogist and lecturer. He is a native of Northern England and has specialized in British Isles genealogical research for the past 25 years. He was raised in England and settled in the United States in 1975. Paul is a communication professional and has been designing workshops and lecturing to a wide variety of audiences for 30 years. Paul is co-author, with Linda Jonas, of A Genealogists Guide to Discovering Your English Ancestors (2000) and A Genealogists Guide to Discovering Your Scottish Ancestors (2002). Paul is the past-president of the British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois (BIGWILL), and has served on the boards of the Genealogical Speakers Guild and the Federation of Genealogical Societies. He is currently the book review editor for the FGS FORUM.
November 13, 2007 - Cook County Land Records - Craig Pfannkuche, is on the Board of Directors for the McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society and the Chicago Genealogical Society. He has received his Bachelor and Master of Arts from Northern Illinois University. He is the Genealogical Archivist for the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Historical Society. He is also mentioned as a railroad resource person in the book “The Source.” Craig not only has given workshops and conference presentations, he has published many articles. The most recent “Death on the Oregon Trail” in TRACER magazine for the McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society.
Happy Holidays!!!!
January 15 , 2008 - The Frontier Religious Explosion and Its Genealogical Effects - George Schweitzer. This is an audio video presentation, used with permission.
February 19, 2008 - Sex, Murder and Genealogy - Mike Karsen, a professional genealogy speaker/instructor and researcher, is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG), and the National Genealogical Society (NGS). He speaks on genealogy topics locally and nationally, teaches classes in genealogy and is on the faculty of the Newberry Library, the National Institute for Genealogical Studies and Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies. Mike has presented at state, national and international conferences. He is the author of the JewishGen website "Guide to Jewish Genealogy in Chicagoland" and has published articles on genealogy. He has an active speaking schedule, currently averaging about 40 lectures per year.
March 18 , 2008 - Tracing the 20th Century Immigrant Using Czech/Slovak, Polish and Rusyn Records - Paul Valasek, DDS, is a three time graduate of Loyola University of Chicago, earning his Doctorate in Dentistry in 1984. Born and raised in Chicago, he and his wife Andrea, have always been interested in their ancestries and where their families came from in Europe. Paul’s first of numerous trips to Europe was in 1974 with his immigrant grandfather Joseph Valasek, a major turning point in his life. Dr. Valasek has written numerous articles for genealogical publications, as well as being an international lecturer. He recently completed his first book, Haller’s Polish Army in France which makes available long lost and obscure material detailing the formation of this fighting force of over 23,000 Polish Americans in World War I and the subsequent Polish Soviet War of 1919-1921. He also has the most complete database of the army with over 3 million facts accumulated to date.
April 15, 2008 - How to Use Genealogy Reference Books - Carol Bartlett, a reference librarian at the Ela Area Public Library in Lake Zurich, Illinois. She has been with Ela for seven years. Prior to coming to Lake Zurich, Carol was a reference librarian/archivist at Willard Library in Evansville, Indiana, working solely in the Regional and Family History Center. This was before the time of computerized genealogical research, and she had an opportunity to become very familiar with the types of resources available from around the world, for people to read and glean information for their family history. She will discuss some of the very basic reference books available to genealogists, and highlight the unique features of each.
May 20, 2008 - Online Genealogy Tutorials - Ralph Beaudoin