All of the events are at the Newberry Library, unless otherwise indicated.
Directions to the Library and parking information.
Saturdays, 9:30 am
March 1, April 5, May 3, June 7, July 12, August 2, September 6, October 4, November 1, December 6.
Interested in learning about your family history or researching your neighborhood, but don’t know where to start? On the first Saturday of every month, a member of the Newberry’s Local and Family History reference staff will introduce beginners to the basics of research with an informal orientation.
The orientation sessions begin in the first floor reader’s lounge. Admission is free. No reservations are required.
Friday, May 30, and Saturday, May 31
9:15 am – 3:00 pm
Did your ancestors work as porters or engineers for a railroad? Or did they build rail cars or drive spikes? A free two-day workshop will discuss railroad sources for genealogists. On Friday, representatives of three institutions that hold railroad records will speak. On Saturday, genealogist Paula Stuart-Warren will give three talks on genealogy and transportation.
Admission is free, but reservations are required. For reservations, call the Public Programs department at (312) 255-3700.
9:15 am: Welcome
9:30 am -10:30 am: Martin Tuohy: Government Archives: The Largest Source for Railroad Workers’ History
10:45 am-11:45 am: Jim Metlicka: The Records of the Railroad Retirement Board
1:30 pm-2:30 pm: Craig Pfannkuche: The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Archives
9:15 am: Introduction
9:30 am-10:30 am: Paula Stuart-Warren: Railroad Records and Railroad History
10:45 am-11:45 am: Paula Stuart-Warren: Online & On Track: Railroad Record Indexes and Finding Aids on the Internet
1:30 pm-2:30 pm: Paula Stuart-Warren: Midwestern River People
Paula Stuart-Warren
Paula Stuart-Warren is a professional genealogist, consultant, writer, and lecturer from Zimmerman, Minnesota. She is a contributor to several periodicals including Ancestry Magazine. She has coordinated and taught courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and other institutes, and has lectured at NGS and FGS conferences and at the Minnesota Historical Society. You can keep up with Paula at her weblog, www.paulastuartwarren.blogspot.com.
Jim Metlicka
Jim Metlicka is a public affairs specialist for the Railroad Retirement Board. Born in Chicago, he’s a graduate of Roosevelt University and has been working at the RRB since 1976.
Craig Pfannkuche
Born and raised in Chicago, Craig Pfannkuche received both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from Northern Illinois University. He taught high school American history and anthropology for thirty years. In addition to teaching, from which he is now retired, Craig has held several leadership positions in area genealogical and historical organizations. He is currently the president of Memory Trail Research, Inc., on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Genealogical Society, he is the Genealogical Archivist for the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Historical Society, and he’s on the Board of Directors for the McHenry County (Illinois) Genealogical Society.
Martin Tuohy
Martin Tuohy has worked for the National Archives and Records Administration-Great Lakes Region in Chicago since 1992. He earned an A.B. in history from Wabash College in 1991 with additional study at University College Dublin, an M.A. in U.S. history from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and currently is pursuing an M.S. in library and information science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Indiana Historical Society Press published his essay about the ways that lawsuits by railroaders, federal legislation, technological innovations, and a new “progressive” culture changed the daily experience of railroaders from the Progressive Era through the Great Depression. He writes regularly about historical subjects for the public.