Fall Genealogy Series: Getting Starting in Genealogy
Date: Thursday, September 2 Times: 6:30 pm Where: Lansing Public Library, 2750 Indiana Ave., Lansing, ILWho: Grace Dumelle
More information: http://www.lansing.lib.il.us Contact: Sandra Iosue, Adult Services Dept., (708) 474-2447, ext. 122 Online registration here.
This is the first of four presentations geared to beginners and intermediate genealogists. Copies of Grace's book, Finding Your Chicago Ancestors, will be available for purchase after each talk.
Itching to explore your family history after you've seen those celebrity genealogy shows? Get off on the right foot by attending this presentation by award-winning author and researcher Grace Dumelle. She'll explain the top 10 concepts: working backwards, talking to relatives, looking in the census, using the three building blocks, the importance of citing sources, and more.
Subsequent presentation dates and topics are:
In observance of Labor Day, the Newberry's reading rooms will be closed this Saturday, September 4th. Reading rooms will re-open on Tuesday, September 7th, at 9:00 am. If you need further information, please contact the Genealogy reference desk at (312) 255-3512.
Grace Dumelle's blog article "A City of Early Chicagoans Beneath Our Feet" was awarded third place by the National Federation of Press Women in the "Writing for the Web - Web Content Written for Not-for-Profit or Education Organiazation Sites" category of their annual communications contest. The same article previously won first place in the Illinois Woman's Press Association Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest in the "Writing for the Web and Online Newsletters" category. Congratulations, Grace!
We've just discovered a fascinating and useful site for helping us decipher old handwriting. Brigham Young University's website has paleography tutorials that help you read old English, German, Italian, and Spanish scripts. Tutorials for Dutch, French, and Portuguese are under development and will be added soon. Each tutorial contains a section on alphabet and handwriting, genealogical glossaries, and a description of the most common types of records. Check it out at: http://script.byu.edu
If that's not enough, how about a site that will help you learn to read the handwriting found in documents written in English between 1500 and 1800? Try "Palaeography: reading old handwriting 1500 - 1800." There are plenty of reference materials, tips and samples on this site. You can even play the "Ducking Stool Game" and see if your translations are good enough to save a life!http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/
On Friday, August 27, Christina Bannon, DAR Chicago Registrar, will be at the Newberry conducting Revolutionary War ancestor lookups from the DAR's database and offering advice on the DAR application process. Christina will be available in the 2nd floor General Reading Room from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Appointments are not necessary, though you will need a current Newberry reader's card. For information on obtaining a reader's card, click here.
FamilySearch's Record Search has added a new database useful for anyone searching early to mid-20th century Illinois: Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths from 1916-1947. These records were previously only available on microfilm from the Family History Library. The database does not have digitized images. It is only an index, but each record transcribes far more information than other available indexes, including some or all of the following:
• County and city in which death took place• Address where death occurred• Sometimes the voting ward of that place• Deceased’s full name• Gender• Marital status• Birth date• Age at death• Date of death• Occupation• Employer• City and state of birthplace• Name of the informant providing the above information• Filing date• Name of the registrar
The database can be accessed here.
Compelling Stories, Verifiable Facts: Getting the Best of Both Worlds
Date: Saturday, August 21 Times: 10:30-12:00 & 2:30-4:00 (two standalone sessions) Where: Loyola University (Water Tower Campus), ChicagoWho: Grace Dumelle and Daniel P. Smith Cost: $75 for full-day workshop (Bookfair is free) More information: http://emeofchicago.com/SummerWritersConference.aspx
Executive Meetings and Events of Chicago presents a Summer Writer's Workshop and Bookfair, featuring a full day's program and events about "Reaching Your Writing Potential."
Quotable quotes and juicy anecdotes liven any type of writing and are especially welcome when writing the history of a family, business, or municipality. How do you get page-turning stories AND the facts to back them up? In this tag-team program, journalist and author Daniel P. Smith (On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department) provides key interviewing techniques to solicit the personal stories and voices necessary to create an engaging human portrait while genealogist Grace Dumelle shares 10 tips from her award-winning Finding Your Chicago Ancestors on sourcing the details you've gotten from your subjects, including newspapers and public records. Incluedes handouts. Smith and Dumelle will sell and sign copies of their books.
Beller, Susan P. Roots for Kids: A Genealogy Guide for Young People. 2nd Edition. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing, 2007. Call No. folio CS 15.5 .B45 2007 Magocsi, Paul R. and Ivan Pop, eds. Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005. Call No. folio DJK 28 .R87 E53 2005 Sommer, Barbara W. and Mary Kay Quinlan, eds. The Oral History Manual. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Altamira Press, 2009. Call No. Local History Ref D16.14 .S69 2009 (2nd floor open shelf)
Zelner, Kyle F. A Rabble in Arms: Massachusetts Towns and Militiamen During King Philip's War. New York: New York University Press, 2009.Call No. E 83.67 .Z455 2009
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