Profile: Chicago Genealogical Society

Most of the Chicago Genealogical Society meetings are held at the Newberry Library on the first Saturday of the month at 1:30 PM. At these no charge meetings attendees can hear from speakers who discuss a wide variety of subjects from how to do basic and valid genealogical research in both paper and on line records to discussions of government, ethnic, corporate, and other rarely thought of record research sites and types. On occasion panels of experts provide suggestions as how to break through Chicago “brick wall” research. One of the monthly meetings is a bus tour of Chicago genealogical and family history sites. In 2011 a “Chicago Fire” tour was held on the 140th anniversary of that event.

CGS attempts to emphasize both formal genealogical (names, events, dates, and places) and family history (placing one’s family in a context of the events of the area and nation which were swirling around them) research.

The society issues an information filled monthly newsletter to its members as well as a Chicago information-filled quarterly journal. Members are actively solicited to submit materials on their families to these publications so that those with Chicago relations can make important connections. Recently, the society published a fine indexed book which lists the plot owners of the original “Chicago City Cemetery” between 1847 and 1863. Additionally, the website has a “Links” area where almost all Chicago research sites can be easily accessed.

CGS provides both handsome “Pioneer” (origin to October 1871) and “Rebuilder (1872 – 1893) certificates to those who can prove through documentation that they are direct descendants of those early Chicagoans.

For additional information about CGS:
http://www.chicagogenealogy.org

Chicago Genealogical Society
Box 1160
Chicago, Ill. 60690-1160

Or contact the corresponding secretary at:
Chicago Genealogical Society
8612 Memory Trail
Wonder Lake, Ill. 60097-9442.