Lake County (IL) Genealogical Society

05/02/2025

Tuesday, May 13, 2025; 7:00 pm In-Person
Vernon Hills Village Hall, 1st floor Conference Room
290 Evergreen, Vernon Hills, IL
“Listen to Your Antiques, they are telling you a story.”
Presented by Carolyn Law

Carolyn will introduce the audience to some basic principles and techniques of material culture research in the context of their family heirlooms. She will discuss strategies for investigating, preserving and communicating the meaning of family heirlooms using 21st century resources.

Carolyn Law is a personal property appraiser, independent researcher, published author, subject matter expert, and collector. She has completed training in professional appraisal practice, USPAP, and ethics and is a member in good standing of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA).
source:

Carolyn Law is a personal property appraiser, independent researcher, published author, subject matter expert, and collector. She has completed training in professional appraisal practice, USPAP, and ethics and is a member in good standing of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA). Carolyn’...

03/11/2025

Our March 11 meeting will be held on Zoom at 7 pm CT. Pam Vesta will present “Voting Records: Genealogy’s Best Kept Secret”.

Looking for a date of birth or death? The date and court of naturalization? Where your ancestor disappeared to, or where he came from? His political outlook? Even what kind of house he lived in? Voting records may have the answer. These often-overlooked gems can be packed with genealogical information, and you won’t believe what they can tell us about our ancestors!

Pam Vestal is a full-time genealogist and lecturer in Oregon whose research extends far beyond the Pacific Northwest, with clients all over the U.S. and research that reaches beyond our borders. From family histories to house histories, she tailors her work to the unique needs of each client, but as a professional writer, she specializes in digging into the genealogical facts to tell the ancestors’ stories. An illustrated genealogical biography makes a wonderfully personal way to honor them. Whether lecturing to professionals or newcomers to the field, she welcomes the opportunity to share what she has learned through genealogical coursework, conferences and years of on-site and online research.

Note: Registration is required. To register and get the link for the Zoom meeting, email LCIGS1170@gmail.com. LCIGS members will also will be emailed a handout.

For more information about this professional genealogist, visit her website at https://www.generationsgen.com/.

10/06/2024

Join us at our next meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 7 pm, in-person, at the Vernon Hills Village Hall, 290 Evergreen Drive, first floor conference room. Craig Pfannkuche will be discussing “Railroad Records for Genealogists“. All are welcome .

Railroads were the largest employer in the nation, both male and female, of any industry outside of agriculture in the 1850-1930 period. Who filled these jobs? Immigrants who were trying to save enough money to open a business or obtain a plot of land for a farm were certainly hired. Farmers who were looking for a way to make extra money during the winter season were also included. In many cases, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of these individuals knew that their ancestors were bakers, butchers, light blub makers and farmers, but they do not know that they were also once railroaders. Railroads kept meticulous records.

Craig Pfannkuche has been President of Memory Trail Research, Inc. since 1993 and the Genealogical Archivist for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Historical Society since 1984. He is on the Board of Directors for the McHenry County, Illinois and Chicago Genealogical Societies. He has presented numerous workshops on history, historical and genealogical research and archaeological techniques at both the local and national level.

Craig has taught for thirty-one years, twenty-six of them in Crystal Lake, Illinois high schools. His teaching is based on his belief that student interest can be stimulated and sustained by studying local history and personalities.

09/03/2024

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, September 10, 2024, 7 pm. We have had a change of speaker and subject. Maureen Brady will now be presenting “Mining the Treasures of FamilySearch". This event will be in-person at the Vernon Hills Village Hall, first floor conference room, 290 Evergreen Dr, Vernon Hills IL.

FamilySearch, a family history website sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, gathers, preserves, and shares genealogical records worldwide. It offers free access to its resources online at FamilySearch.org. As the website is very dynamic, this presentation will discuss the latest FamilySearch developments.

08/02/2024

Again, we are partnering😃with the Cook Memorial Public Library District for our monthly meeting. The hybrid presentation, "Researching Your World War II Ancestry", will be held Aug 8, at 7 pm, in the meeting room at Cook Park Library, 413 N Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville, IL and on Zoom. Registration is required for both modes at https://cooklib.libnet.info/event/11053688 .

Learn how to mine compiled service records, pensions, draft registrations, and other related documents for genealogical research. You can discover a lot about your veteran ancestors this way!

08/02/2024

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06/30/2024

Our next monthly meeting is "The Old Northwest: Researching the Great Lakes States", by Maureen Brady, on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, 7:00pm - 8:30pm. This event is being held in partnership with the Cook Memorial Public Library District at the Cook Park Library meeting room, 413 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville IL 60048.

Register at https://cooklib.libnet.info/event/11054254 to attend either in-person or online.

Learn how to research your ancestors in the Great Lakes region between 1787 and 1800. Review the history and suggested research strategies for this territorial period.

06/10/2024

Our June monthly meeting subject is Emigration & Immigration: Stories of Our Immigrant Ancestors Jacquie Shattner. This hybrid meeting will be held in partnership with the Cook Memorial Public Library District, June 11, 7:00-8:30 pm, Cook Park Library, meeting room, 413 N Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville, IL 60048

Registration required at https://cooklib.libnet.info/event/10182683 or click on notice below.

Your immigrant ancestors are the foundation of your roots in the US, but why did they come? Learn how to find their emigration, immigration, and naturalization records.

04/16/2024

Our next monthly meeting is Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at 7:00 PM.
Location: first floor, conference room #2, Vernon Hills Village Hall, 290 Evergreen Drive, Vernon Hills IL Format: In-person

Speaker: Tina Beaird
Topic: All Politics is Local: Researching Your Political Ancestors

"All Politics is Local." These words, spoken by former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil, still ring true. Whether your ancestor was elected to public office or just aspired to serve, lots of records and artefacts were created. Former four-time political candidate, Tina Beaird, will guide you through the political process and explain what records may exist and where to find them.

Tina Beaird, owner of Tamarack Genealogy, is a genealogy and local history librarian at a mid-sized Chicagoland public library. She lectures nationally on topics including genealogical methodology, military records, Scottish research, plus photo and archival preservation. Tina has assisted researchers for over 20 years, and occasionally still finds time to conduct her own family research, which she has been pursuing for over thirty years

03/05/2024

Deadline is MARCH 9, 2024 to register for this workshop co-sponsored by Zion and Lake County IL Genealogical Societies.

02/06/2024

Our first program of 2024 will be held next week, in-person, at the Vernon Hills Village Hall" on Tuesday, February 13, at 7 pm. Will the Real Sven Larsson Please Stand Up" (Swedish Research) will be presented by Dr. Daniel Hubbard. He will cover “Getting started in Swedish genealogy,” Swedish last names that can be fluid and confusing, and Swedish geography that trips up the uninitiated.

Dr. Hubbard lives in Evanston and is past President of the Lake County Genealogical Society. He is a former particle physicist and now a full-time professional genealogist and writer as well as owner of Personal Past. His research concentrates on American, Canadian and Swedish records.

10/23/2023

FINDING YOUR ENGLISH ANCESTORS: Our monthly program for October is "English Genealogy: The Big Four”. We are co-sponsoring this event with Cook Memorial Library.

Paul Milner's lecture examines available indexes, how to access and interpret the four primary records groups for English research: civil registration, census, church records and probate. These are the primary records you need when searching for anyone from the fifteenth to the twentieth century.

When: Thursday, October 26, 2023, 7 pm *new day
Where: Zoom Only

See our website for more info: https://lakecountyilgenealogy.org/ Registration is required. See the Cook Library website to register: https://cooklib.libnet.info/event/8077087

For more info on our speaker: https://www.apgen.org/users/paul-milner