Friday, November 26, 2010

Galician "Yellow Pages"


The Schematyzm Galicyjski [Galician Schematism] is a potential source of genealogical information, and can be browsed online.

The equivalent of today's Yellow Pages, the Schematyzm Galicyjski was published from 1782 to 1914. Every issue was arranged according to the administrative divisions in effect at that timel and includes an index containing the names of localities and surnames.

The Schematyzm Galicyjski is available on the website of the Malopolskie Genealogical Society, and was digitized from the collections of the Jagiellonian Library in Krakow.

[This information is from the Fall 2010 issue of Rodziny, the journal of the Polish Genealogical Society of America. p.3]

American Ancestors


Discover your family at American Ancestors, the website of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS)

If you are at all interested in New England genealogy, NEHGS provides access to nearly 3,000 genealogical and historical collections in the form of online databases. This includes the entire run of their journal, the NEHG Register, which contains numerous excellent articles. Click the Explore tab for an array of resources.


Some items featured under the News tab is their Daily Genealogist blog and the Question of the Day, which are both interesting and informative.


Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Get Ready For 1940 Census

The U.S. 1940 Census will be released in April 2012.

You can prepare by watching films that were used to train the census enumerators.

The 1940 Census is more extensive than any census before. It can be helpful to
know in advance what questions were asked.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Genealogy Online, 9th ed.


new genealogy book:

Genealogy online / Elizabeth Powell Crowe -- 9th ed. -- McGraw Hill, c2011.
929.1 CRO

This book addresses the basics of beginning a genealogical project, selecting software, and connecting to the Internet.

It also talks about online etiquette, spam, scams, privacy, and copyright. There is a chapter on genealogy education programs and courses, both online and offline, as well as instructions for using chat, mailing lists, electronic newsletters, and newsgroups.

Major sites are introduced, including the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch, Rootsweb, MyFamily.com, and Ellis Island Online.

The author recommends accessing online library catalogs from home before traveling to a particular library. The chapter titled "Around the Web in 80 (or so) Sites" lists notable web sites.

The National Genealogical Society's Genealogical Standards, a description of the forms of electronic genealogical data, a glossary of online-related terms, and a list of emoticons conclude the book.

Mayflower Genealogical Resources


Your WWI Ancestor


The Great War : a guide to the service records of all the world's fighting men and volunteers / Christina K. Schaefer. -- Baltimore, Md. : Genealogical Pub. Co., c1998.

929.3 SCH and R929.3 SCH GENEALOGY

The Glenview Public Library owns this helpful book, recommended for people trying to locate World War I records for their ancestors.. Here is a description from the Genealogical Publishing Company of its many useful features:

"Anyone on the trail of a World War I service record is more likely to be successful if she/he is equipped with a roadmap to the records of that tragic conflict. And roadmap, indeed, is exactly what genealogist Christina K. Schaefer has created in her magnificent guidebook, The Great War: A Guide to the Service Records of All the World's Fighting Men and Volunteers.

Organized by country, The Great War provides at-a-glance information on the existence of records and how they can be accessed. Each chapter begins with an outline history of a given country's involvement in the conflict as it impacts on the records. The author then lists all extant record groups for that nation's army and navy. So, for example, we are provided with a list of every German army regiment, followed by another list of the capital ships and U-boats that served the Kaiser. The lengthy U.S. chapter lists the national repositories and then record holdings state by state. Each chapter concludes with a breakdown of that nation's military archives and their holdings and a bibliography of suggested further reading.

For researchers who can profit from a brushing-up on their World War I history, Mrs. Schaefer begins the book with a detailed timeline of events from 1914 to 1918. The volume concludes with a number of very useful features: (1) records pertaining to the aftermath of the war (e.g. service records of the Red Cross); (2) a table of the political changes ushered in by the war; and (3) a list of World War I sources available on the Internet at the time of the book's original publication in 1998."

Friday, November 19, 2010

Periodical Source Index

The Periodical Source Index (PERSI) published by the Allen County Public Library, is recognized as the most comprehensive index of genealogy and local history periodicals published since 1800. PERSI contains more than 2.2 million articles from more than 6,600 journals. In December 2010, an additional 164,000 new article citations will be added to PERSI.

You can search by people, places, how-to's, and periodical titles.

Many of the articles can be found in the Lundberg Periodicals in the Genealogy Room.

Use PERSI at the Heritage Quest Online database, available on the Glenview Public Library genealogy database page. Login using your Glenview Public Library card number.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

St. Clair County Marriages

New in the Genealogy Room...

St. Clair Co. (Ill.) Marriages 1791-1845 / by Robert Buecher.

This index contains approximately 3,000 marriages, or 5,493 names of both spouses. Date of marriage appears under name of groom. People of color are indicated by "C."

Monday, November 15, 2010

Breaking Down a Brick Wall

Breaking Down a Brickwall: How I Found the Marriage Record of My Irish Great-Great Grandparents, presented by Nancy R. Thomas.

This case study explores how listening to family stories can lead your research from known facts to the unknown. Using newspapers, census records, church records, online indexes, and maps can result in the breaking down of a major brick wall.
Biographical info:

This program is sponsored by the Computer Assisted Genealogy Group of Northern Illinois (CAGGNI). It takes place at the Schaumburg Township District Library on 20 November 2010, Saturday, 10:30 AM.

Nancy R. Thomas is currently the President of the DuPage County Genealogical Society, a position she also held 29 years ago. A retired Professor/Reference Librarian at the College of DuPage, Nancy has been searching for her ancestors and her husband's for over 30 years. She recently published The Roeser Family: Ancestors and Descendants for a family reunion using Family Tree Maker 2010 software. A recent trip to the British Isles provided a chance to visit with a second cousin of her husband's, who lives in England, and exchange pedigree charts. Nancy and her husband have three daughters and four grandchildren

Libertyville (Then & Now)


You are cordially invited to the book signing of Libertyville (Then & Now) by Laura Hickey, along with two librarians from the Cook Memorial Public Library District, Arlene Lane and Sonia Schoenfield

Tuesday, November 23, 2010, 5-8 pm at Mickey Finn’s Amber Room, 412 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville; Cash bar, appetizers provided.

If you’re purchasing the book at the event, it will be $25. (Includes book and donation to the Libertyville-Mundelein Historical Society.) If you’ve already purchased a copy and are bringing it in for autographs,there’s a suggested donation of $5 at the door.

Organizing Your Genealogy Records with Family Tree Maker


Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois (JGSI) November meeting: Sunday, November 21, 2010, Temple Beth Israel - 3601 W. Dempster Street in Skokie 2:00

Program presented by former JGSI member, Franklin Mills: Tips, Tricks and Tools to Organizing Your Genealogy Records with Family Tree Maker, a Genealogy Software Program.

12:30: The temple will open to members interested in library materials, needing help with genealogical sites on the internet or having genealogical related questions. Ask genealogical related questions regarding your research into your family's history.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Online Genealogy Classes


Reserach Classes Online!
Do you enjoy learning about genealogy by watching a movie?

The following classes are provided online by the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and other sponsors. Learn the basic methods and key resources to start your family history:

England Beginning Research
Germany Research
Ireland Research
Italy Research
New Zealand Research
Poland Research
Principios básicos para la investigación genealógica en Hispanoamérica (México)
Reading Handwritten Records
Research Principles and Tools
Russia Research
U.S. Research

You can view the videos online, or download them to your computer for later. Class handouts are also available for you to print out.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

German-English Genealogical Dictionary


German-English Genealogical Dictionary / by Ernest Thode. --
Genealogical Pub. Co., 1993, c1992.

R929.103 THO GENEALOGY

Ernest Thode's Dictionary is designed for the family researcher who has little or no knowledge of German but who nevertheless needs to make a translation of German-language documents. The Dictionary covers thousands of German terms and defines them in single words or brief phrases. Among the many categories of entries included in the Dictionary are family relationships, days of the week, map terms, legal terms, cardinal and ordinal numbers, roman numerals, signs of the zodiac, coins, liquid and dry measures, measures of length, place names, historical territories, geographical terms, occupations, titles, military ranks, types of taxes, illnesses, calendar days, male and female given names, heraldry, abbreviations, books of the Bible, and common genealogical words from Danish, Dutch, French, Latin, and Polish. In conjunction with a standard German-English dictionary, the user of this work should be able to make a word-by-word translation of any German document and understand it.
(Thanks to Genealogical Pub. Co. for this description)

In Search of Your German Roots


Here is a wonderful resource to help with German family research, owned by the Library and published by Genealogical Pub. Co.

In Search of Your German Roots. Fourth Edition, 4th ed. Updated [2008] by Angus Baxter.
929.1072 BAX

This guide is designed to help you trace your German ancestry not only in Germany but in all the German-speaking areas of Europe. First, it discusses the LDS Church's International Genealogical Index (IGI), which contains hundreds of thousands of entries from German parish registers. Then the narrative takes the reader back to the old country, where sources and archives are discussed in detail, especially Evangelical and Catholic Church records and records of state and city archives. Finally, Mr. Baxter presents a list of family archives, a list of genealogical associations in Germany, a list of German genealogical associations in the U.S., and a bibliography. The 2008 update to the fourth edition includes many websites for these records.
(Thanks to Genealogical Pub. Co. for the use of this description.)

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

National Genealogical Society: Annual Conference


The National Genealogical Society (NGS) 2011 Family History Conference will be held in Charleston, South Carolina from 11-14 May 2011.


This is one of the best, most educational conferences available. Plan to attend, if possible!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Midwest Melting Pot

The Lake County (IL) Genealogical Society presents its 18th annual workshop Midwest Melting Pot and More, featuring D. Josh Taylor, genealogist from the TV series Who Do You Think You Are? and Dan Niemiec, Italian genealogy correspondent of Fra Noi and founder of POINTers In Person.

Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 2007 Civic Center Way, Round Lake Beach, IL.

Call (847) 201-9032 for information. Registration and browsing at 8 a.m., and programs 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Finding Grandma's Ancestors

The Polish Genealogical Society of America (PGSA) will meet in the Social Hall of the Polish Museum, 984 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL on Sunday, November 14 at 2:00 p.m.

Are you having trouble finding records in the "old country?" Steve Szabados will discuss methods for Finding Grandma's Ancestors.

Steve is a member of the Czech and Slovak American Genealogy Society of IL (CSAGSI), PGSA, and the National Genealogical Society (NGS); and will also share some resources that go beyond the traditional documents.

Time will be reserved to solve personal genealogical problems.

A Board meeting will be held at 12:00 noon.