The Iroquois County Genealogical Society Archives are located in the Iroquois County Museum, 103 West Cherry Street in Watseka, Illinois. This building is the old Iroquois County Courthouse, built in 1866 and in use as the county courthouse until 1965. --- This site will explain and highlight this huge collection of genealogy resources. --- Best of all, with these resources, we have very helpful and knowledgeable staff and volunteers who are here to assist in your family history journey!
This week is our 3rd week of One-on-One sessions, and we are off to a great start. There is still time to sign up for your FREE help session. We can help with family research or just exploring the many online resources available for family historians. Come in to the ICGS archives in the Old Courthouse Museum, 103 West Cherry Street, Watseka, IL, and our volunteers will do whatever we can to further your research efforts.
Ginny Lee helping Trisha Seigmiller
This is a free service to help you in your family history journey. All
we ask is that you call the ICGS office at 815-432-3730 or email us at
iroqgene@yahoo.com to register. We are offering sessions in two-hour blocks
of time (you may extend, if needed).
Do you have German ancestry? Don't forget to sign up for the Lin Strong seminar day, Saturday, November 7, 2015. Space is
limited, and it is filling up. Call at 815-432-3730 or email
iroqgene@yahoo.com to sign up or for more information.
Lin Strong (left) and ICGS President, Mary Buhr
Lin Strong, President of the Ostfriensen Genealogical Society of America will present a seminar on German and related research. Part of the day will be spent in the ICGS library using the OGSA
publications and other resources available here. This promises to be a fabulous day of learning
and fun.
One more calendar item: our Annual Meeting will be held Saturday, December 5, 2015. We'll have coffee at 6:00 p.m. with meeting at 7:00 p.m. Our program will be given by Bill Cheatum, Iroquois County Coroner. Bill will discuss ways to use coroner's reports in genealogy research.
We hope to see many ICGS members and guests for this interesting evening!
Wow! I bet you thought I was never coming back. Here I am!
First, I want to mention that May 2015 was the 1-year anniversary of the Searching Genealogy...In Iroquois County, Illinois blog. I hope you have gained some knowledge about your genealogy search and how we can help you. My goal in Year 2 is to try to post more frequently, maybe twice a month. You will have to visit often to check up on me. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think or how I can help.
Are you getting your money's worth from your online genealogy searches?
Should you really spend that money to subscribe to one of the premium subscription sites?
I hope you already know this, but just in case: Iroquois County Genealogical Society is having another ONE-ON-ONE WEEK at the ICGS
archives in the Old Courthouse Museum, 103 West Cherry Street, Watseka,
IL. During the week of June 22-26, 2015, volunteers are ready to help you gain some insight and experience in your online quest.
Bring your research questions and your curiosity. We'll sit down with you to see what we can all learn.
There are many FREE sites and FREE resources on subscription
sites. The FamilySearch web site is completely free, including all searches
and building your family tree. There are also a lot of free resources on
Ancestry.com, Accessible-Archives and FindMyPast.
This is a FREE service to help you in your family history journey. All we ask is that you call the ICGS office at 815-432-3730 or email us at iroqgene@yahoo.com to register.
We are offering sessions in two-hour blocks of time (you may extend, if needed). Monday, June 22 through Friday, June 26, 2015, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.
See you soon!!
We are three days into our free ONE-ON-ONE training sessions at Iroquois County Genealogical Society. (Still going through Saturday, March 14, 2015) I have had a great time. It's amazing how much you can learn just helping someone else learn. Love it and always will.
Sometimes you get a good start with those local resources found at your genealogical society archives or your state archives. Sometimes you get a good start by using online research sites. (Most of us probably do both of those things.)
One excellent online family research site is the FREE, and always will be FREE, FamilySearch.org site of the LDS church. You do not need to be a member of the church to take advantage of the "largest genealogy organization in the world."
All that, and they have some of the best online training resources ever. If you cannot make it to ICGS for our ONE-ON-ONE training sessions, you can find help in the following.
1 - FamilySearch.org Training Center
FamilySearch.org - always FREE. You can link to the Learning Center for "hundreds of online genealogy courses to help you discover your family history." Search for specific topics or choose a lesson by place, skill level, subject, format and subject language. https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/home.html
The View This Lesson link takes you to the FamilySearch Family Tree Curriculum page, where you can choose Levels One, Two or Three or training in the Android or iOS apps. Incredible resource, and this is only ONE topic. Some lessons have pdf handouts, videos and actual practice activities and worksheets. It's as though you are sitting in a classroom with a skilled instructor. You cannot help but learn.
2 - FamilySearch Research Wiki - new look, same great info
You may have been on the FamilySearch Wiki pages previously. The initial steps to get there have changed a bit, but the good stuff is still there.
From the FamilySearch home page, hover the cursor over SEARCH and choose Wiki.
This opens the new-look Family History Research Wiki. Remember, the concept of a "wiki" is collaboration, so on the right side of the window, you see links about how to add to the collaboration and creation of content pages. You are probably not there for that purpose right now, so don't click on those links.
You are here to learn more about searching your family history.
You need to use the clickable map or the search box to the left of the map to get to the research guides and information.
Just for fun, click North America on the map. There is the page you may be familiar with. Now choose United States, either by clicking the link or the next map. If that is not enough info to keep you happy and busy for a while, you already must know more than most of us.
We still have openings for participants in our free ONE-ON-ONE training sessions. Call and make an appointment. (815-432-3730)
Have you ever wondered, do you really want to spend your hard-earned money on a premium online site to continue your family history search? Maybe you have a personal account on one of those sites, but you don't really know how to use it very well. Are there some free sites that may help you in your journey?
Iroquois County Genealogical Society volunteers are ready to help you gain some insight and experience in your online quest. Next week, March 9-14, 2015, we are having ONE-ON-ONE WEEK at the ICGS archives in the Old Courthouse Museum, 103 West Cherry Street, Watseka, IL. Bring your research questions and your curiosity. We'll sit down with you to see what we can all learn. If you already subscribe to a premium site, bring your login information and we can work from information you already have found. Either way, we are waiting to help.
This is a free service to help you in your family history journey. All we ask is that you call the ICGS office at 815-432-3730 or email us at iroqgene@yahoo.com to register. We are offering these in two-hour blocks of time (you may extend, if needed).
March 9-14, 2015
Monday through Saturday, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.
The ICGS Board has set dates for some of our 2015 activities. Expect 2015 to be a great year! Add these to your calendars now, so you don't miss a chance to participate, and check back for more details and reminders in future posts and in our newsletter, The Stalker.
Have you ever wanted to test run an online subscription site without having to sign up for it? Do you wish you knew more about how to get around a site that you are already paying for? Are those free online sites worth your time?
In a new event this year, we are going to try to answer those questions with you. The week of March 9-14, 2015, the Iroquois County Genealogical Society board and volunteers are hosting One-on-Onetraining sessions to help you explore many online genealogy sites. The sessions are free, but registration is required. Sessions will be scheduled in 2-hour blocks of time. We are still working on the specifics, but some sites we are considering include Ancestry, Family Search, Fold3, GenesReunited, Archives, Newspaper Archive, World Vital Records, Find My Past, Accessible Archives, and OGSA (Ostfriensen) Database.
Our 3rd Annual Cemetery Walk is scheduled for Sunday, September 13, 2015. We are planning to hold this event at the Flesher Cemetery, north of Crescent City, Iroquois County, Illinois. There will be much more to come on this interesting and enjoyable event. See this post about our 2014 Cemetery Walk.
At that time, we talked about having Lin come to Watseka to present a seminar. She will be here on Saturday, November 14, 2015. Part of the day will be spent in the ICGS library using the OGSA publications and other resources available here. Her topics are still being decided upon, but this promises to be a fabulous day of learning and fun.
One last item to note: As you may know, you can purchase our publications from our web site using Paypal. When you visit our office, you now can use Paypal for in-person purchases, copies or donations. Just another reason to stop by to see us!
Thanks to the members of the Prairie State Sams for a chance to speak with them at their
Campout for Charity at the Iroquois County Fairgrounds on Saturday, May 31,
2014. What a great crowd, and what great weather for a weekend of camping! This
group was raising money for three charities with lots of fun activities during
their 4-day campout. We really enjoyed our time with them and hope everyone got
some useful information or ideas.
Mary, Debbie and Janet presented a seminar including information about the services and
records available at the Iroquois County Genealogical Society (ICGS) archives in
Watseka, Illinois. Read the post from May 30, 2014 for an overview of those records
and follow this blog for more details on those records. Next we discussed the
U.S. federal census records from 1790-1940 and gave some ideas of what other
types of census records can be found.
According to Ancestry.com, “The United States was the first
country to call for a regularly held census. The Constitution required that a census
of all 'Persons...excluding Indians not taxed' be performed to
determine the collection of taxes and the appropriation of seats in the House
of Representatives.” When you research in the census, be sure to read the
information about the census from that specific year for interesting details. A
blank extraction form for each year can be found here on Ancestry.com. Check out the May 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine for even more census information.
In a recent American Government census it was
discovered that the centre of the US population lies in the farm of Mr
and Mrs John Herrin of Whitehall, Indiana. Their farm is 8 miles west of
Bloomington. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)
General notes about
census records. Don’t forget to read the information given about the census
database you are using. The additional detail may be just what you need to get
to that aha moment. As you use census search pages, remember that names were not
always spelled the same as what you see today. Sometimes the names was changed,
written incorrectly or transcribed incorrectly due to poor handwriting or poor
microfilm copies.
There are several free online sites for census research, the
largest of which is at Family Search at http://familysearch.org.You can search for names directly, search the Catalog for census, or start with
the Family Search Wiki. Enter United States census in the Wiki search box, or use more specific
locations. The USGenWeb Project is by
volunteers who create content from state, county and local sources. RootsWeb is another website that
hosts web pages from different individuals and genealogical organizations who
may include census information. Our RootsWeb page is at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilicgs/.
Here is a summary what and when certain information is available in each U.S.
federal census.
All names in the household were given from 1850 and beyond. In prior censuses, census takers
asked only the name of heads of household and the count of others based on
ages. Before 1880, we do not know the relationship to head of household even
when we have the name. After 1880, each person’s relationship to the head of
household is given, so you know if that extra person is just a boarder or a
relative. As our country changed, slave counts were dropped and everyone’s
information was taken.
Birthdates and birthplaces were not always asked. Ages are given in age ranges only for censuses
from 1790-1840. The age ranges differ from decade to decade, but from 1850 and
beyond, everyone in the household had the age and the place of birth listed. In
1900, the month and year of birth are listed for all names. If you are looking
for someone born within the census year of 1870 and 1880, the age and month of
birth are listed. The person’s parents’ places of birth have been listed since
1880. The number of children born to mothers and number still living was
recorded in 1890-1910.
Check the census day. As you look at census records, you may notice that the
age of your ancestor doesn’t seem to change exactly 10 years at a time. This is
due to what is called the “census day.” Information given to the census taker
was to be correct as of that year’s census day. Census day was “the first
Monday in August” for 1790-1820; June 1 for 1830-1900; April 15 for 1910;
January 1 for 1920; and April 1 for 1930 and 1940. This census day change may
explain the discrepancy in your ancestor’s age from decade to decade.
Finding marriages make
genealogists happy. If a marriage had occurred within the census year,
that was noted on the 1850-1890 censuses. The 1870 census even gives the month.
Since 1880, marital status was given for each person, and in 1930 persons were
asked the age at first marriage. Number of marriages was given in 1900 and
1910.
Knowing something about the citizenship and immigration of ancestors is always helpful. If a person was an
alien or not naturalized, this was noted in 1820-1840. You can discover the
year of immigration, number of years in the U.S. and naturalization status in
various years from 1820-1840 and 1890-1930. For example, in 1940, we see
whether the person was born in U.S., alien, filed first papers or naturalized.
Veteran status was
given in 1890, 1910 and 1930.The
1910 census indicated if person was a veteran of the Civil War, and in 1930
veterans were asked in which war or expedition they participated.
There are many, many other types of census collections. Some we mentioned were State Censuses, Slave
Schedules, Manufacturing Schedules, DDD Schedules, Mortality Schedules
1850-1880, Veteran Schedules, U.S. Military Casualties, U.S. Draft
Registrations and censuses of American Indian tribes. Remember there are also census
records in foreign countries.
As you continue your online research, don’t forget to walk
away from your computer every so often. We all know how hard that is to do
sometimes! Happy searching!
What can you expect if you visit The Iroquois County Genealogical Society Archives in the Iroquois County Museum, the old Iroquois County Courthouse in
Watseka, Illinois? Here is a brief overview of our collections.
The Society’s collections include over 70,000 obituaries
from area newspapers of the 1800’s to present day, inventories of every cemetery
in Iroquois County and coroners' files and burial permits.
Do you need a census replacement for the 1890 U.S. census? Don't we all? We have tax records
from the 1860’s to the 1950’s and books of early land and property records. We have microfilm rolls of Probate and Estate records and court cases of Iroquois County, Illinois.
Marriage applications, family histories, maps, atlases, plat books, biographical indexes and newspaper
clippings of business and social events can be found here. Baptism, marriage
and death records from French and German churches in our collections have been
translated.
We have a collection of German OSB books from towns of Ostfriesland, Germany, and Iroquois County area one-room school records and high school yearbooks.
You can find the 1880 Iroquois County History and the 1950 pictorial book of Iroquois County farms. We have information on neighboring counties as well. Our collection includes a library of genealogy books for beginners or experienced genealogists.
We have microfilmed copies of area newspapers and four microfilm readers with printers. As an affiliate
library of Family Search, you can order films from the LDS Library in Salt Lake
City and read them in our Archives library.
Come in early and stay late. Once you get started, you may wish we were here more than just Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Welcome!!
P.S. Many thanks to Mary for her help in summarizing our many holdings!
