See you at the Iroquois County Fair!

Believe it or not - fair time is here! We hope to see you at the Iroquois County 4-H and Agricultural Fair. The Iroquois County Genealogical Society will have a booth in the Commercial Building at the fair.

As always, we want to wish ALL the exhibitors, young and old, the best of luck! It's great to win, but it's great to have fun and learn, too. The county fairs do that for everyone involved, even us!

It is a little chilly today, but next week is forecast to be in the 80's. You may need one of our popular freebies: a genuine "I'm a Genealogy Fan!" fan, unique and completely handmade. I know, I cut out 200 fans over the last two days!

We have information on records held in the archives of ICGS, genealogy forms and ideas for the taking. You can even get a piece of candy to give you energy to get through the building.

Speaking of getting through the building - how about something for the kids who get dragged through the commercial displays! Play our "Prize Every Time - Pick a Duck" game, always a winner. Yes, you can be just a kid at heart to play our game.

Our faithful volunteer, Ashley will not be able to join us in our booth this year. Ashley has spent many summers volunteering in the ICGS office and organizing and working in our booth at the fair. She graduated from college this spring, and now she has a REAL job, making money! Congratulations, Ashley. We will miss you, and we'll try to make our booth as much fun as you always have.

This year we have FOUR FREE chance bundles. You can enter for one or all four.

• Census bundle - full set of our U.S. Census index books for Iroquois County for the years 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900 and the 1890 Tax List - $60 value
• Birth bundle - 6 index books to Iroquois County births for 1916, A-Z - $43 value
• Death bundle - index books to Iroquois County Death Records 1902-1948, Cemetery Histories and Locations of Iroquois County, Iroquois County Burial Permits and Onarga (IL) Funeral Home Records - $32 value
• Miscellaneous bundle - Iroquois County Poor Farm Records 1857-1964 and 4 booklets of miscellaneous records which include such items as 1850 and 1860 Mortality Schedules on U.S. Census, index to WW I Iroquois County Soldier records, Iroquois County Farm Name Applications 1915-1927 and Iroquois Hospital Admittance Book 1916-1918 - $48 value

 

Of course, if you do not feel lucky each of the books in these chance bundles will be available for sale. In addition, we will have for sale our very popular volumes of Iroquois County interest, including

• Aerial Farm Photos of Iroquois County 1955 (we can help you find your farm picture),
• 1880 History of Iroquois County by Beckwith, with our added every name index,
• Combined Atlas of Iroquois County: 1885, 1904 and 1921,
• Portrait and Biographical Record 1893,
• 1907 Past & Present of Iroquois County and
• Original Land Purchases 1831-1882.

We have name index books for all cemeteries in Iroquois County and Catholic church record collections. As much as possible, we will have copies of these publications at our booth for you to purchase at the fair. You can see our complete publications price list on our web site at this link. (Prices subject to change.)

 

The Iroquois County Historical Society will be sharing the booth space with us. You can learn about the activities of the Historical Society and find additional information about the Old Courthouse Museum.

The Iroquois County Fairgrounds is located north of Crescent City, IL on Illinois Route 49. Follow this link for more about how to get to the fairgrounds and the activities for this week.

 

We hope the weather is great and everyone has a fabulous time!

ISGS 2014 Youth Award

The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) had their Fall Conference October 24-25, 2014 in O'Fallen, Illinois. The theme was Illinois: Land of Opportunity. I would like to thank all of the ISGS officers and workers who coordinated and created this "opportunity" for the attendees! Great conference!

Interesting Session Topics

This was my first year attending the ISGS fall conference, and I found the sessions very informative. We learned about research strategies for using migration patterns on rivers and railroads, African American genealogy research, pioneer cemeteries and little-known records. Other topics included the Illinois Regional Archives Depository system and southern Illinois research facilities. There were also sessions on the ISGS Prairie Pioneer certificates, Military certificates and volunteer opportunities in ISGS. I was even lucky enough to win a door prize (The Adaptable Journal from Per Annum, Inc.), and I LOVE winning prizes! Thanks, Roots2Leaves for your contribution to the prizes!

I'll share some details of what I learned in upcoming posts, but first...

A Proud Moment for our Society

Ashley Burns, a young volunteer in our society was this year's recipient of the ISGS Youth Award. Ashley has volunteered at ICGS for the past eight summers, indexing, organizing, and helping patrons with research. She has written several articles for The Stalker, our quarterly publication. Our booth at the Iroquois County Fair is organized by Ashley, and she spends most of the fair in our booth. She created our "Pick a Duck" game, which has become a treat for young and old alike. (See this earlier post.)

Ashley is pretty skilled at family history research also, as she has traced her fiance’s family back to 1368. Ashley was nominated by Mary Buhr, Iroquois County Genealogical Society President, who has experienced first-hand the dedication Ashley has. Ashley will soon be graduating from college with a degree in Journalism.

Congratulations, Ashley! We hope you can continue to come visit us following your graduation from college.

Mary Buhr, ICGS President, Ashley, Jane Haldeman, ISGS President 

Looking Forward to Future Conferences

All in all, the conference was definitely something I will continue to attend. The 2015 conference will be in Oak Lawn, Illinois. For its 2016 Fall Conference, ISGS will join with FGS in Springfield, Illinois, August 31-September 3. It already sounds like a great time!

The County Fair - A Memory for Most of Us

We had a great time talking with visitors to our booth at the Iroquois County Fair, July 16-21, 2014.

• Raffled off full set of U.S. Census books for Iroquois County for the years 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900 and the 1890 Tax List
• Entertained children with our "Prize Every Time - Pick a Duck" game 
• Gave out our genuine, handmade "I'm a Genealogy Fan" fans, even though temps were chilly
• Sold many books and booklets, such as Aerial Farm Photos of Iroquois County 1955 and Beckwith's 1880 History of Iroquois County. These are available from our web site.

Who could ask for more? ICGS and ICHS in one booth.

We will be there again next year. Watch for us!

Join us at the Iroquois County 4-H & Agricultural Fair

Join us at the Iroquois County 4-H & Agricultural Fair, July 16 - 21, 2014!

Oh, how I remember the county fair. It was that week every kid looked forward to. Well, it's that time again!

Before I go further, I want to wish ALL the exhibitors, young and old, the best of luck! It's great to win, but it's great to have fun and learn, too. The county fairs do that for everyone involved, even us!

The Iroquois County Genealogical Society will be at the county fair again this year!

Stop by our booth in the Commercial Building to see us, and get an ICGS magnet or a "genealogy fan" to keep you cool. (And those are genuine, hand-made fans!) You will find information on the ICGS and popular books to purchase.

For the youngsters who stop by our booth, we will again have our "Pick a Duck - Win a Prize" event. Every duck is a winner, and even the adults liked our warbling water birds last year! Ashley has worked and worked to make sure it all runs smoothly. I had a blast helping sort the prizes, too.

Every duck wins a prize!

A new opportunity this year - for the genealogists (family historians) interested in Iroquois County residents from 1830-1900, we will be selling chances for a complete set of U.S. Census books for Iroquois County for the years 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900 and the 1890 Tax List. This set is available for purchase from ICGS and valued at nearly $70.00. The tickets are $1.00 or 6 for $5.00. You do not need to be present to win.

Take a chance to win this census collection!

You can find a list of all of our publications at the ICGS web site on this link. We will have the popular book, Aerial Farm Photos of Iroquois County 1955, Informative, Historical, Pictorial, Review of Iroquois County, as well as 1880 History of Iroquois County (Beckwith). We have  Iroquois County marriages, births and deaths, probate and civil case indexes. Another popular series of booklets are the cemetery books for each township. We have several books of church records. For a complete list, be sure to check our web site. We will try to keep the booth stocked with books to purchase while you are at the fair. You can purchase books online or you can visit us at the Old Courthouse Museum, 103 West Cherry Street in Watseka, Illinois.

The Iroquois County Historical Society will be sharing the booth space with us this year. You will see a slide show about the activities of the Historical Society and find additional information about the Old Courthouse Museum.

The Iroquois County Fairgrounds is located north of Crescent City, IL on Illinois Route 49. Follow this link for more about how to get to the fairgrounds and the activities for this week.

Have a GREAT week. I hope the weather is wonderful and everyone has a good time!

Links in this post
ICGS http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilicgs/
ICGS publications http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilicgs/sale.htm
ICHS http://iroquoiscountyhistoricalsociety.com/
Iroquois County 4-H & Agricultural Fair http://www.iroquoiscofair.com/