The Latest on Cook County Vital Records Online by Daniel E. Niemiec

The acquiring of Cook County Vital Records has changed quite a bit in the past few years, at both the Cook County web site, and on FamilySearch.org.  Dan Niemiec, genealogy columnist, will explain the process of getting your copies of Cook County birth, marriage, and death certificates as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

Dan Niemiec has been the genealogy columnist for Fra Noi Italian American magazine for the past 16 years, and has done well over a hundred presentations to local and national genealogy groups.  He specializes in Chicago and Italian research, and has traced his ancestors back to the mid 1600’s in Italy.  After nearly three decades of tracing his ancestors, and their descendants, he has over 85,000 known relatives, none of whom will accept his Facebook friend requests.

For more details, visit  www.ilfvgs.org  or  https://www.facebook.com/FoxValleyGenealogicalSociety

Why Am I Stuck? 10 Solutions to Common Genealogical Brick Walls by Marsha Peterson-Maass

Marsha Peterson-Maass is author of the Fundamentals of Genealogy® textbook series and a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. She has led numerous genealogy seminars at the Newberry Library since 2002.

For more details, visit  www.ilfvgs.org  or  https://www.facebook.com/FoxValleyGenealogicalSociety

Reconstructing Susan's Family by Anita Boyd

Her husband, Henry O. Wagoner, was a well-known abolitionist but almost nothing was known about Susan's family. Join us as we traverse the United States and beyond in search of clues.

In 2006, Anita began researching her family history after watching the PBS Television Series, African-American Lives.  She quickly became hooked on genealogy when she discovered one of the family secrets: her grandfather's grandmother's family were once enslaved by her grandfather's grandfather's family.  When she's not researching her Boyd Family, she researches the in-laws, friends' brick walls, and is currently obsessed with the Abolitionist Movement.  

For more details, visit  www.ilfvgs.org  or  https://www.facebook.com/FoxValleyGenealogicalSociety

Pathways to Spicy Stories: An Overview of Court Records by Laura E. Chaplin

Laura Chaplin began researching her family history when she was inspired by a professor at college. Since then she has spent years researching, attending countless workshops, and traveling across the country on research trips. She is now the owner of Willowtree Research: Family History and Genealogy Services. Laura has a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University, and is a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild. 

For more details, visit  www.ilfvgs.org  or  https://www.facebook.com/FoxValleyGenealogicalSociety