peoria county genealogical society july 2020€¦ · 07/06/2020 · after a very successful june...
TRANSCRIPT
PCGS
Peoria, Illinois Volume 48, Issue 11
After a very successful June Zoom presentation, we are happy to present July’s digital presentation by Melissa Barker.Learn from a professional archivist how to preserve, protect and archive family records, photographs and artifacts. Best practices for organization, purchasing archival materials and practical records preservation that any home archivist can achieve! Learn how to process your collection of genealogical records from start to finish. Learn the steps archivists use to process small and large records collections at the archives and how you can use these steps to get a handle on your family records collections!Melissa Barker is a Certified Archives Manager and Public Historian currently working at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives. She lectures, teaches and writes about the genealogy research process, researching in archives, and records preservation. She writes a popular blog entitled A Genealogist in the Archives. She also writes a bi-weekly advice column entitled The Archive Lady published at Abundant Genealogy.
Detailed instructions and a registration link for the meeting are available on our website:
https://www.peoriacountygenealogy.org/meetings/
Peoria County Genealogical Society July 2020
Dates of NoteJuly 2
PCGS Board Meetingby Video Conference
July 9PCGS Monthly Speaker
by Zoom Video or dial in by telephone
July 14June Cemetery Challenge
Virtual Forum
July 15July Newsletter
Submission Deadline
July 24PCGS Collaboration
with Brimfield Public LibrarySpeaker Presentation
In this issueUpcoming Speaker Information 1Dates of Note 1Special Thanks 2 Digging Deeper 3In Case You Missed It 4Volunteer Needs 4Pieces of the Puzzle 5New Members 6 Board Directory 6
Coming in July:The Home Archivist:
Preserving Family Records Like A Pro- presented only via Zoom Audio/Video -
PCGS Monthly MeetingPresented via Zoom Digital Conference
July 9, 2020 6:00 PMThe public is always welcome!
PCGS/Brimfield Public Library Special Collaboration
Peoria County native and PCGS member Diane Minor will be giving via Zoom Digital Conference her presentation “My Favorite Tools: Family History & Genealogy Resources for Peoria County, Illinois” on July 24 at 6:00 PM. There is more to Peoria County than the city of Peoria. In the small towns and rural areas of the county are many great resources to help you find your families and their history. During Diane’s presentation she will explore just three of these resources that every family historian and genealogist shouldconsider for their tool kit: Newspapers, Find A Grave, & Peoria County Clerk Genealogical Indexes. Watch your email, the PCGS website, and the PCGS facebook page for a registration link coming soon!
2Peoria, Illinois Volume 48, Issue 1
submitted by PCGS member Barb BennerAs the Society prepares the “changing of the guard” and officers take new positions, it is fitting to say a big thank you to Marilee Potter who has served two terms as Membership Director.She has faithfully performed the duties and we have been greeted by her at the member meeting sign-in table for four years. Not only has she attended monthly PCGS Board and member meetings, but has maintained excellent records, performed with diligence, assisted in participation of events and even filled in during a need for Recording Secretary. Be sure to say hello to her as we see her at meetings; weappreciate her fine job.
submitted by PCGS member Rita Marshdates of service contributed by Donna Schlatter
Donna Pond Hartwig has decided it’s time to retire from the PCGS Board where she has had an active presence for over 16 years. Donna’s passions have always been to tell everyone what a great organization Peoria County Genealogical Society is, to make sure Peoria County records and church records were preserved, and to help someone new to genealogy with their research. Nothing made Donna happier than to learn we just added a new member to PCGS. Here is a list of some of her accomplishments…• Vice President for two years 2004 - 2006• President for eight years 2007 - 2015• Treasurer for two years 2018 - 2020• PCGS State Representative to Illinois Genealogical
Society in Springfield for several years• Committee person to revise the Society’s By-Laws• Chairperson of the PCGS Policy and Procedures Manual
& Vision Statement Committee• Hosted the ISGS Convention in PeoriaOne large project Donna headed, and we all worked hard on, was to move PCGS into the Internet Age by creating the PCGS Webpage. Donna, you worked so hard to advance PCGS and we will be ever grateful for your service. Donna has been a member of PCGS for over 30 years (and still counting!).
Best wishes to you dear friend,Rita Marsh
Your (former) Vice President
Peoria County Genealogical Society is a 501c organization and all donations are tax-deductable. Please remember PCGS in your
estate planning to help us continue on in our mission to identify,
preserve and share the heritage of our Peoria County ancestors.
Peoria, Illinois Volume 48, Issue 13
Digging DeeperOur Regular Column for Research Tips & Tricks from the PCGS Research Team
Local Undertaker Records Books a Treasure Trove of Information
As many of you know, PCGS now offers for sale four Peoria County Undertaker Records Books for the period spanning 1872 - 1907. A fifth book is currently in the works. PCGS member Robert Hoffer initiated this project, collaborating with the Peoria County Clerk’s Office to make this information available for genealogists, and capturing images of the original pages so they could be digitized for transcription. Late Peoria County Clerk R. Steve Sonnemaker and his staff located this valuable resource and allowed PCGS to transcribe and create these books to be added to our collection in the Local History and Genealogy Department of the Peoria Public Library. Peoria Camera Shop generously donated their expertise and equipment to provide digital images of the contents in this 120-year-old book.PCGS member Alice A. Brophy transcribed the material, cross-checking the questionable spelling of surnames with Federal Census records, Peoria City Directories, and the PCGS collection of cemetery indexes. She created an index and prepared these publications for printing. PCGS members Rita Marsh & Thom Reed proofread the database and collaborated on the formatting of these publications. These books are full of information about early Peoria County residents. Thanks to the alphabetical surname index, one can research by specific family. If the deceased resided in Peoria City, the home address is generally listed so one can easily confirm the appropriate family connection based on census listings. For example, if a child is listed at 123 Smith and the family you are researching is in the closest census at the same address, you can take that as a hint that the child belonged to your family and continue to research accordingly.One PCGS Facebook follower’s comment says it all: “I received my copy of your publication ‘Undertaker Book 1891-1899’ today and am happy beyond words! It broke down a brick wall that I’ve been working on for 13 years and my mother worked on for years before me. I now know where my maternal great grandmother and her infant daughter are buried, when they died, when they were buried and the cause of their deaths. Thank you so much for publishing the records and making them available. I feel like I’ve brought both of them home.”
Undertaker Records Book PricesBook 1: 1872 - 1881 $79 + $6 postageBook 2A: 1882 - 1890 $79 + $6 postageBook 2B: 1891 - 1899 $79 + $6 postageBook 3A: 1900 - 1907 $79 + $6 postage
Shop today on our PCGS website:https://www.peoriacountygenealogy.org/PDFs/PCGS_Web_Publication_List_2018-09-04.pdf
Peoria, Illinois Volume 48, Issue 14
If You Missed It...Our June Speaker, Amber Lowery, presented via Zoom Video Conference - a PCGS first! COVID19 has changed many things, but there are still so many people interested in pursuing the history of their ancestors. We had an amazing turnout, including viewers from California, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah - and Illinois, of course. Pretty impressive for our first Zoom meeting!Amber spoke on the topic of Ancestry.com’s DNA tool, ThruLines. Her presentation focused on how to use ThruLines to help break brick walls and confirm or debunk traditional research. Using examples from her own DNA, she showed how ThruLines can be either very helpful or quite misleading. Amber also offered to help others with interpreting their results and working with ThruLines. We had over 40 people logged in and there were many positive comments. While we missed the treats and social time, it was wonderful to see so many people online together!Your PCGS Board has prepared virtual meetings for July and August. We hope to see you online with us and our wonderful speakers. Remember, if you do not have internet access, you can dial in to listen to the speaker on your regular telephone, although unfortunately you will not be able to see the visuals or contribute to the question & answer session at the end of the presentation. Dial in by calling (312) 626-6799 and using the meeting ID 847 7967 4474 and password 994901.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Peoria County Genealogical Society is incredibly excited to start a new membership
year and hope to get several new ideas and projects in the works for 2020/2021 as well as continuing existing plans. But we need you!
Do you have any of the following interests and skills:social media
email/print marketingwriting, editing, and proofreading
web and graphic design community involvement and outreach
enthusiasm for genetic genealogygeneral photography
organization Contact Tiffany at [email protected] or Kim at (309) 696-8588
Peoria, Illinois Volume 48, Issue 15
Your PCGS Board is planning a series of virtual meetings and digital content during this time of limited in-person events.
Follow us on Facebook to see all the latest news and happenings!
Pieces of the Puzzle Exploring unusual genealogical
sources and media Submitted by PCGS member Tiffany Thomas
We genealogists owe it to ourselves to consider every piece of evidence of ancestors
past, whether it be document, photograph, journal, or -in this case- military service medals.
I never realized my 2nd great-uncle Dan French served in WWII; Ancestry.com only shows his draft card. So when I heard that my grandfather had service medals and insignia from Dan’s estate that he wanted me to keep on behalf of the family, I agreed, thinking that the information gained from the medals might help break down my current brick wall on the English side of my French-Fisher family.
Once I received the memorabilia, I consulted an Army historian friend who was able to shed some light on the various pieces and now, with that information and the service number from Dan’s tags, I can request his record from the National Archives and Records Administration. The story is that while Uncle Dan was in England during WWII, he visited his mother’s family who lived nearby. His mother, who came to the US from England in the late 1800s, is where my record of that line stops. Perhaps I can narrow down the Fishers in England using what I learn from Dan’s records.
If not, it’s great to know that a country boy from Edwards, Illinois served our country during WWII and did some sharp shooting to boot!
Peoria, Illinois Volume 48, Issue 1
President: Kim [email protected]
Vice President: Tom Pilat [email protected]
Treasurer: Michele Richey [email protected]
Recording Secretary: Elizabeth [email protected]
Corresponding Secretary: Donna Schlatter [email protected]
Librarian : Amber Lowery [email protected]
Membership: Kathy Moletti [email protected]
Public Relations: Vicki Padesky [email protected]
Projects: Kim Hanks [email protected]
Publications: Niki Plows [email protected]
Webmaster: Thom Reed [email protected]: Tiffany Thomas
[email protected] Roots: Alice Brophy
[email protected]: Fred Katko
Your PCGS Board
6
L OCEW EMto our new members:
Angie Sneeringer of Edwards, ILresearching
TINDALL, CRAYCRAFT, GARMERS, DIETSCHE, HODSON
We are so happy to have you in PCGS!
Rita Gholson of South Elgin, ILresearching
FINNELL/FENNELL, CAMPBELL, CHAPMAN, DORMAN, BRADY, BYRNES, FOLEY, NOLAN
Diane Minor of Plano, TXresearching
MINOR, MIARS, DEMPSEY, KELLAR, FRYE, STENGER
Margaret Bohner Townsend of Raleigh, NCresearching
SMITH, EMERSON, PUTNAM, BOHNER
PCGS Board & Membership would like to thank the2020/2021 Nominating Committee
The recent PCGS election process was exceptionally smooth thanks to the hard work and dedication of Michele Richey, Marianne Moll, Elizabeth Klise, and Marilyn Leyland. Even with the extenuating circumstances of COVID19, our voter
participation this year was over 120% higher than past years’ average turnout.