Our 2024 Genealogy Club schedule is confirmed! We will continue to meet twice a month. This year, our programs will be a mixture of virtual and in-person events. The theme of this year’s schedule is Write It Down, where you will learn how and be inspired to write about the people in your family tree. We can’t wait for you to enjoy our upcoming programs!
Genealogy Club Meeting Information
- Online meetings are held through Zoom, and registration is required. Zoom links and meeting handouts are emailed to registrants one day before the program. Reminder emails are sent an hour before the meetings.
- Occasionally, we have hybrid (in-person & online) Genealogy Club meetings. For these, our speakers present their lectures at the library in front of a live audience, with a live stream available on Zoom. You can find the Zoom links for these meetings below or on their individual event pages on our calendar. Registration is not required for hybrid meetings.
- All of our Genealogy Club meetings are free and open to the public. You can register by phone at 630.685.4176 or online at fountaindale.org/events.
- To register online quickly and easily, type ‘Genealogy Club’ in the search box at the top of the page and adjust the calendar dates to find the club meetings for the entire year.
- You are not required to enter a library card number during the registration process.
- We would like to express our gratitude to our speakers for their cooperation in permitting the recording of sessions, which will be posted on our YouTube channel for either seven or 30 days. These videos will be accessible after each program, ensuring that our homebound and working patrons can benefit from the content.
- All recordings will be available for streaming on YouTube one day after the meeting.
Fountaindale Public Library Genealogy Club 2024 Schedule
Writing Your Family History for the Nonwriter
Wednesday, January 10, 7 p.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Steve Szabados
Were your ancestors royalty or members of the working class? Were they rich or barely surviving? Whoever they were, we need to preserve their memory. Steve will discuss how to transform your research efforts into a written family history. Learn a method to easily save your information and tips to help bring your ancestors back to life.
Regicide in the Family
Wednesday, January 24, 11 a.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Sarah Dixwell Brown
When genealogist Sarah Dixwell Brown inherited a heavy iron key to Dover Castle, little did she know it would lead her to an ancestor who had signed a king’s death warrant. In this lecture, you’ll learn what resources you can expect to find when researching an infamous royal ancestor and how to follow the story to its surprising conclusion.
Cool Tools on Genealogy Databases
Wednesday, February 14 (YouTube)
Presented by Suz Bates
Suz Bates, a local family researcher, will share her bag of tricks for making the most of Ancestry.com, MyHeritage and FamilySearch. This pre-recorded session will be available for a limited time on our YouTube channel: fountaindale.org/youtube.
Download the session handout (PDF)
Bullion Bend
Wednesday, February 28, 11 a.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Bill Cole
Learn how a band of Confederate stagecoach robbers led a genealogist to write a historical thriller of conspiracy, murder, robbery, hanging, cowboy rough riding and adventure. Join us for a Netflix-worthy tale with genealogist and author Bill Cole.
Finding Family Bible Records
Wednesday, March 13, 7 p.m. CST (In person & Zoom)
Presented by Jennifer Warner
Family Bibles are commonly listed in genealogy reference books as starting places for building your family tree. But where do you go if you didn’t inherit your ancestor’s prized possession? Genealogist Jennifer Warner will introduce you to online and archival collections of family Bible records to help you fill in the gaps in your research. (Drop-in; no registration required)
To attend virtually, please use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83509408893
They Lived Where? Tips for Researching Locations
Wednesday, March 27, 11 a.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Laura Kovarik
Location research can reveal a plethora of new details about your ancestors and the environments that shaped their daily lives. In this lecture, genealogist Laura Kovarik will show you how to research a location across time, learning what to do when you recognize the place and especially when you don’t.
Taming the Wilderness of Northern Illinois
Wednesday, April 10, 7 p.m. CST (In person & Zoom)
Presented by Pat Camalliere
Author and amateur historian Pat Camalliere will discuss the background behind her book The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods. Northern Illinois was the last part of the state to be settled. Learn about the lives of the Potawatomi who lived here at the time settlers arrived, how the land was surveyed for purchase, the first non-indigenous people to arrive and the importance of Northern Illinois to the settlement of everything west of the eastern seaboard. (Drop-in; no registration required)
To attend virtually, please use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88225651964
Searching for Charles
Wednesday, April 24, 11 a.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Stephen Watts
Genealogist Stephen Watts will walk us through the process of compiling and researching his family narrative, Searching for Charles. What started as a project to archive a family’s genealogy files became an insightful window into the life of Charles Watts, one of the millions of Dickens-era working-class English emigrants who risked everything for the possibility of better opportunities in distant lands. Charles Watts left London and, after four years of adventure in America and Canada, became an Illinois prairie pioneer.
Graceland Cemetery
Wednesday, May 8, 7 p.m. CST (In person & Zoom)
Presented by Adam Selzer
Join us for a presentation and book signing with Adam Selzer from Mysterious Chicago. Graceland Cemetery is one of Chicago’s landmark attractions and chronicles the city’s sprawling history through the stories of its people. Local historian and Graceland tour guide Adam Selzer presents ten walking tours covering almost the entirety of the cemetery grounds. (Drop-in; no registration required)
To attend virtually, please use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84705065476
This program is co-hosted with the Illinois Historical Society
Wanted! Seeking Unknown Parents
Wednesday, May 22, 11 a.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Dana Ann Palmer
Are you struggling to find your ancestor’s parents? Genealogist Dana Ann Palmer will show you how to bust through those brick walls and find your family using a variety of sources.
Illinois Prison and Penitentiary Records
Wednesday, June 12, 7 p.m. CST (In person & Zoom)
Presented with Steven J. Wright
Your ancestors may have been on the wrong side of the law and found themselves serving time behind bars. Historian and genealogist Steven Wright will introduce you to the history of prisons and penitentiaries in Illinois, what types of records were collected and how to access information for your research. (Drop-in; no registration required)
To attend virtually, please use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86810410114.
You CAN Take It With You! Mobile Genealogy Tools
Wednesday, June 26, 11 a.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Judy Nimer Muhn
Genealogist Judy Nimer Muhn will introduce the mobile tools from Ancestry.com, RootsMagic, Legacy, Evernote and more so you don’t have to take your huge notebooks with you to the library when you’re researching your family genealogy.
Getting Around the Missing 1890 Census, Part 1
Wednesday, July 24, 11 a.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Sara Cochran
The loss of the 1890 Federal census is a source of great frustration for American Genealogists, but all hope is not lost! Sara Cochran, the Skeleton Whisperer, will help you strategize and gather tips for success in locating your family in other records between the 1880 and 1900 Federal censuses. This is part one of a two-session series.
Getting Around the Missing 1890 Census, Part 2
Wednesday, August 28, 11 a.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Sara Cochran
The loss of the 1890 Federal census is a source of great frustration for American Genealogists, but all hope is not lost! Sara Cochran, the Skeleton Whisperer, will help you strategize and gather tips for success in locating your family in other records between the 1880 and 1900 Federal censuses. This is part two of a two-session series.
Finding Family: My Search for Roots & the Secrets in My DNA
Wednesday, September 11, 7 p.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Richard Hill
Adoptees often face challenges in obtaining information on their birth parents. Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA is the highly suspenseful account of an adoptee trying to reclaim the biological family denied him by sealed birth records. Author Richard Hill will discuss his landmark use of DNA testing and provide guidance, insight and motivation for anyone engaged in a similar mission.
Grandma, Who Are You?
Wednesday, September 25, 11 a.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Janice Sellers
Researching the women in your family tree often involves detective work.
Janice Sellers, a professional genealogist, will introduce new resources for tracing the women in your family. The focus is primarily on records within the United States and will cover multiple cultural traditions.
Gathering and Preserving Family Stories
Wednesday, October 9, 7 p.m. CST (In person & Zoom)
Presented by Tina Beaird
Are you interested in interviewing your family, but don’t know where to start? Tina will show you how to set up an oral history interview, what equipment to use and the types of questions to ask. She will also walk you through how to use family photos and heirlooms as prompts to help identify some of those photos that you’ve inherited throughout the years. (Drop-in; no registration required)
This program can be viewed virtually by following this link: us02web.zoom.us/j/89733192411.
Discovering Probable Family Branches Through Cluster Research
Wednesday, October 23, 11 a.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Denyce Peyton
Do you have an ancestor who just seems to disappear without a trace? Try using cluster research techniques! In our ancestors’ day, it was common for folks to marry their neighbors’ daughters, migrate with relatives and build new lives among relatives, friends and neighbors from their place of origin. Genealogist Denyce Peyton will show you how to research an ancestor’s friends and extended family to prove familial relations.
Publishing Your Genealogical Material
Wednesday, November 13, 7 p.m. CST (Zoom)
Presented by Craig R. Scott
Writing a book about your family or your genealogical research can be a major challenge, but it is just the first step in getting your publication out to your family and other interested people. Genealogist and publisher Craig Scott will lead you through publishing formats, distribution and promotion of your book.
Feel free to share our schedule with your family and genealogy friends. If you have any questions about our programs and research assistance, you can reach me by phone at 630.685.4201 or by email at ddudek@fountaindale.org.
See you at our next club meeting!