Check this out: website

I heard about a cool website that I would like to share with you. It is found at: illinoishsglorydays.com

It is an effort to preserve Illinois History as related to high schools which are no longer functioning. Perhaps you have a parent or grandparent who went to a high school that no longer exists. This is a site where you can find out about it. You don't have to go back that far...Wheaton-Warrenville High School opened in 1973 and closed in 1983.

They are also looking for information so if you know of such a high school and/or have photographs or stories, they welcome contributors.

April 7, 2009 Meeting

Hi everyone.

Just a reminder that the April 7, 2009 meeting will be held at the Elgin Area Historical Society Museum at Old Main on the campus of the Elgin Academy.

Please try to carpool as parking is at a premium at the museum during the school year.

EGS member Sandy Granholm will be discuss publishing one's family history.

See you there.

Judy

March Evening Meeting

Last night we had an excellent turnout for Jeanne Larzalere Bloom's presentation "Pushing Up Daisies:Cemetery Research". Several guests joined our members to hear Jeanne's talk and, I believe, even the most seasoned researchers among us came away with some new and helpful information.

Jeanne informed us of the many "seeds" to help find missing and/or additional data for our deceased ancestors. She reminded us to go beyond the tombstone in search of more detailed facts from varied resources like: certificates of undertakers, burial permits, coroner or medical examiner reports, funeral homes, monument makers and many more. Jeanne also warned of several "weeds" we may find along the way that could send us in the wrong direction.

This was an evening well spent.

A 100th Birthday

Anne & Lela

As most of you know, I've been associated with the Orphan Train Heritage Society (OTHSA, now the National Orphan Train Complex(NOTC)) for many years. Over those years I've had the privilege of meeting many of the riders and, as time would have it, many of these precious people have passed away. However, this made a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska on the weekend of February 21 even more special.

My husband and I were part of a 100th birthday celebration for our dear friend, Anne Harrison. She was an orphan train rider at the age of 2 1/2. She was among the children who wasn't told that she wasn't the biological child of her adoptive (in this case, she was adopted) parents and so learned about it by accident as a young adult. It wasn't until she was in her 80s that she finally got her birth certificate from NY and found her parents' names.

Anne has a good placement and has been a great supporter of the OTHSA and a wonderful friend to us. The lovely lady next to Anne in the picture is Lela, another orphan train rider, who just recently turned 95.

March Morning Meeting

We had a great turnout for our meeting yesterday morning. It was wonderful to see so many of our members there after the difficult winter we've been through. Those who came were, I'm sure, were not disappointed with the program, the conversations or the treats. I know I was happy I was there.
Our speaker, Grace DuMelle presented "A Window to the Past" Uncovering your past in land records. Many of our members have requested a program which would give helpful tips for using land records and Grace filled that bill completely. Her handouts will be very helpful in the future and the examples she gave showed many various information items that may be found through the use of land records.
Judy VanDusen filled in for our president, Larry, who was under the weather and unable to come. (Thanks for not passing along any germs, Larry:)) Judy moved the meeting along smoothly. The main item of interest for the business meeting was a grade "A" from our audit committee after reviewing the 2008 records!
Hope to see everyone at the evening meeting.