I just received notice of an upcoming “road trip” that is being sponsored by the Computer Assisted Genealogy Group of Northern Illinois (CAGGNI).

They will be going to the famous Newberry Library in downtown Chicago on Friday, October 11, 2013.  Events for the day at the library will be starting at 9 AM.

Registration is required.  Registration has already opened as of June 15, 2013.  I did take a look at their website and they note that 15 individuals have already registered and that there are 12 more registration slots available.  You can visit the CAGGNI website directly at www.caggni.org and head over to their “CAGGNI Meetings” link on the left side.  Scroll down to the October 11, 2013 entry for this program where you can actually register yourself if interested to participate.

The cost to participate will be $10 for members of the group and $15 for non-members of the group.

Here after the separator line is the text of their message that I received from them describing events of the day in Italics:

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Upcoming event information:
SPECIAL EVENT: 2013 Road Trip – Newberry Library Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois
Date: 11 Oct 2013 9:00 AM

Back by popular demand, CAGGNI returns to the Newberry Library on Friday, October 11, 2013

• A 45-minute orientation followed by a short tour of the library will be provided by the Curator of Genealogy and Local History at Newberry.  Information on the history of the library, research procedures and genealogy resources will be included.  Orientation and tour are limited to 25 attendees.  Participants not attending the orientation can begin their research at 9:00 a.m. 

• Reader’s Card issuance. The card is required and can be obtained at the library on the day of the event. This card will allow you to use all the facilities of the library for a period of one year. 

• Assistance from the Curator and a reference librarian will be available to all members to assist in getting started with your individual research. 

• Lunch on your own – A list of local restaurants is available at the Security desk.  If you wish to bring your lunch, Room 101, just off the vending machines area, has been reserved for us from Noon to 2:00 p.m.  Snack and drink vending machines are also available.

• Access to the new Civil War Exhibit, co-sponsored with the Terra Museum, in the first floor exhibition hall.

• Optional dinner at Frankie’s Scaloppine – 900 N Michigan Building, Chicago, two blocks from the library.

Registration will open on June 15. 

$10.00 for members, $15.00 for non-members.

Additional Information:

   Tips for Visiting the Newberry Library

  Newberry Library Road Trip Policies 2013

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I believe the CAGGNI group had a successful “road trip” to the Newberry Library previously that warranted this “encore” trip back to the Newberry Library.

Mark your calendars for this upcoming event on October 11, 2013.  If you have never been to the Newberry Library, perhaps this is your opportunity to visit whether you are a member of CAGGNI or not.  Be with a group of fellow researchers rather than going it solo.

It is never too early to make plans for what sounds like a great trip this Fall!

Tony Kierna
Genealogy Coordinator
Schaumburg Township District Library

I have added the June 2013 Schaumburg Township District Library Genealogy Program Handouts as a PDF file into the PROGRAM HANDOUTS Category on the right sidebar of the blog.

Here is a direct link to the June 2013 Handouts for your convenience:

June 2013 Schaumburg Township District Library Genealogy Program Handouts

Take a look at it if you choose to browse through it in advance of our Genealogy Program that will take place on Tuesday evening, June 11, 2013 at 7:30 PM at our main library location at 130 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg, IL.

You can read the handouts online or you can save them as a PDF file to your own computer for reading offline and more detailed searching through all of the contents.

You will also note that I have started “highlighting” in this uploaded PDF key points within the handout  by using  the “yellow highlighting” function within Microsoft Word.  This will allow your eyes to visually see key points within the handouts that I want to emphasize.  I hope you will enjoy being able to more easily see these key points within the set of handouts through this highlighting technique.  I plan on highlighting within the Handout file on a going forward basis.

Please note that the Handouts PDF file has embedded Bookmarks to allow you to move to the handouts of interest to you quickly without having to scroll through the entire document.  Just open the Bookmark window in the PDF file and select the handout of interest for quick access.

You can also get to the handouts of interest to you quickly via the Table of Contents at the beginning of the document.  You will find hyperlinks that will get you directly to the handout of interest to you from the Table of Contents.

Please note that you can access directly any and all URL Links that you find within the Handouts PDF.  You can get directly to the website being mentioned from within the handout being mentioned.

Enjoy the handouts.

Tony Kierna
Genealogy Coordinator
Schaumburg Township District Library

I have added the June 2013 Schaumburg Township District Library Genealogy Newsletter as a PDF file into the NEWSLETTER Category on the right sidebar of the blog.

Here is a direct link to the June 2013 Newsletter for your convenience:

June 2013 Schaumburg Township District Library Genealogy Newsletter

Take a look at it if you choose to browse through it in advance of our Genealogy Program that will take place on Tuesday evening, June 11, 2013 at 7:30 PM at our main library location at 130 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg, IL.

You can read the newsletter online or you can save it as a PDF file to your own computer for reading offline and more detailed searching through all of the contents.

Please note that the Newsletter has Bookmarks and Hyperlinks within the document to make for fast navigation from within the Table of Contents.  You can quickly get to the spots that interest you from the Table of Contents.

Enjoy the newsletter.

Tony Kierna
Genealogy Coordinator
Schaumburg Township District Library

It is that time once again when we will be having another Genealogy Program at the central location of the Schaumburg Township District Library on Tuesday evening, June 11, 2013 at 7:30 PM.  We are located at 130 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg, IL.

There is no pre-registration required in order to attend the program.  There is no fee charged to attend.  Anyone can attend this program.  You do not have to be a library card holder with the Schaumburg Township District Library in order to attend.

Here is a summary of the information about the program:

The Genealogy program will be held on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 7:30 PM in the 2nd floor Classroom. There is no formal presentation for this gathering. Instead, we will have our breakout group discussions so participants can work within a small group of people having specific interests in a common genealogical topic. The object is to share information and experience on this topic among those in the breakout group.

We are planning on having the same breakout groups we had in our previous breakout groups based on various nationalities. These will be Polish, Czech, German, Irish, British, Italian, Scandinavian, as well as Colonial American. There will also be a Beginners Group as well as a “Share Your Family History Book/Report” table that will allow those that have created a Family History Book to share with others at the table how they created it.

A laptop computer connected to our projector will also be available in the room to use by those in attendance. Participants are also encouraged to bring in their own lap top or net book to connect wirelessly to the library’s WiFi Network. This will allow the user to share information with other participants in areas of genealogical research.

Some of the above mentioned groups may be eliminated if there are not enough participants in any one group to make it beneficial. Some groups that have not been identified may be added.

The doors to the room will open at approximately 7 PM so participants can pick up the handouts, review books and journals and interact with other participants. Tony Kierna, the STDL genealogist, will start the program at 7:30. Introductions of new participants will occur as well as a brief review of handouts and genealogical matters. It is expected that the breakout groups will form at around 7:45-8:00 PM. We will end the session by 9:30 PM.

For further information contact Tony Kierna at 847-923-3390.

For those of you that are doing Canadian research you may want to take note of some recent developments.  The 1921 Census of Canada will soon be made available for research.  Dick Eastman had a post in his online newsletter making readers aware of the pending release of this valuable information for Canadian ancestral researchers.

Here is a link to the article noted in Dick Eastman’s Online Newsletter:

1921 Canadian Census Data To Be Released Soon News Item From Dick Eastman’s Online Newsletter Dated June 4, 2013

You should also be aware that Canada has its own “privacy” limits on release of data such as this census data.  Under Canadian law, census data is withheld from public viewing for 92 years after the data was gathered.  For comparative purposes, census data in various European countries is often withheld from public access for 100 years.  Yet we here in the United States only have to wait a mere 72 years for U.S. Census data to be released to the public.  We all experienced that put into play last year in 2012 when the 1940 U.S. Census was released.

We in the United States have to be thankful that we still have a 72 year period of privacy before release.  I do worry that someone is going to suggest that the United States needs to withhold data like this for an even longer period of time so that we are more in step with other countries that hold the data for as long as 100 years before releasing it.

I hope we never see that long of an interval to keep things private.  Perhaps the 72 year interval originated when that was the approximate life expectancy.  That is no longer true as life expectancy has increased to approximately 8o years.

Cross our fingers and hope the 72 year rule stays as is!

If you are doing Canadian research,  you may want to stay “tuned-in” over the next few weeks in anticipation of release of the 1921 Canadian Census data.  More detailed information on the release of the data by the Library and Archives Canada will be expected shortly.

Tony Kierna
Genealogy Coordinator
Schaumburg Township District Library

In advance of Ginger Frere’s guest appearance at our library to make a genealogy presentation on Tuesday evening, August 13, 2013, I wanted to share with you how knowledgeable Ginger is about genealogy.

She made an on-camera guest appearance on WTTW, the local PBS station in Chicago with the host Phil Ponce back on April 12, 2012 at the time of the release of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census data.

The video segment is archived at WTTW.  Because it is not a YouTube video I cannot directly embed it here in the post.  That is a WordPress limitation.  Even without a direct embed of the video in this post, I can simply provide you with the direct link itself so you can easily get to it and view the 9 minute segment of Ginger with Phil Ponce.

The focus of the entire interview is not only about the release of the 1940 census data.  It is broader in context with some interesting stories provided by Ginger about research she has done for her clients as well as including some “house history” research she did on the home that Phil Ponce lives in.  It is just a “feel good” segment about the fun of genealogy and the interesting stories that can be uncovered about our ancestors.

Here is that link:

April 12, 2012 Ginger Frere Interviewed By Phil Ponce On WTTW Chicago Tonight

Ginger is a wonderful speaker.  It is a pleasure when we have her at our library for a genealogy presentation.

The fact that WTTW had her on Chicago Tonight speaks volumes for what they think of her also.

If you have 9 minutes and would like to see and hear Ginger Frere before she returns to our library in August, then just take a look at this wonderful archived segment from Chicago Tonight on WTTW!

Tony Kierna
Genealogy Coordinator
Schaumburg Township District Library

I thought I would post this reminder of our next upcoming Genealogy Program at the Schaumburg Township District Library.

There is no pre-registration required in order to attend the program.  There is no fee charged to attend.  Anyone can attend this program.  You do not have to be a library card holder with the Schaumburg Township District Library in order to attend.

Here are the details of our upcoming program for Tuesday evening, June 11, 2013:

Tony Kierna
Genealogy Coordinator
Schaumburg Township District Library

I just noticed that there are dates noted for the Illinois State Genealogical Society Fall Conference for 2013.  The dates noted are for Friday, October 25, 2013 and Saturday, October 26, 2013.  The conference will be held in Sandwich, IL.

Details for the conference are still be worked out, but the dates are now set as is the location.

Here is what is posted at the website for the Illinois State Genealogical Society regarding information about the upcoming conference:

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A recent Dick Eastman newsletter post noted with certainty that the fabulous genealogy show “Who Do You Think You Are?” will be returning to TV on Tuesday evening,  July 23, 2013, at 8 PM Central Time on The Learning Channel (TLC).

Eight new original episodes are planned for airing.

Rumors of various “stars” appearing in libraries with film crews have been reported previously.  They even said then that it was for the revival of this wonderful show.

So now you can mark your calendar for the day, date and time of the rebirth of this wonderful show and its new episodes!

Here is the full-text of the news item that appeared at Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter (eogn.com):

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NBC had a very successful series in “Who Do You Think You Are?” but canceled the television programs after three seasons. Producers Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky have since negotiated a deal with TLC Network (see my earlier articles by starting at http://goo.gl/zzidk) and now have announced the premiere date for a new season: July 23  at 9 PM Eastern, 8 PM Central. Ancestry.com will remain as the sponsor.

TLC will air eight one-hour episodes in the new season. The celebrities featured this year include: Christina Applegate, Kelly Clarkson, Cindy Crawford, Chris O’Donnell and Zooey Deschan.

You can read more at http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/who-do-you-think-you-are/about-the-show.htm.

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The interval between cancellation of the original running of the show on NBC and the rebirth on TLC was not really that long of an interval.  NBC canceled the show after 3 seasons in the May 2012 time period and it is now starting again in July 2013.  Rumors were rampant right after NBC cancellation that the show might be finding a new home.  The deal just had to be completed.

And now the countdown to July 23, 2013 begins!

Our wait is now almost over.

Good things come (back) to those that are patient!

Tony Kierna
Genealogy Coordinator
Schaumburg Township District Library

I have just completed another milestone related to my authoring this  blog.

I have just posted what is identified as my 600th blog post!

That number seems like an incredibly high number, but I assure you it is real.

Time to celebrate and do a happy dance!

It just seems that I just cranked out blog post number 500 a few weeks ago. (The 500th post occurred approximately in November 2012!)  It seems the blog posts are happening at the speed of light lately.

I hope you enjoy these blog posts as much as I enjoy creating them.

Thanks for spending your time reading through the material I am posting that does hopefully make a positive impact on your genealogical researching.

Thanks for your kind words about what I do both on this blog and in the library!

Now, onward to achieving number 700!

Tony Kierna
Genealogy Coordinator
Schaumburg Township District Library