Meeting Archive

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable new tool for genealogists, potentially saving 100s of hours a year and offering new ways to organize our research. However, these tools have important limitations that must be understood in order to utilize them properly and efficiently. We will cover the benefits and limitations of generative AI, and how you can explore this entirely new field without becoming overwhelmed!

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Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD, is a professional genealogist specializing in DNA evidence. In 2007, he started The Genetic Genealogist (www.thegeneticgenealogist.com), one of the earliest blogs on the topic. Blaine is the author of The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy and co-author with Debbie Parker Wayne of the award-winning Genetic Genealogy in Practice, the world’s first genetic genealogy workbook. He also co-authored “Genetics for Genealogy” with Judy Russell in 2018’s Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (ProGen PPS) (Elizabeth Shown Mills, Author and Editor).

Blaine is or has been an instructor for genetic genealogy courses at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), and Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research. Blaine is a graduate of ProGen Study Group 21, a trustee for the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and a member of the DNAngels Board of Directors since 2022 (President since January 2023), and a member of the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) “Investigative Genetic Genealogy Working Group” since 2019. He is also the founder in 2017 of Genetic Genealogy Tips & Techniques, a very active Facebook group with approximately 90,000 members.

Lineage societies have been collecting and preserving family histories for more than 125 years. Did you know that some of these resources are available online for free? And you don’t even need to be a member to take advantage of them! From the databases and documents of the DAR to simple lists of pioneers and soldiers, this presentation will show you the gems that are available online and how to find them.

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Elizabeth Swanay O’Neal, Certified Genealogist®, is a professional researcher, writer, educator, and national genealogical speaker. Her specialties include methodology, technology, and online research resources.

Elizabeth has studied at the National Institute for Genealogical Research (NIGR, now known as GenFed) in Washington, DC; the Forensic Genealogy Institute (FGI) in Dallas, Texas; and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is the President of the Second Life Virtual Genealogical Society, Director of the NGSQ Study Groups program, and a Genealogy Consultant for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

As a family history lecturer, Elizabeth has given presentations for Legacy Family Tree Webinars, RootsTech, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Utah Genealogical Association, and many others. Her professional memberships include the Board for Certification of Genealogists, the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, and she is an active member of the public speaking club Toastmasters International.

Since 1987, Elizabeth has made it her goal to research, share, and preserve her family stories. She is a co-host of the Branching Out Genealogy Podcast (https://branchingout.show) and the author of the family history lifestyle website Heart of the Family™ (https://www.thefamilyheart.com). Her mission is to help others make the past part of their present.

Do you have a unique family artifact that led you to seek discoveries about your ancestral roots? Did you discover a document or a photo that helped you solve a brick wall? Do you have a cherished heirloom that tells part of your family history? We’d love to hear about it!

Bring your family heirloom, photo, document, or other interesting item, and share the story behind it with other genealogy enthusiasts. Members and guests can participate in the ‘Show & Tell’ event. Be ready to share your family artifacts and take a minute (or three) to tell a story about it. If your item is too large to carry, you can still tell us about it and maybe show a picture if you have one.

Even if you don’t bring anything, we know you’ll enjoy seeing the heirlooms and hearing their stories. Come for the refreshments and stay for the great conversation with others who share your love for family history. We hope you will join us for this fun and inspiring event!

LOCATION: Grace United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall (Lower Level)
300 E Gartner Rd, Naperville, IL 60540

To undertake writing about an ancestor, it is essential first to compile records that provide insight into their life. This lecture will examine the lives of John B. and Nancy Arringdale, focusing on the plethora of records they generated while relocating across six states, beginning in Ohio and Illinois. We will analyze a sample biographical sketch to assess both its strengths and the areas where record collection could have been more thorough.

Heather Robb holds a master’s degree in Genealogical Studies from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. She also has a bachelor’s degree in History and has done graduate studies in Public History, where she developed an interest in museum studies and architectural history. She is a graduate of the Boston University Genealogy Certificate Program and holds a Professional Learning Certificate (PLCGS) in American records from the International Institute for Genealogical Studies. She is a qualified genealogist (QG) through the Register of Qualified Genealogists based in the United Kingdom and is currently working on her Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) portfolio.

She has worked in the archive and artifacts department at the Airborne Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and has served as a genealogical researcher for Purple Hearts Reunited for the last six years. She was a military spouse for the duration of her husband’s military career and found fulfillment in organizing events and activities with several organizations for military spouses at various duty stations.

Heather specializes in military records research and house histories. She also does multigenerational genealogy research to help extend family lines backward and forward. She loves being involved in genealogy education and has served as a coordinator for the ProGen study program as well as a facilitator with Boston University’s genealogy certificate program. She enjoys continuing her American genealogy education by attending national and state conferences as well as genealogical institutes like GRIP, IGHR, SLIG, TIGR, and AppGen.

LOCATION: Grace United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall (Lower Level)
300 E Gartner Rd, Naperville, IL 60540

This presentation will describe my Humanities course—how it started, how it has evolved, and how we use family history as a vehicle to develop rigorous academic skills such as research, composition, project creation, and oral presentation. The course culminates with a documentary project that allows the students to tell the stories they have uncovered throughout the semester.

Michael Andrews has been an English teacher and soccer coach at Prospect High School since 2003. He has also been an avid genealogist for nearly two decades. At Prospect, he teaches a Humanities course for high school seniors that incorporates a semester-long family history project. The project’s goal is to allow students to explore their own personal histories and teach them to think, research, and create like actual historians.

LOCATION: Grace United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall (Lower Level)
300 E Gartner Rd, Naperville, IL 60540

Genealogist and author Jason Kruski will give you the tools that you need in order to take your family tree backward in time in Poland to learn more about the lives of your ancestors. He will discuss a wide variety of records that are available for research, including the internet databases and tools that are out there for use. Genealogy in Poland can be challenging, but thanks to all of the recent advances in the field, it has never been easier.

Jason Kruski is a genealogist, author, and public speaker, as well as a middle school history teacher. He is the author of A Guide to Chicago and Midwestern Polish-American Genealogy. He is a sixth-generation Chicagoan and has conducted extensive research using a wide variety of sources to build his family tree. He speaks about topics in genealogy today, including genetic genealogy, stories in Polish genealogy, and beginning to advanced Polish-American genealogical research. He is also a professional genealogical researcher specializing in Polish-American genealogy. Here is the link to his website: https://www.kruskigenealogy.com/

LOCATION: Grace United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall (Lower Level)
300 E Gartner Rd, Naperville, IL 60540

Northern Illinois was the last part of Illinois 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 settlement of everything west of the eastern seaboard. Author and local amateur historian Pat Camalliere, author of The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods, which takes place in this time period, will share what she believes to be a fascinating topic. Copies of her historical novels will be available for signing and purchase.

Pat Camalliere is the author of The Cora Tozzi Historical Mystery Series. Camalliere has lived in the Chicago area all her life and became intrigued by the unusual, sometimes mysterious region along the Des Plaines River Valley and Sag Valley in the Southwest suburbs of Cook, DuPage and Will Counties in the Greater Chicagoland area. Wanting to share that fascination with others, she began writing historical mysteries set in this locale, finding that a hint of the paranormal fit perfectly into the setting for the stories she wanted to tell. Her books relate a mystery from the past to a mystery in the present, while enlightening readers with details in both time periods through storytelling that surprises even lifelong residents.

Staying Alive Is a Lot of Work: Me and My Cancer is her first memoir. After forty years as a health care administrator and a cancer survivor herself, Camalliere wrote the memoir to help others having a similar experience.

Camalliere holds a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Xavier College. She lives with her husband in Lemont, Illinois, serves on the board of the Lemont Public Library District, and oversees the archives of the Lemont Area Historical Society. She writes a blog on local history and speaks to organizations and book clubs on a variety of topics related to local history, her cancer experience, and writing. She is a lifelong avid reader and enjoys classical choral singing. Visit her website, www.Patcamallierebooks.com, or contact her for speaking engagements, interviews, or at any time at Pat@Patcamallierebooks.com.

LOCATION: Grace United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall (Lower Level)
300 E Gartner Rd, Naperville, IL 60540

Learn the reasons for emigration from Scotland to the U.S. and Canada and how it was influenced by events on both sides of the Atlantic. Learn where the emigrants settled, what records they created and what tools are available for tracing your Scottish ancestors.

Paul Milner, a native of northern England, a professional genealogist and international lecturer. He teaches week-long English and Scottish research tracks at the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR), Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), and the British Institute. Paul is a recipient of UGA Fellow Award (2018) and the David S. Vogels Jr Award from FGS (2019). He is the author of six publications providing how-to guidance for English and Scottish researchers. Paul has specialized in British Isles genealogical research for over 35 years. Paul is currently the book review editor for the BIGWILL newsletter and retired review editor of the FGS FORUM. He is currently on the board of the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History (ISBGFH), the past president of the British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois (BIGWILL), and a past board member of the APG, FGS and GSG. Paul focuses on British Isles resources and methodology on his blog at www.milnergenealogy.com.

LOCATION: Grace United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall (Lower Level)
300 E Gartner Rd, Naperville, IL 60540

A Revolutionary War ancestor can be a goldmine of information if you know where to look. This lecture aims to examine types of service, compiled military service records, pension applications, settled accounts, and where other documents can be found.

Craig Scott, MA, CG, FUGA, is the author of The ‘Lost Pensions’: Settled Accounts of the Act of 6 April 1838 (Revised) and Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Inventory 14 (Revised). His most recent work is Understanding Revolutionary War and Invalid Pension Ledgers, 1818 – 1872, and the Payment Vouchers They Represent. He has authored seventeen books and several articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, and other genealogical publications. He is the President and CEO of Heritage Books, Inc., a genealogical publishing firm with over 10,000 titles in print. A professional genealogical and historical researcher for more than thirty-eight years, he specializes in military records, problem-solving, Quakers, and publishing. He is a Company of Military Historians member and on the National Genealogical Society Quarterly editorial board. He is a former Director of the Association of Professional Genealogists. He is the Vice-President of the APG Writer’s SIG. He has coordinated research tracks at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, Samford University, the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. He is currently the SLIG Guided Research and Consultation Track Coordinator, helping students solve brickwall problems. He is the host of the YouTube@ Just Genealogy channel. He is a recipient of the Grahame T. Smallwood, Jr. Award and the UGA Silver Tray Award. He became a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association in 2014.

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