Keep Up with #FGS2016 from Home!

If you are unable to make it to the FGS 2016 National Conference in Springfield, Illinois, there are still a few ways to keep up with what's happening here.

First, we have a Facebook Event Page where not only we are posting pictures and videos, but our attendees, exhibitors, and speakers are too.

Second, we have a dedicated conference hashtag #FGS2016. This allows you to follow the conference hashtag on hashtag-centric social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. 

Third and speaking of social media platforms, here is a list of our social media platforms. Have you connected with us on them?

Facebook Page

Facebook Event Page

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

YouTube

Fourth, for Twitter you only need to venture as far as this blog post. We have embedded our Twitter feed of our conference hashtag #FGS2016 below. Or you can follow our #FGS2016 Twub where we've registered our hashtag.

Fifth, make sure you follow our speakers and exhibitors on your social media platform of choice as they will certainly be posting images and videos of their experiences from #FGS2016 here in Springfield.

Sixth, follow our Conference Platinum Sponsors — Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, and FamilySearch on the social media platform of your choice.

Can't follow along live? Come back here to the FGS Voice Blog to experience daily recaps from #FGS2016.

Twitter Feed:
#FGS2016 Tweets

FGS 2016: Behind the Scenes Look - 10,000+ Illinois Family Farms

Illinois Family Farms Table Runners (Credit: Laura Kovarik, ISGS)

10,000+ FAMILY FARMS!!

That is how many family farms are enrolled in the Illinois Department of Agriculture Centennial and Sesquicentennial Farm program (according to the website).

When planning the Farms & Families: Across the Decades reception for the FGS 2016 Conference, the original idea was to create displays on a select few participants. But which ones? That became the question. 

After wrestling with how to pick which farms to showcase, the answer arrived like the proverbial bolt from the blue – do them ALL!! 

Again, the wrestling match began on HOW to do them all. So idea of writing every name was born. Where could so many names be displayed? On the tables. The final project took form. 

Part of the table decorations will include runners with every name and the date of original purchase of a Centennial and Sesquicentennial farm in Illinois. EVERY ONE. Any family that has taken the time to fill out the paperwork and seek designation deserves to be honored for their genealogical work.

The names and dates will be handwritten on paper runners. Yes, the goal is to get all 102 counties and all 10,000 plus names on the runners before Wednesday, August 31. Will it get done? Right now, we are have over 3,000 names on runners. 

Check the ISGS Facebook page for updates. And maybe you will just have to come to the special event, "Farms and Families: Across the Decades," 7pm-9pm on Wednesday evening to see if we made our goal!

Not yet registered for the FGS 2016 National Genealogy Conference in Springfield, Illinois, August 31—Sep 3rd, 2016? Register today and add-on the special event, "Farm and Families: Across the Decades" which is sponsored by FamilySearch and co-hosted by the Illinois State Genealogical Society and the Illinois State Historical Society. Already registered? Sign-in again and add this or other events, luncheons, and workshops!

Laura Kovarik

Local Host Chair

Illinois State Genealogical Society

FGS 2016 Repository Spotlight: Sangamon Valley Collection at the Lincoln Library

Sangamon Valley Collection at the Lincoln Library in Springfield, IL

The FGS 2016 Conference, "Time Travel: Centuries of Memories," location — Springfield, Illinois — offers an array of local research opportunities for attendees. 

One such opportunity is the Sangamon Valley Collection located at the Lincoln Library and the "bonus" is its proximity to the FGS 2016 Conference facilities.

Established in 1970, the Sangamon Valley Collection is one of Springfield’s valuable genealogical collections and a must-see when visiting the state capitol. The collection is housed on the third floor of the Lincoln Library, located at 326 S. 7th Street, Springfield, Illinois. It contains copious amounts of information for Sangamon County and its surrounding neighbors.

The collection is open during the following hours:  

• Monday - Wednesday 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
• Thursday, Friday 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
• Saturday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

The library is within walking distance of the conference and is located at the corner of Seventh and Capitol Streets, next door to the Springfield Municipal Building in downtown Springfield.

What can you find in the Sangamon Valley Collection? 

• Photographs
• City and county directories
• High school yearbooks
• City and county documents
• Histories
• Maps
• Very extensive obituary index to the State Journal-Register (Illinois’ longest running newspaper).
• Genealogical materials from outside the area including histories from Virginia, German immigrant passenger lists, etc.
• Manuscripts (The index is online here. So, prepare before you go.)
• Microfilm resources (A PDF of their microfilm index is available here. Prepare before you go.) 

For more information on the library and collection visit the Lincoln Library website.

Early-bird registration is currently open for the FGS 2016 National Conference which will be held August 31—September 3, 2016, in Springfield, Illinois. Don't miss this valuable opportunity to research locally, to learn how to solve your research problems with methodologies and the latest technologies, and to meet family historians just like you. The discount for early registration ends July 1st, so don't delay. Register today to save!

Register today to take advantage of the early bird discount!

ISGS Awarded 'Celebrity Citizen' by Springfield IL CVB

Susie Pope accepting the award for ISGS from "Abraham Lincoln."

The Second Annual Legends in Tourism Awards presented by the Springfield IL Convention and Visitors Bureau was held May 5, 2016 at the Lincoln Presidential Museum. The awards, nominated and judged by members of the local hospitality community, recognize achievements in tourism during the past year including in categories such as Legendary Friend of Tourism, Legendary Hospitality Award, Legendary Tourism Development Award, and others.

The Illinois State Genealogical Society received a Celebrity Citizen award for hosting the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2016 Conference.

Accepting the award from "Abraham Lincoln" was Susie Pope, ISGS 2nd Vice President and Co-National Conference Committee Chair for the FGS 2016 Conference.

Join fellow genealogists and family historians in the "Land of Lincoln" August 31—September 3, 2016, at the FGS 2016 National Conference, "Time Travel: Centuries of Memories," designed to inspire you and enrich your family history.

This year's conference brings sessions with a wide array of offerings from many of the nation's leading family history experts along with top international speakers from Scotland and Australia. Each day of the conference is full of sessions aimed at strengthening your research skills no matter what your level or area of expertise might be! With over 160 expert-led sessions, workshops, and luncheons to choose from plus an exhibit hall full of genealogy exhibitors just waiting to help you with your family history, register now to save with the early-bird rate at https://www.fgsconference.org/registration/.

Hotel Reservations Open for FGS 2016 Conference

HOTEL RESERVATIONS OPEN FOR FGS 2016 CONFERENCE

Book Your Room Today!

Two Springfield, Illinois hotels are now taking reservations for The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) 2016 Conference, “Time Travel: Centuries of Memories,” which will be held August 31 – September 3, 2016 at the Prairie Capital Convention Center.

The Wyndham Springfield City Centre (formerly the Hilton Springfield) and The President Abraham Lincoln Springfield (a DoubleTree hotel by Hilton) will offer reduced rates to attendees of the FGS 2016 Conference. Each hotel is conveniently located near the Prairie Capital Convention Center and each hotel will offer a courtesy bus from the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport and Amtrak station.

Left: Wyndham Springfield City Center; Right: President Abraham Lincoln Springfield (a Doubletree Hotel by Hilton)

MAIN CONFERENCE HOTEL

Wyndham Springfield City Centre
700 E Adams St, Springfield, IL 62701
(217) 789-1530

The conference rate is $129/night, available from August 27 to September 6, 2016. Reserve your room by August 6, 2016 to receive the discounted rate. Visit www.fgsconference.org to reserve your room online. NOTE: For the Wyndham, phone reservations will be taken ONLY after January 1, 2016, while online reservations can be made now.

Sold Out! The President Abraham Lincoln Springfield
701 E Adams Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701
(217) 544-8800

The conference rate is $129/night, available from August 30 to September 4, 2016. Reserve your room by August 3, 2016 to receive the discounted rate. Visit www.fgsconference.org to reserve your room online. NOTE: The President Abraham Lincoln Springfield has a connected walkway to the Prairie Capital Convention Center.

Book Your FGS 2016 Conference Hotel Room NOW!

Rooms will be in high demand. Reserve yours now through the FGS conference website at www.fgsconference.org. Registration for the FGS 2016 Conference will open in late January 2016. For additional information about the FGS conference visit www.fgsconference.org.

2016 FGS National ​C​onference Call for ​P​resentations

Deadline for Submissions is 10 April 2015

We are very excited to announce our Call for Presentation Proposals for the FGS 2016 Conference, “Time Travel: Centuries of Memories,” to be held in Springfield, Illinois, Aug 31 – Sept 3, 2016. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum are within walking distance of the Prairie Capital Convention Center, the conference venue. The conference will be held in cooperation with the Illinois State Genealogical Society as local host. The deadline for submission of presentation proposals is Friday, 10 April 2015.

“Time Travel: Centuries of Memories,” recognizes the vast array of people and resources whose paths into the United States brought them to, and through, the Midwest. Topics related to methodology and research skills are always welcomed, in addition to content-specific areas, such as:

• Military: War of 1812, American Civil War, Indian Wars, World War I, World War II, European and Napoleonic Wars.
• Migration: Europe to North America; naturalization records; passenger lists; ports of entry; to and through the Midwest; the Great Migration (northward from the sharecropping South); migration trails and routes (Mormon, Oregon, Santa Fe); refugee resettlement; modern economic migrants. 
• Ethnic Origins: The Baltic Basin (including Poland, Scandinavia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Denmark, Germany); Central Europe (including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic/Bohemia, Hungary); Romance Europe (including France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and the Papal States); the Mediterranean/Adriatic Basin (including Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Cypress, Armenia); Latin American research. 
• Great Britain and the former British Empire
  ​:​
   (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India)
  ​;​
   the British diaspora; records (civil and ecclesiastical); churches (Anglican, Quaker, Catholic, dissenter, non-conformist, Presbyterians); military records; city directories; trade directories; guilds; poll books; valuations and tax records. 
• Occupations & Work: Farmers, carpenters, brewers/distillers, boatmen, firefighters/police, railroaders, canal builders, laborers and factory hands; women in the workforce; unions, guilds and apprenticeships; coal miners; slaughterhouse workers; doctors, midwives and pharmacists; clerks and lawyers; pressmen and printers; trade directories; smugglers, bootleggers and other illicit trades. 
• Religions, Adherents and Records: Jewish, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant traditions and records; religious colonization’s and refugee movements; Pogrom and Holocaust survivors and research; the Underground Railroad; Mormon/LDS; utopian communities; peace churches, pacifists and conscientious objectors; convents, monasteries and cloistered communities.
• Regional research: Research repositories in the Midwest; research in Illinois and nearby states—Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio; archival collections; college and university research collections; migration destinations from Illinois: the Great Plains, Texas, Oklahoma, and California; migration to Illinois from feeder states of the east and south. 
• Genetics & DNA: the basics of DNA research; autosomal studies and advanced analysis; testing procedures; ethical considerations; adoptions; forensic and expert work; case studies. 
• Skills, Abilities & General Knowledge: Beginning research techniques; evidence analysis; online resources and tools; wikis; collaboration techniques and etiquette; terminology; comparative analysis; units of measure, trade and currency; time, calendars and dates; writing a family history; publishing – print vs eBook; creating websites, blogs and vlogs; earning genealogical credentials. 
• Society Management: Use of technology by and for societies; adaptation to change; internal and external communication; meeting changing member needs and member engagement; education projects and events; society leadership; team building; implementing large projects.

The program committee specifically seeks new and dynamic proposals that will provide exceptional learning experiences for conference attendees. Proposals for workshops and sponsored talks are encouraged.

Multiple proposals (more than four) are welcome and encouraged, as most chosen to speak will be engaged for more than one presentation. There is no limit on the number of proposals a speaker may submit.

Submission Requirements

Speaker submissions and deadlines for the FGS 2016 Conference reflect the implementation of an online submission system. Interested parties must submit all presentation proposals using the online portal, which will open 20 February 2015. The Call for Presentation

​ Proposals

 is now open and will close on Friday, 10 April 2015.

This deadline is for all proposal submissions including sponsored presentations.

Compensation

Selected speakers receive an honorarium, travel compensation, and conference registration as well as per diem and hotel nights based on the number of presentations given. (Sponsored speakers only receive conference registration and syllabus materials. See more about sponsorships below.) Non-sponsored speakers receive compensation according to the FGS Conference Speaker Policy at www.fgs.org/conferences/speakerpolicy.php.

Sponsored Presentations

Societies and businesses are encouraged to submit proposals for sponsored talks by the stated deadline for proposal submission. The sponsoring organization will cover its speaker's costs to present the presentation. Sponsored speakers are expected to abide by all speaker deadlines and syllabus requirements. Sponsored speakers will receive complimentary FGS conference registration and electronic syllabus materials.

Additional Information

Invitations will be issued in October 2015. Syllabus format guidelines will be sent to speakers at that time. The deadline for acceptance and submission of signed speaker contracts is 1 November 2015.

Camera-ready handouts are required for each presentation or workshop presentation and will be compiled in a syllabus distributed to conference participants. The deadline for submissions of syllabus materials is Wednesday, 13 April 2016.

​For more information, please visit: ​

 https://www.fgsconference.org/proposals/