Genealogy webinar Nov. 12 to explore 'Pathways to Spicy Stories'
The Fox Valley Genealogical Society will host "Pathways to Spicy Stories: An Overview of Court Records" with Laura Street Chaplin on Thursday, Nov. 12.
The virtual webinar will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
To register for this free event, visit ilfvgs.org.
Court records in their infinite variety are a treasure trove for genealogists because they are not just legal documents. They are pathways into the stories of our ancestors' lives, often leading to clues we might otherwise miss. While vital statistics like birth, marriage, and death dates and places are important, it is the stories we uncover that add something extra. Attend this humorous attempt to give an overview of the various documents found in the American courthouse!
Owner of Willowtree Research Genealogy Services, and currently living in Sugar Grove, Chaplin was raised in southeastern Iowa and has lived all around the Midwest.
She and her husband, Mark, were inspired by the "Roots" miniseries in college, which began a lifelong love of research and genealogy learning, raising their three daughters tramping through graveyards - now with six grandkids in training.
In addition to her genealogy business, she is currently the History & Genealogy Manager at the Lawrence J. Martin Heritage Center in Elburn. She has been active as a genealogical presenter for several years in Kane and surrounding counties. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, several societies, and on the Kane County Genealogical Society Board and the Illinois State Genealogical Society. She holds the Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University.
At the last webinar in October, Anita Boyd presented "Reconstructing Susan's Family." Her husband was a well-known abolitionist but almost nothing was known about Susan's family. Boyd showed how exploring Susan's husband's pre-Civil War "FAN Club" led to a family of her own.
Thanks to help from Susan McQuaid of the Naperville Public Library, the Fox Valley Genealogical Society is now able to team up with clients calling into the Naperville library to help them with their research. If you need help with your genealogy problems, connect with a volunteer from the Fox Valley Genealogical Society via Zoom to get started on a genealogy project, or complete a family history challenge. Contact smcquaid@naperville-lib.org to make an appointment.
For information on the Fox Valley Genealogical Society, email info@ilfvgs.org or visit ilfvgs.org.
The Fox Valley Genealogical Society's mission is to bring together those who are researching in family history, to promote cooperation among them, to educate others in methods and practices in genealogical research, to inform people of the value of and the need for preserving family and local history for posterity, and to collect and preserve genealogical and historical data.