The January 2011 meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Madison County Historical Museum & Archival Library on Thursday, January 13, at 7:00 pm. This change of location was due to renovation taking place at the Edwardsville Public Library.

Information was received early on Thursday morning that the renovation would probably not be completed until the end of February. It was decided that the February meeting should be cancelled.

The following reports were presented.

Financial report for the month of November 2010, as follows:

• Total Assets as of November 1, 2010 - $15,849.43
• General Fund - Beg. Balance $4,617.60 - Income $97.04 - Expense $861.07 - End Balance $3,317.16
• Publications Fund - Beg. Balance $11,368.24 - Income $15.00 - Expense $0.00 - End Balance $11,383.24
• Total Assets as of November 30, 2010 - $15,100.40

Financial report for the month of December 2010, as follows:

• Total Assets as of December 1, 2010 - $15,100.40
• General Fund - Beg. Balance $3,317.16 - Income $1,414.54 - Expense $681.64 - End Balance $4,449.06
• Publications Fund - Beg. Balance $11,383.24 - Income $52.00 - Expense $0.00 - End Balance $11,445.24
• Total Assets as of December 31, 2010 - $15,894.30

We have received more Edwardsville High School Tiger yearbooks through the generosity of Ms. Edna Gaff.

Bill Anderson has given the Society copies of the 1984, 1987, 1992, and 2007 church directories from the St. John United Church of Christ in Granite City, Illinois.

Sandy Willis of Villa Ridge, Missouri, was searching for relatives of Anna Elizabeth Hoppe who married Henry T. Schaper. Most of the problems encountered were due to the various misspellings of the name Schaper. Ms. Willis heard from a cousin who had found information in Texas, which included an obituary from St. Louis that contained a lot of information Ms. Willis needed. Never give up - keep searching!

Mr. Jim Pollock sent e-mails. He was researching the names Bodey, Taake, and Hartman from the Westphalen area in Germany. He was searching for them in St Jacob, Illinois. He had searched records of several churches but was looking for the St. Jacob United Church of Christ. This church was unknown to Elsie, so she contacted the Latzer Library in Highland, Illinois. They have the records in German and the English translation. Mr. Pollock was referred to that library.

Do you have a family member that is interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership in the Madison County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful gift. A gift card will be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.

The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $20.00
Patron Annual Membership $30.00
Life Membership $250.00

Contact our Secretary, Barbara Hitch, at [email protected], about a gift membership.

On January 13, 2011, the regular meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Madison County Historical Museum & Archival Library. This relocation was due to renovation taking place at the Edwardsville Public Library.

Polly Lynn presented a program titled Best American Sources. She discussed what she considers to be the top ten sources of genealogical information for U. S. families. Her recommended "sources" are as follows:

1. Write a Letter to a second (or more distant) cousin or someone you have been meaning to write. Send a blank or partially filled in family group sheet. This correspondence could get county or town names (County names may change over time.) You could also find names and exact locations of family cemeteries.

2. Keep a Diary of family stories, quotations, and jokes. Note religions and military service. Otherwise, these may be lost to future generations.

3. Check for Published Genealogies. They can probably be found in a nearby library.

4. Prove your line with Birth Records. These could take the form of birth certificates, newspaper birth announcements, greeting card type birth announcements, family Bibles, census records, delayed birth records, baptismal certificates, etc.

5. Prove your line with Marriage Information from various sources. This type of information can be found in marriage licenses, newspaper engagement announcements, marriage announcements, and obituaries, marriage bonds, church bulletins, and wedding invitations.

6. Prove your line with Death Records. This information is available in various forms: death certificates, obituaries, wills, funeral cards/bulletins, funeral home records, tombstones, etc.

7. Contact the County Historical Society or the Local Public Library. Information may be available there that will not be found in the official vital records. This could be through censuses, newspapers, church records, or books. Give the library a copy of your information.

8. Contact a Town Historian, Town Clerk, or possibly a Local Historical Expert. S/he may know where the old family farm was, where the family cemetery is, or know a local member of the family. Share your family information.

9. Look for a Family Association or Lineage Society. These groups may have old newsletters or files on your family, a family reunion, or a published genealogy. Again, share your information with them.

10. Social history. Use American and local history as background information for the women in your written family history. Some good books for this type of information are:

Jack Larkin, The Reshaping of Everyday Life, 1790-1840.
Daniel E. Sutherland, The Expansion of Everyday Life, 1860-1896.
Thomas J. Schlereth, Victorian America.
Harvey Green, The Uncertainty of Everyday Life, 1915-1945.


This presentation was well received.