PURPOSE
SCCGS is a not-for-profit, all-volunteer group of genealogists, founded in 1977 and incorporated in 1978 which aspires to:
*Preserve and perpetuate ancestral records for educational and historical
purposes;
*Encourage the study of family history and to teach the
methods
of genealogical research;
*Promote genealogical publications;
*Promote the preservation and safeguarding of genealogical data;
and
*Publish and circulate literature relative to the purposes and
acquisitions of the Society.
LOGO
The old nostalgic courthouse with its four tall, stone columns, is the SCCGS logo. Built in 1861, some old record books were discarded when the building was demolished in 1972. The logo serves as a tribute to our past, reminds us of the records lost, and silently urges us to achieve some of the purposes (above) set forth by the Society.
SCCGS COLORS
The green and yellow colors of the society reflect colors found in flags of both the St. Clair County the city of Belleville. They remind us of the fertile fields that drew many of our ancestors to the area and crops produced by their labor.
CURRENT PROJECTS
All Society acquistions are housed at the Belleville Public Library for public use.
Funeral Card Collection
1890 newspaper abstracts in member site.
Freeburg United Church of Christ church records transcription and abstracts in progress.
Walnut Hill Cemetery burials and tombstone photographs. Belleville's largest cemetery. Photographers and image processors needed.
Probate microfilm acquisition project completed July 2010. A portion of membership dues funded this project. Specially designated memorial donations amounted to 33.6 %. Total project cost was $15,255.50 over five years. Thank you members and friends..
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MEETING, LECTURES, INCLEMENT WEATHER
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Meetings featuring free lectures are held the first Thursday of
each month. Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: St. Luke Parish Center,
North Church and East "C" Sts., Belleville, Illinois. Cross-corner from church. (Guests always welcome.) Lecture summaries appear in the Society Quarterly.
- Inclement Weather Policy Meeting is canceled if District 118 Schools are closed on meeting day. Check local TV and radio stations for those updates.
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Join us on FACEBOOK
Lecture summaries appear, with permission, in the
Society Quarterly.
| DATE | TOPIC and SPEAKER |
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| 2013 | |
| May 2, 2013 | Brian Keller, president of the O'Fallon Historical Society, will present a digital slideshow on the history and treasures of the O’Fallon Historical Society on the occasion of its 25th anniversary. The OHS operates a free museum occupying three floors of exhibits in the old First National Bank building, 101 West State Street in O'Fallon. The slideshow will introduce the audience to the extensive genealogical and historical material held in the museum's archives. Guests always welcome.
Mr. Keller is co-founder of the O’Fallon Historical Society, a member of the O’Fallon Historic Preservation Commission, board member of Downtown O’Fallon, Inc., and original member of the O’Fallon Veterans’ Monument Association. Author of “Our Town,” a local history column published weekly in the O’Fallon Progress, he is a 29-year member of the St. Clair Co. Genealogical Society. He is an employee of the Belleville News-Democrat since 1989, currently in the Finance Department. He is a life-long resident of O’Fallon and descendant of one its pioneer families. |
| June 6, 2013 | Most of us have experienced deja vu - that feeling of having previously experienced something which is actually being experienced for the first time. Tonight, in When Paths Cross, Dennis Hermann relates strange, unaccountable happenings he encountered while researching a Belleville Civil War soldier. Whether fate or destiny, you will want to hear the numerous coincidences that intervened and the startling results that followed.
An avid Civil War researcher, Mr. Hermann writes articles on the Civil War, is one of the founders of the Colonel Hecker Camp No. 443 Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Belleville, and recently founded a "Civil War Living History Regiment.". He is a native Bellevillean, army veteran, husband, father, and grandfather. He holds bachelor and master degrees, owned his own real estate investment firm and was Director of Marketing of the Southwestern Illinois Tourism Bureau. The St. Clair County Genealogical Society is proud to call him member and past president. Guests always welcome. |
| July 4, 2013 | Meeting cancelled - enjoy our national holiday.
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| August 1, 2013 | "Genealogy to Go" will be co-presented by Diane Walsh and Larry Darnell. For genealogists stuck behind a desk and "married to paper" but who crave more flexible tools and techniques when researching on location, Mrs. Walsh will share information gleaned while attending the 2013 RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City. Then, Larry Darnell will put some of those tools into action by demonstrating a combination of Apps, software, and cloud-based programs that make genealogy on-the-go a reality.
Mrs. Walsh is SCCGS’s webmaster and life member, past- president (1990, 2011-2012) and Quarterly editor (1996-2011). She authored Research in Illinois for the National Genealogical Society, and St. Clair County Research and Resources: A Genealogist’s Guide for SCCGS. She holds certification by the Board for Certification of Genealogists.
Mr. Darnell has a 30-plus year career in Information Technology, actively researches and documents his family history, and maintains the SCCGS Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SCCGS. Guests always welcome. |
| September 5, 2013 | The Mascoutah Historical Society manages and operates the Mascoutah Heritage Museum. Gene Schnur will "tour" the three-story building with a powerpoint presentation. Co-presenter, Marilyn Welch, will then highlight some of the museum’s archival records about Mascoutah families, businesses, and organizations. Well-versed in Mascoutah history, this team leads history walks in and around Mascoutah.
Mr. Schnur, a Mascoutah High School teacher for 35 years, is a graduate of SIU-Carbondale with a M.S. from Indiana University. He is an active participant in his church and its missions overseas. He creates interesting exhibits for the Mascoutah museum.
Mrs. Welch, also a graduate of SIU-Carbondale, received a M.S. in Education from SIU-Edwardsville. She taught many years for Mascoutah School District and retired in 1994. She is a charter member of the Mascoutah Heritage Museum, provides research for that group, and is a columnist for the Mascoutah Herald.
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| October 3, 2013 | The Civilian Conservation Corps in Southern Illinois is the special topic presented by Kay Rippelmeyer this evening. The "CCC" was one of several programs designed to help the country recover from the economic depression of the early 1930s, chiefly aimed at young men 17 to 21 years of age. Several records survive from the camps which genealogists may find useful while writing a family's history.
Ms. Rippelmeyer, a native of Monroe County, Illinois, received a bachelor's degree in English Education from the University of Illinois, a masters in Literature at Southern Illinois University (SIU), and completed coursework for a PhD in American Culture. Much of her career revolves around an avid interest in southern Illinois history. She directed several grant programs which generated articles and presentations about riverwork and religion in southern Illinois. She formerly held positions as a private consultant and researcher for the Illinois State Museum, the Nature Conservancy, the Dept. of Natural Resources, and the Barkhausen Wetlands Center, advisor at SIU College of Liberal Arts for 26 years, and program liaison for the Illinois Humanities Council in southern Illinois.
She retired from SIU in 2008 to focus on publishing two books. The first, Giant City State Park, was published in 2010. Plans are imminent for the release of The Civilian Conservation Corps in Southern Illinois in fall of 2013 which cumulates research on 26 CCC camps in the lower 17 counties of southern Illinois. |
| November 7, 2013 | Genealogists interested in correctly and properly maintaining cemetery grave markers or tombstones should show up in full force to hear Dawn Cobb on Preserving Historic Illinois Cemeteries – Problems and Solutions
With co-presenter, Hal Hassen, the lecture includes commonly-used but inappropriate and damaging techniques on setting stones in concrete, repairing broken markers with concrete instead of correct adhesive, and using adhesives, cleaning solutions and techniques that will further damage the marker. The correct way to lift, clean, repair and reset grave markers to ensure their continued preservation for future generations will be demonstrated in a slideshow. Cemeteries are important reminders of our past and provide to us a sense of who we are. More importantly, cemeteries represent a physical legacy for future generations and they must be preserved as a historical resource.
Dawn E. Cobb is the Human Skeletal Remains Protection Act Coordinator; Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and coordinates efforts to preserve cemeteries throughout Illinois. She has a Master’s Degree in Anthropology and has worked in archaeology and human osteology for over 20 years.
Hal Hassen has a Ph.D. in Anthropology and is an archaeologist with the Department of Natural Resources which owns and manages over 30 cemeteries statewide. Together, Cobb and Hassen provide informational lectures and cemetery preservation training to people wanting to repair and preserve cemeteries in Illinois.
Election of SCCGS officers will also take place at this meeting. Guests welcome. |
| December 5, 2013 | Installation of Officers and Annual Christmas Party Kindly bring a small treat to share with others. Guests welcome. |
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