British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois

Where and when we meet:

BIGWILL’s meetings are held at:
The Community Church
5714 Broadway St.
(two blocks west of U.S. Route 12)
Richmond, Illinois

Our intention is to have our programs be presented BOTH in person AND on the web (live) for the foreseeable future.

10am until noon on the third Saturday of the months of
January, March, May, July, September and November.
Visitors as well as members are always welcome.

Upcoming meeting dates and topics:

From the Source’s Mouth” will be presented by
Daniel Hubbard.

Photo of Daniel Hubbard Time: September 17, 2022 9:30 AM Central Time
Once we’ve understood that identities can be tricky to reconstruct, how do we piece together the tidbits of information that we find into an actual ancestor? How do we avoid putting together a great-great frankenfather from the spare parts we find in the documents we dig up? Do we trust what seems to be true, or do we look long and hard into the “source’s mouth.”

Registration has now been set up and further instructions on how to be part of this meeting are as follows:

Register in advance for this meeting at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrdeqorTgpGdBFMg8RX_uFIK-uZZXK9vZG

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.





Handouts from some earlier BIGWILL meetings:
Photo Retouching in Genealogical Research, by Larry L. Pepper (17 March 2012). Handout (4 pages)
Quaker Family History Research, by Maureen Brady (18 May 2013). Handout (4 pages)
The First Frontiersmen: The Scots-Irish, by Maureen Brady (18 May 2013). Handout (4 pages)
Using National Archives Administrative Records For Genealogy, by Joan Kitchen Murray (16 November 2013). Handout (2 pages)
Being Legal: Citing Sources and Following Copyright Laws, by Ann Wells (15 November 2014). Bibliography (1 page)
Skeletons in our Closets: Researching a Family Scandal / Some Sources for Online Historical Newspapers, by Robin B. Seidenberg (16 July 2016). Bibliography (2 pages)
Preserving Family Heirlooms, by Tina Beaird (17 September 2016). Photo Preservation booklet (7 pages); Preserving Family Heirlooms (14 PowerPoint “slides”); Preserving Family Heirlooms booklet (5 pages)
Scotland’s Resources: There’s More to Scottish Research than Scotland’s People, by Tina Beaird (20 May 2017). Scotland’s Resources / Searching Beyond Scotland’s People (25 pages, 25 MB!); Scottish Genealogy Bibliography (1 page)
Scottish Chain Migration to Illinois: Three Case Studies, by Tina Beaird (20 May 2017). Scottish Chain Migration to Illinois (5 pages)
Mapping the Past: Navigating Your Family History with Maps, by Daniel Hubbard (16 September 2017). Mapping the Past (2 pages)
Compiling Your Medical Family Tree, by Marsha Peterson-Maass (17 November 2018). Compiling Your Medical Family Tree (1 page)
Pinning Down Your Past: Adding Social Media to Your Genealogical Repertoire, by Tina Beaird (21 September 2019). Pinning Down Your Past (7 pages)
FamilySearch Update, by Maureen Brady (2 April 2022). FamilySearch Update (11 pages)
Irish Family History Research: The Essentials, by Maureen Brady (15 July 2022). Irish Family History Research Essentials (3 pages)

What would you like to hear about? What would you like to talk about?

BIGWILL is always on the lookout for program ideas, and Sandra Braid is our chief scout. Have you taken a trip to England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man? If so, consider giving a presentation to BIGWILL about what you saw and did. Have you heard a good talk at some other society’s meeting which was related to British Isles research? Or do you just know a topic you’d like to learn more about, even if you don’t know who could give a presentation on the topic? If your answer is “Yes” to any of these questions, help put Sandra hot on the trail of another BIGWILL meeting topic. You can contact her by e-mail or in person at almost any BIGWILL meeting. You can make a difference!

Want to be reminded of what programs BIGWILL has had in the past?

Click here to view a listing of all programs from its very beginning through mid-2012.

return to BIGWILL home page Return to the BIGWILL home page

This site is maintained by Rollie Littlewood
This page was last modified on 13 August 2022