Meetings & Classes
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NWIGS Meetings/Classes 2024 - Third Saturday of the Month - start time is 10:00 am
In-Person and Virtual through Zoom unless specified otherwise
Upcoming Meetings 2025 |
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Sharing Session
January 18, 2025, 10:00 A.M. Central On Zoom Share your genealogy projects, discoveries, or stories with others. This is your opportunity to bounce your research conundrums off of others who may have had the same issue but have found a way to solve it. Feel free to speak up and share what you have been up to verbally. Those who wish to create short presentations that include photos, documents, maps, or other visuals that help to illustrate their story will be invited to share their screen. Register on Zoom to attend. |
Past Meetings 2023-2024
These are archived announcements for past meetings and classes. Handouts and recordings for past meetings, when available, can be accessed by members on the Meeting Videos & Notes Page.
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Discovering Your Roots: A Beginner's Genealogy Workshop
November 16, 2024 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Valparaiso Public Library 103 Jefferson St, Valparaiso IN Unlock the mysteries of your family history at the Discovering Your Roots: A Beginner's Genealogy Workshop! Whether you're just starting your journey or looking to refine your research skills, this engaging workshop offers everything you need to delve into your ancestry. Join us for informative classes on Genealogy Basics, The Research Process, Source Citations, Vital Records, Census Records and Online Databases. The day will include tours and exploring the resources of the Larry G. Clark Genealogy Center at the library. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with fellow genealogy enthusiasts and uncover the stories that shaped your family's past. Handouts and videos from the workshop are available Videos and Handouts for Beginners |
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Y-DNA Introduction Presented by Sara Allen, Allen County Public Library September 21, 2024, 10:00 a.m. Central Time Valparaiso Public Library, 103 Jefferson St. Valparaiso, IN 46383 Meeting Room B and on Zoom Learn about the Y-DNA test for genealogy. This test of a male subject's direct patrilineal line is offered by Family Tree DNA testing company. Discover how to interpret your results and use this test to further your family history. Sara Allen began researching her family history when she was eleven years old, using the collection of The Genealogy Center. She received her bachelor’s degree in history and social sciences from Wheaton College (IL). Upon graduation she worked at Buswell Memorial Library as a cataloger and reference librarian until 2006. She has her master’s degree in library and information science from Dominican University. Her first professional genealogy position began in 2006 when she became Genealogy Librarian and later Assistant Manager of Local & Family History Services at the St. Joseph County Public Library in South Bend, Indiana. She joined The Genealogy Center staff as a Genealogy Librarian in 2013. While at South Bend, she spoke and wrote on topics of genealogy and local history for libraries and societies in the Michiana area. She is currently the co-administrator of the Mitchell y-DNA project at Family Tree DNA and is involved with Unclaimed Persons, a volunteer organization that works to locate the relatives of deceased persons whose families are unknown. She is a member of the Schuyler Colfax Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her areas of interest include Indiana, the Midwest and the Upper South, 20th/21st century genealogy, and DNA for genealogical purposes, Eastern European research. Visit the registration page to sign up to attend September's meeting via Zoom. |
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"This is a Grave Situation" What's in my Cemetery Bag?
Presented by Linda Novotny August 17, 2024, 10:00 A.M. Central Lake County Public Library, 1919 81st Ave. Merrillville, IN 46410 Meeting Room A and on Zoom Linda Novotny has been "digging up" her ancestors for over 40 years. She and her husband have spent thousands of hours stalking cemeteries and have fulfilled about 6000 photo requests for others seeking help with finding their families. Linda worked at the Larry J. Clark Genealogy center at the Valparaiso Public Library for almost nine years where she taught numerous genealogy classes. She is currently the archivist for the Porter County Clerk's office. |
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How the DAR Can Help with Genealogy Research
Presented by Margaret (Peg) McGriff July 20, 2024, 10:00 A.M. Central Valparaiso Public Library, 103 Jefferson St. Valparaiso, IN 46383 Meeting Room B and on Zoom Our July speaker will be Margaret (Peg) McGriff, past and honorary regent of the William Henry Harrison Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Peg was the regent of the chapter from 2021-2024 and was recently made an honorary regent. She will be discussing both the history of the chapter and how DAR can help us all with genealogy research. |
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From Blackstone to the Statutes at Large--How Knowing the Law Makes Us Better Genealogists
Presented by Judy G. Russell JD, CG, CGL, The Legal Genealogist® June 15, 2024, 10:00 A.M. Central Lake County Public Library, 1919 81st Ave. Merrillville, IN 46410 and on Zoom. Judy Russell will be joining us via Zoom. To understand our ancestors’ lives - why they did what they did, we need to understand the law that governed their lives in so many ways. Learn how knowing the law our ancestors lived by helps us make sense of the records they left and find clues to more and different records. |
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Local Women:1860-1920
May 18, 2024, 10:00 A.M. Central Valparaiso Public Library, 103 Jefferson St. Valparaiso, IN 46383, Meeting Room B and on Zoom Presented by Serena Ard, President of Duneland Historical Society This program highlights the way Porter County women lived and worked prior to gaining the right to vote. It tracks changes in citizenship and banking laws as well as societal norms and cultural trends. Several specific women from the Duneland area will be highlighted to reflect the changes over time. |
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Sharing Session
April 20, 2024, 10:00 A.M. Central Lake County Public Library, 1919 81st Ave. Merrillville, IN 46410 and on Zoom Share your genealogy projects, discoveries, or stories with others. This is your opportunity to bounce your research conundrums off of others who may have had the same issue but have found a way to solve it. Feel free to speak up and share what you have been up to verbally. Those who wish to create short presentations that include photos, documents, maps, or other visuals that help to illustrate their story will be invited to share their screen. |
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Exploring the Calumet Regional Archives
With Jeremy Pekarek, Archivist March 16, 2024, 10:00 A.M. Central Time At the Portage Library, 2665 Irving St. Portage, IN 46368 Meeting Room A&B, and on Zoom Join Jeremy Pekarek of Indiana University Northwest, in exploring IUN's archival resources. Pekarek will provide an overview of the archives while touching on digital resources, navigating the webpage, scheduling appointments, and using the physical collection. |
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Making the Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne Your Research Assistant
February 17, 2024, 10:00 A.M. Central on Zoom Learn how you can use resources from this national family history repository for free from anywhere in the world while also discovering what research gems are available for those who can come to the Genealogy Center in person. With Curt B. Witcher Director of Special Collections at the Allen County Public Library and manager of the widely acclaimed Genealogy Center as well as the Rolland Center for Lincoln Research. February's meeting will only be held online. |
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Using the Family History Guide
With Bob Taylor of The Family History Guide Association January 20, 2024, 10:00 A.M. Central on Zoom The Family History Guide is a "free learning, research, and activities center for family history." This presentation will provide you with a tour of the website's features including its powerful system for learning to use the major genealogy websites, genealogy sites, "Show Me Videos," its knowledgebase, resources, and activities. January's meeting will only be held online. |
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Land for the Landless: Homestead Records and How to Use them in Family History Research
With Amber Oldenburg from One Branch at a Time Genealogy November 18, 2023, 10:00 a.m. Central Time Valparaiso Public Library, 103 Jefferson St. Valparaiso, IN 46383, Meeting Room B and on Zoom The Homestead Act of 1862 opened millions of acres of land for settlement across 30 states. Interested individuals needed to meet certain criteria before they could gain title to this land. The records created from this process are often overlooked by family historians. This session will help you understand the wealth of knowledge that can be found in these valuable records. Amber Oldenburg is a genealogist, lecturer, and social media manager with a degree in Family History Research from Brigham Young University-Idaho, where she currently serves as an online instructor in their Family History Research program. She specializes in Midwest and Great Lakes states research. We will meet in person at the Valparaiso Public Library and our meeting will also be streamed via Zoom. The Video recording and handouts will only be made available in our members area for two weeks following this presentation. |
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Organizing Genealogical Research
Saturday, October 21, 2023, 10:00 a.m. Central Time Lake County Public Library, 1919 81st Ave. Merrillville, IN 46410, Meeting Room A and on Zoom "How do I organize all of this?" was the urgent question Mike Longan confronted when he inherited his parent's genealogical research collection nearly four years ago. Mike will share what he has learned about how to organize primary documents, genealogical research materials, photos, and physical artifacts. He'll also discuss systems and software for organizing digital files as well as how to organize photo and document scanning projects. Identifying goals and objectives, setting up systems for cataloging and locating items, and breaking the organization process into achievable projects have been keys to success. Finally, Mike will talk about how his organizing work has enabled him to share his family's collection with others and his hopes for how it will help him to pass the collection on to those who will most appreciate it in the future. Mike Longan is the webmaster for NWIGS and a Professor of Geography at Valparaiso University. Become a member or log in to the members area to view the recording and download the handout and the slides from the presentation. |
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Automating Your Research Using Goldie May
Saturday, September 16, 2023, 10:00 A.M. Central Time Valparaiso Public Library, Meeting Room B and on Zoom Genealogy software developer Richard K. Miller will speak about using Goldie May, a set of "research power tools," to help with your genealogy research. We will meet in person at the Valparaiso Public Library and our meeting will also be streamed via Zoom. |
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Annual Sharing and Networking Meeting
Saturday, August 19, 2023, 10:00 AM Central Time VENUE CHANGE Due to flooding at the Lake County library this meeting will be held at the Portage Public Library, 2665 Irving St., Portage, IN Also attend via Zoom, registration link coming soon. Share your genealogy projects, discoveries, or stories with others. This is your opportunity to bounce your research conundrums off of others who may have had the same issue but have found a way to solve it. Attendees will have a chance to win prizes including: a complementary annual subscription to Fold3, a 6-month subscription to Ancestry.com, and a Costco gift card. Must be present, in-person or online, to win. |
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Where can I find that in Lake County? Saturday, July 15, 2023, 10:00 AM Central Time In Portage Public Library, 2665 Irving St., Portage, IN 46368 and also on Zoom for those who cannot attend in-person. We are very excited to have Marlene Polster, Lake County Genealogist teaching us “Where can I find that in Lake County?” |
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JUNE 17, 2023, 10 AM CENTRAL TIME MEETING IN-PERSON AND ON ZOOM
IN PERSON AT LAKE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, 1919 81ST AVE. MERRILLVILLE, IN 46410, MEETING ROOM B Research in Indiana's Church Records Our June meeting will include a presentation by John Beatty of the Allen County Public Library. "Research in Indiana's Church Records" will examine the records of various denominations in Indiana and show examples. It will offer strategies for how to use them. A handout will be available. Please register in advance to participate via Zoom. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. |
MAY 20, 2023, 10 AM CENTRAL TIME MEETING IN-PERSON AND ON ZOOM
IN PERSON MEETING AT VALPARAISO PUBLIC LIBRARY, MEETING ROOM B
The Porter County Archives
Our next NWIGS meeting will be on May 20, 2023, at 10 AM CDT. We will be meeting in person at the Porter County Public Library, 103 Jefferson St. Valparaiso, IN 46383; and on Zoom. Our presenters will be Porter County Clerk, Jessica Bailey, and Victoria Gresham, of the Porter County Archive. They will be sharing what records are kept and how they can help your research. Please register in advance to participate via Zoom. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
IN PERSON MEETING AT VALPARAISO PUBLIC LIBRARY, MEETING ROOM B
The Porter County Archives
Our next NWIGS meeting will be on May 20, 2023, at 10 AM CDT. We will be meeting in person at the Porter County Public Library, 103 Jefferson St. Valparaiso, IN 46383; and on Zoom. Our presenters will be Porter County Clerk, Jessica Bailey, and Victoria Gresham, of the Porter County Archive. They will be sharing what records are kept and how they can help your research. Please register in advance to participate via Zoom. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
APRIL 15TH, 2023 MEETING AND CLASS, IN-PERSON AND ON ZOOM
10 AM CDT AT THE MERRILLVILLE BRANCH OF LAKE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, 1919 81ST AVE. MERRILLVILLE, IN 46410 LOWER LEVEL MEETING ROOM.
Our presenter on Zoom with be Melissa Johnson of Johnsongenealogyservices.com with information on Descendant Tracing.
Melissa Johnson is a Certified Genealogist® specializing in genealogical research on families from NJ, NY, PA and the British Isles; DNA testing for adoptees and unknown parentage; dual citizenship; lineage society research; and genealogical writing, editing, and publishing.
Descendant Tracing
Take a break from researching backward in your family tree and begin “descendant tracing.” Learn how to trace all of the descendants of an ancestor (not just those in your direct line) to locate living cousins. This lecture focuses on the value of researching forward in your family tree and introduces the resources and types of records useful for this increasingly popular type of research.
10 AM CDT AT THE MERRILLVILLE BRANCH OF LAKE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, 1919 81ST AVE. MERRILLVILLE, IN 46410 LOWER LEVEL MEETING ROOM.
Our presenter on Zoom with be Melissa Johnson of Johnsongenealogyservices.com with information on Descendant Tracing.
Melissa Johnson is a Certified Genealogist® specializing in genealogical research on families from NJ, NY, PA and the British Isles; DNA testing for adoptees and unknown parentage; dual citizenship; lineage society research; and genealogical writing, editing, and publishing.
Descendant Tracing
Take a break from researching backward in your family tree and begin “descendant tracing.” Learn how to trace all of the descendants of an ancestor (not just those in your direct line) to locate living cousins. This lecture focuses on the value of researching forward in your family tree and introduces the resources and types of records useful for this increasingly popular type of research.
MARCH 18, 2023 MEETING IN-PERSON AND ON ZOOM
10 AM AT VALPARAISO PUBLIC LIBRARY, MEETING ROOM B
Our presenter will be Serena Ard, Curator of the Westchester Township History Museum
Preservation 101
Everyone has treasures, heirlooms, or photographs they want to preserve for future generations. Westchester Township History Museum Curator Serena Ard will give tips and tricks for taking care of your heirlooms at home to help them survive the elements, time, and handling.
Examples will be demonstrated, and a handout will be provided.
10 AM AT VALPARAISO PUBLIC LIBRARY, MEETING ROOM B
Our presenter will be Serena Ard, Curator of the Westchester Township History Museum
Preservation 101
Everyone has treasures, heirlooms, or photographs they want to preserve for future generations. Westchester Township History Museum Curator Serena Ard will give tips and tricks for taking care of your heirlooms at home to help them survive the elements, time, and handling.
Examples will be demonstrated, and a handout will be provided.
Saturday, February 18, 2023 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Porter County Public Library 103 Jefferson St. Valparaiso, IN 46383 Room B and also on Zoom for those who cannot attend.
Sharing Session
Our first in-person meeting in two years. It will be a hybrid meeting, both in-person and on Zoom.
Rescheduled from January
Porter County Public Library 103 Jefferson St. Valparaiso, IN 46383 Room B and also on Zoom for those who cannot attend.
Sharing Session
Our first in-person meeting in two years. It will be a hybrid meeting, both in-person and on Zoom.
Rescheduled from January
Saturday January 21, 2023, 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)
Sharing Session
Meeting rescheduled for February 18, 2023
Sharing Session
Meeting rescheduled for February 18, 2023