WINNEBAGO & BOONE COUNTIES GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

The Winnebago & Boone Counties Genealogical Society (of Illinois) exists to:

• Encourage and support genealogical researchers.
• Promote the discovering and preserving of valued genealogical resources of Winnebago and Boone County, Illinois.
• Through our website, provide resources to help genealogists with an interest in Winnebago or Boone County, Illinois.
• Offer networking opportunities with others who have similar research interests.

Special free events at RPL East Branch this summer, sponsored by WBCGS

Saturday, July 19, 1:30pm "Rockford's Cemeteries, Discovering the Famous" - Jerry Moors
Local history and genealogy enthusiasts will learn tips about Find a Grave®, a free online database of cemetery records. Find a Grave® contains the world's largest collection of burial records via their website or free app. Jerry Moors, treasurer of Winnebago/Boone Counties Genealogical Society, is the featured presenter.

All in-person meetings are at the Rockford Public Library - East Branch  6685 East State St, Rockford IL

UPCOMING MEETINGS

WBCGS holds monthly meetings that are open to the public.  We do not have meetings in December and July.  Note the Thursday evening time for our June and August meetings.
At each meeting, our speaker makes a presentation about a specific topic related to genealogy or a topic of local interest.

Based on the success we've had in using Zoom for our monthly meetings, we plan to continue offering Zoom meetings.  Meeting invitations will be sent to all WBCGS members with an email address prior to each meeting. Members and non-members can register for our meetings using the links below.

JUNE MEETING

Thursday, June 5, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. CDT
"Winnebago County Poorhouse and Cemetery"
Speaker: Kathi Kresol
Meeting Location: RPL East Branch (in-person speaker, but also available via Zoom)
​Zoom registration for this meeting
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Kathi Kresol will share her research into Winnebago’s county's challenges it faced while striving to serve the poor and insane of the region.  This will include personal stories of some of the residents who lived and died at the almshouse.  It will also include some of the strangest cases of unsolved murders, suicides and strange deaths. 
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Kathi has been researching the area's history for almost 20 years for her column in The Rock River Times, “Voices from the Grave.” She has two solo books published including, "Murder and Mayhem in Rockford, Illinois" and "Haunted Rockford, Illinois".

AUGUST MEETING

Thursday, August 7, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. CDT
"One Touch Genealogy Research"
Speaker: Thomas MacEntee
Meeting Location: RPL East Branch (Zoom speaker, but we also meeting in-person)
​Zoom registration for this meeting

You will learn the best way to extract as much information as possible from a genealogy record on the first pass! We’ll cover how to save and name record images, how to transcribe and extract information, how to create a quick source citation, and how to make sure you can find the record in the future.

Having taught over 1,000 in-person and virtual genealogy lectures since 2010, serving on the boards of many genealogical societies, organizing a group of over 1,000 genealogy bloggers, and helping researchers save money on genealogy products and services, Thomas is ready for the next chapter in his professional journey: changing the way genealogists acquire new research skills, motivating researchers to take a chance on new technologies, and improving how family stories and heirlooms are preserved and passed on to the next generations.
Thomas MacEntee: author, educator, student, advocate, marketer, storyteller, entrepreneur and that “genealogy guy” who helps you accomplish your family history goals.

SEPTEMBER MEETING

Saturday, September 6, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. CDT
"Squeezing All the Information Out of Your DNA Matches"
Speaker: Kate Penney Howard
Meeting Location: RPL East Branch (in-person speaker, but also available via Zoom)
​Zoom registration for this meeting
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Near the top of your match list, you have a mystery match that just might be the key to your research. The only problem is that they don’t have a visible tree and didn’t respond to the message you sent two years ago. But that doesn’t mean that you should give up!    Learn strategies, tips, and tricks to help you squeeze all the information out of your matches!

Kate Penney Howard is a genetic genealogist, specializing in brick wall work, HighRoH, and endogamy.
She has presented at Rootstech, East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference, Illinois Genealogical Society, the International Congress on Medieval Studies, NAAP/RTK's Untangling Our Roots, and the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Future speaking engagements include Rootstech 2025 and Ohio Genealogical Society 2025, as well as local library & genealogical society presentations.
Kate studied vocal music and earned a Master of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis in 2011, and has been pastor of North Christian Church since her ordination in 2012.​​

ISGS Associate Member​

The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) was formed in 1968 through the cooperative effort and forward thinking of Illinois genealogical society representatives, who envisioned a statewide genealogical organization. ISGS is a not-for-profit, nonsectarian, educational organization.

Visit their website for more info
www.ilgensoc.org