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.

Northern Illinois Genealogical Conference
Saturday, July 12, 2025
​8:30 am - 3:30 pm CDT
In-Person at McHenry County College
McHenry County College (MCC), 8900 US Highway 14, Crystal Lake, IL 60012
To register, click here

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.

MAY MEETING

Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. CDT
"Researching Your Union Civil War Ancestors"
Speaker: Scott Norrick
Meeting Location: RPL East Branch (in-person speaker, but also available via Zoom)
​Zoom registration for this meeting
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The presentation will highlight websites and strategies for accessing additional records like headstones, state-level documents, and regimental histories.

Scott Norrick’s passion is connecting people to their past. While providing a list of names, dates and places for ancestors is a start, Scott enjoys helping others discover the stories of triumphs and tribulations that defined our ancestors’ lives. He does this by assisting clients with breaking down their genealogical brick walls and by helping them document the rich stories of their family history.
His areas of expertise include research in the American Midwest along with the immigration to the Midwest from European countries.
He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and a graduate degree from Northwestern University. With over 30 years of family history research experience, he is familiar with all the latest and time-tested genealogical tools. Through his company Ancestral Past, he welcomes the opportunity to assist others on their genealogy journey.​​

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.

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