Library of Congress American Memory Project

In the early 1990s, the Library of Congress ran a digitization pilot program that culminated in a set of CD-ROMS being sent to 44 schools. The American Memory project stemmed from this digitization effort and became the most important component of the National Digital Library. American Memory exhibits digital collections covering myriad topics including recent historical events (i.e., the events of September 11, 2001), women's history (check out the digitized scrapbooks of suffragists), papers and records of past presidents (the James Madison Papers collection is a well organized, easy to browse collection), and many, many more!

The Benefits of Fresh Air in Education -- from the Champaign County Historical Archives blog

Here is a great post from the Champaign County Historical archives blog.  The post focuses on the "open air school movement" that occurred primarily during the decades between World War I and World War II.

New Name, New Mission

Tracing Your Roots is back with a new name and a new attitude! We are now called Tangled Branches Genealogy, which is also the name of our private genealogical research business. Our mission is to continue to provide access to topics of interest to genealogists at all stages of research, and to also give back to the community through volunteer work with a focus on local history and genealogy.

What have I been up to in these past months? 

In addition to conducting my own family history research, I have been busy working as a county archives assistant librarian. I have also become a volunteer for both Find-A-Grave and Illinois Ancestors, specifically the Illinois Ancestors Tombstone Project. My current project for both organizations is the Riverside Cemetery in Mahomet, Illinois. It is such a beautiful location and only about 50% of the cemetery has been transcribed and/or photographed.

I have also accepted a position as Vice President of Membership for the Champaign County Genealogical Society. As part of my service to the genealogical society, I have become an indexing volunteer, which entails indexing names from the society's quarterly publication dating from 1979 - the present! It is a huge undertaking. If you are a Champaign County local, or have Illinois research to conduct, consider joining the CCGS. If you are interested in joining your local society, visit the Federation of Genealogical Societies to learn more about societies in your area.

Join your local genealogical society!

I cannot stress enough how helpful it is to be a part of my local genealogical society. Members and officers are there by choice and many of these people genuinely enjoy helping others with genealogy. To find out about your local organization, visit the Federation of Genealogical Societies website. You can search by the society's name or by location. Happy Searching!

Mothers, Sisters, Aunts, and other Feisty Female Ancestors

Another blog post I did for work. This one focuses on the search for female ancestors in honor of Mother's Day. Enjoy!

May Day -- Local History Blog Posts

At least once per month I blog for work. We post primarily about Champaign County, Illinois--since we're the county archives. Here is a link to a recent blog post I wrote on May Day. Enjoy!

Urbana Free Library local history and genealogy events for October 2014

Urbana Free Library local history and genealogy events for October 2014 

Workshops & Events

Town & Gown Speaker Series: Champaign County on Film

Wednesday, October 15 • 7:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.

Join us for a screening of films from the University of Illinois Archives and the Champaign County Historical Archives, which document local history and film-making.

The Town & Gown Speaker Series is sponsored by the Student Life and Culture Archives at the University of the Illinois and the Champaign County Historical Archives. For upcoming events in the series visit: https://publish.illinois.edu/townandgown/

Authors Panel

Thursday, October 23 • 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Join the Champaign County Historical Archives for an evening of stories as local authors present an informal panel conversation about the discoveries they have made in the Archives. Authors and notables include: Raymond Cunningham, Guy Fraker, Dannel McCollum, Perry Morris, Joseph Muskin, Dennis Roberts, Fred Schlipf, and Audrey Wells.

A light reception will follow the panel conversation. 

Children's Program: Discover Your Family's Story

Saturday, October 25 • 11:00 a.m. - Noon

Join the Champaign County Historical Archives and Children’s Services for a morning of historical sleuthing featuring kid friendly activities to discover and celebrate your family's story.  For children ages 5 and up and their families.

Workshop: Oral History for Genealogy

Saturday, October 25 • 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Shows how oral interviews can be used throughout family history research. Topics include using oral history to jump-start research; learning how to ask questions; strategies for scheduling, conducting, and transcribing interviews; producing audio-visual family heirlooms; and preserving oral interviews.

Workshops are FREE and open to the public. To register, please call the Archives at 217-367-4025