Slavery and emancipation resources in Illinois

Dave Bakke, a columnist for the State Journal-Register newspaper in Springfield, Illinois (home of this September's FGS meeting), has called attention to the state archives' database of servitude and emancipation records (1722-1863). The database (not new) includes information from a variety of sources in nine southern Illinois counties on 1301 men and 929 women, and instructions on how to obtain the original records there indexed.

The same column brings news that University of Iowa law professor Lea VanderVelde is working on a book about slaves in the Land of Lincoln, and in the process helping upgrade the database. She'd like to see it include, for instance, material documenting the role of African-Americans in the lead mining district that includes Jo Daviess County in the state's far northwestern corner.

In her background reading, it sounds like VanderVelde is learning what genealogists should already know: that the late-19th and early-20th-century county histories are far from inclusive. "Many of the frontier histories have been whitewashed, creating an ‘amnesia’ about the slaves and indentured servants in free states.” While culling them for clues and additional sources, we would be ill advised to rely on them for information on anyone who wasn't prominent or conventional, or on the outline of the history they tell.

passing along Midwestern topics for FGS

Even though I just registered to attend it, I've been delinquent in mentioning that we have a national genealogy conference coming to the Midwest -- the Federation of Genealogical Societies in Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, September 7-10. Now Paula Stuart-Warren has given me a prompt in her conference news blog, listing the fifteen presentations with Midwestern content!

An outsider's critical view of genealogy

My old friend and former colleague Jim Krohe holds forth on a regular basis at Illinois Times in Springfield (soon to be host of the annual Federation of Genealogical Societies meeting in September). Last month his column had some provocative words and thoughts on genealogy as currently practiced. They aren't mine, but sometimes it's instructive to learn what an outsider sees when he takes a look:

Most family “histories” aren’t, having very little history in them. They are genealogies, family trees that focus (often obsessively) on the who and the when, not the where the why and the how. . . . At best, genealogies are to the family history what the road map is to the Michelin guide. Genuine family histories – that is, an objective rendering of facts, scrupulously verified and placed in the context of broader social and economic realities of respective eras – are rare.

Read the whole thing at the above link.

Get your exercise and history too

My friend Todd Volker is masterminding an eight-day 360-mile bicycle tour from Hodgenville, Kentucky to Springfield, Illinois in August -- the Tour de Lincoln. Signup deadline for double-threat fitness and history buffs is 15 July.

Sissons in Springfield

Why is it that most of the family reunions listed by the National Genealogical Society are elsewhere than the Midwest? Here's one slated for Springfield (Sangamon County), Illinois (I have relatives with this surname but no ancestors):

SISSON - The 8th Biennial Sisson Gathering for all individuals researching the name of Sisson will take place 26-28 June 2008 in Springfield, Illinois. Sharing of Sisson genealogical records, discussing the Sisson DNA project, and displays of Sisson family charts will be among the featured items; tours to local Sisson historical sites will also be arranged. To receive an Announcement and Registration form, contact David Martin at davidchina_2000@yahoo.com, or call 508-420-0224.