Bureau County Genealogical Society will meet Sept. 23

Program will be on navigating cemeteries and cemetery websites

PRINCETON — The Bureau County Genealogical Society will present a program at the Society library, located at 629 S. Main St. in Princeton, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23. This meeting will feature Julie Hallock, president of the LaSalle County Genealogy Guild, and Rachael Mellen, vice president of the same organization.

The public is cordially invited to attend this free program. Masks are required for all people in attendance. This program will be presented with the speakers present at BCGS. It will not be by Zoom or taped for later viewing.

The speakers will enlighten the audience on the topic of navigating cemeteries and cemetery websites. Since tombstone evidence is a basic tool in genealogy research, this topic and material should be very relevant for those in attendance.

This presentation will focus on cemetery records in LaSalle County, but also will take a more in-depth look at Find-A-Grave and will discuss the challenges of locating and reading headstones.

Mellen has been involved with genealogy for more than 40 years and is the author of two books on English genealogy. She has also written a book centered on Civil War letters to be published soon. Hallock has been to many cemeteries over the years and has enlisted the help of her grandsons who especially like the cemetery hunts.

BCGS has extensive Bureau County tombstone and cemetery records. Volunteers are very willing to help researchers view and use those records at any time that the Society library is open. The hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and also the first Saturday of each month, during the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. By appointment other days and times are available for those from a distance or working during the regular hours.