Wisconsin STate Genealogical Society

Why did they Travel to the Midwest?

 

 Our presenters!

Dave Miller	Brad Casselberry	Don Litzer

                                                   

 

 

Friday & Saturday October 4-5, 2024
Jefferson Street Inn and Event Center
201 Jefferson Street, Wausau, WI  54403

 

Website: https://www.choicehotels.com/wisconsin/wausau/radisson-individuals-hotels/wi446?mc=llgoxxpx. Rooms are available at Jefferson Street Inn and Event Center, at the rate of $98.00 plus tax- use the WSGS room block code. Jefferson Street Inn, a member of Radisson Individuals, invites you to relax in the vibrant River District. Connected to the Third Street Lifestyle Center, our hotel is a great starting point for discovering the unique mix of shopping and waterfront entertainment within walking distance. Between outings, stay energized in our fitness center, open daily from 7 am to 11 pm. Breakfast (served daily from 6 to 9 am) is complimentary for up to two hotel guests per room, per night and is available to additional guests for USD 10 per person. Elegant design and modern amenities like a microwave and fridge make our 99 rooms and suites your top choice for a stay in downtown Wausau. 

Key deadline dates!

• September 6- The hotel room block goes off so make your reservations before then! Call the hotel number (715-845-6500) and give the WSGS room block code.
• September 15 is the “received by” dates for forms and checks mailed in or if registering online. September 15- Early bird registrations for members and non-members to get discounted rate; Vendor registrations due; If you want to have lunch with the group on Saturday, you must order your luncheon meal by September 15; If you want a printed syllabus, you must order it by September 15. Otherwise, you will have to print/save the copy when it’s emailed out. A link to the syllabus will emailed to attendees the week of the conference to all participants. If you order a hard copy, you will receive it at registration.  
• After Sept 15- You can still register up to or at the conference but not for meals!

 

Friday Pre-Conference- Friday, October 4, 2024- 12:00-4:00 PM

11:30 AM     Registration opens

12:00 PM     Pre-Conference begins

12:00 PM- Session 1: Brad Casselberry- Head of Archives and Area Research Center - The presentation will be an introduction to the Wisconsin Historical Society Area Research Network, a description of the types of archival records that may be helpful to genealogical research and how to access them. I will also provide updates about the UW-Stevens Point library building project and how access is currently provided while we are in our temporary location. Brad has worked in the UWSP Archives since 2010, first as an archives assistant, then as the Records Manager/Assistant Archivist, and currently is the Head of Archives, which he began in 2018. His favorite part of the job is conducting research and searching for new ways to make information accessible to researchers.

2:00 PM- Break

2:15 PM- Session 2: Don Litzer – Exploring the Pommerscher Verein Central Wisconsin & North Central Wisconsin’s German Heritage and Organizing Your Digital Genealogy Collection- Don Litzer, a genealogist since 1975 and librarian (now retired) for over 25 years, who made his mark on genealogical collections in Wisconsin Rapids and Merrill, Wisconsin and Fort Wayne, Indiana, is now library assistant at the Pommerscher Verein Central Wisconsin, headquartered in Naugart, Wisconsin, and the PVCW's 2024 president.  Learn about the Pommerscher Verein Central Wisconsin and its role in defining north central Wisconsin's German element.  Don will also be ready to discuss his system of file naming and organization for digital genealogical collections.

3:15 PM- Session 4 (optional)- Field trip to Pommerscher Verein Central Wisconsin Library and Museum- From Wausau's Jefferson Street Event Center, Naugart is 15.7 miles and a 21-minute drive to the northwest.

Don Litzer will lead the tour. He is the library assistant for Laurel Hoffmann, the PVCW Librarian and the PVCW's president for 2024.  The mission of the PVCW, since 1994, has been "To preserve the language and heritage of immigrants from Pomerania (Pommern in German), Prussia, Posen and Mecklenburg; to record the history of settlers; to be a resource for genealogy research; to provide fellowship, friendship and Gemütlichkeit (happiness and wellbeing) for members and the community." PVCW's library and museum are located at the Berlin Center, a renovated former Wausau School District elementary school.  The PVCW library has over 2,400 cataloged items.  521 of those are in the German language, almost all owned by local residents, reflecting their German heritage and faith.  220 published genealogies are in the catalog. The PVCW's library catalog is a Microsoft Excel file which can be made available upon request to me, the library's cataloger (it presently resides on my personal computer).  The PVCW Museum displays hundreds of artifacts, including a working loom, an immigrant steamer trunk, the Wall of Honor--a display of photographs of Pommern pioneers with their immigration information--and many items used by local residents, including framed wall hangings with Bible verses and sayings in the German language. On the Berlin Center grounds, a Wisconsin Historical Society historical marker and a large Immigrant Memorial, dedicated in July 2012, honor the area's Pomerania pioneers.  Patio bricks surrounding the memorial bear the names of immigrants, many of whom are represented by their histories in the PVCW library's collection, as genealogical information was solicited when the bricks were purchased.

Friday night dinner on your own

6:30 PM- Session 4- How we organize our genealogy materials panel discussion and WSGS Certificate programs- WSGS board members will lead a discussion about how they organize their genealogy materials and welcome attendees to share their best practices! WSGS board members will review the Pioneer/Century Certificate Program and discuss other programs and activities WSGS offers.
 

Saturday Fall Conference- Saturday, October 5, 2024:

Speaker- David Miller- Dave has been researching family histories, including his own, for over 40 years. Dave has also worked for 45 years in radio and television and retired in July of 2019.  He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois, a Master of Arts Degree from The University of Illinois, Springfield and a Professional Learning Certificate of Genealogical Studies in Irish records from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies near Toronto, Ontario. He is a member of the Irish Genealogical Society International and currently serves on the board and records a monthly video podcast called “This month at the IGSI!”

8:00 AM          Registration and Vendor Exhibits Open

9:00 AM          Welcome- Tina Krummel, WSGS President; Presentation of Wisconsin Historical Society/WSGS Family History/Genealogy Book Award- Wisconsin Historical Society and Tina Krummel. Winner- Rebecca Shamblin- “Ancestors of Olive Marie Schmidt: The Schmidt/Krier Family”

9:30 AM          David Miller – Topic: “Researching Your Irish Ancestors on This Side of the Pond”

Starting the research on your Irish ancestors and don’t know where to start? Or have you been told Irish records don’t exist anymore? The key to starting your Irish research is right here at home. Some records were destroyed in the Four Courts Fire of 1922 but not all records were lost. Dave will go over your starting points here at home and how you can find records on websites from archives and libraries over there. Are you planning to do some research in Ireland soon? Dave can tell what you need before you even board the plane!

10:30 AM        Break/Vendor Exhibits Open

11:00 AM        David Miller – “They spoke German but were they from Germany?”

Many of our ancestors spoke German but were they really from what we now call the Republic of Germany? Genealogist Dave Miller will explore the ancestors who spoke German when they arrived at the U.S. and whether these ancestors were really from what we now refer to as Germany?  He will discuss the history of the ancestors who spoke German when they arrived in the U.S. and their origins and what the world looked like back then. Keep in mind, the German Empire didn’t begin until 1871 so these ancestors may have been living in what was then Prussia, Bohemia, Bavaria, Saxony or even France when they were born. You might be surprised to hear those immigrant ancestors’ grandparents or great grandparents may have even migrated from somewhere else.

12:00 PM       Lunch /Vendor Exhibits

1:30 PM         David Miller- Topic: “Why your ancestors migrated to the Midwest especially Wisconsin?”

Did Wisconsin remind our ancestors of the places they had left behind across the pond? Genealogist Dave Miller will be exploring the history of Wisconsin and the Midwest and why our ancestors not only left their homelands in Europe and migrated from locations like New England and the more civilized areas of the United States to the new territories and states like Wisconsin.

2:30 PM          Break/Vendor Exhibits Open

3:00 PM          David Miller – Topic: What’s the Story?”

So, you have several family stories, but are they correct or is this something that you were told but it turns out to be false. You discover that your third great grandmother, who no one knew anything about, was accused of attempted murder in 1841 in County Down! (wait what???) It’s stories like these that you need to prove or disprove. Dave will look at several family stories and how he proved them or, in some cases, disproved these stories.

• 4:30 PM          WSGS Board Meeting

Virtual Option- If you are unable to attend in person, you can register for the conference but check the virtual option on the form you send in. You will pay the full registration rate. You will be emailed the link at the beginning of each day to watch the conference. The recording will be viewable for 48 hours for only those registered for the virtual option.

Saturday Luncheon - Soup and Salad- chicken noodle and beef barley soup, home-made chips, fresh fruit tray, Spring mix with array of accompaniments and dressings, fresh baked rolls, and dessert bar assortment for $23. Includes regular and decaf coffee and tea.

 

For more information, and to register for the Fall Seminar, please see the attached brochure. You may register via check payable to WSGS via U.S. mail or online with a credit or debit card via Paypal. Reduced registration rates are available for WSGS members and by registering early. Attendees will receive an electronic syllabus a day or two before the conference.

 

Online Registration

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Don't want to travel.  If you would be interested in viewing a live stream of the Pre-Conference or the Conference,

send us an email before registering at wsgs@wsgs.org.  The cost would be the same, but for licensing purposes it won't be recorded. You will register the same for each day.  On the morning of, you will get an email with the Live Stream link.

Early bird rates are have expired.

Syllabus and Luncheon can no longer be ordered.  If you order the printed syllabus, it will be waiting for you to pick up at the conference. If you are attending virtually, it will be mailed but may not arrive before the conference.