Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month, September through May starting at 7:00 p.m. The programs cover a variety of material from general to specific and hold the interest of everyone. Information on various upcoming genealogy events in the area, the state, and the nation are shared. There are also wonderful treats and a time to visit with others.
From 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. SCVGS members will be available to help others with genealogy research questions.
Most meetings will be held in the community room of the First National Bank of River Falls, located at 104 East Locust Street. Although the building faces Main Street, the parking lot and entrance are behind the building off of East Locust Street. The River Falls Public Library will be the site of our holiday party in December. The library is located at 140 Union Street, at the corner of Union and Main Streets. Main Street is also Wisconsin State Highway 35. Turn east on Union Street beside the library and go to the parking lot behind the building where there is ample parking.
With the success of holding meetings via Zoom the last couple of years years, we will continue hybrid meetings this year. We will meet in person whenever possible, but we will also hold the meetings via Zoom for those who do not wish to drive in the evenings or who live a distance away. Watch your emails for additional information and for the Zoom link for the meetings.
Up-coming Programs:
September 21, 2023—7:00 p.m.—Sharing Meeting—Share the successes you have had over the past year with other members. Bring documents, stories and/or books you have written, photographs, heirlooms, guests, and anything else you would like to share. This is always one of our most popular meetings. Our “Zoom members” will also have a chance to share. This meeting is also our magazine swap, so bring your old issues of genealogy magazines/journals/books to share with others. We charge a nominal fee for what you take. Come early to browse and make your selections.
Location: First National Bank of River Falls Community Room
October 19, 2023—7:00 p.m.—”Capturing the Memories; Writing Your Personal History”. When a person dies, his or her memories are lost—unless they’ve been preserved somehow. This talk explains a variety of techniques, including StoryWorth, to get started writing your own personal history.—Renee Garrick will present in person.
Renee Garrick taught English and speech for more than twenty years—along with editing and proofreading for another ten—which all prepared her for another adventure: Personal History. Her passion for preserving family stories, combined with a broad skill base made it a natural next step. And so? So now she helps those who have a story to tell . . . those who are unsure of how to go about writing it themselves . . . those who want to leave a written legacy.
Location: First National Bank of River Falls Community Room
November 16, 2023—7:00 p.m.—“Oh Canada! Tracing Your Ancestors North of the Border “—Maureen Guay will present in person—Maureen was born in Canada and graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in pharmacy. She has traced her extended family across Canada and the United States, including Stillwater, Minnesota, and Somerset, Wisconsin, in the St Croix River Valley.
The United States and Canada share the world’s longest undefended border, stretching 3987 miles, and our ancestors have been moving between the two countries since the 1700s. Minnesota and Wisconsin had substantial immigration from Canada in the 1800s to work in the timber industry, mines, and in response to the Homestead Act in the 1860s. Conversely, many Americans from the Dakotas and the Midwest settled in the Canadian prairies in the early 20th century. This presentation will focus on using Canadian sources to research family members that originated in Canada and those that migrated north of the border.
Location: First National Bank of River Falls Community Room
December 7, 2023—Annual Christmas Party—Join us at our “annual” holiday party for a fun evening with ethnic holiday foods, games, and a white elephant gift exchange. More details will follow as the time draws near.
Location: River Falls Public Library
January 18, 2024—7:00 p.m.—Virtual Presentation ONLY via Zoom—“Before Roads and Rails: Waterways to the Midwest, Including the Erie Canal”—Annette Burke Lyttle, presenter.
Before improved roads and the advent of the railroads, travel by water was the easiest and fastest way to the newly-opened territories of the midwestern United States. Our ancestors traveled them, worked on them, and lived by them. Learn how to reconstruct the stories of their travel and livelihood.
Annette Burke Lyttle owns Heritage Detective, LLC, providing professional genealogical services in research, education, and writing. She is president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and editor of The Florida Genealogist.
February 15, 2024—7:00 p.m.—Virtual Presentation ONLY via Zoom—“Czech and Slovak Research”—Steve Szabados, presenter—Finding your Czech and Slovak ancestors can challenge your research skills. This presentation simplifies the confusing elements of finding European records. The material will outline simple steps that will help where to look and review translating aids for reading the documents.
Steve Szabados is a genealogy lecturer and author. He has published over 15 genealogy books. His mission is to share his passion for family history with as many people as he can. He is a former member of the Polish Genealogical Society of America and a volunteer at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library in Illinois. He is also a columnist for the Polish American Journal.
March 21, 2024—7:00 p.m.—”Using Spreadsheets for Genealogy”—Lois Mackin—Census research shows movement and change in individuals and families over time and provides pointers to other types of records. Spreadsheets are a wonderful way to summarize your census research, both for individuals and for whole families. Learn how to use them to track migrations and other transitions shown in federal, state, and international census records. We’ll also look at more ways to use this handy tool!
Lois earned her Ph.D. in history from Brown University. She has been writing, speaking, and researching professionally since 2010. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. She focuses on Midwest, Pennsylvania, and English research and on methodology. She has completed course work in genetic genealogy, which is now one of her specialties.
Location: First National Bank of River Falls Community Room
April 20, 2024—2:00 p.m.—“Stump the Genealogist”—Paula Stuart-Warren will be in person to answer your genealogy questions—Come prepared with any question you may have relating to your genealogy research. Can you stump her with a question that she cannot answer? This will also be a celebration of our 45th Anniversary. Note the date, time, and place change.
Paula is an internationally recognized genealogical educator, researcher, and consultant focusing on unusual resources, manuscripts, methodology, and analyzing records. She also specializes in Native American research, the WPA, and railroad records. She spends extensive research time at state archives, historical societies, and at various locations of the National Archives. She is a long-time course coordinator and instructor for SLIG and GRIP and for Ancestry Academy and has presented seminars all across the U.S. and in Canada. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of FGS, of the Minnesota Genealogical Society, and a former officer of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Eight of her foreign born ancestors chose Wisconsin as their first place to settle in the U.S. Of those, five then moved to Minnesota.
Location: HOPE Lutheran Church, 3337 Kingsbarn Ave, River Falls
May 16, 2024—7:00 p.m.—“Free Resources to Build Your Family Tree“—John Fassbender. This presentation will share resources, tips, and techniques to build your family tree and share it with other family members. The May meeting is also our Annual Meeting when election of officers takes place.
Location: First National Bank of River Falls Community Room
June, 2024—Indexing Night at the ARC—Starting earlier than usual at 6:00 p.m. and indexing until 8:30 p.m. Day to be determined. The June meeting is a work night in the Area Research Center (ARC) on the University of Wisconsin–River Falls campus. This is our chance to give back some of our time to the ARC by helping with one or more indexing projects as chosen by either Archivist Morgan Paavola or Community Archivist Shelby Edwards. This year we will continue indexing St. Croix County naturalization records If you have a laptop, please bring it; if you do not have one, you will pair up with someone who does.
The ARC is located on the lower level of the Chalmer Davee Library. Clear signage will direct you to the Area Research Center.
Limited parking is available behind South Hall, next to Chalmer Davee Library. Other parking is available in the lot across Cascade Avenue next to North Hall. Entrances to the parking lot next to North Hall are on S 2nd Street and Spring Street. If you are traveling from the west on Cascade Avenue, continue straight at the roundabout, take the first right and then turn into the parking lot on your left to enter the lot next to Chalmer Davee Library. If travelling from the east on Cascade Avenue, continue straight at the first roundabout, go all the way around the 2nd roundabout and take the first right. The parking lot next to Chalmer Davee Library will be on your left. Parking in this lot may be restricted to those with handicapped designation.
Refer to the map below to help find your way to either of the parking lots.