Join us on the 2nd Thursday of the month
at 7:00 PM (Central)
General meetings are free and open to the public.
Our January, February, and March meetings are held online via Zoom (registration required). All other general meetings are in person. We do not meet in July, August, or December. Members can access the recordings and handouts from past meetings HERE (member login required).
NEW in-person meeting location for 2025!
Grace United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall (Lower Level)
(300 E Gartner Rd, Naperville, IL)
2025 FVGS Program Schedule download available HERE
ONLINE-January 09, 2025 Meeting: Ancestors, AI and Prompt Engineering: Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Genealogy by Margaret M. McMahon, PhD
REGISTRATION LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rceGoqDwpHdVF0rSjYN3JQCImpGM7ycnj
The program is for people who have not already used AI tools but want to learn about them and how to start using them, AND for those who are already using the tools to share ideas about how to be more effective and expand their use. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already been used in the realm of genealogy, with major success in indexing records as well as colorizing and animating photographs. Learn from Dr. Margaret M. McMahon, a computer science, engineering, and cybersecurity professor, how AI products can assist you in your genealogical endeavors. Find out how to use AI in your research and writing, as well as its limitations.
Margaret M. McMahon, PhD has always collected family stories. She earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering and has amassed decades of experience as a flight test and systems engineer, and as a professional educator, teaching graduate and undergraduate students. Her experience includes speaking at international technical conferences.
When her son was born, family lines became more relevant, so she focused her engineering and educational skills and talents on her newfound passion to combine family stories with factual records. She researches, lectures, and writes about genealogy and military history and is the author of numerous books on those subjects. She is the Unofficial Historian for the 51st Pioneer Infantry Regiment. She has given over 130 lectures as an invited speaker at societies, libraries, and local conferences and was a presenter for RootsTech Connect. She is a graduate of the ProGen Study Group 46.
She is the author of “Researching U.S. WWI Military Members, Military Organizations and Overseas Noncombatants: A Research Guide for Historians and Genealogists,” “A Guide to the U.S. Pioneer Infantry Regiments in WWI,” “From Timeline to Young Readers Book,” and other books.
A Week of Genealogy Blog and information about her and her books can be found at: https://aweekofgenealogy.com.
ONLINE-February 13, 2025 Meeting: The Helen Marley Story by Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD
REGISTRATION LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsfuGhqDwvHNBhrmzKN9BBhquYwzocv2od
A case study identifying the mother of my adopted great-grandmother, born Helen Marley Johnson. Although no single record identifies her mother, indirect evidence and DNA testing make the case.
Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD, is a professional genealogist specializing in DNA evidence. In 2007, he started The Genetic Genealogist (www.thegeneticgenealogist.com), one of the earliest blogs on the topic. Blaine is the author of The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy and co-author with Debbie Parker Wayne of the award-winning Genetic Genealogy in Practice, the world’s first genetic genealogy workbook. He also co-authored “Genetics for Genealogy” with Judy Russell in 2018’s Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (ProGen PPS) (Elizabeth Shown Mills, Author and Editor).
Blaine is or has been an instructor for genetic genealogy courses at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), and Virtual Institute of Genealogical Research. Blaine is a graduate of ProGen Study Group 21, a trustee for the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and a member of the DNAngels Board of Directors since 2022 (President since January 2023), and a member of the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) “Investigative Genetic Genealogy Working Group” since 2019. He is also the founder in 2017 of Genetic Genealogy Tips & Techniques, a very active Facebook group with more than 75,000 members.
ONLINE-March 13, 2025 Meeting: Researching Your Revolutionary War Ancestor by Craig Scott, MA, CG, FUGA
REGISTRATION LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIocumsqTIuGtHHeOnaJhtn29HUsjOaCsE1
A Revolutionary War ancestor can be a goldmine of information if you know where to look. This lecture aims to examine types of service, compiled military service records, pension applications, settled accounts, and where other documents can be found.
Craig Scott, MA, CG, FUGA, is the author of The ‘Lost Pensions’: Settled Accounts of the Act of 6 April 1838 (Revised) and Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Inventory 14 (Revised). His most recent work is Understanding Revolutionary War and Invalid Pension Ledgers, 1818 – 1872, and the Payment Vouchers They Represent. He has authored seventeen books and several articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, and other genealogical publications. He is the President and CEO of Heritage Books, Inc., a genealogical publishing firm with over 10,000 titles in print. A professional genealogical and historical researcher for more than thirty-eight years, he specializes in military records, problem-solving, Quakers, and publishing. He is a Company of Military Historians member and on the National Genealogical Society Quarterly editorial board. He is a former Director of the Association of Professional Genealogists. He is the Vice-President of the APG Writer’s SIG. He has coordinated research tracks at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, Samford University, the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. He is currently the SLIG Guided Research and Consultation Track Coordinator, helping students solve brickwall problems. He is the host of the YouTube@ Just Genealogy channel. He is a recipient of the Grahame T. Smallwood, Jr. Award and the UGA Silver Tray Award. He became a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association in 2014.
IN PERSON-April 10, 2025 Meeting: TBD
IN-PERSON MEETING LOCATION*:
Grace United Methodist Church – Fellowship Hall (Lower Level)
300 E Gartner Rd, Naperville, IL 60540
*(Note NEW in-person meeting location for 2025!)
IN PERSON-May 8, 2025 Meeting: TBD
IN PERSON-June 12, 2025 Meeting: TBD
IN PERSON-September 11, 2025 Meeting: TBD
IN PERSON-October 9, 2025 Meeting: TBD
IN PERSON-November 13, 2025 Meeting & FVGS Board Election: TBD