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South
Suburban Genealogical
and Historical Society
Hazel
Crest, Illinois
Serving
south Cook and east Will counties, Illinois
including Chicago's
Roseland/Pullman neighborhoods
Established
1968
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About Our Society
SSGHS
is based in its research library at 3000
W. 170th Pl., Hazel Crest, IL. 60429 - 1174
The telephone number is (708) 335-3340.
SSGHS is a 501(c)3
not-for-profit organization.
The
History
of SSGHS: |
South
Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society
was organized in February of 1968 under
the
name of South Cook and North Will Counties
Historical and Genealogical Society.
By
1973 there was a library of some type with
Thelma Kohlberg in charge of the books,
which were
kept at her house.
In
1975 the Society moved from one of the
modular buildings at Thornton Community
College to
quarters in the Roosevelt School building
in South Holland.
Custom built library shelves and
tables
were donated by Edith Degenhart.
In
1979 the library benefited from two large
donations of books and periodicals.
In
1983 books were inventoried and a value of
$43,000 placed on them.
We
began a serious quest for a new home early
in 2003.
Preliminary inquiries about sites
had begun
years earlier.
By May we had found a new home in
Hazel Crest and after renovations it was
open
for business on June 2, 2003.
Librarians
who have served the Society include:
Thelma
Kohlberg
Margaret
(Peggy) Poe Laird
Joan
Alguire
Alice
DeBoer
Our
library currently houses over 11,000
books, periodicals and microforms.
In addition to those
items, we have CDs, maps, directories and
special collections manuscripts.
The current librarian is Laurie Coolidge.
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The
Purposes
of SSGHS: |
- To
collect, preserve and publish historical
and genealogical materials and records
of south Cook County and east Will
County
- To
encourage and foster the research and
study of genealogy and local history
- To
develop and maintain a genealogical and
historical research library
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The
Projects
of SSGHS: |
- Obituary and
Cemetery Indexes
- Local census
readings for SSGHS quarterly, Where
the Trails Cross
- Reading,
recording and publishing tombstone data
from area cemeteries
- Special
publications featuring SSGHS
research
- Collecting local
church and town records
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THE
FOLLOWING OFFICERS WILL
SERVE for 2011-2012:
President: Kathy Wellington Nassios
First vice president: Shirley Koelling
Second vice president: Judy Baouab
Corresponding Secretary: Nadine Blocker
Recording secretary: Laurie Coolidge
Treasurer: Liz
Collins
BOARD
OF DIRECTORS for 2011-12
Phyllis
Drewno
Charles
Ranlett
Bob
Roach
Kirk
Vandenberg
Alice
DeBoer
Virginia
Byron
Joe
Staackmann
Donna
Anfield
Arthur
Hansen
Peter
Irvine
Thomas
Mackowiak
Paula
Malak
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More
about SSGHS
SSGHS:
A “home” for those interested in genealogy, family
history, and the history of our area.
The Society’s prime area of interest is the
20 townships of southern Cook County and eastern
Will County with
its total population of 1,000,000 and
the adjoining Chicago communities of Roseland,
Pullman, and Kensington.
Within this geographic area, we continue to
provide a center where genealogists, beginning
and advanced, can share
their enthusiasm, growing knowledge, and family
search problems and solutions.
Our library facilities with meeting rooms
close at hand—all in the Hazel Crest Municipal
Center—provide bright
and functional quarters where we may engage in these
activities. We are just completing our fifth year in
Hazel Crest.
Our core programs: library, Pullman, programs,
publications, and outreach/education.
Our library now includes more than 11,000
books and related materials—CD’s, microforms,
pamphlets,
and other research materials. While the emphasis of
the library collection is on our prime area of
interest,
we have considerable materials on northwestern
Indiana, downstate Illinois, and the rest of the
United States
as well as general how-to-do-it genealogical
books. The library is open from 21 to 26 hours a
week.
The Pullman collection is located
immediately adjacent to the library is the
This contains 200,000
employee files covering 50 years of the operations
of the Pullman Corporation.
Our monthly schedule of programs operates
from February to November. There are no General
meetings in December and January. During the
year our mix of programs of genealogical and
historical subjects included programs on
Research into African-American
Genetic Genealogy; The Alpha Wreck Odyssey (an
Indiana Dunes shipwreck with possible ties to
the Underground Railroad); Do-It-Yourself Photo
Restoration Basics; Jane Reed – How does
the genealogist/historian prove a story of
murder, deception, and revenge in frontier Ohio of
1820?; and Favorite Genealogy Websites.
Our schedule of publications includes 11
monthly newsletters (February through November with
a combined
December-January issue), our quarterly publication Where
The Trail Cross, and special
publications such as
First Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery (Blue
Island-Alsip), the result of reading of
tombstones conducted
by SSGHS volunteers.
Outreach/Education: Activities for the
2007-2008 program year included the taping of two TV
programs on
SSGHS for the Hazel Crest Public Service Channel;
the display of our information boards at the
Homewood, Dolton,
and New Lenox public libraries with upcoming
displays at the Crete, Riverdale, and other
libraries; an information
and research afternoon at the library for Illliana
Jewish Genealogical Society members; and
speaking engagements to outside groups.
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Copyright
2010,
South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society
3000 West 170th Place, Hazel Crest, IL.
60429 - 1174
Telephone: (708) 335-3340
E-mail to: ssghs@usa.net
Last update 29 January 2012
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