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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 |
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.
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 Paula Malak.
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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
Services
of SSGHS: |
-
Meetings, classes and workshops
-
Research in Special Records, including the
Pullman Car Works Personnel Records.
-
Speakers' Bureau.
- SSGHS Forum- An online message board to provide a forum for SSGHS members
and guests to share information, ask questions or make comments.
-
Cemetery
Photo Service - SSGHS
photographers will take photographs that you request of tombstones located in
our area of interest. We can also
provide photographs of buildings or other landmarks of interest to you.
-
Pioneer
Certificates - A very nice memorial gift to your children,
grandchildren, or others to honor
your ancestors.
-
WWII
Harvey Letters - Do you have roots in Harvey, IL?
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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 2008-2009:
President: Kathy Wellington Nassios
First vice president: Shirley Koelling
Second vice president: Judy Baouab
Corresponding Secretary: Nadine Blocker
Recording secretary: Laurie Coolidge
Treasurer: Robert Foster
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
generally operates from September to
June. During the year our mix
of
programs of genealogical and historical subjects included programs on
Research into African-American
Genealogy;
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 (September
through June with a combined
July-August 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.
Copyright 2008,
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 25 May 2008
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