The Bond County Genealogical Society is a non-profit, tax exempt organization of family history researchers founded April 30, 1981. Our purpose is to honor the county’s founding fathers by encouraging the preservation, research, and dissemination of the rich genealogical heritage of Bond County. The Society is based in Greenville, Illinois a small community of seven thousand people located forty-five miles east of St. Louis, MO. Nestled in the hills of southern Illinois at the intersection of Illinois Route 127 and Interstate 70, Greenville has long been a crossroad for people migrating across the plains.
We had an informative meeting April 25, 2022 with guest speakers Ellen and Greg Thorson, volunteer ambassadors from FamilySearch.org! They presented the basics: searching historical records, non-indexed images, family trees (both collaborative and private types), genealogies, catalogs, and the digital library of books at the website by the international, nonprofit organization “dedicated to helping all people discover their family story.” Below are the PowerPoint presentation and a separate PDF handout of the FamilySearch.org Articles/Searches with a Bond County Focus, i.e. the links provided at the end of the PPT.
Haven’t attended a meeting in a while? We’d love to see you again. We’d love your ideas and energies in our corner. We have plenty of upcoming and continuing projects, both external and internal, to work on. And please remember to send in your annual membership renewals if you haven’t done that yet!! Plus, do we have your current email address? Are you receiving the twice-yearly Newsletter and invitations to society meetings and events?
BCGS meets jointly with the Bond County Historical Society for program and business meetings, generally at 7 p.m. on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Bond County Museum (U.S. DeMoulin Mansion, 409 South Fourth Street, Greenville). Announcements will be made ahead of time whenever there is to be a specifically BCGS business meeting. Also, there will be no December meeting. Visitors are always welcome.
Do you want to take your genealogical research skills to the next level? Consider attending a regional or national genealogical conference! There are some wonderful genealogical conferences held around the country each year. Some are put on by genealogical societies, and some are put on by colleges. There are even some conferences you can get college credit for attending. If you are serious about becoming a better researcher and taking your family history work to the next level, breaking through those brick walls, you really need to attend a genealogical conference once in a while. You’ll sit in on seminars, meet vendors, connect with other genealogists, and much more.
We are living through an important moment in history, and we want to hear how it is affecting the people of Bond County, Illinois and immediate surrounding areas.
As COVID-19 changes life to a “new normal,” BCGS is asking you to share, in your own words, reflections of your experience during the pandemic, for the benefit of future generations.
Whether you are in quarantine, sheltering at home, working in the medical field, homeschooling your kids, or adjusting your business model for uncertain times, your story is unique and valuable.
New to family history and ancestry research? If you are a beginner or a seasoned genealogist, take care of the time sensitive critical steps immediately and then you can take your time to learn how to set attainable goals as your genealogy experience grows.
Get started at any age, see if this is something your children would be interested in, do some storytelling about your ancestors or yourself, start a project to share your family history with others.
Highlighting new, revised, & significant topics.
The BCGS Library collection is housed on the lower floor of the Greenville Public Library. There is a booklet in the room which lists all the holdings, Guest WiFi, and a microfilm reader/printer for doing research in the Greenville Advocate and other Bond County newspapers.
The first lots of the city of Greenville were laid out in 1815. Less than two years later, Bond County was formed out of Madison County to its west; and, on the 3rd of December, 1818, Illinois became the 21st state of the Union. Greenville was established as the county seat of Bond County in 1821.
While not associated with Bond County Genealogical Society, Bond County ILGenWeb is a free genealogical site about the history of the county. The site hosts maps, name indexes, and so much more information. Its search engine may help you find clues for your research of ancestors and relatives of the county.
Got a tough family research problem? Looking for more individuals researching your ancestor? BCGS publishes queries that have a Bond County, Illinois connection. Please include as much information as possible to assist us with you research query.
We’ve revised our list of available volumes for sale and our shipping costs! These publications provide cemetery readings, marriage records, obituary transcriptions, member ancestor charts, church histories, naturalization, and a 1900 Census family quick-reference.
Dear Members and Friends,
I and the officers of the Bond County Genealogical Society send our best wishes, hoping this New Year finds you happy and healthy.
As always, we express our appreciation for your support.
Without your membership fees and donations, our nonprofit organization would not be able to offer a selection of diverse library resources and family history research assistance.
However, the time has come to ask for another type of support.
We need your advice in regards to the type of speaker programs, workshops, and events you would enjoy attending.
We need your interest in developing plans for future endeavors such as publications, tasks, and preservation projects...
Volumes 0-28 of the B.C.G.S. News have been digitized! Digital back issues are PDFs with searchable OCR. Download these back issues for free for personal use and research purposes only. Do not re-distribute!
You don’t need Bond County roots to join us for an exhilarating and rewarding experience exploring your family history. Join or Renew your BCGS membership for only $10 per year! We have a special offer that you can join both societies (Genealogical and Historical) for one year for only $20 – a $5 savings!
Genealogists, historians, and anyone researching their family history has been eagerly awaiting the release of the 1950 Census data by the National Archives at midnight on Friday, April 1, 2022! The long wait is finally over and this valuable information is now available to search online for free through sites like Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, or 1950census.archives.gov. Over 151 million people were recorded in this census. About 30 million of those were age 9 and under, and appear in the census for the first time. Find interesting facts about your ancestors and relatives to help build your family tree.
Email your message, question, or comment to the volunteer researchers and corresponders at Bond County Genealogical Society.
Need to send an attachment? Use info @ bondcogen.org
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For Book Orders, Membership Applications, Donations, Donated Materials, and General Queries/Questions:
Bond County Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 172
Greenville, Illinois 62246
