Events
See our Events Calendar for society programs, classes, Special Interest Groups, and other activities. All programs are Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. Central Time. Where possible, they may also be livestreamed via Zoom. Click the link on the program for more information or to register for the virtual Zoom program.
2026 PROGRAMS: Join us as we celebrate America 250 and Illinois 250!
(When speakers present remotely via Zoom, SSGHS will hold a Watch Party at SSGHS.)
April 11
The Rewards of Digging Into Tax Records
Heather Jenkins, PCGLS, former federal auditor (via Zoom; Watch Party at SSGHS)
May 9
Using the Resources of the Illinois State Archives
David Joens, former director of the Archives (In-person)
June 13
Swedish Genealogy
Kathy Meade, North American rep. for ArkivDigital AD AB (via Zoom; Watch Party at SSGHS)
July 11
Field Trip – TBA
Aug. 8
Show & Tell
Sept. 12
Joliet Area Historical Museum
H’Aeneise Coopwood, Community Outreach Coordinator, JAHM (via Zoom; Watch Party at SSGHS)
Oct. 10
Cemetery Restoration
Christine Hillmann, cemetery preservationist (In-person)
Nov. 14
Navigating Research at the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Archives
Ray Johnson, The History Cop (In-person)
Special Interest Groups (SIG)
Writer’s Group is a members-only Special Interest Group that meets in person at the SSGHS Library. Meeting times alternate (either Thursday afternoons, or in the morning on the third Saturday of the month). Members learn how to write their ancestors’ stories.
DNA Genealogy is a members-only SIG that meets in person on the 4th Saturday from 10am – noon, and via Zoom from November through January. Learn how to use DNA to further your family history.
Our Library and Our Special Collections
Our SSGHS Library is a non-profit 501(c)3, reference and research library, open to the public. Items are non-circulating (cannot be checked out). The Library contains more than 14,000 books and items for the United States as well as many other countries. Our card catalog is online (see top of page).
Our collections include but are not limited to:
- The PULLMAN COLLECTION of employee records
- Cemetery Master Index of 93 area cemeteries, containing over 62,500 names
- Chicago City Directories* 1871-1917, 1923, 1928-1929
- Oak Forest Hospital Cemetery records 1910-1971
- Blue Island Sun Obituaries Index 1919-1969
- Calumet City Naturalization records 1906-1954
- Calumet City Burial Permit records c. 1925-1941
- Records of several local funeral home
- Acme Steel Newsletters 1926-32, 1935-50, 1954-61
- Hammond City Directories* 1943-1974
- 600+ family histories*
- Selected funeral homes’ records
- County Histories and Atlases*
- Church histories and records*
- High School yearbooks*
- Regional telephone directories*
- Local area information files
- Microform and CD materials*
* see our online catalog
Library visitors may use this program for free (in-library use only):
FamilySearch — SSGHS is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library, providing access to millions of records including additional digital records and images not available outside a FamilySearch Family History Center or an Affiliate Library. When you are inside the SSGHS Library using your own computer, you will be able to access the “locked” records at FamilySearch.org.
Our helpful Library Volunteers are genealogists themselves, and are happy to assist you.
Interested in donating books or materials to SSGHS? To see what types of items SSGHS will accept, please read our Collection Development Policy.
2025-2026 Membership Year
Our 2025-2026 Membership Year runs from September 2025 to August 2026. Click here to join or to renew your current membership. (You may print, complete and mail a membership form along with your check, OR join or renew online by using credit, debit, or PayPal.)
Journal
Where The Trails Cross, The Journal of the South Suburban Genealogical & Historical Society, is published twice a year.
