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News Block documents displayed at Lincoln Home National Historic Site
The Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS) exhibited a unique collection of presidential autographs at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site Visitor Center from April 15-29, 2005. The exhibit coincided with the festivities for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum opening. It was the first time the collection has been exhibited to the public. The papers were collected by former ISHS members Joseph and Lucille Block of Chicago and were donated to the Society in 2001. Joseph Block, former CEO of Inland Steel Corporation, was a serious collector of Lincoln documents as well as the other U.S. Presidents. The collection includes the signatures of U.S. Presidents from James Madison to Calvin Coolidge. Original Currier and Ives lithographs related to Lincoln and the Civil War were included in the donation. The documents include handwritten notes from Lincoln to Generals Grant and Meade, thank you notes from Franklin Pierce, William Howard Taft, and Calvin Coolidge, and a letter from Andrew Jackson to a friend asking about the local banks. The Society is looking for opportunities to exhibit the collection at other Illinois historic sites, museums, and historical societies. If your organization is interested, please call the Society office at 217-525-2781. 4 |ILLINOIS HERITAGE Museum Trails a boon for Boy Scouts The Illinois State Historical Society's "Museum Trails" passport earned In addition to offering the Museum Trail patch, the Society offered Scouts an opportunity to earn the American Heritage Merit Badge. More than 35 Scouts attended the two, three-hour workshops at the Lincoln Home and Illinois Military Museum, learning about state and local history, draw ing maps, and visiting sites on the National Register of Historic Places. Family ties Building Family Bridges: Linking the Present to the Past, the Illinois State Genealogical Society's Fall Conference, will be held at the Holiday Inn, Itasca, Illinois, on Saturday, October 15, 2005. Speakers include Tony Burroughs, Maureen Brady, Jeff Bockman, Brother Joseph Martin, Craig Pfannkuche, Helen Sclair, Jack Simpson, and CAGG-NI (Computer-Assisted Genealogy Group of Northern Illinois). Vendors will offer their genealogical products. Genealogy societies will be present as well. Registration information and online registration at www.rootsweb.com/~ilsgs/. Visions sought for 2006 calendar Wanted! Contributions for the Illinois Historical Society's 2006 Illinois Visions Underground Railroad on microfilm The Ohio Historical Society recently announced the availability of a new microfilm edition of the Wilbur H. Siebert Collection, a premiere resource for studying the Underground Railroad. Siebert was a professor at the Ohio State University from 1891-1935. His research material on anti-slavery activity, collected over a period of fifty years, includes survey responses, interviews, and copies and notes from books, diaries, letters, photographs, newspapers, biographies, memoirs, speeches, annual reports, trial records, census records, and legislation. He organized his research by state and county, eventually binding his notes in volumes by location. A detailed finding aid is available online. Microfilm may be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan or purchased for $50 per roll. For more information, go to http://www.ohiohistory.org/undergroundrr/. ILLINOIS HERITAGE| 5
Society offers bicentennial prints Reproductions of three historic Illinois paintings are now available through the Illinois State Historical Society's book store. Robert Thom's portrayals of Marquette and Jolliet's first meeting with the Illini Indians in 1673 and the British occupation of Fort De Chartres, as well as George I. Parrish Jr.'s "Clark Raids Fort Sackville" have been digitally reproduced and framed in handsome native walnut. The reproductions, which measure 24" x 36," sell for $200 for members, $235 for nonmembers, plus shipping and applicable tax. For more on the prints, call 217-525-2781. Faith and history The 2005 Illinois History symposium will be held December 1-3 at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield and nearby environs. This year's Symposium theme is "Religion and Society" and will feature a variety of papers, presentations, and panels on all matters of Illinois history. The Symposium also will feature the second Illinois History Video Fair, which showcases new documentaries produced by and about the Prairie State. Continuing Professional Development Credits (CPDUs) will be offered to teachers who register for the Symposium. Graduate students, senior citizens, genealogists, and amateur and professional historians are encouraged to attend. For more information call 217-525-2781, or visit the Society's website at www.historyillinois.org. 6 |ILLINOIS HERITAGE |
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patches for dozens of Boy Scouts who attended the 60th Annual Abraham Lincoln Pilgrimage in Springfield on April 23-24. Scouts received passports to visit 11 historic sites and museums in Springfield, including the Grand Army of the Republic Museum, the Museum of Funeral Customs, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, the Pearson Medical History Museum, the Elijah Iles House, and others, earning ISHS stickers at each site. Scouts who visited at least four museums during the Pilgrimage could then purchase the Museum Trail patch for $3.
calendar. Museums, historical societies, and interested individuals are encouraged to send their favorite images from our state's past for consideration. Digital copies scanned as jpeg images at 300 dpi are preferred, but prints are also 
acceptable. Send your photos to Visions Calendar, Illinois State Historical Society, 210 1/2 South Sixth Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701. All photos accompanied by self-addressed stamped envelopes will be returned. The deadline for this year's calendar is July 15. For more information call 217-525-2781.