Mark your Calendars – October 13, 2019 Maple Grove Cemetery Walk

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Update! We are meeting at the Trinity Community Fellowship Church tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm. After the program, we will head to Maple Grove Cemetery to view the Clarno, Watson, Swigart and Herrick monuments highlighted in the program.
The Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society is sponsoring our second Cemetery Walk for Maple Grove Cemetery on Sunday, October 13th at 2 PM.
Families we will discover more about this year are the Herrick family, Jacob and Rebecca Davis Swigart, Grover and Elizabeth Webb Watson and the James and Maude Bissell Clarno family.
Please come and join us!
The cemetery is located south of Farmer City on the DeLand Blacktop. Due to the change in weather, we will relocate our dramatic presentation to the Trinity Community Fellowship church. The church is located at 1300 W Clinton Ave Farmer City, Illinois 61842.
Please come and join us and please share this information.

Annual Members Meeting November 15 at 7 PM

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Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society (FCG&HS) will hold their annual meeting November 15 at 7 PM at the Farmer City Museum.

All members are welcome to attend and vote for the 2018-19 Executive Board officers.The public is welcome too.

We will have Farmer City Journal archive pictures out for guests to identify.  If you would like to join the FCG&HS, membership is $15 annually and you will receive four Mirror Quarterlies sharing our Farmer City history.

Update – Maple Grove Cemetery Walk October 28 @ 2 PM Moved to Trinity Community Fellowship

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Come to the Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society Maple Grove Cemetery Walk October 28 at 2 PM!

We are sponsoring a cemetery walk at the Maple Grove Cemetery October 28, 2018 at 2 PM. We will look at five different sites, share family histories and other interesting tidbits:

• Hattie Moore family site, the “devil’s chair” and other grave monument ornamentation
• Alfred and Margaret Reeser family’s gravesite.
• Wheeler family – Maple Grove Cemetery founders.
• Joseph and Sabina Moore – benefactors of school land and the Moore Township High School building.
• Tull family site – Nelson Tull and Joseph Moore were old friends, buried across the lane from each other.

Maple Grove Cemetery is located about a mile south of Farmer City on the De Land Blacktop.

The program will be held at Trinity Community Fellowship, 1300 West Clinton Farmer City at 2 PM October 28.

Wear your comfortable shoes and enjoy the program.

Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society Program May 30 on Camp Butler National Cemetery History

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The Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society will be meeting at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) on Main Street’s west square by City Park for a 7 pm presentation from a Camp Butler National Cemetery representative. We will hear the history of the Springfield area former Civil War military training camp, transformed into a national cemetery. The cemetery includes the graves of Union soldiers, Confederate prisoners of war, Spanish-American War veterans all the way up into the Vietnam War. The members’ meeting/presentation is open to the public.

Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society Program March 28 at 7:00 pm

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A Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society program is scheduled at the VFW headquarters on the Square Wednesday, March 28, at 7:00 pm. There will be a panel discussion of “Growing up in and near the one and only Farmer City.” Members and community are all invited to come and reminisce.

This event is a reunion of generations and remembering. The end is when the stories stop, or Don Judd says goodnight. Come for the fun of it.

WILL features George Rock’s life in Farmer City

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WILL’s Jim Meadows came by the museum to see George Rock memorabilia and speak with Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society members about George Rock’s life in Farmer City.  The article showcasing George Rock’s musical talents and life is here:

https://will.illinois.edu/news/story/a-farmer-city-native-is-featured-in-a-perennial-christmas-song

2018 Membership Dues are Due

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If you haven’t already, please pay the 2018 membership dues as soon as possible. Rent and utilities for the museum space, and printing and mailing the Mirror are among the expenses that membership dues support.

If you’re not currently a member and you want to help the FCG&H Society to grow, you can join by registering on this website and paying with PayPal or sending a check to:

  • Membership Chairman
  • 224 South Main Street
  • Farmer City, IL 61842



(includes a $0.64 transaction fee to offset PayPal charges)

FCG&H Society Annual Meeting

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The Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society’s Annual Meeting is scheduled for November 16 at 5:30 p.m. We’ll be meeting at the newly renovated museum. Come and check it out! After the meeting, we will have a “Show & Tell” program. Bring a memento or memory from your family that tells a story. In the past, we’ve shared diplomas from the 1800s, articles and photos sharing a life tale. All are welcome.

Fundraising Campaign

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Please help us preserve our heritage and museum for future generations to enjoy by joining the Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society now.  Please read our news throughout the Mirror and consider giving more to be part of showcasing a Farmer City treasure.

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The ceiling renovation phase of the renovation project has been completed. We are very excited to reveal the tin ceiling that has been restored to its original color and condition.

 

Greetings!
The Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society is pleased to announce a new era has begun!
Because of the age of the Masonic building and others along the 200 block of South Main Street, built in 1879 right after the Great Fire, there have been some humidity issues in the museum. The vent-less gas heater in the back of the museum has not worked for quite some time.  We also have a single window air conditioner unit that was unable to maintain the proper humidity level in the summer.
To address these concerns, the Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society Board has been discussing and finding solutions for climate control in the building. We want to continue to preserve and protect all the precious items inside the Museum and Research Room, as well as showcase the building itself. Last year, we received a grant from the city of Farmer City to put in a new heating and air conditioning unit to control the climate in the 138-year-old building.  With much discussion, the Board also decided to expose the original tin ceiling in the front Museum area, add appropriate lighting, as well as brighten up the walls and add carpeting, along with the HVAC system, to make the Museum more inviting. Our goal is to be good stewards of the unique Farmer City items in the Museum, as well as helping the Masons with upkeep of this historic building. In order to do this, we need your help.
If you haven’t joined already, please consider starting this new year of 2017 as a Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society member.  Membership dues for the Farmer City Genealogical & Historical Society are $15.00 per year.  Membership includes 4 issues of The Mirror, a great source of information and photos from our past.

Please help us preserve our heritage and Museum for future generations to enjoy by joining now.  We are now fundraising for the remaining $3,500 towards our renovation efforts. Please consider donating to help fund the ongoing renovation of the Museum. One option is to help us purchase additional lighting fixtures that cost about $35 per light.

Dues and donations may be sent to FCG&H Society, 224 South Main Street, Farmer City, IL 61842 or are payable via PayPal on the website https://fcghsociety.org. Don’t miss out!
The 2017 Winter Mirror is already in the mail to current members. Harry Swigart, his family and Swigart Camp are highlighted in this edition.

As always, thank you to those who are already 2017 members and particularly to those members who made donations to the Society already.  Your support is appreciated!  If you have questions, please email admin@fcghsociety.org or call (309) 928-7198.