MONTHLY RCGS Program Meetings: 6:30 PM on the 2nd Tuesday of the Month
Scroll Down for Future Months' Speakers, Programs, Zoom Links and Zoom Passcodes
Scroll Down for Future Months' Speakers, Programs, Zoom Links and Zoom Passcodes
JUNE 2026 - LIVE, IN-PERSON & ZOOM SIMULCAST
WRITING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY FOR THE NON-WRITER
Date & Time: Tuesday, June 9, 2026, 6:30 p.m. local WI time.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Location: Live Presentation at the Milton House Museum, 18 S. Janesville Rd., Milton, WI (Map Link) or view by Zoom on your Home PC or Smartphone with the Zoom app.
Program Presenter: Steve Szabados is a genealogy lecturer and author. He has traced his ancestors back to the 1600s in New England and the 1730s in Ireland, England, Poland, Germany, Bohemia, and Slovenia. His goal is to share his passion for Family History, and he has given numerous presentations to genealogical groups and libraries in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Illinois and has a master's degree from Northern Illinois University. He is a member of the Northwest Suburban Council of Genealogists, the Illinois State Genealogical Society, and the Polish Genealogical Society of America. He is also a genealogy volunteer at the Arlington Heights, Illinois, Library and the Genealogy Columnist for the Polish American Journal
Program Summary: Writing Your Family History for the Nonwriter Were your ancestors royalty or members of the working class? Were they rich or barely surviving? Whoever they were, we need to preserve their memory. The program will discuss a process and format that makes transforming your research efforts into a written family history easier. Learn a method to easily save your information and tips to help them "come alive." If we do not preserve our ancestors' memories and stories for future generations, who will?
How to Attend: This live presentation may be attended at the Milton House (address & Map Link above) OR viewed remotely on Zoom at the same scheduled time. The Zoom link, and handout link below allow participation from your home PC, Mac, or smartphone.
Download the Audience Handout below in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format: Available Soon
WRITING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY FOR THE NON-WRITER
Date & Time: Tuesday, June 9, 2026, 6:30 p.m. local WI time.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Location: Live Presentation at the Milton House Museum, 18 S. Janesville Rd., Milton, WI (Map Link) or view by Zoom on your Home PC or Smartphone with the Zoom app.
Program Presenter: Steve Szabados is a genealogy lecturer and author. He has traced his ancestors back to the 1600s in New England and the 1730s in Ireland, England, Poland, Germany, Bohemia, and Slovenia. His goal is to share his passion for Family History, and he has given numerous presentations to genealogical groups and libraries in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Illinois and has a master's degree from Northern Illinois University. He is a member of the Northwest Suburban Council of Genealogists, the Illinois State Genealogical Society, and the Polish Genealogical Society of America. He is also a genealogy volunteer at the Arlington Heights, Illinois, Library and the Genealogy Columnist for the Polish American Journal
Program Summary: Writing Your Family History for the Nonwriter Were your ancestors royalty or members of the working class? Were they rich or barely surviving? Whoever they were, we need to preserve their memory. The program will discuss a process and format that makes transforming your research efforts into a written family history easier. Learn a method to easily save your information and tips to help them "come alive." If we do not preserve our ancestors' memories and stories for future generations, who will?
How to Attend: This live presentation may be attended at the Milton House (address & Map Link above) OR viewed remotely on Zoom at the same scheduled time. The Zoom link, and handout link below allow participation from your home PC, Mac, or smartphone.
- Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82375527678?pwd=WoVjIXCs9rXPEGRV1TcwUZ3aEBsil4.1
- Password: Family (note capital F)
Download the Audience Handout below in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format: Available Soon
JULY 2026 - LIVE, IN-PERSON & ZOOM SIMULCAST
RITUALS OF ROMANCE: A HISTORY OF COURTSHIP AND WEDDINGS, 1830-1990
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 14, 2026, 6:30 p.m. local WI time.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Location: Live Presentation at the Milton House Museum, 18 S. Janesville Rd., Milton, WI (Map Link) or view by Zoom on your Home PC or Smartphone with the Zoom app.
Program Presenter: Leslie Bellais is the former curator of social history at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. She retired in January 2019. Leslie gives a wide range of programs on the history of clothing, textiles, quilts, dolls, and toys, including "Flapper Fashion," "Rituals of Romance: A History of Courtship and Weddings,1830-1990," "Civil War Memories & Mementos," and "Over Here: The Wisconsin home front in World War I." Leslie is based in Madison. Note: A fee and mileage (outside of Dane County) will be charged.
Program Summary: A bride in a chaste white wedding dress, her face hidden behind a veil, bridesmaids in matching dresses, piles of wedding gifts...all of these have become such entrenched traditions of the wedding ceremony they seem eternal, yet these rituals have existed less than 200 years. Dr. Leslie Bellais will explore how these traditions emerged, and why they've fossilized into the wedding rituals we experience today. She will also compare wedding practices to the rituals of courtship, which in contrast have changed and evolved over time.
How to Attend: This live presentation may be attended at the Milton House (address & Map Link above) OR viewed remotely on Zoom at the same scheduled time. The Zoom link, and handout link below allow participation from your home PC, Mac, or smartphone.
Download the Audience Handout below in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format: Available Soon
RITUALS OF ROMANCE: A HISTORY OF COURTSHIP AND WEDDINGS, 1830-1990
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 14, 2026, 6:30 p.m. local WI time.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Location: Live Presentation at the Milton House Museum, 18 S. Janesville Rd., Milton, WI (Map Link) or view by Zoom on your Home PC or Smartphone with the Zoom app.
Program Presenter: Leslie Bellais is the former curator of social history at the Wisconsin Historical Museum. She retired in January 2019. Leslie gives a wide range of programs on the history of clothing, textiles, quilts, dolls, and toys, including "Flapper Fashion," "Rituals of Romance: A History of Courtship and Weddings,1830-1990," "Civil War Memories & Mementos," and "Over Here: The Wisconsin home front in World War I." Leslie is based in Madison. Note: A fee and mileage (outside of Dane County) will be charged.
Program Summary: A bride in a chaste white wedding dress, her face hidden behind a veil, bridesmaids in matching dresses, piles of wedding gifts...all of these have become such entrenched traditions of the wedding ceremony they seem eternal, yet these rituals have existed less than 200 years. Dr. Leslie Bellais will explore how these traditions emerged, and why they've fossilized into the wedding rituals we experience today. She will also compare wedding practices to the rituals of courtship, which in contrast have changed and evolved over time.
How to Attend: This live presentation may be attended at the Milton House (address & Map Link above) OR viewed remotely on Zoom at the same scheduled time. The Zoom link, and handout link below allow participation from your home PC, Mac, or smartphone.
- Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89991412059?pwd=gInsSIn7RjrhzOgiCfgqpkdKCjaL84.1
- Password: Family (note capital F)
Download the Audience Handout below in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format: Available Soon
AUGUST 2026 - LIVE, IN-PERSON & ZOOM SIMULCAST
BREAKING DOWN YOUR ROCK COUNTY BRICK WALLS - A LIVE DEMONSTRATION OF THE HOLDINGS AND CAPABILITIES OF THE RCGS LIBRARY RESEARCH CENTER
Date & Time: Tuesday, August 11, 2026, 6:30 p.m. local WI time.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Location: Live Presentation at the Milton House Museum, 18 S. Janesville Rd., Milton, WI (Map Link) or view by Zoom on your Home PC or Smartphone with the Zoom app.
Program Presenter: Ruth Anderson is the RCGS Librarian and Rock County Historian. Ruth is a UW-W music education grad born & raised on a small Rock County dairy farm. She has been studying genealogy for 40+ years. For many years her goal has been to put family history into historical context. As a member of many heritage societies, she has completed applications for over a hundred ancestors for herself and others. She has volunteered for the Rock County Genealogical Society for 25 years, and has had the privilege of helping patrons find definitive records about client ancestors.
Program Summary: Ruth Anderson and her talented genealogical research volunteers will showcase techniques and resources of the RCGS Library by demonstrating several Rock County research inquiries to show how the staff apply the holdings of the Library, Archives and our digital subscriptions to identify long-lost ancestors from submissions of members who've hit a brick wall. Submissions are encouraged in advance. While time may not allow exploration of every inquiry, the approaches and techniques will reveal the tools and approaches that a visit to our Library or assigning us an economical fee-based research project can produce. This link provides more information about RCGS Research Help.
How to Attend: This live presentation may be attended at the Milton House (address & Map Link above) OR viewed remotely on Zoom at the same scheduled time. The Zoom link, and handout link below allow participation from your home PC, Mac, or smartphone.
Download the Audience Handout below in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format: Available Soon
BREAKING DOWN YOUR ROCK COUNTY BRICK WALLS - A LIVE DEMONSTRATION OF THE HOLDINGS AND CAPABILITIES OF THE RCGS LIBRARY RESEARCH CENTER
Date & Time: Tuesday, August 11, 2026, 6:30 p.m. local WI time.
Cost: Free and open to the public.
Location: Live Presentation at the Milton House Museum, 18 S. Janesville Rd., Milton, WI (Map Link) or view by Zoom on your Home PC or Smartphone with the Zoom app.
Program Presenter: Ruth Anderson is the RCGS Librarian and Rock County Historian. Ruth is a UW-W music education grad born & raised on a small Rock County dairy farm. She has been studying genealogy for 40+ years. For many years her goal has been to put family history into historical context. As a member of many heritage societies, she has completed applications for over a hundred ancestors for herself and others. She has volunteered for the Rock County Genealogical Society for 25 years, and has had the privilege of helping patrons find definitive records about client ancestors.
Program Summary: Ruth Anderson and her talented genealogical research volunteers will showcase techniques and resources of the RCGS Library by demonstrating several Rock County research inquiries to show how the staff apply the holdings of the Library, Archives and our digital subscriptions to identify long-lost ancestors from submissions of members who've hit a brick wall. Submissions are encouraged in advance. While time may not allow exploration of every inquiry, the approaches and techniques will reveal the tools and approaches that a visit to our Library or assigning us an economical fee-based research project can produce. This link provides more information about RCGS Research Help.
How to Attend: This live presentation may be attended at the Milton House (address & Map Link above) OR viewed remotely on Zoom at the same scheduled time. The Zoom link, and handout link below allow participation from your home PC, Mac, or smartphone.
- Zoom Link: www.us02web.zoom.us/j/85731293557?pwd=rJFjGKAA2W3mGSMvlxCBSx2eJQyOOs.1
- Password: Family (note capital F)
Download the Audience Handout below in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format: Available Soon