Information Diggers

Information Diggers Services include: Genealogical Research and Consulting; Historical Research; Archives and Special Collections; Presentations, Seminars and Workshops

A life-long Chicagoan, Ginger Frere MBA, MLIS, has been involved in family history for the past 20 years. In addition to working with private clients, speaking and teaching seminars, Ginger is a reference librarian in the Genealogy and Local History Section at the Newberry Library in Chicago, where her responsibilities include providing reference services and working on digital projects. She is co

-director of ChicagoAncestors.org, a free website for finding and sharing historical information about Chicago.

09/02/2021

When visiting Chicago History Museum's Great Chicago Fire exhibit, check out things to do for toddlers, elementary kids, teens and more.

09/01/2021

Registration is now open!

Chicago commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Great Fire this fall, and it’s easy to assume that nothing has survived. This is anything but true. In this course, we’ll uncover a gold mine of treasures that survived the fire and illustrate what life in Chicago was like before the disaster.

08/31/2021

We're sharing our "Chicago Genealogical Society’s Recommendations for Commemorating The 150th Anniversary of The Great Chicago Fire on October 8, 2021." We hope they will help enrich your understanding of what some of our Chicago ancestors experienced.

Interested in Chicago history? Check out this guide!
03/17/2021

Interested in Chicago history? Check out this guide!

A guide to Chicago's neighborhoods and 77 officially designated community areas

01/16/2021

with Tim Neff and Michael Kraus

10/15/2020

Hundreds of Native American treaties have been scanned and are freely available online, for the first time, through the National Archives Catalog. https://go.usa.gov/xGJp9

Also, in partnership with The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC), these treaties and extensive additional historical and contextual information are available through Treaties Explorer (https://digitreaties.org/).

"Thanks to our anonymous donor, we were able to do needed conservation work, scan and digitize this historically and culturally important collection, and these records are accessible for anyone, anywhere, through our National Archives Catalog," said David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States. "Now, many more descendants of the original peoples can examine the names and seals and read the words set down by their ancestors so long ago. But more than that, the treaties are still relevant today as tribal leaders and lawyers continue to use them to assert their rights in court, such as in cases over land and water rights."

Image: Ratified Indian Treaty 360: Sioux (Sisseton [Sissiton], Wahpeton [Warpeton]) - Washington, DC, 1867. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/58234673

Maps, Maps and more Maps!
09/10/2020

Maps, Maps and more Maps!

How did our ancestors get from one place to another? Where might they have gotten married? Ginger Frere, professional researcher, will show off a wide variety of maps that can be used to tell the story of Illinois and will provide suggestions for finding maps to tell your family story. This program....

07/20/2020

Just because large gatherings are still unsafe, you don't have to cancel your genealogy society/group meetings! Most have now moved online and you can too!

All of my presentations are available via Zoom or webinar. No technical expertise? No problem! Check out the list on the website. You can also see some previews on my YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKMupYCqtoxyC9-g7ifHKjw/

https://dcc.newberry.org/collectionsThe Newberry Library’s Digital Collections for the Classroom website is an education...
03/19/2020

https://dcc.newberry.org/collections

The Newberry Library’s Digital Collections for the Classroom website is an educational resource designed for teachers and students featuring primary sources from the Newberry’s holdings, contextual essays, and discussion questions. This is a great source for those curious minds that are all stuck at home!

A number of new collections have been added recently, including Chicago after the Great Fire. https://dcc.newberry.org/collections/chicago-after-great-fire

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Chicago, IL

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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