The Madison County Genealogical Society does not have a physical location, which is why our address is a Post Office box. We have a genealogical room at the Edwardsville Public Library in Edwardsville, IL where we keep our research material including microfilm of the Edwardsville newspapers (the Spectator and then the Intelligencer) back into the early 1800's. There is a microfilm reader/printer available in the room. Other materials include information on surrounding counties, many of the "immigrant" books (such as the Germans to America series, Italians to America series, etc.), old atlases, a vertical file of miscellaneous articles, family histories that have been donated, publications from many other societies both in Illinois, Missouri and other states, and many other items. The room is staffed by volunteers, usually a few hours every week day. We meet on the second Thursday of every month at 7 pm at the Immanuel United Methodist Church, 800 N. Main St., Edwardsville, IL. Our May meeting is held in the Edwardsville Public Library. A short business meeting is followed by a program relating to an historical or genealogical aspect of interest to the members. Members and non-members are always welcome. Our web site can be found at http://www.plantnet.com/mcgs. As with any non-profit organization, we are made up of volunteers. Some of us are on this mailing list and try to answer the questions as they come up. We have many projects in the works including our 11th cemetery book and a transcription of the difficult to read 1870 census. If you are traveling from another state to do research here, please notify us in advance and maybe we can make your trip more helpful. I can't promise anything as we are volunteers, but we are willing to try. We are often confused with the Madison County Historical Society, operators of the Madison County Historical Museum, who also have and excellent research room in the museum and they are also able to help with research. Their address and phone number are: 715 North Main Street; Edwardsville, IL 62025; (618) 656-7562. I enjoy the helpful information from this list and the society even though none of my ancestors are from Madison County. I rely on others to help me with my research in another Illinois county so I understand long distance research and some of its frustrations. I hope the information has cleared up some misunderstandings. Mary Westerhold