McHENRY COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
Officers
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1st Vice President (2025)
Susan Durbin Program Chair [email protected] As a young girl I became interested in Daughters of the American Revolution when I saw them march in a 4th of July parade in Wheaton, IL. That interest grew into researching my MacKay family history from Islay, Scotland. I dabbled in the research as I worked full time in sales for companies in the travel industry and traveled quite frequently. In 2019 I became serious when I researched my paternal grandmother's family the Pettibone’s. Cecil Pettibone, 3rd great grandfather, fought in the Civil War and is recognized on the Crystal Lake Union Cemetery war memorial. The McHenry County families besides Pettibone are McMillan and Rowley. My 5th great grandfather, Amos Pettibone, fought in the Revolutionary War which opened the door to become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution in April 2020. I’m working on filing the paperwork for my family to be recognized by McHenry County and in becoming a member of the Mayflower Society. My goal is to complete genealogy courses through Boston University to become a certified genealogist so I can research for others professionally. |
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2nd Vice President (2025)
Ann Wells Membership Chair [email protected] [email protected] Ann was born in England and grew up in California. Her genealogical research began with a grade-school assignment, but it took a number of years to pick up and go forward from there. Ann’s father-in-law knew nothing of his background which became the impetus to start researching. It took even more years to get back to her own family that she’d started years earlier. Personal research morphed into researching for others and eventually opening her own business, Wells Genealogical Research. With the belief that supporting the organizations she belonged to, Ann became involved in local genealogical societies in California and continued supporting various societies internationally, nationally and locally. Ann has served on the boards of BIGWILL, MCIGS, Illinois State Genealogical Society and served as committee chair or on committees of other societies. |
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Directors
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Director (2024)
Nancy Gaynor Library Chair [email protected] Nancy Roberts Gaynor first got interested working on genealogy while still in college. Pursuing a History degree as preparation for her Master’s degree in Librarianship, she took an Archives course. And was hooked. Getting started relatively early meant Nancy was able to talk with her paternal great aunt and get stories and photos from both of her parents. An early trip to the Ohio state archives also taught her the importance of having a research plan, and sticking to it. With BOTH parents from Ohio AND both sides having the name ROBERTS it was very easy to get distracted. Career and family made genealogy take a back seat for a number of years. It was Nancy’s return to library work that resurrected her genealogical interests. A part time professional position at the Cary Area Public Library has made it possible to brush up her own skills and offer a variety of programming options for people at the library. Nancy’s research areas of interest right now focus on Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as lineage societies including the Daughters of the American Revolution, First Families of Ohio and the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. |
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Director (2025)
Bill Wheeler Webmaster [email protected] Bill Wheeler started in genealogy in 1999 when he found his father’s research. Bill’s father was pursuing membership in the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) but didn’t have an opportunity to complete his application before he passed. Bill picked up his father’s research and completed a Memorial SAR application for his father which was later approved. Since that time, Bill not only completed his own primary application for the SAR but has several supplemental member certificates. Bill is the past president for the Fort Dearborn (Chicago) chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and past Senior State President for the Children of the American Revolution (C.A.R.). Bill is the current Illinois Society President for the Sons of the American Revolution. Bill is also a member of the Baronial Order of the Magna Carta and has an application pending in the General Society of Colonial Wars. During the day, Bill supports technology. Bill has over 25 years in the IT industries and currently works for CF Industries as a senior cloud architect. Bill holds dual master’s in business administration and nonprofit administration from North Park University. |