“ Some people aren ’ t interested in being a member , but they want to do research ,” Denman said . “ We suggest a donation of $ 3 a visit . We like people to come .”

Denman said he ’ d been an IGHS member for some time before he joined the board .

“ I remember I was interested in genealogy when I was in college , and we didn ’ t have a fraction then of what we have now ,” Denman said of available resources .

When he announced his retirement as superintendent from Danville School District 118 in 2015 , he received a letter from then IGHS President Carolyn Livingston nominating him for a two-year term as treasurer .

“ The more I thought about it , I thought , ‘ Well , I have time ( and ) I think I ’ d like that ,’” he said . He served as treasurer

for six years before becoming president .

“ We ’ re a very informal group ,” he said . “ We have a nice group of volunteers , and we ’ re always looking for new people .”

There are currently about 20 volunteers , some of whom have been volunteering since 1998 , and they play a variety of roles at the society , including in research and organization .

Denman said there are a lot of old documents that

volunteers are in the process of digitizing and inputting to computer spreadsheets . There are also plenty of donations to sort through and determine what they are and where to store them .

“ It ’ s interesting to volunteer down here ,” Denman said . “ It really is different . We want more people to know about us .”

Volunteers can help with any research for individuals ,

Illiana Genealogical and Historical Society President Mark Denman looks through Pennsylvania Archives at the IGHS library . The library has historical documents from many states in the U . S ., though most of the collection is centered on Danville , Vermilion County , Fountain County , Ind . and the surrounding areas . Hannah Shillo photo

including old newspaper articles , finding houses family members once lived in and general genealogy . Denman said while the internet can be helpful in research , there ’ s usually a lot that can ’ t be found on the internet that the IGHS has access to , and they enjoy helping someone find out more about their family history .

“ We welcome visitors and we ’ re here to help ,” Denman said . “ If people have historical things that they ’ d like to see preserved , they ’ ll be preserved here .”