WCGS Officer and Trustee Biographies April 2024

 

Interim President

John G. Chamberlin - Member #316 I just finished my 20th year as a WCGS member and a participant in the Chamberlin DNA project. My Chamberlin line starts with a string of Richard's in Somerset England and leads through Richard of Braintree. Since around 1540 no two generations of this line have been born and buried in the same place, mostly not even one stay put generation. My great grandfather moved one more time after he died, for good measure. Following that tradition, I was born in Humboldt, Iowa nine months after my father John E. Chamberlin returned from WW II. He managed a chicken hatchery and in 1952 after he returned from Korean Era service we moved to Clarksville Arkansas where he managed a hatchery for 10 years and I went through 1st to 10th grades. We then moved to Fort Smith Arkansas for another hatchery. I started working summers in hatcheries when I was 12 and did that until the summer, I was 20 and upgraded to computer programmer for the same company. I learned computing while getting my Ag Engineering degree from Michigan State. I was drafted after my college graduation and fortunately ended up in a headquarters in Germany. I then went to MIT, got a MS and did travelling from Europe to Afghanistan. A little over 50 years ago I got a job with a financial technology startup in Little Rock, which is where I live today. I quit after three years and started my own software firm, Arkansas Systems. We did some work with chickens, but that somehow evolved into ATM management software and clients around the world. We eventually sold the company and I have done a mix of things since, mostly focused on education, environment, and entrepreneurship. My wife Shannon and I have been married 47 years and have three children: John, Mary and Katharyn; and 3 grandchildren. In addition to genealogy, I write, hike, kayak and have backpacked in national parks.

 

Interim Vice President

Patricia Steinkerchner, Member # 436

Secretary

Barbara Ellen Ryan, Member # 491, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Chicago to work for the Social Security Administration after graduating from Wittenberg University. I met my husband, Jack, three weeks later and we were married three weeks short of 55 years. I began researching because I had an unusual maiden name, Von Sick, and only knew my father, grandfather, and uncle with the name. I was the first and fifth president of the Chicago Genealogical Society and have held offices in the DuPage County, Illinois, and Berrien County, Michigan, societies. I belong to the DAR in Three Oaks, Michigan, and Society of Mayflower Descendants in Illinois. I moved from Illinois to Michigan in 2009. I am descended from Edmund Chamberlain the immigrant, John, Jacob, Edmund, David, Hubbard, Edmund, Grace.

 

Treasurer

Dale Eugene Chamberlain, Member # 461 Gene Chamberlain retired early and became heavily involved in his family genealogy in 2008 while living in Connecticut. Over time he visited every town that both of his maternal (Sherwood) and paternal (Chamberlain) ancestors lived, collecting many records (especially property records) that are only available in town halls. These travels took him from the 1600’s and 1700’s of Massachusetts and Connecticut, to the early 1800’s of Upstate New York and central Ohio, to the late 1800’s of Missouri and Kansas, to the 1900’s in Iowa, where Gene was born. Gene has a Financial/Accounting background and has served several non-profit organizations, a Foundation and 2 homeowner associations as Treasurer. He is currently a co-administrator of both our WCGS genealogy site and the FTDNA Chamberlain project.

 

Trustee

Dee Schlesser, Member # 538 was born in Evansville, Indiana. Raised all over the world and finally thought I had settled down in 1989 when we moved to Lexington, Kentucky, but that was not the case as I have moved once more in 2021 to Sparta Tennessee. My father and my husband were both Army Retirees. They took me all over the US and Italy, Japan, and three trips to Germany. I served in the Army also and was assigned to Okinawa during Vietnam. My husband David Schlesser died in 1999. I have three children, James, John and Rebecca who all also served in the military. (The boys in the Navy and Rebecca is active duty Army. ) I also have five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. I have held many jobs as we moved so often. Nursing, Tailer and seamstress, Physical Therapy, worked in a special reference lab, editorial clerk, secretary, Patient representative, Machine knitter. I served with the Boy Scouts for 25 years in unit, district, and council levels. I have been a researcher and teacher of genealogy for over 50 years. Until DNA made it available, my oldest confirmed ancestor was George Christopher Chamberlain 1816-1899. Now Richard of Raintree 1620-1674 has been confirmed by Y-DNA. There is still one unconfirmed generation (which son), but it is getting closer to being confirmed. The line: Richard of Braintree, Benjamin, John, John (Old Quail), Joel, (Poss.) Jacob S., George Christopher, George Joel, John Henderson, Genevieve Mae Chamberlain, myself.

 

Trustee

Barbara Ellen Ryan, Member # 491, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Chicago to work for the Social Security Administration after graduating from Wittenberg University. I met my husband, Jack, three weeks later and we were married three weeks short of 55 years. I began researching because I had an unusual maiden name, Von Sick, and only knew my father, grandfather, and uncle with the name. I was the first and fifth president of the Chicago Genealogical Society and have held offices in the DuPage County, Illinois, and Berrien County, Michigan, societies. I belong to the DAR in Three Oaks, Michigan, and Society of Mayflower Descendants in Illinois. I moved from Illinois to Michigan in 2009. I am descended from Edmund Chamberlain the immigrant, John, Jacob, Edmund, David, Hubbard, Edmund, Grace.

 

Trustee

Theadore J. Chamberlin, Member # 4