There is nothing more helpful that a handy reference book with information specific to the area you are researching. I've listed below those that I know about.
(find in a library) will give you a link to help you find the book in the library closest to you. Most will show libraries near Ann Arbor... to change the location, type in your zip code and you can find libraries near you.
All of the three books listed below have a small section covering each state that includes maps, historical information, vital records coverage and a bibliography of resources for that state.
- Handybook for Genealogists ( 11th edition) (find in a library) (note: some libraries may have earleir editions; those are perfectly usable)
- Ancestry's Redbook (you'll want the 3rd edition) (find in a library)
- The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogical Research (find in a library)
Here are some books specific to Illinois research:
DuMelle. Finding Your Chicago Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide to Family History in The City and Cook County. (review) (find in a library)
Hamilton. Roots on the Prairie: Tracing Your Illinois Ancestors. (find in a library)
Illinois State Archives. Summary Guide to Local Government Records in the Illinois Regional Archives.
Schweitzer. Illinois Genealogical Research
Szucs. Chicago and Cook County: A guide to Research
Wolf. A Reference Guide for Genealogical land Historical Research in Illinois (out of print) (find in a library)
There are several audiotapes covering Illinois research of programs taped at genealogical conferences over the years. |
First, bookmark or print out these FHL documents: Illinois Research Outline and Illinois Historical background. Also look at Illinois Statewide Indexes& Collections.
Use the catalog at the FHL to find out what has been filmed covering the state Illinois ; Click View Related Places in the upper right to find sources that have been filmed for the county you are researching and once there click View Related Places in the upper right to find sources that have been filmed for the township or city. REMEMBER: You will want to check for resources in all three jurisdictions, although most people check the county holdings first, township next and state last.
Maps
Bookmark or print out this map of Illinois Counties. You may find some historical maps of interest at Illinois Historical Maps Online -- but before you start looking at maps, you may find it helpful to read their instructions for viewing., although I didn't find them as helpful as you might hope. I couldn't read the text on most of the maps, even when zoomed to 100%, The only way to zoom beyond 100% is by clicking view Mr. Sids Image-Zoom, underneath the map. You can then zoom on selected areas by choosing the ratio and clicking on the "zoomed view" window. Unfortunately, that is a small window, so it takes a lot of navigating to see clear images of maps.
The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection: Illinois Maps has some useful maps.
Check out the county pages at these statewide sites devoted to Illinois genealogy and history:
Cenus work is always an early step. An indexed transcript of the 1880 census is on line at FamilySearch.org (note you have to select the 1880 U.S. census from the dropdown box.) Find more at Censusfinder.com: List of Illinois census records online. See also: access to census records for general information on obtaining census records.
Visit the websites of these archives, libraries and societies.
The Illinois State Archives is actively providing information online. You will want to start with thier page Genealogy in the Illinois State Archives . then check out their list of online databases.
Illinois divides responsibility for maintenance of local archival holdings into regions, with each region assigned to a specific library, referred to as IRAD (llinois Regional Archive Depository System). An online listing of holdings of the allows you to find which records are held in the various sites. (scroll down and read the searching hints)
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library (was Illinois Historical Library) houses a large historical and genealogical collection., including the library of the Illinois Genealogical Society. It is located in Sprinfield.
The Newberry Library in Chicago is one of the premier premier libraries in the nation, with an extensive genealogy collection. The genealogy holdings are not limited to Illiois or even the midwest. It alone is worth a trip to Chicago, but the Newberry site also includes a map of several other research libraries of genealogical value in and around the city., including the NARA Great Lakes Region branch.
There is a wealth of helpful information at the website of the Illinois State Genealogical Society . To find other genealogy societies in Illinois, consult the Illinois Genealogy Society Directory
Newspapers
Research newspaper availability at the Illinois Newspaper Project by searching the INP Database. You can search for a town to see what newspapers have been filmed for a specific city or town, or ay county to see a list of those filmed that were published in a given county. Once you've identified a title of interest, inquire at your local library to obtain the film on interlibrary loan.
Vital Records
* Illinois Vital Records (official)
* Vitalrec Illinois Page
Check these three ongoing Illinois projects -- if you don't find the record you want, double check to see if the appropriate county has been indexed
-- Searchable statewide marriage index 1763-1900
-- Searchable statewide death index pre-1916
-- Searchable statewide death index 1916-1950
To find out what birth, marriage, death and divorce records are available at the various IRAD repositories, search the holdings database using the words marriage, birth, death or divorce in the title field. You can further refine your search by county or repository.
Don't overlook your Illinois Black Sheep Ancestors
To get help from others, see if offers at the Illinois page of Random Acts of Genealogical Kindess or the more comprehensive Directory of Volunteers: Illinois might be useful to you.
Also, post a queary in the appropriate Illinois county folder at the Rootsweb/Ancestry state message boards or at Genealogy.com's Illinois Genealogy Forum (which doesn't break down by counties).
More links:
* Linkpendium: Illinois Page
* Rootsweb: U.S. Resources: Illinois
* Genealink's Ilinois Page
* Access Genealogy's List of Illinois Links
* Cyndi's List Illinois Page |
