Illinois Genealogy Resources
Newspapers and Periodicals
Newspapers
Newspapers publish marriage, divorce, death, and funeral notices, and obituaries. Notices include names, dates, and places. Marriage and death notices may contain maiden names and names of parents and other living relatives.
Newspapers also publish articles of local interest that often cover religious and social events in the community and include the names of people involved. Some newspapers serve several communities and devote columns to the everyday happenings in the area. Newspapers also include legal notices, estate sales, and advertising for local businesses.
The larger cities in Illinois began publishing newspapers in the 1830s through 1850s. The best collection of Illinois newspapers is held by the Illinois State Historical Library. The Illinois Newspaper Project is the primary resources for identifying Illinois newspapers from 1814 to the present.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library holds newspaper titles from every one of Illinois' 102 counties, many date from the early nineteenth century. Reels can be obtained through interlibrary loan services to libraries throughout the nation. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is the premier repository for materials relating to the life of Abraham Lincoln and the history of the Prairie State. The ALPL, originally the Illinois State Historical Library, was created in 1889 by the Illinois General Assembly, which charged the new library with collecting and preserving "books, pamphlets, manuscripts, monographs, writings, and other materials of historical interest and useful to the historian, bearing upon the political, religious, or social history of the State of Illinois from the earliest known period of time."
- Brieschke, Walter L. Index of obituaries printed in the
Southern Illinois herald newspaper, 1893-1922 / compiled by
Walter L. Brieschke. Murphysboro, IL (P.O. Box 7, Murphysboro
62966) : Jackson County Historical Society, 1985. 30 leaves ; 28
cm.
- Brumleve, Dorothy A. Teutopolis News as Reported in the
Effingham Volksblatt 1884-1886. Urbana, Illinois, 2004. The
Volksblatt was the only German paper in that area of the
state.
- Chicago Historical
Society - Has mostly Chicago newspapers.
- Custer, Milo, 1880- Central Illinois obituaries,
1848-1870 / (compiled from old newspapers) by Milo Custer.
Central Illinois death notices, 1848-1870 Normal, Ill.
(P.O. Box 488, Normal 61761) : Bloomington-Normal Genealogical
Society, [1985]. ii, 26 p. ; 29 cm.
- Custer, Milo, 1880- Central Illinois obituaries, 1871-1880 /
(compiled from old newspapers) by Milo Custer.
- Ecklund, Joan. Marriage, Birth and Death Information
1889-1920 from the Lamoille (IL) Gazette Newspaper.
Princeton, Illinois: Bureau County Genealogical Society, 2001.
- "Ethnic Newspapers at the Chicago Historical Society."
Illinois Libraries 74, 5 (November 1992) p. 449.
- The Illinois Herald, published at Kaskaskia in 1814,
was the first Illinois newspaper.
-
Illinois Newspaper Project - Find your newspaper and what
library holds it, and from there you can order the microfilm of
it via interlibrary loan. To date, 10,115 newspaper titles are
cataloged and listed on the Illinois Newspaper Project website.
You can search by county, by city, by newspaper title, by year
of publication, and by repositories. Some Illinois repositories
hold newspapers from other states.
-
Illinois Newspapers
-
Illinois Newspapers Online.
- The Illinois State
Historical Library , Springfield - Has extensive collections
of newspapers.
-
Newberry Library, Chicago - Has extensive Chicago
collection, with some other Illinois papers; includes
foreign-language papers
-
TheOldenTimes.com - Historic Newspapers Online - Illinois
- University of
Illinois, Champaign-Urbana - Has an extensive collection of
newspapers.
- Villa Park Argus Obituaries - An index of obituaries published in the Villa Park Argus, beginning in 1931, of people who were Villa Park residents or had some other connection to the village.
Some additional print sources:
- Chicago Marriage and Death Indexes. Salt Lake City:
Genealogical Society of Utah, 1983. These typescript indexes to
marriage and death records from Chicago newspapers are also
known as the Sam Fink Collection.
- Ecklund, Joan. Marriage, Birth and Death Information,
1889-1920 from the La Moille Gazette Newspaper, Bureau County
/ compiled By Joan Ecklund. Princeton, Ill. : Bureau County
Genealogical Society, c2000. 108 p. : maps ; 28 cm.
- James, Edmund J. A Bibliography of Newspapers Published
in Illinois Prior to 1860. Illinois State Historical Library
Publications, Number 1. Springfield, Illinois : Phillips
Brothers, 1899.
- Newspaper Research Committee of the Chicago Genealogical
Society. Vital Records form Chicago Newspapers, 1833-1839.
Chicago : The Society, 1971.
- Newspaper Research Committee of the Chicago Genealogical
Society. Vital Records from Chicago Newspapers, 1843-1844.
Chicago : The Society, 1974.
- Newspaper Research Committee of the Chicago Genealogical
Society. Vital Records from Chicago Newspapers, 1845.
Chicago : The Society, 1975.
- Pease, Janet K. Genealogical Abstracts From Rock Island
County, Illinois, Newspapers. 38 vols. [Arvada, Colo.: Janet
K. Pease]; Rock Island, Ill.: Blackhawk Genealogical Society,
1973–1995. Many volumes are on film only.
- Scott, Franklin William. Newspapers and Periodicals of
Illinois, 1814–1879. Springfield, Ill.: Trustees of the
Illinois State Historical Library, 1910.
- Stark, Sandra M. "Newspapers in the Illinois State Library,"
Illinois Libraries 70 (March-April 1988) : 3-4. Updated
publication in Illinois Libraries every three years.
- University of Chicago. Newspapers in the Libraries of
Chicago. Chicago : University of Chicago Libraries, 1936.
- Vital Records From Chicago Newspapers. Chicago: Chicago Genealogical Society, 1971–. Death, marriage, and birth announcements in Chicago newspapers from 1833 to 1848
Periodicals
Most family history periodicals publish transcriptions of local sources used in genealogical research. Information published in periodicals may include family histories, genealogies, historical background, maps, information about local records and archives, queries, census indexes, transcripts of family Bibles, church records, court records, cemetery records, land records, military records, obituaries, and wills. Often published by genealogical or historical societies, they typically focus on the records of a particular county, while a few may specialize in records of a particular ethnic group or religion.
- Ancestors: Yours And Mine. Lexington, IL : Lexington
Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc., v. ; 28 cm.
- Branching Out From St. Clair County. 1973–. Published
by the Marissa Historical and Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 47,
Marissa, IL 62257-0047. This periodical focuses on St. Clair
County, which was created in 1790, the first county formed in
the Northwest Territory.
- Central Illinois Genealogical Quarterly. Decatur,
Ill. : Decatur Genealogical Society, v. ; 28 cm.
- Chicago Genealogist. 1968–. Published by the Chicago
Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1160, Chicago, IL 60690. This
contains member and ancestor lists and abstracts of cemetery,
Bible, census, court, and other records of the Chicago area.
- The Circuit Rider. 1973–. Published by the Sangamon
County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1829, Springfield, IL
62705. This covers Springfield and Sangamon County.
- The Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library, Chicago.
4 vols. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1960. A surname index to
genealogical periodicals and local history books in the Newberry
Library completed in 1915.
- The Illiana Genealogist: Quarterly Publication of the
Illiana Genealogical and Historical Society. 1965–. P.O. Box
207, Danville, IL 61834. This includes transcriptions of records
for the border area of Illinois and Indiana. There is a surname
index for each volume.
- Illinois Heritage. Published by the Illinois State
Historical Society, is a bimonthly magazine aimed at a broader
audience.
- Illinois Historical Journal. Published by the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency for the Illinois State
Historical Society. Previously known as the Journal of the
Illinois State Historical Society, each issue contains
articles and reviews pertaining to Illinois history. There are
cumulative indexes for volumes 1–25, 26–50, and 51–60.
- Illinois Libraries. Published by the Illinois State
Library, often contains information on genealogical collections
within the state.
- Illinois
Periodicals Online - A Digital Imaging project of the
Northern Illinois University Libraries
- Illinois records & reviews. Sultan, WA : Marjory
Cory-Hall, [1993-
v. ; 28 cm. Vol. 1 (July 1993)-
- Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly. 1969–.
Published by the Illinois State Genealogical Society, P.O. Box
10195, Springfield, IL 62791-0195. Covering the entire state,
this provides articles about Illinois records and how to use
them, as well as abstracts of records.
- The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society.
Published four times a year since 1908, has excellent articles
on local and state history as well as book reviews.
- Prairie Roots. 1973–. Published by the Peoria
Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1489, Peoria, IL 61655. This
periodical focuses on Peoria County.
- Saga Of Southern Illinois. Murphysboro, Ill. :
Genealogy Society of Southern Illinois, v. ; 29 cm.
- St. Clair County Genealogical Society Quarterly.
1978–. Published by the St. Clair County Genealogical Society,
P. O. Box 431, Belleville, IL 62222-0431. This periodical
focuses on historical St. Clair County. Volume 20, number 4 is
devoted entirely to county research and resources.
- Sangamon County Genealogical Society Quarterly.
Springfield, Ill. : Sangamon County Genealogical Society,
1968-1973. v. ; 28 cm.
- Schmidt, Martha Mae, comp. Surname Index, 1978–1987, St.
Clair County Genealogical Society Quarterlies. Belleville,
Ill.: The Society, 19–?. A 10-year index.
- Searching Illinois Ancestors. Shelbyville, IL :
Helen Cox Tregillis, v.
- The Tri-State Packet Of The Tri-State Genealogical
Society. Evansville, Ind. : Tri-State Genealogical Society,
1977- v. ; 28 cm.
- Where the Trails Cross. 1970–. Published by the South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society, P.O. Box 96, South Holland, IL 60473. This contains lists of World War I and II soldiers and abstracts of records from south Cook and north Will counties.