Mapping your past : genealogy at the Illinois State Archives

2011·0.54 MB·English

by  Illinois. State Archives Division

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MAPPING YOUR
SECRETARY OF STATE
Census records
The Archives has both state and federal census
records spanning more than 100 years.
1810-1860: Indexes are available covering state
anddecennial federal censusrecords.The onlyrea-
sonably complete state census for this period,
1855,hasonlynamesofheadsofhouseholds;other
family entries are simple tallies. This is true forall
pre-1850 federal censuses.
1865: Because this final state census is only par-
tially indexed.Archives staffalsoneedscounty and
township names when using it. Unindexed sched-
ulesofcitiescannot be searched by staff. Thiscen-
sus lists only names ofheads ofhouseholds.
1870 A published index, providing the names of
:
heads ofhouseholds, is available.
.
KCLf dT tPWjt
1880: The index for this census lists only house- eral mortality schedules are available only for indexed records; all subsequent transactions are
holds with children under age 11. The index is thosecountiesalphabeticallylistedafterKankakee kept with the county recorder. Archives records
searchable by names of heads of households. If County.Inallfourmortalityschedules,therecords include the purchaser’s name and residence, the
countyandtownshipnamesareprovided,staffcan reflectonlythosedeathsoccurringduringtheyear datethe landwaspurchasedandits legal descrip-
search those with populations ofless than 2,500. beforeenumeration. tion. Information such as the buyer’s formerresi-
Nocitysearches. dencearenotindicated.
The Illinois Statewide Marriage Index (pre-1818-
1890:ThefederalcensuswaslostinaWashington, 1900),createdincooperationwiththeIllinoisState
D.C.,firein 1921 Genealogical Society, is available online at Local and county
www.cyberdriveillinois.com.
1900,1910,1920:Indexesaresearchablebynames
ofheadsofhouseholds.Anindextoeachcensusis resources
available. Wars of old
Archivesstaffcansearchindexesofspecificcoun-
1930:Thisunindexedcensusisavailableonmicro- The Archives has name indexes for Illinois units ty histories and provide copies of biographical
film for patrons to use. It cannot be searched by servingduringtheWarof1812,BlackHawkWar, sketches.Awealthofgenealogicalinformationalso
Archivesstaff. Mexican War, Civil War and Spanish-American isavailablethroughtheIllinoisRegionalArchives
TcfeehsnessiuAosrnec-shsipfveoecristfhiaecl:spoerhaiagosrditcohueflts1up8re5ce0i-a1l(81f88e0d5.e0rT-a1wl8od8e0ac)reennpairnaodl- Wtalhasrroo.uaFgrehedeatrvhaaeilAlWarboclhreil.vdeNsWa’amrceaIriddnrdcaeaftxtearlseogmgisaotyrrattbiheornoseuragerhccoohrned-sd hDsliioetmupiiesotsesetiddhtiaronomrusoygeuhvnsoetyunstodtfIeelprlmoeisnsioe(itaIsor.RrciAIheDRsu)Apl.DoocnLasottraecefdqafulaewtsiltsrlt.eacptoeerrudfnsoivraemrre-a
industry (1850-1870). The 1880 census also pro- linedatabasesatwww.cyberdriveillinois.com.
filespersonswithdisabilitiesaswellasdependents Post-warinformationonveteransandspousesmay Formoreinformation,contact:
anddelinquents. be found in the resident files of the Illinois IRAD
Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home (1887-1967) and the MargaretCrossNortonBuilding
Births, deaths & marriages ISlolimneoisinfSoorlmdiaetriso’nrWeistdroicwtsi’onsHaoppmley. (1896-1960). 2Sp1r7i-n7g8fi5e-l1d2,6I6L62756
www.cyberdriveillinois.com
Births anddeaths werefirstrecordedwith county Alsoavailablearemicrofilmrecordsofsomepen-
clerks in 1877.The Department ofPublic Health sion information fromthe RevolutionaryWarand
(605W.Jefferson St.,Springfield,IL62702; 217- theWarof 1812;recordsfromtheNationalHome Interlibrary loan
782-6553)alsomaintainssuchrecordsafter 1916. in Danville (1898-1934); and the publication,
Illinoisdeathcertificatesfor 1916-1947 are avail- HonorRollofVeteransBuriedinIllinois. Several state and federal censuses of Illinois are
able at the Archives on microfilm. An index to available through interlibrary loan at the Illinois
tdhreisveeidlleiantohisc.ecrotmi.ficates isavailableatwww.cyber- Records of the land SitnadteexLfiobrra1r8y1.0-W1a8r55inadlseoxeasreaanvdaialabcleen.suYsourrecloorcdasl
librarian must direct this request to the Illinois
TheArchives also has complete federal mortality Onlythefirstpurchaseroflandfromthefederalor StateLibrary.
schedulesfor1850, 1860and 1880.For 1870,fed- state government is included in the Archives’
The Illinois StateArchives houses the official memories o
served ingovernmentdocuments,landtitles,militiaroll bo
graph reveals something unique about past life in Illinois a
As StateArchivist.I encourage you to take advantage oftl
mationattheStateArchives.Bylearningaboutfamilyheritj
we grow notonly in understandingbutalso in appreciation
andcitizensofIllinois.
JesseWhite
&
Secretary ofState StateArchivist
Drop us a line
Archives staff will do research based on mail
requests. Illinois residents are charged only for
photocopying. Out-of-state residents also are
charged a $10 out-of-state fee for research. Please
follow these guidelines:
• Request no more than two specific names or
items per mailing.
• When requesting aname search,try to provide:
(1) Individual’s complete name, age and birth-
place, as well as that ofthe spouse and chil-
dren ifpossible.
(2) County and township names.
(3) Name of record to be searched and its date
span.
• Wait until you receive a response to your re-
quest before submitting additional requests.
and historic photographs. Each document and
lay be ofhelp in yourgenealogical research.
emendous wealth ofinfor-
andthehistoryofourstate,
who we are as individuals
Our doors are open
Whenextensiveresearchis involved,many geneal-
ogists find it’s best done in person at the Illinois
State Archives. The reference staff is available to
help with your research. The Archives is located
just south ofthe State Capitol and is open 8 a.m.-
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For more information
Illinois StateArchives
Margaret Cross Norton Building
Springfield, IL62756
217-782-4682 • 217-524-3930 (fax)
www.cyberdriveillinois.com
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30112
10880371
Other resources
Genealogy researchers also may find the following
resources helpful:
• The Descriptive Inventory ofthe Archives ofthe
State of Illinois lists all available state record
series.Contactyourlocallibrary,oryoumaypur-
chase a copy from the Archives for $20. A
Summary Guide to Local GovernmentalRecords
in the Illinois RegionalArchives also is available
throughyourlocal library,oritmaybepurchased
fromthe StateArchives for$6. Bothpublications
are available at www.cyberdriveillinois.com.
• Many state institutions have records stored in the
Archives,althoughtobeaccessed,atleast75 years
must have lapsed since the record was first estab-
lished. Mental health records are permanently
closed.Holdingsofstate prisonrecordsandrelated
parole files alsocontaingenealogical information.
WWW.GtBERDRIVEILLINOIS.COM
PrintedbyauthorityoftheStateofIllinois.
May2011 - 5M - ARD 120.11