Illinois Archives and Libraries: Difference between revisions

You may visit an IRAD depository to research available records.  Because many of the depositories are associated with universities and observe university holidays, be sure to call before planning a visit. 

IRAD ''welcomes'' mail and telephone requests for research help.  No e-mail requests are available at this time.  There is no charge for research help, except for photocopy costs.  You will be informed if your copies exceed $5.  Otherwise you will be billed for your copy requests.  IRAD requests that you limit your request to 2 names at a time and that you wait for that response before submitting addtional requests.  Send your request directly to the IRAD regional depository holding the county records of interest. You may send requests to up to 5 different depositories at a time. 

[http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/IRAD/iradregn.html Regional Map of IRAD Depositories&nbsp;] Click on the approprate region, then click on the county of interest for contact information, county formation, and other information about the county.&nbsp; To search which county records are available in IRAD, from any IRAD page click on [https://www.ilsos.gov/isa/localgovrecordssrch.jsp Local Governmental Records Holdings Database]&nbsp;or link to it directly from here. Once on this page, by only entering the county name in the search box, you can see all IRAD holdings for any individual county. <br>  

See ''A Summary Guide to Local Governmental Records in the Illinois Regional Archives, ''available from&nbsp;the [http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/ard119.pdf Illinois Regional Archives Depository System].<ref>Bailey, Robert E., et al., eds. ''A Summary Guide to Local Governmental Records in the Illinois Regional Archives''. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Archives, 1992. {{Worldcat|26342080}}  {{FSC|567299|item|disp=FS Library Book 977.356/S1 J53s}}.</ref>  

:Holdings include: family genealogies; oral histories; county histories; cemetery inscriptions; atlases and plat books; indexes and transcriptions of census, vital records, and naturalization records for many counties. Records of the [[Union Veterans' and Lineage Society Records|Grand Army of the Republic ]], the Civil War Union veteran's society, are also included.&nbsp;The online collection has a statewide [http://www.illinoishistory.gov/lib/obit_finder.htm obituary search] for newspapers held at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.<ref>[http://www.illinois.gov/alplm/library/collections/printedmaterials/Pages/default.aspx Printed Materials] in ''Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum'' (accessed 7 April 2015).</ref><br><br>

:A large Chicago repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records '''many from Illinois''', the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and the British Isles.<ref>[http://www./genealogy-and-local-history Genealogy and Local History] in ''The Newberry'' (accessed 27 February 2015).</ref> They have over 17,000 printed genealogies. The collection is noteworthy for its colonial America, especially New England holdings. They have church, town, and county histories from all parts of the United States, Canada, and the British Isles. This includes a comprehensive set of New England town histories, and strong collection of county histories from the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. Their Civil War unit histories collection is one of the best.<ref name="DB39">Dollarhide and Bremer, 39.</ref> This library has research guides on various subjects related to genealogy and library holdings cataloged from 1978. &nbsp;See

:*[http://www./genealogy-collection-guides-and-research-tools Genealogy Collection Guides and Research Tools] for more information about the collections.&nbsp;''<br>''  

:*A surname index to genealogical periodicals and local history books in the Newberry Library was completed in 1915 and published as ''The Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library''<ref>''The Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library''. Boston, Massachusetts: G.K. Hall, 1960. {{WorldCat|83367401}}  {{FSC|130151|item|disp=FS Library films 928135–928137}} and {{FSC|130151|item|disp=FS Library book 973 D22n vols. 1–4}}</ref>&nbsp;Since this index is old, be sure to use the [http://www./sites/default/files/textpage-attachments/Genealogical%20Index.pdf online guide sheet] to this collection before using the source.<br><br>

:This library has plentiful historical records. Noteworthy is the '''''Durrett Collection&nbsp;''''' of historical Kentucky and Ohio River Valley manuscripts. The size and content of this collection is comparable to the ''[[Draper Manuscript Collection]]''. It includes the earliest people in the Ohio Valley.<ref name="DB39" /><br><br>