Spotlight on Vermilion County, Illinois

Vermilion County is located in east central Illinois.  It was formed in 1826 and has been its present size since 1859. It was named for the Vermilion River which passes through the county on its way to the Wabash River.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1877 (some earlier birth records still exist).  Marriage records, Probate files and Land Records date to the founding of the county.  Many of the early records may be found on FamilySearch.org.

The courthouse is located in the county seat of Danville and their website is vercounty.org.  Vital records may also be found at the IRAD depository at Illinois State University. Other county records housed at the IRAD are school records, police dockets and Justice of the Peace dockets.

The Danville Public Library in Danville contains many genealogical records relating to Vermilion County and surrounding areas.   https://danvillepubliclibrary.org/genealogy-resources-online/ .  The Illiana Genealogical and Historical Society may be reached at ighs@sbcglobal.net 

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (January 2021).  

Tip - How do I find my ancestors who lived in the city?

 

One good place to look is in City Directories.  These were usually published annually and contain information about residents of a given city.   While most large cities had directories, often smaller towns would publish one as well.  Occasionally, a county would publish a similar type of directory.

Information in a city directory often included the address of the person, their telephone number (in later directories), and their occupation.  While all included the name of the head of household, some also listed the wife’s name.  City directories were often arranged in both an alphabetical and a geographical listing.  Thus, it was easy to tell who the neighbors were.  Businesses were also listed in the geographical listing.  Often, local businesses would advertise in the directory, so be sure to look in the advertisements if your ancestor owned a business. 

Because directories were published yearly, they can be helpful in tracking people between census years.  If someone “disappears” from a directory, they may have moved to another location or died. 

City Directories can be found online at Family Search, Archive.org or Ancestry.  Again, they could be for a large city such as Chicago, or smaller cities such as Peoria, Moline, Princeton or Shelbyville.  Another good place to find city directories is at the local library in the city of interest.  Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library also has a large collection of directories from around Illinois.

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Note: This was originally published in the "Tips from the Genealogy Committee" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (January 2021).  While these tips were written for those researching Illinois ancestors, many of the principles can be applied to other locations.

Spotlight on DeWitt County, Illinois

DeWitt County is located in central Illinois.  It was formed in 1839 from Macon and McLean Counties. It was named for the seventh Governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton, and the county seat is the city of Clinton.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1878.  Marriage records, Probate files and Land Records date to the founding of the county.  Many of the early records may be found on FamilySearch.org.

These records may also be requested in writing from the County Courthouse at 201 W. Washington St., Clinton, IL  61727.  Records are also found at the IRAD depository at Illinois State University.  In addition to vital records, the IRAD has naturalization records and Justice of the Peace dockets.

The Vespasian Warner Public Library in Clinton has some collections of local genealogical interest.  These include yearbooks, newspapers, and civil war diaries, among others. They can be found at https://www.vwarner.org/local-history-genealogy.  This library also holds the collection of the Dewitt County Genealogical Society.  More information about this society can be found at https://dewittcountygenealogicalsociety.com.

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (November 2020).  

Tip - Where can I find old newspapers?

Q. Where can I find old newspapers?

A. Old newspapers can give us so much information about our ancestors’ lives.  In addition to major life events such as birth announcements, marriage notices, and obituaries, we can learn everyday details.  Newspapers often reported on social happenings, such as which family members were visiting from out of town.  Court proceedings ranging from land transfers and divorces to criminal cases were frequently newsworthy.

A good place to start to find a newspaper of interest is at the library in that town.  They often have microfilmed copies of their newspapers.  The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield has a large collection of microfilmed newspapers from around the state.  Their holdings are listed at: https://www2.illinois.gov/alplm/library/collections/newspaper/Holdings/Pages/default.aspx.

There are several online collections for Illinois newspapers.  The University of Illinois has an Illinois Digital Newspaper collection at http://idnc.library.illinois.edu.  Several libraries around the state have also digitized area newspapers, such as Marshall Public Library at .http://marshall.advantage-preservation.com/.      More sites are going online all the time.

There are also several online repositories for newspapers from around the country.  Many are subscription sites but there are free sites as well.  The Library of Congress has the largest free collection of US Newspapers at http://ChroniclingAmerica.loc.gov.  And some digitized newspapers can be found on Google at https://news.google.com/newspapers.

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Note: This was originally published in the "Tips from the Genealogy Committee" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (November 2020).  While these tips were written for those researching Illinois ancestors, many of the principles can be applied to other locations.

Spotlight on McHenry County, Illinois

 McHenry County is in Northern Illinois, bordering on Wisconsin.  It is often considered part of the greater Chicagoland area.  It was formed in 1836 from Cook and LaSalle counties and has been its present size since 1839.  It was named for Major William McHenry who served in the Illinois Militia during Tecumseh’s War and the Blackhawk War, and later served in the Illinois legislature.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1878, Marriage records, Probate records and Land Records date to the founding of the county.  Many of the early records may be found on FamilySearch.org.

Vital Records can be requested from the County Clerk’s office for a small fee.  Information is at https://www.mchenrycountyil.gov/county-government/departments-a-i/county-clerk/vital-records

Early records may also be found at the IRAD depository at Northern Illinois University.  Additional records available at IRAD include school records and naturalization records.

Two libraries in McHenry County have genealogical collections.  They are the Crystal Lake Public Library at https://www.clpl.org/ and the McHenry Public Library at  http://www.mchenrylibrary.org/.

 

There is an active Genealogical Society for the County – the McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society at mcigs.org.

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (September 2020).  

Tip - How can I find my ancestors in the census?

Q. How can I find my ancestors in the census?

A. The United States Government has been conducting a census of the population every 10 years since 1790.  Censuses from 1790 until 1940 are available for research with the exception of 1890 which was lost in a fire. Each census contains a little different information. Censuses from 1850 and later contain names of every member of the household, ages, birthplaces, and varying information on relationships.

Now that these census records are available digitally, it has become fairly easy to find ancestors in them.  Keep in mind that spellings vary, and not census takers had the best handwriting.  It still may be necessary to browse through the images to find that elusive person.

Illinois has taken part in every federal census since 1820, the first decennial census conducted after statehood.  In addition, Illinois conducted a territorial census in 1810 and again in 1818 to document that Illinois had enough inhabitants to become a state.  The state has also conducted its own census in 1825, 1835, 1845, 1855, and 1865.  Unfortunately many of the state census records did not contain names, and several counties have been lost.

Census records may be found online at FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com.  Several of the early census records have also been transcribed and may be found in local libraries.

Although the purpose of the census is to provide an accurate count of the population for purposes of resource allocation and political representation, they have been a wonderful resource for genealogists. 2020 is a census year, so don’t forget to pay it forward by filling out your census form.

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Note: This was originally published in the "Tips from the Genealogy Committee" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (September 2020).  While these tips were written for those researching Illinois ancestors, many of the principles can be applied to other locations.

Spotlight on Hamilton County, Illinois

Hamilton County is in Southern Illinois.  It was formed in 1825 and is named for Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1878.  Marriage records and Probate records date to the formation of the county and the earliest land records are from 1835.  Only some probate records can be found on FamilySearch.org.

The County Clerk’s office holds the vital and land records.  The courthouse is location at 100 S. Jackson St., McLeansboro, IL  62859.  The form to order vital records is at https://www.hamiltoncountyillinois.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/genealogy-application-1.pdf.

The IRAD depository at Southern Illinois University holds some probate and naturalization records for this county.  A useful site with several types of records is the Yesterdays of Hamilton County, Illinois site at http://www.carolyar.com/Illinois/HamiltonCounty.htm.

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (July 2020).