Genealogy & Local History Room Saturday Opening

The Genealogy & Local History Room will be open this Saturday from 2-5 PM. A genealogy volunteer will be here to help you get started on your research or to help you break down those pesky “brick walls.” Come enjoy our beautiful room and all of our wonderful resources!

The Genealogy Room is usually open Monday-Friday 10 AM - 2 PM or by appointment. Call the Reference Desk at 847-729-7500 ext. 7500 for more information.

RootsTech 2015

If you missed the RootsTech conference in Utah a couple weeks ago, you can still catch up with all of the last tech news!

RootsTech is a conference dedicated to genealogy and technology. Check out the 2015 video archive to learn about the best apps, newest databases, genetic genealogy, and discover new ways to find, organize, and to showcase your research online.

Here's a great video by D. Joshua Taylor about what he considers to be essential technology for today's genealogist.

Census Records

Want to learn more about census records and how to use them in your genealogy? Attend our class on Wednesday, February 25 at 10 am. Register online or call the Reference Desk at 847-729-7500.

African American Genealogy

African American genealogy can be challenging but there are a lot of great online resources to help

you find your ancestors. 

Afrigeneas

This is an online community for African American researchers. They sponsor chats and have an active online forum that can help answer your research questions. The site also collects and has several small databases of slave records, vital records, and other historical documents. 

African American Gateway

Hosted and created by the Allen County Library this site collects links for research in specific states, countries, regions, or topics. Their Illinois page includes links to local depositories and archives, digitized photos and documents, historical information, and an excellent bibliography. 

Free African Americans

A valuable site for finding free African Americans before 1865. The materials include census records, tax lists, wills, deeds, "free Negro registers," marriage bonds, parish registers and Revolutionary War pension files.

Don't forget about Cyndi's List and the Freedman's Bank Records on HeritageQuest (which you can access at home with your library card) . 

Also, check out Henry Louis Gates' column on The Root. He discusses common problems with African American genealogy and offers insights into African American history. 

Genealogy Roadshow

Snowed in and looking for something to binge watch? PBS has episodes of Genealogy Roadshow available on their website.

Watch the St. Louis episode for stories from the Midwest!