Why Newspapers?

If you haven't started using newspapers in your research, you may be missing out on a lot of interesting information. Newspapers may complement information in the official documents you've already found but they can also help you break down your brick walls.

Here are few reasons why you should search in newspapers:

• Newspapers can verify or supplement vital records. They may not be official documents like birth, marriage, and death certificates but they can  help you discover the date those records were created. Look for obituaries, birth, engagement, wedding, anniversary and probate notices. The dates you find in these newspaper articles may help you find the official certificates.
• Stories give context to your ancestor's life. Newspapers give details that official records often lack. Discover what your grandmother wore on her wedding day or learn the specifics of your grandfather's occupation. You will never find these kinds of details in marriage certificates or census records. 
• Learn about your ancestor's community or time period. Don't just read your ancestor's obituary--read the entire newspaper! Read about the community your family lived in and the major news events that would have affected their lives. You'll gain a better understanding of your ancestors and their life stories. 

Genealogy can be about more than just collecting names and BMD dates. Use newspapers to give life to ancestor's stories. 

Find online newspaper resources here. 

Historical Newspapers

Learn how to find and use historical newspapers in your research on February 23 at 10 AM. We'll cover free online resources and the library's newspaper databases including GenealogyBank.

 Register online or call the Reference Desk at 847-729-7500.

African American Genealogy Resources

 

Black Roots: A Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree
A simple introduction to African American Genealogy. Describes how to get started with genealogy research and goes in-depth on how to find African American documents.

Slave Genealogy: A Research Guide with Case Studies
This book specifically focuses on research strategies for finding slave ancestors. The case studies offer great examples of how to uncover your family lines.

African American Genealogical Sourcebook
This reference book explains the backgrounds of the records and resources most important to African American researchers. It also includes major repositories of records and genealogy societies that specialize in African American research.

Similar genealogy source books in our collections include:
African American Genealogy: A Bibliography and Guide to Sources
A Bibliography of African American Family History at the Newberry Library -- Consult this bibliography before your next research trip to the Newberry!
Black Genesis: A Resource Book for African-American Genealogy -- This book very nicely breaks resources down state by state and year by year.

And check out these online resources too.

Glenview Genealogy

The Appleyards of Glenview (photo from the Glenview History Center) 

Researching ancestors from Glenview? Here are a few of our online resources that can help you out.

Glenview Family Trees is a compilation of birth and death information of some of the earliest settlers to the area. We have trees for families such founding families as the Appleyards and Dewes. The information is taken from cemetery records and burial permits that were transcribed by Gertrude Lundberg.

If you're looking for obituaries in Glenview newspapers, our Obituary Index will tell you if an obituary exists and where to find it. Check the Master Index to see if your family members or a local business has been written about in our Glenview history books. 

We have a photographs of some of the founding families of Glenview in the Illinois Digital Archives. You can also find scanned images of the 1909, 1912, and 1913 Glenview Telephone Directories in this collection.  

RootsTech Online

If you're unable to attend RootsTech this year, you can live stream several of the sessions. You can find the streaming schedule for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday here. The recorded sessions will also be archived on the RootsTech website for a limited time. Learn some new research techniques and discover how to utilize the latest technology with your genealogy.