Cook County Vital Records on FamilySearch

Did you know that you can find images of Cook County vital records on FamilySearch? They can be tricky to find but you don't have to pay for them!

Note that you can only view these images at a FamilySearch Affiliate Library so you'll be able to view these at the Glenview Public Library but not at home.

Start by searching for the record you need.

Find and select the record you want to view.

After you've selected the record and verified it's the one you want, look on the right under "Document Information." You may have to click the down arrow for the information to show. 

Write down the GS Film Number and the Image Number.

Next, open a new tab and go to the FamilySearch Catalog. Under "Search for" click on "Film/Fiche Number" and type in the GS Film Number you just wrote down and hit search.

This will bring up the Cook County collection you want. Click on the title. 

Scroll down on the next page for the films. Find the GS Film number in the list. This is the film you want. Click on the camera icon to view images.

Now you'll see a page of image thumbnails. In the upper left corner, find the box that says "Image."

Type the Image Number you recorded earlier in the box and hit "Enter" on your keyboard.

This will highlight one of the thumbnails. Double click on the image and you have your certificate!

And you didn't have to pay Cook County for it!

Chicago Ancestors

Steve Szabados shared some great information last night on where to search for your Chicago ancestors.

Here are some of my favorite links for Chicago genealogy:

Chicago Ancestors -- be sure to check out the Tools section
Chicago Genealogy
A Look at Cook
Encyclopedia of Chicago
Cook County Genealogy
Cook County Naturalization Records
Cook County Assessor

GENEALOGICAL TREASURES AT WILMETTE FHC

The Wilmette Family History Center has an extensive collection of microfilms for Chicago and Cook County.  These include church records, city directories, vital records, and more.  If they do not have the film you need, you can order it.

Visit www.wilmettefhc.org for details.

Cook County Vital Record Images Online

Have you tested the new FamilySearch Pilot Website?

It makes available the actual images on microfilms from the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City UT, or through a local Family History Center.

Since this is a pilot website, there are a limited number of FHL microfilms that are available to view. But there are a number of Cook County related microfilms that are partially indexed with links to the actual microfilm images. You can save these free images to your computer's hard drive.

Here's how: click on the map of North America at the Family Search Pilot Website. Scroll down the list of items for the US until you come to Illinois. Select the category you want to search. These records are not yet completely indexed, but you will still find a fair number of them. In the search result, click on the blue underlined name. It will open a partial transcription.

It is important that you click on the thumbnail image of the document, or the "view original image" link, to see the original document. You can enlarge the image as much as you want. You can also search by first name alone, or last name alone, which can be useful in cases where errors in transcription or indexing might make records hard to find.

Naturalization Declarations of Intention: a New Database From the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court

Here is an exciting new online database that will be very valuable to genealogists:

COOK COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT DECLARATIONS OF INTENTION ONLINE
Thanks to Dorothy Brown of the Cook County Circuit Court and a number of dedicated workers and volunteers, the Declarations of Intention (to become a citizen) Indexes are now online for the Circuit Court. The range of dates for the files begins with 1906 and ends with the latest dates entered (1922/23). The ending date will be 1929. This has been an ongoing project for a couple of years now, so it may be some time before all Declarations are uploaded (both Circuit Court and Superior Court). You can sort by surname, occupation, address...all sorts of ways to find a missing relative in case the surname is not recorded as currently spelled. Visit the Project's Web site to use this valuable resource.

(from the Gen Dobry newsletter, Written by Tom Sadauskas thomas.sadauskas@tma.osd.mil and Don Szumowski. Previously published by Gen Dobry!, Vol. IX, No. 9, 30 September 2008, PolishRoots(R): http://www.PolishRoots.org/. )