Chicago & Cook County Genealogy

Join us Tuesday, August 27 at 2 PM for a class on Chicago & Cook County Genealogy Records. Find your Chicago ancestors with us!

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

Helpful Books for Polish Genealogy

If you're looking for more Polish genealogy guidance, here are some recommended books that can help with your research.

Going Home: A Guide to Polish-American Family History Research

Polish Roots

Polish Surnames: Origins & Meanings

Following the Paper Trail: A Multilingual Translation Guide

In Their Words: A Genealogist's Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents

A Translation Guide to 19th-Century Polish-Language Civil-Registration Documents

Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore

Forgotten Doors: The Other Ports of Entry to the United States

Polish Genealogy: 4 Steps to Success

Where do you start your research of your Polish Ancestors? Finding your Polish ancestors is a challenge. Join us this Saturday at 1 PM for Steve Szabados' presentation which will simplify the confusing elements of Polish research.

We'll cover logical steps on searching and translating Polish documents as well as what to do about border changes that confuse us on where our ancestors were born. . This material will jump start your research and help you enjoy your Polish Heritage.

This presentation is presented in partnership with the North Suburban Genealogical Society.

Ancestry Holocaust Records

Today Ancestry announced a new partnership with the Arolsen Archives (formerly the International Tracing Service or ITS). The Arolsen Archives contains the most comprehensive archive of material related to victims and survivors of Nazi persecution. Many of these documents will be made available on Ancestry.com.

Two collections from Arolsen are already online and accessible from Ancestry:

Europe, Registration of Foreigners and German Persecutees, 1939-1947

This collection includes information gathered by the Allies at the end of the war concerning those who had been persecuted in Germany by public institutions, social securities and companies. The documents may contain death and burial information.

Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971

The majority of the immigrants in this collection are Holocaust survivors or refugees leaving Germany and other European ports. These records were created by the International Refugee Organization (IRO) and the Intergovernmental Committee on European Migration.

Daughters of the American Revolution

We keep old issues of the Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine in the Lundberg Collection. Most of our issues date from the '60s and '70s but we do have some dating back to 1929!

These issues have valuable service information about Revolutionary War soldiers and histories from the Colonial Era. They also contain genealogical sources submitted by DAR members which include Bible records, grave transcriptions, wills, and general family histories.

Immigration Records

Join us Tuesday, July 9 at 2 PM for a class on Immigration Records. Learn how to find your immigrant ancestors in passenger lists and naturalization records.

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

Newspaper Resources

Newspapers are fun resources but they can be difficult to find. Here's some of my favorite free online newspaper sites to help you get you started:

Chronicling America

The Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities partnered to create Chronicling America, a searchable database of historic American newspapers. The site allows you to search by keyword, phrase, date, ethnic group, state or language.

Elephind
Elephind searches several of the largest digitized newspaper collections simultaneously. Type keywords and phrases into the search bar and get results from newspaper archives from across the world.

Google News Newspaper Archive
Google created a great collection of digitized newspapers. Unfortunately, the collection is not keyword searchable. Find the name of the newspaper you're looking for and browse the paper like digitized microfilm.

The Ancestor Hunt: Newspaper Links
This blog hosts an exhaustive list of online newspaper resources for each state. If the newspaper you're looking for isn't listed here, it's probably not online yet.

Summer Programs at the Glenview History Center

The Dukes of Hazzard’s Tom Sarmento, General Lee’s Mechanic will visit the Glenview History Center this Saturday at 2 PM.

Tom Sarmento grew up in Glenview and worked as a mechanic for The Dukes of Hazzard’s bright orange muscle car from 1979-1985. He'll share his experiences working on the hit CBS show.

The Farmhouse will be open for tours after the program.

Newspapers & Genealogy Research

Newspapers are rewarding genealogy resources but are often difficult to research.

This Saturday at 1 PM, Kimberly Schlarman, Genealogy Librarian, offers tips for locating and researching historical newspapers and how they add to your family history. Presented in partnership with the North Suburban Genealogical Society.

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

Beginning Genealogy

If you're looking to get started on your genealogy join us Thursday, June 6 at 2 PM for our Beginning Genealogy class!

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