Websites for this Topic | Research guides and databases
Databases with the
image may be used from outside the Library.
All other databases are available in the Library only.
Heritage
Quest![]()
Federal Census records, family and local histories, and other
primary source materials are available.
ProQuest![]()
Full-text articles from the Chicago Tribune and the historical Chicago Tribune.
Reference
USA ![]()
The Web-accessed version of American Business Disc provides
business and residential data.
Online aids to help you get started in genealogy.
www.familysearch.org/eng/home/welcome/frameset_information.asp
FamilySearchs How to Start Your Family History
http://rwguide.rootsweb.com/
In addition to the basics, RootsWeb includes guides on topics
such as countries/ethnic groups and different record types.
www.ancestry.com/learn/start/main.htm
Explains how to get stared with your family history research.
www.ancestry.com/learn/learning/main.htm
Takes you beyond the basics.
http://il.proquest.com/products_hq/gen101/default.shtml
A Genealogy 101 quick course.
http://www.byubroadcasting.org/ancestors/
Ancestors, the PBS series, offers four lessons introducing
you to family history research.
These Web sites link to a broad range of genealogy topics.
www.cyndislist.com
Cyndi Howells has created the most comprehensive listing of
genealogy websites in existence. This is the first place to
go, especially when researching a new topic. There is a topical
and alphabetical index.
www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/WebSites/frameset_websites.asp
This topical list is compiled by The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints. It provides links to numerous genealogy
Web sites.
www.genhomepage.com
A well-organized site that has genealogy links and information
on topics such as libraries, events, genealogy software, and
world-wide genealogy resources.
www.rootsweb.com
A free genealogy site that is sponsored by Ancestry.com.Hosts
tens of thousands of websites for genealogists. Roots Web
includes links to genealogy search engines and databases,
and to genealogy mailing lists.
This is the place to start. Type in a surname and see what you find. Much of the data from these Web sites are from secondary (compiled) sources; someone has already found information about the person(s).
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp
The FamilySearch Web site of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints lets you search for your ancestor in several
different indexes at the same time.
http://www.familytreemaker.com/iffintro.html
Known as Internet FamilyFinder, this commercial site allows
you to look for a name(s) for free, but to access the data
(if there is any), you must pay.
http://www.genserv.com
A commercial site that is only available to paying subscribers. You submit your family genealogy to the GEDCOM database and pay a fee to access data. A GEDCOM is a standardized computer file that contains all or parts of your genealogical database. The standardized files minimize manual input by allowing people to share their data. The page at www.genserv.com/gs3/samplecount.html allows you to send a surname whereby an email reply is sent to you indicating how many people with that name are in the system. These requests are free and unlimited.
http://www.ancestry.com
A commercial site where some data is free, but the rest is
available to subscribers only.
http://www.cyndislist.com/surn-gen.htm
Cyndis list of links to surname Web sites.
Search by surname for people who have died after 1962, the year the Social Security Administration began recording the death index on the computer. Birth and death information will be provided. You may also order a copy of the person’s original application for a social security card which may provide additional genealogical information.
http://members.aol.com/reginamari/ancestry/ssnfaq.html
Frequently Asked Questions about obtaining a copy of an ancestors
social security card application. This FAQ has answers to questions such as: Why you might want to order an application; How to find an ancestor’s social security number and order an application; What type of information you might glean from an application; and How long it will take to receive an application. Samples of a few of the handwritten applications show the detail of the information provided.
http://www.genealogy.com/ifftop.html
Genealogy.coms Family Finder searches for thousands
of Web sites for your ancestor. The results link you to likely
matches from the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) database,
Virtual Cemetery, international and passenger records, census
microfilm images, and more.
http://www.cyndislist.com/socsec.htm#SSDI
Cyndis list of social security death index databases
online. Try them all, especially if a name you are looking for does not appear on the first site you choose. The sites vary somewhat in data that is presented and in the format.
Birth, marriage, divorce, and death certificates.
http://www.idph.state.il.us/vitalrecords/index.htm
Illinois Department of Public Healths Vital Statistics
Web site with links to general information and application
forms for obtaining copies of Illinois birth, marriage, divorce
and death certificates.
http://www.cookctyclerk.com/sub/vital_records.asp
Cook County Clerks Office, Bureau of Vital Statistics
Web site with links to information and application forms for
obtaining copies of birth, marriage, and death certificate
issued in Cook County.
http://www.co.dupage.il.us/countyclerk/generic.cfm?doc_id=623
Contact information for the DuPage County Clerk. Certified
copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates are available
from the County Clerk and from the State of Illinois. Certified
copies of birth and death certificates are also available
from the DuPage County Health Department.
http://www.cyndislist.com/usvital.htm#states
Cyndi Howells links to sources for obtaining vital statistics
information in all 50 states.
Online obituaries are not a good source for archival material. However, more recent death notices may be found.
http://chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/
The Chicago Tribunes obituary archives. They only archive
the past month on the website.
http://www.usnpl.com/
This is a rather comprehensive site of links to U.S. newspapers
from small towns and large cities. Check each paper to see
if they have obituaries online and how far back they are archived.
http://findagrave.com
Want to see where old blue eyes or Al Capone is
buried? This site will lead to you burial information, including
photographs of the graves. You can find both famous and non-famous
people.
http://www.interment.net/
Links to cemetery directories and records in the United States
and abroad and other types of burial information.
http://www.daddezio.com/cemetery/junction/index.html
A directory of cemeteries in the United States.
http://www.cyndislist.com/obits.htm
Cyndis links to obituary sites, including information
on funeral homes, cemeteries, etc.
One of the indices to the U. S. Census records from 18801920 is the Soundex system. In order to use the index you must convert the surname(s) to a letter and number code. The following sites will automatically do the name conversions for you.
http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/soundex/soundex.html
Site hosted by the creators of the Soundex system, the National
Archives and Records Administration
http://www.searchforancestors.com/soundex.html
A surname to Soundex calculator.
http://www.familytreemaker.com/00000061.html
Census record abstract forms for the 17901930 U. S.
censuses. These forms tell you what information you can expect
to find on each of the censuses. They are useful for recording
data from microfilm copies.
http://www.cyndislist.com/census2.htm
Cyndis links to census information in the United States
and abroad.
http://www.dcgs.org
The DuPage Genealogical Society’s website is a great resource, with information about DuPage County history and how to obtain local genealogical information. The Society also holds meetings, classes, and an annual conference.
http://ilgenweb.rootsweb.com
Illinois genealogy and history links.
www.rootsweb.com/~ilgenweb/links.htm
The comprehensive site Illinois Gen Web has links to genealogical
sites specific to Illinois and its counties and cities.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilsgs/index.html
The Illinois State Genealogical Society, with Illinois
genealgoy links and information about the Societys activities.
www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/services.html
Information about doing genealogy research using the Secretary
of States department of Illinois State Archives. The
archives include census records, military records, military
service records, WWI draft registration records, land sale
records, veterans homes, pensions, and burials records,
and vital records information. Some of this information can
be searched for in the online databases (www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases.html).
http://archives.archchicago.org/genealog.htm
A genealogical information guide from the Archdiocese of Chicago
tells you what records you can obtain from their archives.
http://www.usgenweb.org
A national project staffed by volunteers culling genealogical
Web sites pertaining to each of the 50 states and counties
therein.
www.ellisisland.org
Between 1892 and 1924 over 22 million passengers and members
of ships crews came through Ellis Island and the Port
of New York. On the American Family Immigration History Center
Ellis Island Web site, you can research passenger records
from ships that brought the immigrants, and even see the original
manifests with passenger names.
www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp?
PAGE=library_fhc_find.asp
The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has branch libraries
(Family History Centers) across the United States. The Centers
provide access to most of the microfilms and microfiche in
the Family History Library to help patrons identify their
ancestors
www.archives.gov/research_room/genealogy/
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) genealogy
site provides general genealogy information and information
about using the records that are available in NARAs
archives. Research topics include military records, immigration
records, Native American records, census records, and African
American research.
The library owns version 5.0 and the 15th edition of the Family Tree Maker computer program (call number CD-ROM/929.1/FAM), which is available for check out for a two-week loan period. This program includes a guide to getting started in genealogy. It will also help you organize your genealogy data. Family Tree Maker contains the FamilyFinder Index with more than 170 million names from the U.S. Census, as well as the Social Security death index (U.S., 1937–1997), with approximately 55 million names.
Other computer programs for genealogy research will also help you to organize your research, print pedigree charts and family group sheets, and share your files with others via the GEDCOM (Genealogical Data Communications). These programs are available for purchase as retail or shareware; information about the different programs that are available is located on Cyndi’s List and other genealogy sites listed above.
One of the online databases to which the Library
subscribes is HeritageQuest Online. Created by ProQuest Information
and Learning, HeritageQuest Online is a valuable research
tool for beginning and advanced genealogists.
Included are: the complete page images and indexes for the 17901930 U.S. Federal Censuses; a collection of over 25,000 family and local history books; PERSI, a subject index of over 1.6 million geanealogy and local history articles; Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files; and more.
All are available at the Carol Stream Public Library
and can be checked out. Many other general books about genealogy
are also available in the non-fiction area beginning at call
number 929.1.
The complete beginners guide to genealogy,
the Internet, and your computer genealogy program (c2001),
by Karen Clifford
929.10285/CLI
Genealogy online, 7th edition (c2003), by Elizabeth Powell Crowe
929.10285/CRO
Plugging into your past: how to find real family history records online, by Rick Crume
929.10285/CRU
Getting started in genealogy online (c2006), by William Dollarhide
929.10285/DOL
Genealogy basics online: a step-by-step instruction to finding your ancestors through the Internet (includes CD-ROM) (c2000), by Cherri Melton Flinn
929.10285/FLI
Genealogy online for dummies (includes CD-ROM) (c1998), by Matthew L. Helm and April Leigh Helm
929.10285/HEL
Cyndi’s List: a comprehensive list of 40,000 genealogy sites on the Internet (c1999), by Cyndi Howells
R/929.1/HOW [in Library use only]
E-genealogy: finding your family roots online (c2000),
by Terry Stephens Lamb
929.10285/LAM
The complete idiot’s guide to online genealogy (c2000), by Rhonda McClure and Shirley Langdon Wilcox
929.10285/MCC
The genealogist’s computer companion (c2002), by Rhonda McClure
929.10285/MCC
Genealogy via the Internet: tracing your family roots quickly and easily: computerized genealogy in plain English, second edition (c2003), by Ralph Roberts
929.10285/ROB