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September 3, 2010
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LOCAL HISTORY COLLECTION: GENEALOGY SOURCES

Biography Files

Interfiled obituaries, wedding announcements, letters, and general news items clipped from the local paper in one alphabetic sequence under the heading BIOGRAPHY. These notebooks on the counter are the first place to check for information on a family.

Business

Check these files if the ancestor had a business in Wilmette. The files are organized under the heading BUSINESS, and then by name of business. The Local History files also contain WILMETTE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE business directories for 1968-69, 1987-89, 1999-current year. Older directories contain name and address of owner as well as information about the business.

Census

Photocopy of the New Trier Township Federal Census of 1880 is filed under CENSUS.

Churches

Information on Churches is listed under the heading of CHURCHES, and then by denomination and name. Information on individuals is sketchy in these files, but it can be worth while to check them. The file for St. Joseph Catholic Church, for example, includes an annual statement from 1903 with a list of members.

Clubs and Associations

The family historian might be interested to know what organizations his ancestor belonged to. These materials are organized under the heading GROUPS in file cabinets in the local history room. The library owns some directories published by local clubs and associations.

The Woman’s Club of Wilmette directories, for example, date from 1913-1915, 1922-1965, 1972. The Wilmette Garden Club directories date from the 1940s.

Death Dates

The online State of Illinois Death Index covers the years 1916-1950. More contemporary records are found in the Social Security Death Index. An online version of SSDI is available in the library on the AncestryPlus database. The Church of the Latter Day Saints also has the database on its site at http://www.familysearch.org

Histories

Published histories of the village and the county sometimes include names of individuals, especially if they were prominent in some way. These books have largely been cataloged and can be located by using the library’s computerized catalog to search under “Wilmette–History” or “Cook County–History.”

New Residents

Chamber of Commerce newsletters publish lists of new residents from time to time. Current newsletters are filed under WILMETTE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE in the Local History files. The Wilmette Historical Society has the newsletters from1998 to the present. New residents who purchased a house in the village after October 1997 can also be tracked through the library’s index to the Wilmette Life.

Obituary Index

Obituaries from the local newspapers are indexed for the years 1890, 1894, 1896-1897, 1900-1902, 1905, 1912, 1914, and 1978-2005 in the library’s online index to the Wilmette Life.

Photographs

All identified photographs of people have been indexed. The index and photographs, filed by topic, are in binders in the wooden cabinet opposite the work counter. Photographs may not be Xeroxed, but printed copies can be made for a fee through a program with the Wilmette Historical Museum. An on-line database of digitized pre-1926 photographs is being prepared at http://cdm.digitalpast.org

Polk City Directories

The library has a few city directories for the years 1893, 1927-28, 1933, 1935, 1937 and 1939. These directories can be used to confirm the residence of the family in Wilmette, to get street addresses, and in some cases, obtain information on occupation. Directories are kept in the wooden cabinet opposite the work counter. (Ref/ Local History/977.31PO)

Schools

New Trier High School has published a directory of alumni, 1901-1992. It is cataloged and shelved in the Reference Room [R920.73 NE]. The Local History Room contains two slim volumes on the history of New Trier Township High School 1901-1981, and New Trier West 1965-1981, and recently donated copies of New Trier East yearbooks for 1972 and 1973.

Taxpayers, Lists

Published lists for 1909, 1913, 1924, 1931-1936, organized in rough alphabetical order by name with address. Filed in Local History Room under TAXPAYERS.

Telephone Books

The library has telephone books for Wilmette and Kenilworth for the following years: 1909-1912, 1924-1942, 1945, 1960-68, 1982. The books are kept in the wooden cabinet opposite the work counter in the Local History Room.

Voters Registration

An issue of the Wilmette Life dated September 4, 1952 contains a list of all registered voters in the Village by precinct. A precinct map is included in the issue. This paper is kept in the local history files under VOTERS. An earlier list also exists, the Men Voters Poll Book for the election held at the Village Hall of Gross Point, 15 April 1919.

This second list is filed under ELECTIONS 1873-1929.

War Memorial

Information on Wilmette residents who died in war, and whose names are on the Village War Memorial, can be found in the Local History Room. Notebooks with biographies of the soldiers is kept in glass fronted cabinets [Local History R920.7731/ WI]

Wilmette Life Index

Newspaper is indexed from 1991 to the present. Scattered issues from earlier years have also been indexed. The index can be found online at http://news.wilmette.lib.il.us.

Revised August 2005

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