Illinois Research Guide Digital Download

You'll love this if:

• You're getting started tracing your ancestors in Illinois
• You want new ideas and resources to get past a Illinois brick wall
• Your genealogy search is focused mainly on Illinois

Trace your Illinois ancestors with the advice and resources in our State Research Guide! This four-page download includes:

• a how-to article detailing Illinois's history and records, with helpful advice on tracking your family there
• the best websites, books and other resources for Illinois research, handpicked by our editors and experts
• listings of key libraries, archives and organizations that hold the records you need
• timeline of key events in the state's history

Here's a sampling of the helpful tips you'll get in the Illinois guide:

• The French founded missions at Cahokia and Kaskaskia by 1703. A nearby indigenous settlement, called Cahokia was once home to some 20,000 Mississippian people, the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico.
• The Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) system, part of the state archives, will point you to vital records.
• The US government counted Illinois residents every 10 years starting in 1800. That initial census was lost, and only Randolph County remains from the 1810 enumeration.

Plus, each guide contains active web links for one-click access to every recommended online resource. You can view this PDF on your computer and print pages for reference.