Researching Chicago ancestors

Grace DuMelle of the Newberry Library joined us last night for an interesting and informative presentation on Chicago genealogy. She emphasized the address changes that took place in 1909 and the wealth of newspapers available for our area--there's more than just the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times.

Grace mentioned several databases that Cook Library subscribes to, including Sanborn Maps and Newspaper Archives. (Both of these must be used in the library, but they are available through the end of November through the TryIt! Illinois program. See previous post for more information.) She also mentioned Fold3 and the Chicago city directories it contains. Fold3 can be accessed from home with your Cook Library card.

Following are some "must-have" websites for researching Chicago ancestors. Make sure you read through the websites thoroughly. They are information rich.

• ChicagoAncestors. Use this for finding churches, schools, and businesses near a specific address. You'll also find good reference material on street name changes and address changes, among other details.
• Illinois Regional Archives Depository at Northeastern University has original records from Chicago and Cook County.
• Chicago History Museum
• Use the Cook County's FOIA page and fill out a request form for inquest files. (Include the name you're searching and the date of death)
• Illinois Newspaper Project for finding newspapers from suburbs and neighborhoods. Request the microfilm through Interlibrary Loan!

And don't forget Grace's book, Finding Your Chicago Ancestors. You can check it out from the library or purchase it from Amazon.

Happy researching!
~Sonia

Searching Digital Books, Part 2

There certainly is a lot of overlap in the world of digital book collections. Today's topic, the Digital Public Library of America, claims to be a site that brings different online collections together into a single platform and portal. Translation: they are a website that points to other sites containing digital collections.

How could you use the Digital Public Library of America in your genealogy research? You will find digitized books, digital images and even sound and moving pictures here. Search for places your ancestor lived, occupations, names (it's always worth a try!), or events that your ancestor lived through. 

The Digital Public Library of America has connected with digital collection sites like the Connecticut Digital Archive, Indiana Memory, and the Minnesota Digital Library, as well as institutions such as the New York Public Library, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Archives. Click HERE to see a list of their partners.

I was surprised to see Internet Archive and Hathitrust listed among DPLA's partners, or "hubs." We have discussed each of these sites earlier. You can see how interconnected these digital book sites are.

So why would you want to use the Digital Public Library?

• The home page is crisp and clean and each of the components of the home page is inviting. 
• The main search box is easy to find, 
• You can limit your search results to different formats (books, images, sound, or movies), time periods, places, subjects, or language. 
• The timeline and geographic search features are fun to use. 
• I also like their digital exhibits section; the exhibition called Leaving Europe: A New Life in America looks particularly interesting for us genealogists. 
• They have a wide and varied collection of images, drawing from the New York Public Library and the National Archives among other impressive sources.

Why would you use a different site?

• I didn't find their book collection to be as complete as either the Internet Archive or Hathitrust, even though DPA has partnered with each of them.
• While their collection is growing, my feeling is that other sites are adding continuously, while DPLA adds large collections of images and books less often. I will monitor their "Announcements" section to keep up with this.

As always, there's no "one-stop-shop" site for digital books or other digital materials. Put the Digital Public Library of America in your genealogy tool box as one more place to keep an eye on, and let me know what gems you find!
~Sonia

TryIt! Illinois

www.finditillinois.org/tryit

At our last Genealogy Networking Group, we explored some of the TryIt! Illinois databases. I should say, we attempted to explore the databases. We were unable to access some databases, most notable those databases produced by ProQuest. I intended to email the State Library the next time I came in to work, but you Cook Genealogists were too quick for me! One of our intrepid members, who will remain nameless, quickly got out an email and Gwen Harrison from the State Library emailed back with hopeful news: ProQuest was indeed participating in TryIt! Illinois but hadn't yet gotten their computers configured (or something like that). By Saturday afternoon, when I tried again, the ProQuest databases were up and running. Hooray!

Here are some more important bits to know about TryIt! Illinois:

• We have been asked not to post the login and password on archived websites. If you did not get the login and password from the meeting Thursday night, you may call the Cook Library reference desk (847-362-2330 x1302) and ask for them.
• I am still having trouble accessing the MyHeritage/World Vital Records database, as well as some of the history databases. I have emailed Gwen Harrison back to let her know. Hopefully they all will become functional before too long.
• The Sanborn Maps database includes other states besides Illinois. Click on "Browse to a location," find your city, then click on "See all --- atlases" to get to the Sanborn maps.
• Important! When you click on a ProQuest database to try, you will be taken to a list of ALL the ProQuest databases. Take note: some of the databases will only be available through the month of October. Sanborn Maps is one of these.
• TryIt! Illinois will give you access to some genealogy databases that Cook Library subscribes to but can only offer in the library. Use the TryIt! Illinois trial to use Ancestry Library Edition and NewspaperArchive at home.

Enjoy these databases while you can, and be sure to let the library know if there are some we should consider subscribing to, whether they are genealogy databases or not.
~Sonia