Carbondale Illinois Family History Center

Whether you are just beginning to trace your roots or need additional resources to complete your search, the Carbondale Family History Center (FHC) offers access to the extensive resources available through FamilySearch International and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The center is open to the public and admission is free of charge. Everyone is welcome! We can arrange for group visits by confirmed reservation only.

Center Contacts and Hours
Location &amp; Map:


 * 7168 Old Hwy 13 W, Carbondale IL 62901-5444, United States
 * Use the entrance on the right side of the building to locate the FHC. There is ample parking.
 * Location Map

Phone: 618-549-3034

If the FHC is closed and a call is received, an answering machine will take a message. Someone will return your call.

E-mail: IL_Carbondale@ldsmail.net

Open Hours:


 * Tuesday     9am -12pm ;  4pm - 7pm
 * Thursday   9am -12pm
 * By Appointment

Holiday Schedule:

The center is closed if scheduled to be open on a federal holiday.

The center is closed the week of Thanksgiving.

The center is closed the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

The center is closed when the local schools are closed due to weather.

Planning a Visit
Our FHC is staffed by local volunteers who can help get you started with family history research. They can guide you in using FHC resources and equipment. If you are planning a visit to our center to begin your genealogy, write down what you know about the family you wish to research -- names, dates, and places -- and choose a research goal. This will help our volunteers to best assist you.

Please call to calendar and confirm group visits in advance.

Online microfilm/microfiche ordering is currently available in our area! You are able to search the FamilySearch Catalog found at '''FamilySearch.org.  Using a credit card, you can place your order online at the center or from home at: www.familysearch.org/films'''

You will receive an e-mail when the film has arrived on loan in our FHC for your use.

Upcoming Events
Added throughout the year

Class Schedule
None are scheduled at this time

Collections

 * FamilySearch Catalog: This center has the ability to order any of the films and fiche available through the FamilySearch Catalog.
 * 40 Anniversary Edition of The Sage of Southern Illinois, a publication of the Genealogy Society of Southern Illinois. It contains 39 books (4 per year) each in a searchable PDF file.
 * Microfiche of Scottish old parochial registers
 * Through a microform circulation system, we have access to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah main collection of many of the genealogical records of the world.

Databases and Software

 * Our computers access the FamilySearch database which contains many millions of names linked into families.
 * FHC Portal This center has access to the Family History Center Portal page which gives free access in the center to premium family history software and websites that generally charge for subscriptions.
 * These sites include:
 * 19th Century British Library Newspaper Digital Archive
 * Alexander Street Press: The American Civil War: Research Database I Letters and Diaries I Images, Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera; Social and Cultural History' Women and Social Movements in the United States
 * American Ancestors
 * Ancestry.com
 * Findmypast.com
 * Fold3.com
 * Historic Map Works
 * Kinpoint
 * MyHeritage.com
 * Access Newspaper Archive
 * Paper Trail
 * ProQuest Obituary Listings
 * Puzzilla.org
 * World Vital Records (All content has been added to MyHeritage.com who purchased WVR.)

Hardware and Equipment
Three computer networked workstations with printer access

One paper copier/flatbed scanner

Two microfiche readers

Two microfilm readers

Center Services
We encourage visitors to use their smartphones or bring their own digital cameras for copying images from microfilm or microfiche. You then have your own digital record and can take the images home to clean them up using your imaging program.

Memory sticks/jump drives can be used to download information from the computer and scanner.

Patrons may bring their own laptops for note-taking or entering information into personal genealogical programs, with the disclaimer that the owner is responsible for the security of the device. Wireless internet is currently available in the building, though there may be days when availability is limited due to updating, etc.

There is a printer/scanner that is also able to scan photos and documents and upload them to your FamilySearch.org account.

Illinois Libraries and Archives
Illinois State Archives

Norton Building, Capitol Complex, Springfield, IL 62756; TELEPHONE: (217) 782-4682, Fax: (217) 524-3930; HOURS: Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)

IRAD Coordinator, Illinois State Archives, Archives Building, Spring and Edwards, Springfield, IL 62756;  As part of the state archives system, seven regional depositories at state universities include archival material from 102 counties. Located on seven state university campuses, regional depositories house and service those records of local governments which have been appraised as having long-term values and have been transferred to the Archives’ custody. County records include:
 * county board proceedings files and meeting minutes
 * records of births, deaths and marriages
 * land deeds, mortgage and tax sale records
 * assessors’ and collectors’ tax books
 * poll books and voter registers
 * naturalization records, including declarations of intent
 * probate records, including wills and will records, case files, administrators’ and executors’ records, guardianship records, and inventory and appraisement records
 * civil and criminal court case files, chancery court case files (including divorces), docket books and court proceedings, and insanity proceedings and records
 * coroner’s inquest records and inquest files
 * miscellaneous county records, including almshouse/county home records and jail registers.
 * Township, municipal, and school records include township meeting minutes, highway commissioners’ minutes, school trustees’ minutes, pupil registers, school land sale records, city council proceedings files and meeting minutes, ordinance records and city election records.   A special part of IRAD’s holdings are from the City of Chicago which includes nearly 35,650 previously unknown documents that predate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In addition to these City Council proceedings files of 1833 through 1942, holdings include plats, atlases, and Sanborn Maps. Other Chicago records include election registers for 1888, 1890 and 1892 and ordinance records spanning 1837 to 1916.

Southern Illinois University (SIU)

Illinois Regional Archives Depository, c/o Special Collections, Morris Library – 6632, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901-6632; 618-453-3040;

Counties served: Alexander, Clinton, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, St. Clair, Union, Washington, White, Williamson

Western Illinois University Region (WIU)

Illinois Regional Archives Depository, University Library, Western Illinois University, 1 University Circle, Macomb, IL 61455; 309-298-2716;

Counties  served:  Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Knox, McDonough, Mercer, Peoria, Pike, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Warren

Eastern Illinois University (EIU)

Booth Library, 600 Lincoln Ave, Charleston, IL 61920; (217) 581-6093,

Counties served: Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Jasper, Lawrence, Moultrie, Richland, Shelby, Wabash, Wayne

University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS)

Illinois Regional Archives Depository, LIB 144, University of Illinois at Springfield, One University Plaza, MS BRK 140, Springfield, IL 62703-5407; 217-206-6520;

Counties served: Bond, Cass, Christian, Fayette, Greene, Jersey, Macon, Macoupin, Mason, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Sangamon, Scott

Northern Illinois University (NIU)

Illinois Regional Archives Depository, c/o Regional History Center, Founders Memorial Library, Rm. 400, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115; 815-753-1807

Counties served: Boone, Bureau, Carroll, DeKalb, DuPage, JoDaviess, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Putnam, Stephenson, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago

Illinois State University (ISU)

Campus Box 5500, Normal, IL 61790-5500; (309) 452-6027

Counties: Champaign, DeWitt, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, Livingston, Logan, Marshall, McLean, Piatt, Tazewell, Vermilion, Woodford

Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU)

Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Ronald Williams Library, Northeastern Illinois University, 5500 N. St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625-4699773-442-4506; (773) 442-4506,

Counties served: Cook

Statewide Illinois Library Catalog (SILC)
The  S tatewide  I llinois  L ibrary  C atalog, known as SILC, is Illinois' first all inclusive statewide union catalog that integrates WorldCat and the Illinois Library Systems' local consortial OPACs, to provide both shelf status and interlibrary loan capabilities in a single searchable interface. SILC resides on the familiar FirstSearch platform as an additional WorldCat database that allows users to scope to regional groups within Illinois, as well as by type of library. From a single WorldCat record, users will be able to link to a local shared catalog record to see if and where an item is available for loan. I-Share catalogs holdings at the Illinois State Library and sixty-five Illinois college and private libraries, including the Newberry Library, Southern Illinois University libraries, and University of Illinois library.

Every Library in Illinois provides contact information for all Illinois libraries. 112 N. Sixth Street, Springfield, IL 62701. Phone: (800) 610-2094 or (217) 782-5764. A part of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. County histories, plat books, census indexes, cemetery indexes, city material, family and association files, microfilmed newspapers, manuscripts, and photographs are included in its collections, much only available on site. Microfilmed newspapers from the library's extensive collection can be obtained via interlibrary loan. The library houses over twelve million Illinois and Lincoln artifacts, including 350,000 photographs; 175,000 publications, maps, and manuscripts; and microfilmed newspapers or interlibrary loan. Horizon Information Portal identifies most ALPL publications and manuscript collections.
 * The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
 * Holdings include: family genealogies; oral histories; county histories; cemetery inscriptions; atlases and plat books; indexes and transcriptions of census, vital records, and naturalization records for many counties.
 * Records of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Civil War Union veteran's society, are also included. The online collection has a statewide obituary search for newspapers held at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.

ALPL features published volumes, including cemetery inventories and indexes to biographies in Illinois county histories, federal and state censuses through 1880, and some county land, probate, and vital records. City directories, family genealogies, and books on Midwest settlement, the Northwest Territoy, and overland journeys round out ALPL's holdings. Its manuscripts division has a card catalog and finding aids for larger collections and special subject areas.

ALPL has published an indexed series of transcribed original documents and laws concerning French Cahokia and Kaskaskia, Illinois territorial periods, and early American settlement. The volumes include biographies of early settlers and statesmen. ALPL also holds indexes of its Journal of Illinois History (formerly Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society), from 1907 through 1967, and Transactions of the Illinois State Historical Society.

Allen County Public Library 900 Library Plaza Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Telephone: 260-421-1225 ; Internet: Genealogy Center ACPL ; E-mail: genealogy@acpl.info

This is the second-largest genealogy collection in the United States and the largest genealogy collection in a public library. Its holdings include more than 350,000 printed volumes and 513,000 items on microfilm and microfiche. It has a premier genealogical periodical collection, local histories, genealogies, databases, military, censuses, directories, passenger lists, ethnic sources, and Canadians. They have a great Illinois collection. ISA's Perrin collection contain miscellaneous court records, contracts, deeds, donations, marriages, and wills from old French Cahokia and early St. Clair County, for which a variety of finding aids and calendars are available. "Name Index to Early Illinois Records," on microfilm at the ISA and Family History Library in Salt Lake City, includes abstracts from parts of the Perrin collection. ISA produced a pamphlet series about its African American, census, death, land, military, and probate records. ISA's online databases include Illinois marriages (1763-1900), deaths (1877-1950), public land sales (from 1814) statewide, and Illinois war veterans (nineteenth-century) and veterans' home residents (twentieth-century). Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Has more than sixty-four thousand cubic feet of historical records dating from 1800 to the 1980s, including records of U.S. District Courts and some eighty-five federal agencies. The staff provides limited assistance in some indexed collections, and researchers may visit in person. Print and online finding aids are available. Additional Sources
 * Augustana College, Swenson Center. (639 Thirty-eighth Street, Rock Island 61201-2296). Is the North American agent for Svensk Arkivinformation, a division of the Swedish National Archives. The center arranges purchase of Swedish parish records on microfiche and provides resources for the study of Swedish immigration to North America.
 * Belleville Public Library 121 E. Washington St. Belleville, IL 62220-2205 Phone: (618) 234-0441 Fax: (618) 234-9474
 * Blackhawk Genealogical Library 19th St. and 4th Ave. Rock Island, IL 61201 Phone: (309) 732-7323
 * Charleston Carnegie Public Library 712 Sixth St. Charleston, IL 61920 Phone: (217) 345-4913 Fax: (217) 348-5616 E-mail: crngenealogy@yahoo.com
 * Chicago History Museum. (formerly Chicago Historical Society, Clark Street at North Avenue, Chicago 60614-6071). Houses about twenty million items -- photographs, drawings, diaries, letters, costumes, textiles, sound recordings, films, books, newspapers, and artifacts. A newspaper clipping file organized by surname and topic covers the 1930s to the present. The collections include materials from the Chicago Division of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters,1925-69; Illinois Manufacturers' Association, 1893-1986; and District 31 United Steelworkers of America, 1934-79. More than fifty-five thousand newspaper photographs online.
 * Chicago Public Library (404 State St. Chicago 60605) The official repository for city documents and ordinances, maintains clippings from forty newspapers dated 1956 to the present.
 * The Chicago Public Library's List of Illinois Colleges, Universities, and Libraries
 * Every Library in Illinois Directory - Connections to every public, private, and school library in the state.
 * Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.  The Agency operates over 60 historic sites and memorials. The Agency also administers the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The library is the state’s chief historical and genealogical research facility that is home to the state’s world-renowned Abraham Lincoln collection. The library houses the Agency's collection of more than 12 million items of Illinois history.
 * Family History Centers in Illinois - a listing and their phone numbers.
 * Illinois Digital Archives (IDA). Provides digital images of Illinois documents, historical books, journals, magazines, manuscripts, and monographs contributed by libraries statewide. Access is through "Find-It! Illinois."
 * Illinois Heritage Association - Help for Historic Preservation Projects and Questions
 * Illinois Historical Survey Library - on the U of I Champaign-Urbana campus on the 4th floor of the Main Library. This library has a large collection of Illinois materials including historical and genealogical. Visit the U of I Library Web Site to search for publications. There is also an excellent Map Library on the fourth floor of the Main Library. Of interest to genealogists are Grand Army of the Republic post records and registers of Baptist, Presbyterian, and Quaker churches.
 * Illinois Libraries With Genealogical Collections.  Springfield, IL : Illinois State Genealogical Society, 1992.
 * The Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD)  IRAD Coordinator Illinois State Archives Margaret Cross Norton Building Capitol Complex Springfield, Illinois 62756 - As part of the state archives system, seven regional depositories at state universities include archival material from 102 counties. The records include original local government records turned over to IRAD and microfilmed local government records as well. The amount of material in IRAD's collection varies from county to county. A printed version of the IRAD holdings is available in A Summary Guide to Local Governmental Records in the Illinois Regional Archives, 2d ed., 1999 and also on the Illinois State Archives website. The archives also has on their website a variety of research guides discussing county records in Illinois.
 * Illinois State Archives Margaret Cross Norton Building Archives Building Springfield, IL 62756 Phone: (217) 782-4682 Fax: (217) 524-3930 Included in their extensive holdings are federal and state censuses, military records, land records, and other materials. Consult the Descriptive Inventory of the Archives of the State of Illinois, 2nd ed., Springfield, Illinois, 1991. You can also request the Genealogical Records and Mail Research Policy brochure from the archives. Its collections include published inventories and original records gathered by the Historical Records Survey, which located and described federal, state, county, municipal, and church archives throughout Illinois. ISA also holds historical records of state hospitals, penal institutions, and boards that regulate, examine, or license architects, barbers, dental examiners, mine operators, nurses, pharmacists, and veterinarians.
 * Illinois State Archives - Main page
 * Illinois State Archives - Online Databases
 * The Illinois State Archives On-Line Reference Request Page
 * Illinois State Archives - Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
 * Illinois State Archives - Statewide Marriage Index (1763 - 1900)
 * Illinois State Genealogical Society P.O. Box 10195 Springfield, IL 62791 - The organization publishes a newsletter and a quarterly, and is also involved in a variety of genealogical projects throughout the state. The society also sponsors the annual Genealogical Institute of Mid America, held annually each July on the campus of the University of Illinois-Springfield.
 * Illinois State Library
 * Gwendolyn Brooks Building, 300 South 2nd Street, Springfield, IL 62701-1796; Phone: (217) 785-5600
 * Maintains a sizable map collection, largely available through interlibrary loan. It is a depository for federal and Illinois government publications, including those published with state funds by Illinois universities. ISL is the lending arm of ISA; the I-Share online catalog identifies its holdings.
 * LIBDEX: the Library Index
 * Newberry Library 60 W. Walton St. Chicago, IL 60610-3394 Phone: (312) 943-9090 - The library has an especially strong Chicago area collection. It is a privately funded research library open to the public, focuses on genealogy. Its collection is nonci- The library has an especially strong Chicago area collection. It is a privately funded research library open to the public, focuses on genealogy. Its collection is noncirculating, but collection guides and "Quick Search" services for Chicago ward and enumeration district numbers, city directories, the Cook County birth and death index 1871-1916, obituaries from Chicago area newspapers before 1965, and a few church registers are available to genealogists by mail.
 * Southern Illinois University, Lovejoy Librarys and a special collection on Mormons.
 * State of Illinois Home Page - Link to Illinois libraries, and the ILLINET on line catalog.
 * U.S. National Archives Great Lakes Region 7358 S. Pulaski Rd. Chicago, IL 60629 Phone: (773) 581-7816 Fax: (312) 353-1294 E-mail: archives@chicago.nara.gov
 * Includes federal censuses 1790–1930; selected military service indexes, pension indexes, passenger lists, and naturalizations. Free computers for Ancestry, Heritage Quest, or Fold3. Federal agency, civil, and criminal court records of Illinois and surrounding states
 * U. S. National Archives and Records Administration - Washington, DC
 * University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. (246A Main Library, 1408 West Gregory Drive, Urbana 61801) The holdings are catalogued in I-Share. Guides to dissertations on microfilm and special collections are available. Collections include civil War materials, several hundred dictionaries of German dialects, photographs of steamboats, and scrapbooks about river captains.
 * Association of Illinois Museums and Historical Societies. Historical and Cultural Agencies and Museums in Illinois. Springfield, Illinois: Phillips Bros., 1993.

John A. Logan College Library 700 Logan College Road Carterville, Illinois 62918 USA Phone: (618) 985-3741 ;  Internet:  John A. Logan College Library

This library is a focal point of Southern Illinois genealogy. Their collection is huge.

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Lovejoy Library 30 Hairpin Drive Edwardsville, IL 62026 USA Phone: (618) 650-4636

This is the best library in southern Illinois. They have a large genealogical collection including newspapers, biographies, county histories, family folders, and maps

 Regional Societies 

Genealogical Society of Southern Illinois (GSSI)

John A. Logan College Library: 700 Logan College Road, Carterville, Illinois 62918. Telephone: 618-985-2828, Ext. 8338.

Hours: vary by season, see website
 * The Society focuses on Alexander, Clay, Clinton, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin,Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph,Richland, Saline, St. Clair, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, and Williamson counties.

Tri-State Genealogical Society

c/o Willard Library, 21 First Avenue, Evansville, IN 47710. Telephone: 812-425-4309.

This Society focuses on families in Southeast Illinois, Southwest Indiana, and Western Kentucky. The http://www.willard.lib.in.us/tristate_genealogical_society/index.php. Tri-State Packet is published quarterly.

= Illinois State Genealogical Society =

= ISGS Member Societies = The following genealogical societies, historical societies and libraries are members of the Illinois State Genealogical Society and their support is greatly appreciate!

Illinois Genealogical Societies
 * British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois, PO Box 192, Richmond IL 60071-0192


 * Bureau County Genealogical Society, 629 S. Main Street, Princeton IL 61356


 * Champaign County Genealogical Society, Champaign Co. Hist'l Archives, 201 S. Race St., Urbana, IL 61801


 * Christian County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 28, Taylorville, IL 62568


 * Computer Assisted Genealogy Group of Northern Illinois, P.O. Box 59567, Schaumburg, IL 60159-0567


 * Czech & Slovak American Genealogy Society of Illinois (CSAGSI), P.O. Box 313, Sugar Grove, IL 60554


 * Decatur Genealogical Society, 1255 W. South Side Dr., P.O. Box 1548, Decatur, IL 62525-1548


 * DeKalb County Historical-Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 295 Sycamore, IL 60178


 * DeWitt County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 632, Clinton, IL 61727


 * DuPage County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 3, Wheaton, IL 60189-0003


 * Edgar County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 304, Paris, IL 61944


 * Elgin Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1418, Elgin, IL 60121-1418


 * Fox Valley Genealogical Society,  P. O. Box 5435, Naperville, IL 60567


 * Genealogy Society of Southern Illinois, c/o John A Logan College, 700 Logan College Dr, Carterville, IL 62918


 * Greene County Genealogical & Historical Society, P.O. Box 137, Carrollton, IL 62016


 * Henry County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 346, Kewanee, IL 61443


 * Iroquois County Genealogical Society, Old Courthouse, 103 West Cherry Street, Watseka, IL 60970


 * Jacksonville Area Genealogical and Historical Society,416 South Main St, Jacksonville, IL 62650-2904


 * Kane County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 504, Geneva, IL 60134-0504


 * Kankakee Valley Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 442, Bourbonnais, IL 60914


 * Knox County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 13, Galesburg, IL 61402-0013


 * LaHarpe Historical & Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 289, LaHarpe, IL 61450


 * Lake County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 998 Mundelein, IL 60060-0998


 * LaSalle County Genealogical Guild, 115 W. Glover Street, P.O. Box 534, Ottawa, IL 61350


 * Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society, 113 S. Hennipin Ave., Dixon, IL 61021


 * Madison County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 631, Edwardsville, IL 62025


 * Marissa Historical & Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 47, Marissa, IL 62257-0047


 * McDonough County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 202, Macomb, IL 61455


 * McLean County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 488, Normal, IL 61761-0488


 * Monroe County Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 381, Columbia, IL 62236


 * Northwest Suburban Genealogy Society,P.O. Box 148, Mount Prospect, IL 60056


 * Peoria County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1489 Peoria, IL 61655-1489


 * Putnam County Historical Society, Hennepin, IL 61327


 * Richland County Genealogical & Historical Society, P.O. Box 202, Olney, IL 62450


 * Rock Island County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 3912, Rock Island, IL 61204-3912


 * South Suburban Genealogical & Historical Society, 3000 W. 170th Pl., Hazel Crest, IL 60429


 * St. Clair County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 431, Belleville, IL 62222-0431


 * Stark County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 83, Toulon, IL 61483


 * Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society, 719 N. 11th St., P.O. Box 312, Pekin, IL 61555-0312


 * Waverly Genealogical & Historical Society & Museum, 157 East Tremont, Waverly, IL 62692


 * Winnebago/Boone Counties Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 10166, Loves Park, IL 61131-0166

Links
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Volunteer at the Center
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