Wilmette Illinois Family History Center

Location
The Wilmette Illinois Family History Center, is located north of Chicago


 * 2727 Lake Avenue in Wilmette, Illinois.


 * Location Map


 * There are three doors into the building from the large (free) parking lot. Push the buzzer at the 3rd door (furthest from Lake Ave) for access to the FHC during opening hours.

The Center is a few blocks east of the Edens Expressway (Lake Avenue exit) and on week days it's accessible by the 422 Pace bus (Lake and Locust stop).

Film Collection
The Center houses a large indefinite loan microfilm collection that includes many Chicago resources including vital records, city directories, and Catholic parish records. The collection is also strong in German, Swedish, and Polish records. Wilmette FHC Film/Fiche Holdings List.

Book Collection
The Center also has a collection of genealogy-related reference books and research guides that support the research interests of local patrons. Some of the frequently-used volumes include A History of the parishes of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Germans to America and the Hamburg passenger lists: coordinated schedules, and A Translation guide to 19th-century Polish-language civil-registration documents. Books are shelved by the Dewey numbers found in the FamilySearch Catalog.

Computer Resources
The Center has nine computers for patron use and the Family History Center Portal offers free access to about 15 Premium sites including Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, ArkivDigital, MyHeritage and FindMyPast.com.

Hours

 * Tuesday: 10 am to 6 pm
 * Wednesday: 10 am to 9 pm
 * First and Third Saturdays: 9 am - 1 pm

If the weather is bad, please call before visiting. We may be closed.

Holiday Closures
During 2020, the Center will be closed on the following days:

Saturday, April 4, General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - open April 11 instead

Saturday, July 4, Independence Day

During August, the Center will only be open the 1st and 3rd Saturdays, August 1 and 16.

Saturday, September 5, Labor Day Weekend

Saturday, October 3, General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - open October 10 instead

The week of November 23-28 - Thanksgiving break

December 21 - January 1 - Christmas and New Year

If you have questions about the center, please call (847) 251-9818 during open hours or email il_wilmette@familyhistorymail.org