our collections
CEMETERY BOOKS
The greatest treasure hidden in our collection is the goldmine of recordings contained in our cemetery books. In 1965 our members began to tramp through cemeteries both abandoned and new, large and small to locate gravestones and record this valuable information and preserve it for the future.
In the 1980’s this society began to expand this project to include obituaries to be matched to the earlier recordings.
And then going forward, as online newspaper data became available, historical newspapers were scoured to glean even more information to be added to this growing collection. In 2020 our McLean County cemeteries number 110 and the shelves cover one wall of our library.
Later, the collection was broadened to include the cemeteries of Livingston, Woodford, and Ford Counties, and obituaries were added as they became available. Many of the cemetery records also include sexton records and cemetery burial maps.
The benefit of using this collection is that the County Indexes can be searched to quickly locate that elusive ancestor and one can find many obituaries in a short time…
In the 1980’s this society began to expand this project to include obituaries to be matched to the earlier recordings.
And then going forward, as online newspaper data became available, historical newspapers were scoured to glean even more information to be added to this growing collection. In 2020 our McLean County cemeteries number 110 and the shelves cover one wall of our library.
Later, the collection was broadened to include the cemeteries of Livingston, Woodford, and Ford Counties, and obituaries were added as they became available. Many of the cemetery records also include sexton records and cemetery burial maps.
The benefit of using this collection is that the County Indexes can be searched to quickly locate that elusive ancestor and one can find many obituaries in a short time…
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SURNAME FILES
Beginning in 1965 as family searchers visited our library, they shared their family group sheets, Bible records, and family photographs so that future searchers could benefit from this information. Today in 2020 our surname collection contains over 750 family files. You never know what might be found in them! While the files are rich with information on families of the area, they include many other others as well. We can check to see what there might be on your family name…
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FAMILY HISTORIES
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Early searchers beginning in 1965 were grateful to have our library archives to help find those genealogy gems. As they published, printed, or completed their family histories, they gratefully shared a copy of their research with our library. The results are in 2020 we have more than 300 family histories on our shelves. They might be as professional as a hard-bound published work or as simple as a 3 ring-binder of family group sheets. This collection abounds with the history of pioneer families of the area including: Bartholomew, Dawson, Dodson, Flesher, Franklin, Harness, Hefner, Henline, Hinthorn, Jenkins, Kinsella, Mahan, McNaught, Ogden, Patton, Popejoy, Spawr, Turnipseed, Weakley, Wiley, Wilson and so many more…
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PUBLISHED COUNTY HISTORIES
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Published county history books provide a wealth of information on the pioneer era and the people who were brave enough to migrate to a wild and unsettled state. Seldom did they come alone but with family, friends, neighbors, or fellow church members. Our collection is richest with McLean County histories but also includes some for Livingston, Woodford, and Ford.
The earliest McLean County history, published in 1874, is the folksy, down to earth, day to day narrative by Dr. E. Duis entitled “Good Old Times in McLean County.” It reads like fiction in some places and while it focuses on biographies of our early pioneers, it also gives the history of the communities in which they lived. A great read and chock full of details and hard to find information. The second history available is the History of McLean County by LeBaron published in 1879. This does give a history of each community, some quite in depth, and it includes biographies. However, one must keep in mind, biographies included were those who paid a fee. So, if your ancestor is not listed, he could still be a part of that community but chose not to be in the book. McLean County Histories were published in 1887, 1908, and 1924 and the information included varied from book to book. Again, much of this information was by subscription so is somewhat qualified. Also available are random histories of cities and towns within the boundaries of McLean County. Livingston County histories in our collection include those published in 1878, 1888, 1909, and 1991. Likewise, Woodford County has histories of 1878, 1889, 1910, and 1968. These materials provide an interesting look at yesteryear and who and how our communities came into being. |
COUNTY ATLAS OR PLAT BOOKS
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What fun to skim through these old books! They each contain their individual interesting information. One can find the owner of a parcel of land, know exactly where he lives, locate the creeks, rivers, and timbers; or find where the cemeteries or the schoolhouses were positioned. Some even contain pictures of farms, houses, and even people.
For McLean County the first plat book to contain detailed information is the 1874. There were also plat maps of 1856 and 1866 published, but with less detail. The 1895 and 1914 abound with much valued information. The 1893 and 1911 Plat Books for Livingston County are the only ones in our collection. The Woodford County Plat Books cover the years 1873, 1893, 1912, and 1927. Ford County Plat Books in the collection include the years 1876, 1884, 1892, 1901, and 1916. |
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MICROFILM
Newspapers
Since many newspapers are now available online and indexed, microfilm is not often the go-to place for research. However, our collection contains microfilm reels of small-town weekly newspapers. Some of the collection is random and not complete. But most of these isolated newspapers have not yet been digitized and do contain detailed information perhaps not to be found elsewhere. We maintain a microfilm reader connected to a printer for your use. Microfilmed newspapers available and years included |
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McLean County towns:
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Livingston County towns:
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Woodford County towns:
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Ford County towns:
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MARRIAGES
Our microfilm collection contains McLean County Marriage Books A through M which includes the years 1831-1912.
Also, we have Livingston County Marriage Books A through M and includes the years 1837-1942. |
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