General Meeting Presentation May 20, 2006
Guest speakers for our May 20 meeting were Arlene Lane and Sonia Schoenfield, librarians from the Cook Memorial Library in Libertyville, Illinois. Their audio-visual presentation “Your Public Library: a Genealogist’s Guide to Unexpected Resources” was designed to help genealogists access places they might not have considered for researching families. Their sources covered books, online databases, web-sites, newspapers and magazines. These were listed in the handouts given to the audience. They also gave us the following rules: Rule #1 The librarian might not know much about genealogy research. This happened to Sonia and Arlene when the Lake County Genealogical Society and their volunteers moved out of the library. The librarians were then forced to “bone-up” on genealogy. Rule #2 Why buy a book when you can borrow one? Most genealogy books can be found under 929.1 on the library shelves. Rule #3 Librarians take requests. If you think a certain book would be a welcome addition to the library’s collection, mention it to the librarian for future purchase – some libraries have request forms you can fill out. Rule #4 If your library doesn’t have the book you’re looking for, it might be available through inter-library loan. Find out about your library’s inter-library loan policies. Rule #5 Have realistic expectations of the librarians; don’t expect them to do your research for you.
Our members were then conducted through a fictional trip to the library. Especially helpful is a visit to the public library in the town where your ancestors lived, but phone first or check their web-site before traveling, so you won’t be disappointed in case they are closed. Some libraries have their genealogy material in a separate area, designated special collections. The Handybook for Genealogists, Red book: American State, County & Town Sources (an in-depth listing of states, how their counties were formed and land was given, along with court records), The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy (record oriented, i.e., immigration records), and the International Vital Records Handbook (how to contact countries for records) are just a few of the basic books you will find. Periodicals may include: Ancestry Magazine, Everton’s Genealogical Helper, Family Chronicle and Family Tree Magazine. Some libraries subscribe to on-line sites such as Ancestry Library Edition and Heritage Quest (including PerSI – periodical search index) On Heritage Quest, for example, you will find a war pension index. Other databases include Sanborn Maps (fire insurance maps from mid 1800’s to first half of 1900’s) and historical newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune or New York Times. At the library old local newspapers and specialized newspapers are usually found on microfilm and local history might be archived. Digital Past (www.digitalpast.org) has digitized historical images contributed by local libraries.
Using their library’s resources, Sonia and Arlene showed us how they solved the mystery of Mrs. Browder. She had written a poem about Libertyville in the late 1800’s, but no one had any other information on her. Using the Illinois State Archives, Lake County censuses and marriage records, to name a few, they were able to identify her and where her family had lived in Lake County. She had written the poem when she was 17 and our diligent librarians identified where she was buried, along with her two infant siblings, who she alluded to in her poem. Sonia also told of her research on a “black sheep” family member, whose life little was known. Through veteran records and local newspapers, she was able to find out that he died from an overdose of laudanum, probably taken for a war-related injury.
Judging from their presentation, Arlene and Sonia are “hooked” on genealogy. And the audience was glad that the Lake County Genealogy Society moved out of the library in Libertyville. If they hadn’t, we probably would not have had such an informative and interesting presentation.