Research Tools

Unlock the story of your family through census data, vital records, directories, photos, and more. Available for in-library use only. 

Access to US military records, including the stories, photos and documents of the men and women who served. Contains millions of records from world-class archives.

Explore your family history with the premier collection of U.S. obituaries and death notices for in-depth genealogical research from 1704 - today.

HeritageQuest provides access to thousands of local and family histories, the complete U.S. Federal Census, Revolutionary War Pension & Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, Freedman's Bank Records, city directories, and more.

Full-text local news in the Illinois Times, with coverage from 2003 to the present.

Online access to 4,000+ historical newspapers from the early 1700s into the 2000s. Includes thousands of well-known, regional and state titles to small local newspapers in the United States and other countries.

Digital newspaper archive of various editions of the Chicago Defender and Chicago Daily Defender, with coverage from 1909 to 2010. Offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue.

Full-text local news in The State Journal-Register, with coverage from 1831 to the present.