What is it? Compiled by Newberry Librarians for over twenty years, the Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library is well known to several generations of genealogists and is almost as old as the Library itself. This surname index to 3000 local histories, genealogies, and genealogical periodicals published before 1917 can be the key to many genealogical locked doors. Coverage is best for New England, with secondary coverage for Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic states. This important tool--through its usefulness and fame--stimulated extremely heavy use of fragile nineteenth century genealogy material by readers for over 60 years and nearly became the source of the collections destruction. Fortunately, much of the collection to which it serves as a guide has been preserved (many microfilmed) and is still available for use.
How can I use it? The Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library is not an extremely difficult source to use. First look up the surname you are interested in. Following the name is a very abbreviated citation to a work and page number in that work on which the surname appears. For example, the citation “Wilson family -- Sangamon Co. Ill. (Power, J.C.) 1876: 412” leads you to look up “Wilson” on page 412 of John Carroll Power's History of the early settlers of Sangamon county Illinois (Springfield, Ill. E.A. Wilson & co., 1876). It should be mentioned that because the Genealogical Index is so old, many of the call numbers have been superseded and must be confirmed in an Index to the Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library. If interested in the Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library, readers should pick up a “How to use” handout at the Genealogy Reference Desk and ask for a brief introduction to the source from a Reference Librarian.
Common Misconceptions It is worth noting that the Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library is not a catalog of the Library's holdings in family history. The index citations refer to pages in books or periodicals on which a name is mentioned, not to entire works on a surname. The leads vary from full biographical sketches to mentions of the surname in tax lists, civic organizations, etc. So while the Genealogical Index of the Newberry Library should not be your first stop, its references may be valuable clues to unlock mysteries.