Before beginning genealogical research at a library or archive, you should obtain as much information as possible from family members and family papers, focusing on dates and places of birth, death and marriage. You should organize these data on pedigree charts and family group sheets. Adopt a step by step approach going back in time, beginning with you and your parents, and then your parents and grandparents, and so on. Do not skip generations!
You will also find it useful to consult a manual, such as Val D. Greenwood's Researcher's guide to American genealogy (oCS47.G73 1990 on 2nd floor open shelf) or Ralph Crandall's Shaking your family tree (oCS16.C77.1986 on 2nd floor open shelf). There are also genealogical "how to" books for various states, regions, and ethnic groups. The Newberry book store often has in stock genealogical manuals of both a general and specific nature.
One of the first things the beginning genealogist should do is obtain birth and death certificates of family members. The creation of these records is a function of local government as dictated by state law. Consequently, the availability of such records will vary from state to state. Usually there is a year after which the keeping of these records is centralized at the state level (in Illinois it is 1916), so that copies of birth and death certificates can be obtained from both state and local governments after that point. Often vital records on the local level may be spotty or even nonexistent prior to the state mandate. In most states the county is the local political entity responsible for these records, although towns and cities have traditionally held this responsibility in New England.
Birth and death records are very important in genealogy and are especially critical for researchers just beginning their research. Names of parents, date and place of birth are not only found on birth certificates but also on death certificates in many cases. The Newberry has indexes or transcriptions of vital records from many states and localities prior to the 20th century. On the other hand, the Library usually will not have such records from the 20th century. The researcher must therefore obtain them by contacting the appropriate local or state authority. The following books will be helpful in determining what records exist and how to obtain them.
Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. County courthouse book. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995. 2nd ed.
Call #: oKF8700.A19B46 1995 (2nd floor open shelf).
The Handy book for genealogists. Logan, Utah: Everton Publishers, 1991. 8th edition.
Call #: oCS47.E9 1991 (2nd floor open shelf).
Kemp, Thomas Jay. International vital records handbook. 3rd edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994.
Call #: oCS42.7.K46 1994 (2nd floor open shelf).
Includes reproductions of the request forms for vital records from all states and territories, in addition to foreign countries. Remember that in many states early vital records may only be available from local government.
Special Note: If you are working with Cook County vital records, be sure to ask for the Cook County Vital Records guide sheet at the 2nd floor genealogy reference post. There you can also obtain copies of the request forms for Cook County vital records.
The United States census was taken every ten years beginning in 1790. It is one of the basic research tools in American genealogy. Census schedules through 1920 which have not been destroyed or lost are on microfilm. A complete set is at Chicago's regional branch of the National Archives at 7358 S. Pulaski (phone 773-581-7816 to reserve a microfilm reader). The Newberry's census holdings are complete for the entire country through 1850, while for the 20th century (1900, 1910, 1920) the Newberry only holds the Illinois schedules. Consult the checklists at the 2nd floor genealogy post to determine the Newberry's census holdings for a particular state in 1860, 1870 and 1880 (the 1890 census was lost to fire). Published census indexes for many states are also shelved near the 2nd floor genealogy post or are available on CD-ROM.
Depending on the locations of the families you are researching and the extent of your preparations, the Newberry's collections may be useful for you even at an early stage in your research. This could be especially true for Chicago or other Illinois research, in which case consult the Newberry guide sheets Chicago Genealogy Sources and Illinois Genealogy: A Bibliography of Basic Sources. Otherwise, you should follow the approach outlined on the sheet Genealogy Search Strategy.
If you have not obtained 20th century death certificates or if your family was not in Illinois in the 20th century, you may first need to obtain those death records as well as consult the non-Illinois census microfilm for 1900, 1910 and 1920 at the National Archives branch before you can make effective use of the Newberry's collections.
There are several guides to Newberry genealogical research covering various ethnic or national groups, as well as some of the states. These are also available next to the 2nd floor genealogy post.