The Newberry has over 17,000 genealogies. The collection is especially noteworthy for its coverage of colonial America, particularly New England, and also includes many rare titles covering gentry and noble families of the British Isles.
The local history collection includes county, city, town, church, and other local histories from all regions of the United States, as well as from Canada and the British Isles. The Newberry holds a comprehensive collection of New England town histories, as well as an especially strong collection of county histories from the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. All of these contain extensive genealogical and biographical data. The Newberry's collection of local histories from the British Isles is also noteworthy.
The Newberry's federal census holdings are complete for the entire country 1790-1850, and complete for all Midwestern states through 1880. Its 1870 holdings are complete for all Southern and Border states, while its 1860 and 1880 holdings for many of these states are also complete. With the exception of a few out of state counties, Illinois is the only state for which the Newberry has any twentieth century federal census microfilm (1900, 1910, 1920, 1930). The Library holds census indexes for all states through 1850 with indexes for many states through 1860, 1870 or 1880. State census holdings include 1855 and 1865 Illinois, 1905 Wisconsin, and substantial but incomplete New York census for 1855, 1875, 1905, and 1925. Canadian census holdings are complete for Quebec 1831-1891 and for Ontario 1851-1871.
Records of birth, death, and marriage, as well as probate, deed, court, tax, and cemetery records form an important segment of the Newberry's genealogy collection. These usually take the form of published indexes, abstracts or transcriptions of pre-twentieth century records. The Library collects these materials primarily from the area of the Mississippi Valley to the Eastern Seaboard, as well as from Canada and the British Isles.
The Newberry collects roster and pension reference works covering the colonial wars through the Civil War. A few states are also represented for the Spanish American War and World War One. The Newberry's collection of Civil War unit histories is one of the country's best.
The Library has complete runs of many state historical and genealogical journals, as well as important regional and national journals such as The New England Genealogical and Historical Register, The American Genealogist, and The National Genealogical Society Quarterly. The Newberry also holds several U.S. county genealogy periodicals, in addition to British journals of local and regional history and genealogy. Article subjects from U.S. and Canadian journals are indexed in the Periodical Source Index (PERSI), which the Library also holds.
Peggy Sinko's Guide to Local and Family History at the Newberry Library was published in 1987 and provides a good summary of the collections up to the time of publication; however, researchers should realize that much has been added since then. The Library is developing an ongoing series of pathfinders covering Newberry collection highlights and strengths for selected genealogical research topics, such as passenger lists, Revolutionary War veterans, as well as particular states and ethnic groups.