The following strategies will help you find your way to the sources in the Newberry’s collection that you need. If new to genealogy, be sure to read the Genealogy Basics guide. General catalog search tips come at the end of these subject categories. Additional guides mentioned below are available at www.newberry.org and at the 2nd floor reference desk. Do not hesitate to ask reference librarians for assistance.
Federal Census Microfilm: Holdings include all states 1790-1850, select states 1860-1880, and Illinois 1900-1920. Federal census microfilm is not catalogd. It is stored at the 2nd floor reference desk. Ask there for assistance.
Federal Census Indexes: Holdings include book indexes for 1790-1850 for all states, some book and CD-ROM indexes for 1860, CD-ROM indexes for all states in 1870, the 1880 National Index and Census CD-ROM set, 1880 Soundex for select states, Soundex for Illinois for 1900-1920. Ask at the 2nd floor reference desk.
County indexes and transcriptions:
[Name of County] – Census, [year].
Example: Lake County (Ill.) – Census, 1880.
State Census: See binder at 2nd floor reference desk.
[Name of State] – Census.
[Surname] family.
Example: Chapman family.
If you are lucky, someone has already compiled parts of your family’s history and published it. These books are catalogd under the surname. You will need to look at the book’s index to determine if your ancestors are discussed in that book.
[Name of County].
[Name of Town].
Example: Will County (Ill.). not Illinois – Will County.
Example: Joliet (Ill.).
Subheadings include:
[Name of County or Town] – Genealogy
(local record indexes, probate abstracts, and more)[Name of County or Town] – Biography
(biographical sketches)[Name of County or Town] – History
(local histories)
See also, Biographical Resources and state guides.
[Name of City] – Directories.
Directories include city, phone, county, social, professional, fraternal, and ethnic directories. List of uncatalogd directories as well as many catalogd directories (Also available in binders at the reference desks).
[Name of City or State] – Newspapers.
[Name of City or State] – History – Sources.
Newspapers – [Name of State] – [Name of City].
American newspapers – [Name of State or City].
[Title of Newspaper].
Example: Albany (N.Y.) – History -- Sources.
Example: Newspapers – Pennsylvania – Carlisle.
Example: American newspapers – Georgia.
See also, Newspaper Holdings Checklist at the 2nd and 3rd floor reference desks and the guide to the Early American Newspapers series at the 3rd floor reference desk. The Illinois Newspaper Project includes Newberry’s newspaper holdings as well as those of other Illinois repositories.
[Name of Country, State, County, City, or Ethnic Group] – [History or Genealogy] – Periodicals.
Example: Swedish-Americans – Genealogy – Periodicals.
For indexing of articles, search the PERiodical Source Index at the public terminals under Genealogy Resources.
[Name of Country, State, County, or Town] – Maps.
[Name of Country, State, County, or Town] – Description and Travel – Maps.
In addition to the card and online catalogs, some maps are listed in the 3rd floor Map Catalog. See also, bibliographies of landownership maps, Chicago maps, and county, state, national, and world atlases.
[Name of Country or State] – Gazetteers.
[Name of Country or State] – Description and Travel – Gazetteers. (over)
[Name of Place] – Church history.
[Name of Denomination].
[Name of Church].
Example: Chicago (Ill.) – Church history.
Example: Lutherans.
Example: First St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran.
United States – History – [Name of War].
United States. Army – [Unit Designation].
[Name of State] – Militia.
[Name of State] – History – [Name of War].
Example: United States – History – War of 1812.
Example: United States. Army – Connecticut Infantry Regiment, 10th.
Example: Ohio – History – Civil War, 1861-1865.
Pension indexes and abstracts:
Pensions, Military – [Name of State].
See also, Confederate Genealogy, Genealogical Research on Revolutionary War Patriots, and Civil War Research at the Newberry Library guides.
Land Titles – [Name of State, County, or Region].
Land Grants – [Name of State, County, or Region].
Land Tenure – [Name of State, County, or Region].
[Name of State, County, or City] – Genealogy.
[Name of State, County, or City] – Genealogy.
[Name of Cemetery].
Cemeteries – [Name of State, County, or City].
Inscriptions – [Name of State, County, or City].
Registers of Births, etc. – [Name of State, County, or City].
[Ethnic Group] – Genealogy.
[Ethnic Group] – [State of residence] – Genealogy.
Example: Polish Americans – California – Genealogy.
See also, guides for particular ethnic groups.
Naturalization Records – [Name of Place].
[Name of State, County, or City] – Genealogy.
Ships – Passenger Lists.
[Ethnic Group] – Genealogy.
Histories and photographs of passenger ships:
Ship – Registers.
Passenger Ships.
Steamboat Lines.
Oceanliners.
See also, Passenger Lists guide.
Names, Personal – Dictionaries.
Names, Personal – [Name of Country, Nationality, or Geographic Area].
Example: Names, Personal – France.
Example: Names, Personal – French.
The card and computer catalogs do not overlap significantly. You need to search both catalogs. Only titles catalogd after 1978 are in the computer. These represent about 15% of the collection.
The computer catalog can be searched on the Internet or at public terminals on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors.
The card catalog is on the 3rd floor. Reference librarians on that floor can assist you in using both catalogs.
The card catalog has author, title, and subject headings filed together alphabetically (A-Z).
In the card catalog, authors come before titles and subjects. For example, when searching for a published genealogy, the subject heading “Chapman family” comes after all the authors in a new alphabetical sequence. It does not come after, “Chapman, Fabio.”
There are special catalogs, such as vertical file and map catalogs, at the end of the card catalog on the 3rd floor. Ask librarians on that floor to assist you.
Genealogy specialists will assist you at the 2nd floor reference desk. You can also contact a reference librarian by mail, e-mail, phone, and fax.