Resources

Edgar County Genealogy Library collects, organizes, preserves, and provides access to sources that record Edgar County history and genealogy of families who resided here. The Library serves as an onsite collection of materials and information, offering assistance in researching.

The Library collection includes:

Family Histories:  An online surname list of family histories in the library is available in a pdf that can be browsed or searched by using Find or Find in page (usually under Edit) in your browser. For a more detailed index, come to the library or contact us to check our surname files.

Surnames Files: Check these files to see if your family has been researched and is in a published or unpublished genealogy on our shelves, or one of our Edgar County Databases. Check the Vertical File Index to see if we have files for a name you are researching.

Obituaries and Death Records:  Obits from Paris, IL Beacon-News 1985 – 2016, and The Prairie Press since Sept. 4, 2014, with random obits from 1920 forward. Some deaths December 1877 through 1925, with full-name indices.

Cemetery Locations & Records with “911” county map available. Tombstone or burial records for over 150 cemeteries in the county available.

Local Newspapers Archive (microfilm unless otherwise noted)
The Prairie Beacon: Nov. 30, 1849 – Aug. 17, 1860
The Paris Daily Beacon & Valley Blade: Jul. 12, 1872 – Jun. 27, 1873
Paris Beacon (name varies): Jan. 5, 1882 – Dec. 25, 1885; Jan. 1, 1886 – Dec. 30, 1887; Mar. 12, 1888 – Dec. 31, 1954.  (1955 – 2016 at Paris Public Library)
Hume Record: Apr. 2, 1892 – Mar. 13, 1925 (with gaps)
Brocton-Hume Record-Review: bound 1976-1977 issues.
Kansas Journal: Jan. 1893 – Dec. 22, 1977
Kansas News: bound Oct. 17, 1873 – Oct. 8, 1875 issues.
Chrisman Courier: Jan. 16, 1894 – Feb. 20, 1969. Bound volume Mar – Dec. 1969.
Chrisman Leader: bound volumes Mar. 1970 -1977, 1981-1994, 2014-2020.

Military Records & Scrapbooks: Revolutionary War, War of 1812, War of 1812 Burials, Black Hawk, Mexican, Civil & Spanish-American Wars, WWI & WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Illinois Adjutant General Reports with separate indices (compiled by Fred Delap).

More: County & Township Histories, City & County Directories, School Yearbooks, Early Church Records, Genealogies of local families, Bible Records,

Questions? Call 217-463-4209 or email for more information.
Can’t visit our library? Use our form to request information by mail.

 

 

 

ECGL collection policy