What's Past is Present

Airmen Tries New Way of Flying at Chanute

2012-01-13T13:00:00.003-06:00

For 45 minutes, Private Harold R. Osborne, a student of the Air Corps Technical School, Chanute Field, dangled in mid-air, his parachute caught on the stabilizer of the plane from which he had jumped. Helpless to free himself from his parachute or the plane, Osborne remained entangled until a knife was lowered to him. (News-Gazette , 5 June 1931)

Spring 2012 Workshop Series: Genealogy & Local History

2012-01-12T15:08:00.000-06:00

Event Poster PDF

The Champaign County Historical Archives is pleased to announce the 2012 Spring Workshop Series. This year's sessions are:

Intermediate Genealogy
Using the Internet for your Genealogy Research
African American Genealogy for Beginners

See below for a description of the workshops.

To register, please call Parkland College at 217-353-2055. You may also pick up an application in the Champaign County Historical Archives on the second floor of The Urbana Free Library.
Parkland Registration Form (PDF)

Intermediate Genealogy

You have started finding documents about your family. Now what? Nicole Miller will show you strategies for analyzing and interpreting information. Topics include transcribing, abstracting, and summarizing documents; evaluating conflicting sources; land records and agrarian research; incorporating historical research into family history; evaluating information with timelines and extraction forms; and more.
Thursdays, February 2 - March 8
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Course Number: WCE 418-001
Fee: $65 • Registration Deadline: January 26
Location: Champaign County Historical Archives at The Urbana Free Library

Using the Internet for Your Genealogy Research

Steve Szabados will provide brief demonstrations of most of the major online resources and will discuss methods to find many more resources. Unlock some of the secrets to be found at websites, such as FamilySearch, Ellis Island, Find a Grave, Ancestry, Heritage Quest, and many more. Discuss the use of message boards and online family trees to help solve brickwall problems and discover some European resources.
Saturday, March 31
10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Course Number: WLI 785-001
Fee: $25 • Registration Deadline: March 22
Location: Lewis Auditorium at The Urbana Free Library

African American Genealogy for Beginners

Learn about specific research techniques for African Americans. Deanna Martin-Osuagwu will also discuss databases and other invaluable resources that will help you trace your family tree.
Saturday, April 7
9:00 a.m. - Noon
Course Number: WCE 317-001
Fee: $30 • Registration deadline: March 30
Location: Parkland College Business Training & Community Education

Special Event: Sullivan’s Island: The African-American Ellis Island

2012-01-12T14:16:00.001-06:00

Presented by Evelyn Hood, The African-American Cultural & Genealogical Society (Decatur, IL)
Saturday, February 18 • 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Lewis Auditorium

Many Americans are more familiar with West African slaves entering American soil from the shores of the Caribbean Islands. However, Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, served as the main point of entry for African slaves—a quarantine station for those individuals who would be sold into slavery; over 200,000 African men, women and children who endured the Middle Passage. About forty percent of today’s African-American population can trace their ancestral roots to West Africa through the Sullivan’s Island/Charleston gateway, which is the percent equivalent of white Americans passing through Ellis Island. For many of today’s African-American population, this new found information could hold the key to completing the exploration of their ancestry.

Click here for the event poster.

Free Access to World War II Records

2011-12-02T11:26:00.001-06:00

In remembrance of the seventieth anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Ancestry.com is offering free access to its World War II military records collection through midnight (Eastern Time) Wednesday, December 7. Ancestry.com offers a research guide for their World War II records, located here. Click here to start searching!

Veterans Day - Coming Home

2011-11-11T15:00:00.001-06:00

On this Veterans Day, 2011, I thought I'd present a letter from our collection that details probably the best loved activity of any soldier - coming home.

Glenn C. Frazier was born in Rantoul, Illinois on November 22, 1893. In 1917, he was 23 and working as a post office clerk. When the United States became embroiled in the First World War in April of that year, his life changed forever. He was drafted on September 5, 1917 and sent for training to Camp Dodge, Iowa. There he was assigned to the headquarters staff of the 88th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. He went with the 88th to France, served honorably, and was promoted to Sergeant. After the Armistice, he stayed with his unit as they moved to occupy German territory. On May 15, 1919, he began his journey home:

Camp Hill, Va
June 3, 1919

Dear Mother,

Suppose you received the telegram O.K. and know we are almost home again. We were on the boat ten days, an awful tiresome trip. Have been in this camp since Sunday (June 1) and expect to leave tonight or tomorrow morning for Camp Grant [located in Rockford, Illnois], a three day trip in the train but no more box cars for us. Will possibly be in Grant a day or two and I intend to stop in Chicago few hours and buy some clothes. Will send a telegram from there as to what train I will arrive at Rantoul. It will no doubt be some time next week.

It is sure some hot in this country. Don't expect to go back to the office till about July 1.

We are confined to a small area and will have to run away to mail this letter. Hope all is well at home. Will see you soon.

With Love,
Glenn

Private Glenn C. Frazier, Camp Dodge, Iowa, 1917

Recent Gift: T.C. Jackson Groceries, Rantoul, Illinois

2011-11-03T14:12:00.009-05:00

T.C. Jackson Groceries, 114 Kentucky, Rantoul, Illinois, ca. 1873. It was destroyed in a fire, 1901. Pictured are, left to right, Father McGein, pastor, St. Malachy's church, T.C. Jackson and James Jackson. This image appeared in the Rantoul Press, 22 July, 1954. Additional source information, Rantoul Press, 26 July, 1954 (The original photo was recently donated by Martha Dwyer of Champaign, Illinois).

New Web Site: Indians of the Midwest, Past and Present

2011-11-01T11:49:00.005-05:00

The Newberry Library announces the launch of a multimedia educational website supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, titled "Indians of the Midwest, Past and Present." The website focuses on Native people of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to
explore several contemporary issues with roots in the history of the region: tribal sovereignty;hunting, fishing, and gathering rights;casinos and other tribal businesses; treaties; identity; museum collections and repatriation; stereotypes and their uses.

"Indians of the Midwest, Past and Present":
http://publications.newberry.org/indiansofthemidwest

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:33:00.001-05:00

Unsourced Image, October 26, 1949. Champaign County Historical Archives Photograph Collection

In Lincoln's Shadow: A Walking Tour of Historic Urbana

2011-10-26T15:45:00.005-05:00

Abraham Lincoln spent nearly twenty years of his life practicing law here, making friends and gaining political allies. This is not a tour of sites that he visited, but rather a look at the connections between the Urbana of Lincoln’s era and the historic buildings of today’s downtown.

Visit the exhibit at the Champaign County Courthouse and learn about Lincoln’s legal career in Urbana.
Find out about the connection between Lincoln and the University of Illinois at the Griggs House.
Compare the accommodations of the 1850s with the Tudor-style hotel named after the 16th president, built in 1924.

The Pastcast Tour

Pastcasting brings story and place together, using new technology to offer on-demand, self-guided video walking tours to visitors at historic sites. Now you can see images and hear sounds from the past on the actual spot where history was made. The pastcasts are available to download as audio or video to your personal device. MP3 video players are also available for loan. The walking tour map is available in hard copy at various sites in Urbana, including the Champaign County Historical Archives, The Urbana Free Library.

Don’t Miss the Early Bird Registration for RootsTech 2012!

2011-10-26T11:34:00.001-05:00

RootsTech is a one-of-a-kind, leading edge conference designed to bring technologists together with genealogists, so they can learn from each other and find solutions to the challenges they face in family history research today. More than 3,000 people attended the inaugural conference in 2011 and their feedback on RootsTech was overwhelmingly positive. Don’t miss out in 2012!
Take advantage of the special $129 registration rate and we look forward to seeing you at RootsTech 2012!

A new family history and technology conference
February 2-4, 2012
Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah across from the Family History
Early bird registration discount of $129 available through November 30, 2011.

At RootsTech, genealogists and family historians of all skill levels will learn technology-based solutions to accelerate their research. From the Expo Hall and participant-driven unconferencing discussions to the RootsTech Playground, this conference is ground-breaking and unique. Check out rootstech.org for the most current information.
.
Be one of the thousands of RootsTech 2012 attendees to:

Experience hands-on workshops and interactive classes to accelerate your research
Help influence the future of genealogy
Learn and share new ways to adapt technologies to genealogy
Help leading-edge technology providers better understand your needs
Participate in panels, product demos and many networking opportunities

There will be sessions of interest to novices through advanced technology users, including:

Hands-on workshops
Sneak peek demonstrations of new products and services
Interactive presentations and panels
Unconferencing discussions (last minute, on-the-fly sessions by attendees)

Go to RootsTech.org to see the full list of topics and sessions.

Register at RootsTech.org today to take advantage of the early bird special registration discount:

$129 Early bird rate until November 30, 2011
$189 beginning December 1, 2011

RootsTech is sponsored by Microsoft, Dell, FamilySearch, Oracle, the National Genealogical Society, brightsolid, Ancestry.com, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Archives.com, Brigham Young University, and the Association of Professional Genealogists.

An odd way to celebrate a wedding...

2011-10-21T11:38:00.000-05:00

From Early History and Pioneers of Champaign County, p. 26:

"When he came here, Charles Tiernan, father of Frank Tiernan, had the only store here. He relates an incident of attending the wedding of David Cantner at the residence of T. R. Webber. He and others, during the night, tied a coon to a long pole and planted it in front of the house by way of celebrating the happy event, and T. R. Webber climbed the pole in the morning and cut it down."

Facebook Timeline

2011-10-14T15:19:00.000-05:00

Facebook is not without controversy, and it's new Timeline feature is no exception (What is Facebook Timeline?). But, as an archivist, I'm intrigued by its possibilities.

From digital camera pictures to status updates and tweets, we produce a stream of digital content almost daily. Facebook Timeline will offer users the opportunity to give that content context and place it in a dynamic, searchable, chronology - much like a scrapbook of analog photographs, letters, and clippings. This is one of the first large scale attempts at creating such a repository for users.

I look forward to seeing it in practice!

Michael Stern Hart, 1947-2011

2011-09-09T15:38:00.006-05:00

We mourn the loss of visionary and long-time Urbana resident Michael Stern Hart, who died September 6. A self-described "cyber-hippie," his vision of the use of technology to create a literate society led him to establish the first eBook library, Project Gutenberg.

From its humble beginnings on July 4, 1971, when Mr. Hart keyed in a copy of the Declaration of Independence and distributed it across a small network, the Project Gutenberg site now hosts over 36000 eBooks in 60 different languages. As all of the texts are public domain, they are free to all users, furthering his goal of an "efficient and effective way of unlimited free distribution of literature."

Dr. Gregory S. Newby, Chief Executive of Project Gutenberg, quoted Mr. Hart summarizing his legacy thusly: "One thing about eBooks that most people haven't thought much is that eBooks are the very first thing that we're all able to have as much as we want other than air. Think about that for a moment and you realize we are in the right job."

A memorial service will be held on Monday, September 12 at 1:00 PM at Renner-Wikoff Chapel in Urbana.

See a complete obituary here.

The Project Gutenberg website and eBook collection is located here.

Remembering September 11, 2001

2011-09-07T13:44:00.006-05:00

As we remember the events that took place ten years ago, we here at the Archives offer these resources to help in your understanding of the tragedy as it unfolded, as well as the consequences that are still being felt to this day.

Internet Archives - Understanding 9/11

Understanding 9/11 offers users over 3000 hours of news video content from 20 international television news channels that aired during the week of 9/11-9/17/2001. The site also provides interactive timelines and analysis. One can also find archived copies of news outlet websites from 2001 on the site as well.

September 11 Digital Archive

The September 11 Digital Archive was a joint project of the American Social History Project at the City University of New York Graduate Center and the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University and funded by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. In 2003 the collection was accepted by the Library of Congress, insuring its long term preservation. It includes some 150,000 digital objects including 40,000 emails, 40,000 first-hand accounts, and 15,000 digital images.

Open Library - September 11 2001 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 (subject page)

The Open Library site provides descriptions and links to physical and ebook content to provide context to the events and circumstances that lead to the September 11, 2001 attacks and their aftermath.

National September 11 Memorial and Museum Interactive Timeline

The new National September 11 Memorial and Museum will be officially dedicated and opened on the anniversary date this Sunday. Its website offers users an interactive timeline with audio/visual content from the permanent collection highlighting events that took place between 5:45 AM and 8:30 PM Eastern Time on September 11, 2001.

The News-Gazette - 9/11 Anniversary

Locally, the News-Gazette website has tagged all of its September 11 Anniversary stories and provided a single link to give easy access to their content.

LINC Catalog - September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001

Resources available in local libraries listed in the LINC catalog system.

Local History Online - September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001

Our own Local History Online index records for articles relating to the events surrounding the attacks.

Footnote.com now Fold3

2011-08-30T11:08:00.008-05:00

As part of their ongoing effort to shift their focus to military records, Footnote.com underwent a name change to Fold3 as of August 18, 2011. The civilian records previously digitized by Footnote (such as their interactive census collection) will remain on the site, but going forward the site will primarily post collections of military records and images. Any shortcuts or links to the Footnote.com web address will be redirected to the new Fold3 site. And of course our access to the site here at the Champaign County Historical Archives remains unchanged!

See the official blog for further details:

http://blog.fold3.com/

Fall Genealogy & Local History Workshop Series

2011-08-05T13:12:00.006-05:00

The Champaign County Historical Archives is pleased to announce the Fall 2011 Genealogy and Local History workshops, held in conjunction with Parkland College.

To register, please call Parkland College at (217) 353-2055, or pick up an application at the The Champaign County Historical Archives on the second floor of The Urbana Free Library today!

The workshops:

Genealogy Software Showcase

FREE! No registration required.

Expert demonstrations of multiple genealogical software programs for both PC and MAC platforms. Walk-ins welcome and everyone is invited!

Date: Saturday, August 6
Time: 9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: The Lewis Auditorium at The Urbana Free Library

Genealogy Software Showcase Schedule:

9:30 - 10:30 a.m. • Legacy Family Tree with Candace Wilmot

10:45 - 11:45 a.m. • Reunion ( MAC application) with Ann Salzmann

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. • Personal Ancestral File with Nicole Miller

1:00 - 3:00 p.m. • Family Tree Maker with Matt Helm

Introduction to Genealogy

Dates: Thursdays, August 25 - October 13
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Course Number: WCE 616-001
Fee: $65
Registration Deadline: August 18
Location: The Champaign County Historical Archives at The Urbana Free Library

Description: Genealogist Nicole Miller will help you get started on your family history by learning how to collect information from a variety of sources, including vital records, census data, maps, land records, and websites. You will also learn the crucial task of organizing and analyzing your information.

Organizing & Writing Your Family History

Date: Saturday, September 24
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Course Number: WLI 707-001
Fee: $20
Registration Deadline: September 16
Location: The Lewis Auditorium at The Urbana Free Library

Description: Make your research efforts more efficient so your results are easier to read, digest, and share. Stephen Szabados, genealogy researcher, will review a simple method of organizing research into readable documents while revealing nontraditional sources of information that can add rare treasures to your history. He will also highlight more advanced formats that can turn your history into a "must-read" for your family.

Please note: This workshop is not a how-to workshop on family history publishing.

Irish Genealogy

Date: Saturday, October 8
Time: 10:00 AM - Noon
Course Number: WLI 802-001
Fee: $15
Registration Deadline: September 30
Location: The Lewis Auditorium at The Urbana Free Library

Description: Genealogical Society member David Hass will introduce you to methods for researching your ancestors from Ireland. Topics include: on overview of Irish history, study of surnames, available historical records, and research strategies for working with church, census, civil, tax, property, and other records. Advanced topics will be explored.

We look forward to seeing you at one of these exciting programs!

Stay Cool!

2011-08-01T09:44:00.003-05:00

Crystal Lake Park Pool, Summer 1927...

Genealogy Software Showcase -- August 6

2011-07-21T14:42:00.002-05:00

FREE! No registration required.

Expert demonstrations of multiple genealogical software programs for both PC and MAC platforms. Walk-ins welcome and everyone is invited!

Saturday, August 6
9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Lewis Auditorium at The Urbana Free Library

Genealogy Software Showcase Schedule:

9:30 - 10:30 a.m. • Legacy Family Tree with Candace Wilmot

10:45 - 11:45 a.m. • Reunion ( MAC application) with Ann Salzmann

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. • Personal Ancestral File with Nicole Miller

1:00 - 3:00 p.m. • Family Tree Maker with Matt Helm

List of important German Archives with finding aids online

2011-07-21T14:40:00.003-05:00

Die wichtigsten Findbuchdatenbanken in Deutschland - Gesamtübersicht

http://archiv.twoday.net/stories/34629282/

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-01T15:27:00.004-05:00

Fourth of July Parade, July 4, 1969

PhotoAtlas

2011-06-08T14:58:00.003-05:00

The Champaign County Historical Archives is pleased to announce our new PhotoAtlas web service. PhotoAtlas is an application that allows us to place our audio-visual files, along with their index records, on modern mapping software. This provides a rich geospatial context to the records of our local communities previously unavailable to us. We've started with a tour of historic downtown Urbana, and plan to add more tours with more multimedia files (including sound files, such as oral histories) in the very near future. In the meantime, we invite you to give it a try! Here is the link:

http://tufl-web-1.tufl.org/paaccess/Default.aspx?tourID=1

“I wish you were here if only for a short time.” Champaign County and the Civil War, 1861-1865

2011-06-08T13:43:00.003-05:00

As we reflect on the 150th anniversary of the opening of hostilities, our display case exhibit commemorates the sacrifices of the men and women of Champaign County during the American Civil War. Images, letters, official documents, and a surprise or two help to tell the story of those who endured those difficult years from the local communities. All of the materials for the exhibit are taken from our collections here at the Champaign County Historical Archives.

We invite you to stop by and take a look anytime during our open hours: Monday-Saturday, 9AM-5PM, and Sunday 1-5PM.

Local History Online - April 2011

2011-05-06T15:38:00.002-05:00

April saw 1,633 records in 23 record series added to the Historical and Genealogical Index database. Indexing of County birth registers once again led the count, with 618 records created.

The work of creating records for materials contained in the Museum of the Grand Prairie's Doris K. Wylie Hoskins Archive of Cultural Diversity was begun this month. Over 670 files, pertaining to African American genealogy and history in East Central Illinois, are contained in this rich collection.

Historical and Genealogical Index database totals as of April 30, 2011:

Records 616,837

Headings 3,455,762:

Names 1,809,357

Subjects 41,981

Addresses 40,254

Newspaper article titles 390,622

Digital content (jpg, pdf, audio, links to web pages) 8,264

Central Illinois Gazette, April 17, 1861

2011-04-13T09:17:00.006-05:00

The news from 150 years ago:

...The Governor will call the Legislature of the State together in a few days (on the 23rd); appropriations in money, and demands for men will be made, to meet our share of this much is to be lamented necessity; but let it be done with a liberal hand. Illinois can furnish twenty-five thousand men that will be willing to lead the van to crush out secession and hang the Yanceys, Toombses, and Wigfalls [Southern secessionists]. This number would not be noticed out of the real bone and sinew of the State, but enough would be left to raise corn to feed the poor of Missisippi [sic] and the other secession states. We will whip the rebels with the one hand and feed their poor with the other.

A Lucky Draftee

2011-04-07T16:26:00.004-05:00

Notice the date this draftee was scheduled to enter military service - November 11, 1918. Armistice Day, the day World War One officially ended.

Play Ball!

2011-03-31T15:13:00.001-05:00

West Main Street, Champaign, ca. 1900.

The Champaign County Historical Archives Expands Genealogy Resources

2011-02-08T12:16:00.002-06:00

The Champaign County Historical Archives is the newest FamilySearch affiliate library of the FamilySearch’s Research and Library System. This new designation means library patrons will have greater and more convenient access to the wealth of genealogical resources available through FamilySearch. FamilySearch is the world’s largest repository of genealogical records and manages the famous Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. FamilySearch is extending access to its collections by circulating microfilms of the historic records through select public libraries. The Champaign County Historical Archives is now one of those libraries. It is a priceless resource for local residents interested in discovering their family tree.

There is a nominal fee of $6.00 to order microfilm. Once the film arrives, patrons use the microfilm readers (which can print or save to your thumb drive) at the Champaign County Historical Archives to peruse it. The Archives staff can help patrons see what films are available, place film orders, and answer research questions. Patrons can also search the Family History Catalog online at FamilySearch.org to see what records Family Search has available to order though the library.

Please join us at the archives, on March 9, from 6-9p.m. to learn about this exciting new resource!

Spring 2011 Conservation Workshops @ The Urbana Free Library

2011-02-08T11:37:00.010-06:00

Registration is free, and participants will receive a toolkit to keep. Registration is limited to 12 participants for each workshop. All workshops will be held at the Urbana Free Library. Please email Annie Peterson (peters60@illinois.edu) or Jennifer Hain Teper (jhain@illinois.edu ) or call Jennifer at 217-244-5689 with any questions.

The workshops are conducted by the University of Illinois Libraries Conservation Unit. To register, please use the Library Staff Events Calendar. Find the workshop you wish to attend, and fill in the required registration information.

Basic Book Repair for Public Library Employees

Friday, March 18 1-5pm

Friday, April 29, 1-5pm

Basic Book Repair for Public Library Employees is offered to any public library employee who wants to learn repairs that are appropriate for modern circulating materials. It will include an introduction to book structure and causes of deterioration followed by hands-on repair training. Repairs will include mending and filling of paper losses, dry surface cleaning, tightening hinges, consolidation of frayed corners, spine reinforcement, and making book weights for use in repairs.

Basic Book Repair is being held twice to accommodate the number of library staff interested in attending; each participant should attend only one session.

Caring for Historical Collections

Saturday, March 12, 1-5pm

Caring for Historical Collections is for anyone who works with older, delicate books or papers. Private collectors as well as staff at archives, historical societies, or public libraries with older materials are encouraged to attend. The workshop will include a historical overview of book and paper manufacture and structures, a review of common preservation challenges in historical collections, followed by hands-on training. Repairs will include encapsulation of fragile documents, construction of simple book boxes, and consolidation of deteriorated leather.

Caring for Photographic Collections

Saturday, April 23, 1-5pm

Caring for Photographic Collections is open to anyone working with photographic material, including staff at collecting institutions and private collectors. The workshop will begin with a historical overview of photographic history and formats, followed by information on the care and storage of historic photographs and hands-on training. The hands-on portion will include identification of historic photograph samples, and an introduction to options for protective enclosures for photographs.

Heaviest Snow for a Long Time

2011-02-01T10:48:00.005-06:00

Outside Country Fair Shopping Center, Urbana Courier, January 25, 1979

The title to this post could easily refer to the weather conditions expected over the next few days. However, it refers to a 1906 Champaign Daily News article. Long-time Champaign County residents know that in winter, sooner or later, we will get snow. And sometimes, we will get a lot. Time after time, the area has suffered winter's worst.

In previous decades, large snowstorms could paralyze the area for days. The February 21, 1908 edition of the Ivesdale News tells us that all freight and passenger rail traffic was abandoned for the previous 36 hours and that "the storm was general throughout the middle states and reports from all points tell of terrible suffering caused by the storm."

Even in larger cities, such as Champaign-Urbana, arctic blasts caused life to grind to a halt. The March 19, 1906 edition of the Champaign Daily News noted that no Big Four rail traffic occurred the previous day. Trolley cars could not move until the roads were clear, and that even pedestrians experienced difficulty negotiating the treacherous conditions. The Wabash Railroad attempted to send out a passenger train at 8 o'clock that morning, but "ran into a big snow drift one mile southeast of Urbana and could neither go on nor back out. After vainly waiting for some time, the passengers became discouraged, and walked back into town."

Stay safe in this weather, and come see us when the snow melts!

NEW Champaign County Genealogical Society blog!

2010-12-15T15:22:00.006-06:00

The Champaign County Genealogical Society is pleased to announce the debut of its new blog!

The focus of the blog will be genealogical events and resources available in the Champaign County area (most not about Champaign County), and will also include online resources available to everyone. The blog will provide notice of upcoming CCGS meetings and events. Readers will also be alerted to other local genealogical events, and new resources available locally or online. For the most part, these will be items that could not be included in the CCGS newsletter. Readers are encouraged to comment on items posted in the blog. It's a great opportunity to communicate with your fellow genealogists.

Please visit the blog at http://ccgsil.wordpress.com/

The best way to receive notices about meetings, resources, and other items posted in the blog is to subscribe to the blog.

Subscribing is easy. You may subscribe using your email address, or if you have a RSS reader, you may subscribe to the blog's RSS feed. Once you're at the blog, simply scroll down the page to the "RSS Links" or "Email Subscription" heading on the right side of the screen, and then subscribe via your preferred method.

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to email Wendy Gregory at wendy1940@hotmail.com. Please include "CCGS" in the subject line.

A wrong prediction

2010-11-22T16:29:00.005-06:00

The news of the election of Abraham Lincoln as the 16th President of the United States traveled quickly in the age of the telegraph. No where was this greeted with more excitement than in Champaign County. Lincoln, who practiced law here in the years before the election, was practically a native son, and called several members of the community his friends.

Obviously, news of his election was not treated so favorably in other parts of the country. Already, in parts of the south, radical political leaders called for secession rather than submitting to the rule of a "Black Republican." The editors of the Central Illinois Gazette, possibly unaware of the powerful forces manipulating events in the south, predicted that cooler heads would prevail, and the nation would go on as before. They couldn't have been more wrong.

From the editorial page of the November 14, 1860 edition:

Disunion.

The attention of the whole country is now attracted to the insane movements of a portion of the ultra-secessionist party of the south. It would seem that, in very shame for their past tremendous boastings and cowardly small performances, they were now determined to do something, if only to raise a cloud of dust, under cover of which they may safely retire from the unpleasant position in which the adverse result of the campaign has placed them. No doubt many of these men are excited beyond all control, and are nearly, if not quite, ready to brave civil war and all its evils rather than submit to a Republican President. In a nation of reasonably clear-headed men, however, the out and out fools must necessarily be in a bad minority at any given time, and the world therefore regards with few emotions of dread the movements of these “out-and-outers.”

There are several reasons why the South or any considerable portion of it, will not secede at the present time. In the first place, there is no feature in the present position of the Republican or any other party which constitutes a good reason why the states in question should even be alarmed for their “peculiar institution.” They cannot possibly justify themselves in the eyes of the civilized world for such a step, and if any one truth has been made clearer than another by the events of this century it is that no great national movement can hope to reach a successful termination, unless it can secure the favorable public opinion of civilized men. Moreover, the thinking portion of the politicians of the south must soon awake to the following important features in the position in which they would be placed by the position in which they would be placed by the proposed movement: So far from being better able to protect the institution of slavery under a southern confederacy, they would lose at one blow all the powerful protection which the central government has thus far extended, and even the most distant plantations would be at the mercy of the John Browns of the extreme Abolition party of the north. Under the existing state of affairs the institution of slavery has been extended over territory after territory, and the additions to its domain have been almost constant, but no further territorial aggrandizement could be hoped for by a people only too painful conscious of their inability to retain in safety that which they already possessed. To those who look at the matter from a northern stand-point, nothing seems clearer than that dissolution of the Union would inevitably give the death blow to slavery in every one of the present slave states. These arguments become when we consider the impossibility of such a consummation and bear in mind the fact that the seceding states can only “get up for themselves,” if at all, after a long and exhausting war, which would only fail to leave them in debt because no one would be foolish enough to lend them anything. We do not care to dwell much upon the necessary accompanying horrors of such a warfare, because we consider it an impossible occurrence, and because such discussion by northern journals in misconstrued by our southern brethren.

In view of these things, taking into account the well known ability and acumen of southern statesmen, we cannot believe that they would precipitate themselves, their several sates, and their beloved “institutions,” upon certain ruin. There will of course be much bluster and a vast deal of speechifying in favor of the most valiant resolutions, but they will finally subside into the consoling meditation that President Lincoln, unsupported by a majority in either branch of the national legislation, could not harm the south if he would, and very likely would not if he could.

American Civil War Sesquicentennial

2010-11-22T15:28:00.003-06:00

The American Civil War, and tumultuous years that preceded it, sent shock waves through our society that are still felt to this very day.

The citizens of Champaign County, then, were certainly impacted by the events that took place during the mid-nineteenth century. Some 2,276 soldiers enlisted from the county, and of those, at least 202 died, meaning 1 of 10 soldiers who left for the war did not return. It wasn't just the soldiers that felt the war's impact, however - everyone, from recently freed African Americans slaves to the county's political and social elites had their lives changed by the events of 1860-1865.

From time to time during these anniversary years, we'll check in to see how the events of the sectional conflict were viewed through contemporary eyes.

Veterans Records

2010-11-11T09:36:00.005-06:00

On this day, we remember the service of all veterans, both past and present.

The National Archives and Records Administration started a new video series entitled "Inside the Vaults," giving us an "insider" view of the operations in the National Archives. The first video, fittingly, shows us how requests for veterans' records are handled. Take a look!

Local History Online - October 2010

2010-11-10T10:17:00.002-06:00

2,773 records in 30 record series were added to the Historical and Genealogical Index database in October.

Entry of obituaries and other news items from pre-1900 Champaign County newspapers continue to be a focus of inputting, as 935 records were added this month. Many of these records include a pdf version of the indexed article.

Notable is the completion of indexing the names of Champaign County people, places, and businesses mentioned in the 253 biographical sketches found in the Brink, McDonough and Co.'s 1878 History of Champaign County. Work has now commenced on revising the indexing already entered for the biographical sketches presented in Judge J.O. Cunningham's 1905 History of Champaign County, Illinois.

Two other major projects are also in progress. The first is the entry of data pertaining to various Champaign and Urbana buildings into the Archives ready reference file online. This data, compiled by the Preservation and Conservation Association and consisting primarily of the construction date and name of the architect and contractor for each structure, is presented on more than 1,000 index cards that PACA has graciously loaned to the Archives for this purpose. In addition, photographs presented in Frank Heiztman's Architectural Survey of Champaign-Urbana collection, compiled in 1974, are being scanned and the accompanying historical data about the photographed structures being entered.

Historical and Genealogical Index database totals as of October 31, 2010:

Records 610,462

Names 1,792,741
Subjects 40,423
Addresses 39,773
Newspaper article titles 381,177

Digital content (jpg, pdf, audio, links to web pages) 7,291

Louie the Alligator

2010-10-14T11:33:00.006-05:00

Many Urbana residents know that the unofficial mascot of the town is Louie the Alligator. What they might not know how our reptilian representative came into being.

For the answer to this, we must revisit the summer of 1898. Louis A. Wahl, an Urbana tavern owner, lived comfortably in his newly built (1890) home at 510 West Main Street. Apparently, he also had a penchant for keeping exotic pets.

And so, let us turn to the "Urbana Matters" column of the June 10, 1898 edition of the Champaign Daily Gazette:

As we read down the column, we find this entry:

After certainly grabbing the attention of the local populace, five days latter we find a happy resolution to the crisis:

A legend was born.

Local History Online Updates, September 2010

2010-10-13T14:44:00.003-05:00

September saw the addition of 1,856 records in 29 record series to the Historical and Genealogical Index database.

749 articles, obituaries, and other news items from seven Champaign County newspapers were added to the database, as were 618 Champaign County official records.

Notable is the completion of indexing the names of Champaign County people, places, and businesses mentioned in the 848 biographical sketches contained in J.R. Stewart's 1918 work, The Standard History of Champaign County. Archives staff are now concentrating on completing similar indexing of the biographical sketches found in the Brink, McDonough and Co.'s 1878 History of Champaign County.

Historical and Genealogical Index database totals as of September 30, 2010:

Records: 607,689

Headings: 3,411,535

Names: 1,785,865
Subjects: 39,693
Addresses: 39,530
Newspaper article titles: 379,293

Digital content (jpg, pdf, audio, links to web pages): 6,732

Digital Oral Histories Available Online

2010-10-05T10:28:00.002-05:00

You don't realize it - how those prejudices hurt us young people in those days.

We here at the Champaign County Historical Archives are pleased to announce that our extensive oral history collection is being digitized and made available online through Local History Online. The audio files can be streamed or downloaded as mp3 files, and many also include pdf files of transcripts.

The collection is particularly robust in documenting the African American experience in Champaign-Urbana. Rural life in Champaign County is also well represented in these reminiscences.

Have a listen to these unique slices of history! Here are a couple of representative examples:

http://ccha.tufl.org/ccha/records/00040000/000400000032.htm

http://ccha.tufl.org/ccha/records/00040000/000400000070.htm

2010-09-13T11:00:00.007-05:00

Former mayor of Champaign, local historian and author, Dan McCollum's book, The Lord is not on Trial, about his mother, Vashti McCollum, and the landmark case to uphold separation of church and state,has been made into a documentary that is slated for release in October and will be broadcast nationwide on PBS in 2011. Here is the trailer http://vimeo.com/14874151. Read more about Vashti McCollum at: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/26/obituaries/26mccullum.html

New Resource - Genealogy Roots Blog

2010-09-08T11:39:00.001-05:00

The Genealogy Roots Blog is for finding online genealogy databases,
records and resources. The focus is on vital records (birth, marriage,
divorce & death records), obituaries, census records, naturalization
records, military records and ship passenger lists. The Genealogy
Roots Blog is based in the USA, but online European, Canadian, and
other records sources are sometimes included. Mixed in with all this
you will occasionally find a fun post, a book review or genealogy
news.

http://genrootsblog.blogspot.com/

Historical and Genealogical Index database for July 2010

2010-08-04T10:10:00.000-05:00

3,663 records in 33 record series were added to the Historical and Genealogical Index database in July, bringing the overall record total to more than 600,000 records. Below is a list of other significant milestones in HGI database growth.

203,457 records July 2001

305,620 records December 2003

400,951 records November 2005

502,835 records August 2007

602,822 records July 2010

Leading this month's indexing are Champaign County newspapers. 1,355 articles, obituaries, and other news items were added to the database in July. Of note is the return to indexing current birth, wedding, and anniversary announcements of Champaign County people printed in the News-Gazette. Indexing of these items was suspended April 1, 2007, because of staff time constraints. At this time, we do not plan to retrospectively index those missing months for these series, but merely resume indexing as of July 1, 2010.

Inputting of Champaign County official records continues to be another large part of the overall work completed, with 1,280 records entered from four series. Important in this group of records is the beginning of inputting of the Archives' Champaign County Recorder's deeds records. These records, located on 53 microfilm reels, span the period 1833 through 1886. Entries will include the names of grantors, grantees, and a simplified description of the location of the land purchased. A pdf image of each deed will then be linked to the indexing record in HGI.

Finally, mention should be made of some important new and on-going work that does not show up in the HGI's monthly statistics. In the Special Collections series, existing records for the Archives' boxed collections are being reindexed and reformated to more accurately reflect the contents of each collection and provide greater access. PDF images of the inventory sheets of each Special Collections box are also being added to the various collections' indexing records. A final project not reflected in monthly statistics is that being done to reformat existing HGI records for individual photographs. Over 800 records are being upgraded to meet the current Archives standard for description and subject access, along with their corresponding photographs being scanned for presentation in HGI.

Historical and Genealogical Index database totals as of July 31, 2010:

Records 602,822

Headings 3,386,390

Names 1,772,897

Subjects 38,891

Addresses 39,097

Newspaper article titles 376,633

Digital content (jpg, pdf, audio, links to web pages) 5,987

New publications in the Archives: July 2010

2010-08-03T15:04:00.000-05:00

27 titles were added to the Archives' collection in July. Works pertaining to the history of various local buildings continue to dominate the listing. Some family histories were also added, having been removed from the Archives' personal and family vertical files.

For a complete listing of items cataloged, go here.

Historical and Genealogical database, June 2010

2010-07-06T16:30:00.002-05:00

From Howard:

June saw a significant increase in the size of the Historical and Genealogical Index database, with 4,187 records added in 35 record series. The largest area of growth was in Champaign County records, as 1,210 death register and 233 birth register entries were indexed. In addition, 410 Champaign County Jail incarceration records from late 1936 were added.

Work with Champaign County newspapers prior to 1900 has begun in earnest, with 476 news items, death notices, or obituary articles being indexed from the Champaign County Gazette, the Champaign Daily Gazette, the Champaign Daily News, and the Champaign County Herald. Certain indexed articles, mostly of general historical interest, have also been scanned and are linked to their indexing record in the HGI.

106 records were added for titles in the Archives' Champaign County newspapers collection. These records include bibliographic information about each newspaper title and a detailed statement of the issues available in the Archives both in print and on microfilm.

Finally, two Internet resources pertaining to Champaign County African American men and women were indexed in June. The Early American Museum's "This Legacy Is Yours" and "Your Legacy Too" web pages contain biographical sketches of 129 prominent Champaign County citizens both past and present. Each HGI record includes a link to each individual's biography as presented on the Museum's site.

Historical and Genealogical Index database totals as of June 30, 2010:

Records: 599,159
Headings: 3,368,337

Names: 1,763,752
Subjects: 38,243
Addresses: 38,802
Newspaper article titles: 374,973

Digital content (jpg, pdf, audio, links to web pages): 5,312

New publications in the Archives: June 2010

2010-07-06T11:34:00.005-05:00

From Howard:

The Archives collection grew by only 32 titles in June, as much of this month's cataloging time was devoted to adding bibliographic information and detailed holdings statements for many of the Archives' Champaign County newspapers to the Historical and Genealogical database. While similar work will be included in the processing time over the next few months, the work of adding the remaining Champaign-Urbana and University of Illinois buildings student papers and National Register nominations will be resumed.

Of those books added this month, a sizable number were donated to the Archives by local historian Dannel McCollum. These items focused primarily on American Indians and on western Indiana. We welcome his generous donation of these important historical works.

For a complete listing of items cataloged, click here.

Urbana's Own Money?

2010-07-01T11:31:00.007-05:00

As the Great Depression continued to spiral out of control in 1933, it's effects pressed harder and harder on Urbana. Already in January, 1932, all of the banks in town closed on a "bank holiday" and only reopened when the majority of depositors agreed to keep their money in the them. Only a year later, the banks were again under intense pressure, and after several banks in Chicago closed their doors, another run on the banks loomed.

Both the Federal and State governments ordered the banks to close during the first week of March. Businesses and private persons alike feared that Urbana banks were next, and city officials realized a run on the banks in Urbana was in the offing. Additionally, the various crises drastically reduced the amount of currency available locally, and businesses were unwilling or unable to extend credit to buyers, even for necessities like food.

And so, to keep the local economy going during the bank holiday, community leaders held an all-day meeting and decided on a novel approach: they would make their own money. Specifically, businesses and Urbana citizens would trade in their U.S. currency for Urbana certificates, which could then be used to make transactions.

The city appointed a Board of Trustees to oversee the money, and $10,000 of the Urbana currency was printed. This insured there was a sorely needed local reserve of Federal money, and allowed local economic transactions to keep moving while the banks were closed. Once the crisis passed and the banks reopened, certificate holders were able to redeem the Urbana funds for U.S. dollars.

So, yes: for about three weeks in March, 1933, Urbana printed its own money.

Daughters of the American Revolution Workshop - This Saturday, 6/19

2010-06-15T15:40:00.003-05:00

Join Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Volunteers this Saturday, June 19, 9:15 AM -12:15 PM in the Lewis auditorium here at The Urbana Free Library as they introduce you to the world of genealogy. Additionally, they will explain eligibility to join the DAR and how they define a "Revolutionary Patriot." For more information or to RSVP, call 694-4578 or email at sandrasantas@gmail.com.

Historical and Genealogical database for May

2010-06-14T10:22:00.004-05:00

From Howard, our Local History Online database supervisor:

May saw the completion of long-term projects, the beginning of new projects, and a return to suspended projects. In all, 2,696 records were added in 31 record series.

Mary Margaret Jones completed the retrospective indexing of News-Gazette obituaries from the period 1920-1935. More than 11,000 obituaries and death notices were added due to her painstaking work. Mary Margaret's new project involves the retrospective indexing of obituaries and death notices printed in the Champaign Daily Gazette and Champaign Daily News for the period 1898-1920. She will also be looking for articles and other news items mentioning the construction and remodeling of buildings in Champaign, Urbana, and the surrounding communities in Champaign County. Having such references added to the HGI database will be a tremendous aid to those interested in the architectural history of the area.

Ray and Nancy Sanden are nearing completion of the indexing of the University of Illinois Illio yearbooks, having this month indexed 704 pages that contained Champaign County people. While Ray will bring this project to a close in June, Nancy will begin indexing the second volume of the Archives' four-volume set of Champaign County Sheriff's Department County Jail prisoners' records. The first volume, covering the period 1923 through early 1936, has been input; Nancy work will begin with records from mid-1936, potentially ending some 29,000 records later with records from the mid 1950s!

Two building-related series were added to the database this month. One, consisting of 76 records, is an inventory of downtown Urbana business spaces done by the Urbana Association of Commerce in 1967. The other consists of historic building inventories of Champaign, Urbana, and significant rural buildings done by students in a University of Illinois Urban Planning class in the early 1980s. The original documents in these series have also been scanned and links made to them in the individual indexing records.

Finally, Archives personnel have returned to two sizable projects with the hope of providing complete indexing to two important Champaign County record series in the HGI. In the Death Certificates series (1878-1922), two gaps are being closed, one for late 1912 through 1915 and the other for 1919-1921. In the Register of Births series (1878-1918), a seven-year gap between 1889 and 1896 will be removed. Further work to complete the Register of Births series will also be undertaken, beginning with records from early 1903 through March 1918.

Historical and Genealogical database totals as of May 31, 2010:

Records 594,972

Headings 3,348,680
Names 1,753,958
Subjects 37,934
Addresses 38,912
Newspaper article titles 373,540

Digital content (jpg, pdf, audio, links to web sites) 5,132

The Champaign County Historical and Genealogical Index is available here.

New publications in the Archives - May

2010-06-14T09:01:00.003-05:00

From Howard, our cataloging expert:

49 titles were added to the Archives collection this month. Once again, works on Champaign-Urbana buildings nominated to the National Register of Historic Places were the most numerous of the items cataloged. Chief among the other works added were six reports concerning the environmental impact of the former Illinois Power Company gas manufacturing plant on East Hill Street in Champaign. These were produced at the behest of Illinois Power in the early 1990s by various firms.

The Archives collection of school yearbooks was enhanced by the addition of needed yearbooks from Heritage High School ("The Hawk" - volumes for 1992, 1995-2005, 2008-2009) and the former Allerton-Broadlands-Longview Community Unit School District Six school ("The Trojan" - volumes for 1972, 1977, 1981-1984, 1988).

Finally, the Archives was presented with the four-volume set The papers of Abraham Lincoln: legal documents and cases as a gift of the Illinois Bar Association.

For a complete listing of items cataloged, go here.

Memorial Day - One Soldier's Story

2010-05-24T13:33:00.013-05:00

William Frank Earnest always stood out among his peers. Born in Tennessee, he was eight when his family moved him to Homer, Illinois. He quickly acclimated to his new surroundings, and graduated in Homer High School's Class of 1915 with high honors in both academics and athletics. From there he entered the University of Illinois and began a promising academic career.

Upon America's entry into the First World War, Earnest acted as any other patriotic young man and enlisted in Company "L" of the 8th Infantry Regiment of the Illinois National Guard in May 1917, which would become the 370th Infantry Regiment in the U.S. Army. The 8th was the only unit with a full complement of African-American officers in the then segregated army. Earnest trained hard with his fellow soldiers, first in Chicago, then at Camp Logan, Texas (outside of Houston), and finally at Hampton Roads, Virginia, before departing to France in April 1918. He did well, and soon was promoted to sergeant.

By 1918 the French Army was in dire need for replacement troops after four years of war, and the U.S. Army leadership was willing to accommodate them with their "inferior" soldiers. As a result, African-American combat units were divided up piecemeal and attached to French divisions upon their arrival. The 370th was moved several times over the entire length of the front line until it was attached to the French 59th Infantry Division. It was with them that Earnest saw combat for the first time as the 370th took positions near Oise and Aisne Rivers facing the German Hindenburg Line in mid-September 1918.

Captain William Braddan, chaplain of the 370th, described the scene after they were shelled by the Germans for the first time:

Early the next A. M. we crawled out of the cave to orient
ourselves, and what a sight! Missiles of death were everywhere
falling; death was all around us, dead Frenchmen, Germans and
horses. Equipments of every description lay in the recently
evacuated trenches; the sight was appalling, the scent nauseating.

The unit moved out in mid-October, but Sgt. Earnest did not go with them. Ordered to the attack soon after their arrival, Earnest was struck down September 17, 1918. Capt. Braddan remembered:

Sgt. Ernest [sic] of Co. "L," being the first to make the supreme sacrifice on the Hindenburg Line, one of the most excellent, exemplary soldiers that I have known in my twenty and four years' service. His body, poor, bleeding, torn and mutilated was buried in No-Man's Land by his comrades.

The 8th Illinois National Guard Infantry Regiment served until the conclusion of the war and were cheered on their return to Chicago in February 1919. They suffered twenty percent casualties with 96 officers and men killed during their time in France. These "inferior" soldiers earned two campaign streamers and received twenty-one Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, and twenty French Croix de Guerre.

William Earnest, full of promise and potential, forever lies in the fields of France, a testament to the struggles and sacrifices of the men and women we honor this Memorial Day.

William Frank Earnest, 1895-1918

Early Champaign County and its Native Peoples

2010-05-14T16:08:00.007-05:00

Potowatamie Camp Scene, Crooked Creek, George Winter, artist. Image courtesy of the Tippecanoe County Historical Association, Lafayette, Indiana. To see more about the collection, click here.

Spring weather, with its warm, windy conditions, can be evocative of an earlier era here in Champaign County. One only has to travel back in time 175 years to find a landscape virtually untouched by development. When one central Illinois traveler gazed upon the long grass prairie for the first time,

I was struck, as is every traveller [sic] at first view of these vast plains, with the grandeur, and novelty, and loveliness of the scene before me. For some moments I remained stationary, looking out upon the boundless landscape before me. The tall grass-tops waving in the billowy beauty in the breeze; the narrow pathway winding off like a serpent over the rolling surface, disappearing and reappearing till lost in the luxuriant herbage; the shadowy, cloud-like aspect of the far-off trees, looming up, here and there, in isolated masses along the horizon, like the pyramidal canvass of ships at sea; the deep-green groves besprinkled among the vegetation, like islets in the waters; the crimson-died prairie-flower flashing in the sun — these features of inanimate nature seemed strangely beautiful to one born and bred amid the bold mountain scenery of the North, and who now gazed upon them “for the first”.

Historically there are no known major native settlements within the boundaries of present-day Champaign County. The area was well-known to native peoples, however, who frequented the local prairies, groves, and river valleys in hunting and foraging parties. The Urbana Democrat published this reminiscence in the December 21, 1867 edition:

During the spring and autumn, the Indians (Delawares, Kickapoos and Pottawatomies), occupied themselves in hunting through the county, killing squirrels and wild turkeys in the groves, deer and grouse on the prairies and bear on the Little Wabash River. About the first of March they usually returned toward the Kankakee for the purpose of making maple sugar.

Click here to view materials in the collections of the Champaign County Historical Archives regarding native peoples in Champaign County listed in our Local History Online index.

Additionally, click here to view a list of publications and web sites devoted to the native peoples of Illinois, many of which may be borrowed by Urbana Free Library patrons.

Indexing in the Historical and Genealogical Database - April

2010-05-06T13:23:00.003-05:00

2,993 records were added to the database in the past month. Once again this month, the greatest number of records were added in the University of Illinois Illio yearbook record series, where 882 pages from the 1941 through 1954 Illios were indexed. Archives staff member Karla Gerdes continues her work indexing Champaign County school directories. She was able to add 717 records from the 1925 through 1927 directories. Another 404 records for Urbana Historic Preservation Commission historic house resource surveys were added, which makes the total of all historic structure surveys to 1,747.

Finally, Archives volunteer Lloyd Baker was able to scan almost 800 of the Archives' ancestor charts this month. The resulting pdf images have been attached to their corresponding records in the Historical and Genealogical database and can now be viewed online.

Historical and Genealogical database totals as of April 30, 2010:

Records: 592,392

Headings: 3,333,913
Names: 1,746,025
Subjects: 37,774
Addresses: 37,965
Newspaper article titles: 372,714

Digital content (jpg, pdf, audio, links to web sites): 4,626

New Publications in the Archives - April

2010-05-06T11:08:00.003-05:00

From the Archives resident cataloging expert, Howard Grueneberg:

April saw a continuation of cataloging works previously located in the Archives' vertical files.

Of the 57 titles added to the Lincoln Trail Libraries System Horizon database this month, 16 were National Historic Register applications for Champaign-Urbana buildings, most on the campus of the University of Illinois. Look for many more of these works to be added to the cataloged collection in the coming months. Additionally, 11 Illinois county atlases from the popular series by Arphax Publishing were brought into the Archives collection.

For the complete listing of items cataloged in April, click here.

A Name Lost to History: John C. Moses

2010-04-29T14:49:00.000-05:00

The plaque you see above was donated to the Champaign County Historical Archives a number of years ago. It was commissioned by Judge Joseph Cunningham, and displayed prominently in the courthouse until it came here.

David Davis, Supreme Court justice and associate of Abraham Lincoln, once stated, "Captain Moses ought to be mentioned in any history of Champaign County." So ... who was Captain Moses?

John C. Moses, born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1825, migrated to Brown County, Illinois, with his parents in his youth. He joined the volunteer infantry during the Mexican War in 1847 and rose to the rank of Captain (hence his honorary title).

Mustering out of the service at the end of the war, he returned to Brown County and studied law. He served as a state legislator and Brown County sheriff before removing to east central Illinois to practice law, first in Danville (1856), and then to Urbana (1858).

In Urbana, he associated himself with an up and coming group of talented lawyers, including prominent names such as Abraham Lincoln, David Davis, William Somers, and Thomson Webber.

Stricken with consumption, he died at home on May 16, 1860. Only 35 years old, he left behind his wife Eliza and two small children, John and Abby.

If not for his untimely death, his name may have become as familiar as Busey, Carle, and Cunningham. But, as such, it has faded into history.

Click here for the related index entries for Captain Moses from our own Local History Online.

"No one will ever realize except those who have gone through with the hellish war what it has meant to the world." - The Letters of Nettie Mills

2010-04-09T15:46:00.001-05:00

The Champaign County Historical Archives is proud to have the Nettie Dorothy (Irle) Mills Papers as one of its featured collections. The young Nettie Irle graduated from the Julia F. Burnham City Hospital School of Nursing in 1917, and then joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in August 1918, serving until the spring of 1919. Once enlisted, she found herself transported to New York City and from there to various hospitals in France during the final chapters of the First World War. Her letters exhibit a great sense of adventure and her keen powers of observation. They are also a testament to the affection she felt for her patients and her yearning for the events and people she left in Illinois. Here is one example:

November 16, 1918
Savenay, France

Dear Father and Mother,
Will take a few minutes to write you. Am rather cold, so please excuse poor writing. This is the most beautiful country I have ever seen. The flowers are blooming just like it was the middle of the summer. It does not seem possible that thing[s] could look so prosperous as they do for the ground had a thin crust of ice on [it] this AM.

They have just put in a new crop of wheat and they tell me it will be harvested about the middle of March.

How is thing[s] at home[?] Did any of you people get the influenza? I hope not for I have seen enough of that stuff to last me forever.

I will try and tell you of the celebration we had of the wide world peace victory. They came in the ward about Mon. and told the boys. Now if you ever heard cheering from human throats those lads certainly cheered. Some of the poor fellows so sick they didn’t know whether they were dead or alive sat up in bed and cheered. No one will ever realize except those who have gone through with the hellish war what it has meant to the world.

There was a rumor spread around that we were going back to the Dear Old U.S.A. and take charge of a hospital in Washington D.C.. So you see how happy we all will be if this turn[s] out to be true. They have been told around here that all wounded boys were to be taken back to the U.S.A. first and this would be done in the next three months.

I haven’t received any mail as yet but hope to in the near future. Am anxious to hear how every thing is at home.

I go for a long walk every day so that I can get an idea of this beautiful country. M[y] daily average is about 10 kilo[meter]s a day. It does not seem possible that I have been gone 3 months – the time flies so rapidly when one is busy.

I certainly wish you could hear the stories of these boys – when they all get started going over the top they get so excited it is amusing to watch the expressions on their faces.

Every nite about 6 o’clock they get started and the stories they tell would make your hair stand on end.

Another amusing scene is to go down to the village on market day “which is every Wed.” and watch them sell their wares. They come from miles around. They all wear wooden shoes – I haven’t seen a pair of leather shoes since I have been here.

Well as my time is short I must close for this time. Wishing you a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year

I am as ever your loving
Daughter Nettie

The description for the collection can be found here.

Indexing in the Historical and Genealogical database - March

2010-04-06T10:28:00.001-05:00

March showed continued accelerated growth in the number of records in the Historical and Genealogical portion of the Archives' Local History Online database, with 3,741 new records being added. Of this number, the largest gain was in indexed pages of the University of Illinois Illio yearbooks. Volunteers Nancy and Ray Sanden, who are working at indexing every Illio page that contains photographs of Champaign County students, indexed 984 pages from the 1928 through 1940 yearbooks. Archives staff also added 802 records for Preservation and Conservation Association historic property inventories and Urbana Historic Preservation Commission historic resource surveys. Each of these records is accompanied by the actual survey presented in pdf form online. Finally, volunteer Mary Margaret Jones' work (of more than five years!) indexing obituaries from the News-Gazette for the period 1920 through 1935 is nearing conclusion. More than 550 records of death notices, obituaries, and funeral notices for the months of August through December of 1934 and January through May of 1935 were added to the database.

Historical and Genealogical database totals as of March 31, 2010:

Records 590,100

Headings 3,317,576
Names 1,736,836
Subjects 37,465
Addresses 37,651
Newspaper article titles 371,476

Digital content (jpg, pdf, audio, links to web sites) 3,747

New Titles at the Archives for March

2010-04-05T13:42:00.001-05:00

Howard has been busy at the cataloging desk! Here are a few new acquisitions of note from March. Entries consists of the title of the item, author, publisher, date of publication, and call number. The example below illustrates the system of citation used.

Title [Special format] : Subtitle / Author. -- Publisher, Date of publication. (CCHA call no.: Call number)

Additional information on the item appears in italic script at the end of the entry.

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY

GENERAL
100 years of Illinois football / the News Gazette. -- The News-Gazette, 1990. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/UNI)

Background report, Boneyard Creek Improvement Plan, Neil Street to Wright Street. -- Champaign Public Works Dept., 1993. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/BOC)

Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, [1989]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/UNI)

Boneyard Creek master plan / The Boneyard Creek Commission ; Conklin and Rossant Planners/Clark, Dietz Engineers, Inc. -- [Boneyard Creek Commission, 1978]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/BOC)

Business locations through the century : Main Street, Urbana, Illinois / Karl B. Lohmann. -- [K.B. Lohmann, 1961?]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/URB)

Carousel of caring : the carousel horses of Champaign County, Illinois. -- Sports Publishing, c2004. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/CAR)

The girls of Franklin Middle School [videorecording] / WILL-TV ; producers, Imani Bazzell, Kimberlie Kranich ; director, Henry M. Radcliffe. -- WILL-TV, c2004. (Call no.: Video/ILLINOIS/(Champ)/GIR)

A history of 204 [North McCullough Avenue, Urbana, Illinois] / by Claire E.B. Gibson. -- 1980. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/GIB)

Illinois in portrait : calendar 1938. -- [Thaddeus F. Kontowicz, 1937?]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/UNI)

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts / University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. -- [University of Illinois], 1969. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/UNI)

National Register of Historic Places inventory-nomination form : the University of Illinois buildings by Nathan Clifford Ricker thematic nomination / [Amy L. Cassens, Bret F. Johnson, David J. Garner, and Janice A. Stein]. -- [1986]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/UNI)

National Register of Historic Places multiple property documentation form : fraternity and sorority houses at the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois / [Karen Lang Kummer, Dana L. Pratt, Lachlan F. Blair, Linda Bastyr]. -- [1989]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(champ)/UNI)

National Register of Historic Places registration form : Unitarian Church of Urbana : Channing-Murray Foundation / [Sharon Irish]. -- [1990]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/IRI)

New visions for the new millennium : a booklet of readings / the Wesley Foundation at the University of Illinois and Wesley United Methodist Church, Urbana. -- [The Church], 2000. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/WES)

Nominations for proposed campus historic districts on the University of Illinois : prepared for the Historic Sites Coordinating Committee / by David Bitterman. -- [198-?]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/BIT)

Report on a plan of drainage for the Boneyard stream and storm relief sewers / Horner & Shifrin. -- Horner & Shifrin, Consulting Engineers, 1949. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/BOC)

Report on the Lorado Taft House, 601 East John Street, Champaign, Illinois / prepared by Vivian Young. -- 1981. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/YOU)

Restoration of the Boneyard : a report of the Concerned Engineers for the Restoration of the Boneyard. -- University of Illinois Dept. of General Engineering, 1970. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/BOC)

The Roland building, 75 Chester St., Champaign : an analysis / Phillip R. Johnson. -- [198-?]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/JOH) [University of Illinois student research paper.]

The Sim House : 803 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois / Vivian Young. -- 1982. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/YOU) [University of Illinois student research paper.]

The story and facts about the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, [1969?]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/UNI)

Ten years : Illini Union. -- [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1951?]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/UNI)

The University of Illinois. -- [The University], 1902. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/UNI) [Pictorial work on the University of Illinois.]

Urbana Historic Preservation Commission nomination form for landmark designation : 108 North Webber Street, Urbana, Illinois / Christa J. Meyer. -- 1999. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/NOM)

Urbana Historic Preservation Commission nomination form for landmark designation : 115 W. Main, Urbana IL / Shauna J. Haas. -- 1999. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/NOM)

Urbana Historic Preservation Commission nomination form for landmark designation : 120-124 W. Main, Urbana IL / Shauna J. Haas. -- 1999. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/NOM)

FAMILY HISTORIES AND BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS

A celebration of the life and legacy of John Lee Johnson : Saturday, April 1, 2006, 11: 00 o'clock a.m. : Greater Holy Temple Church, 1409 West Dublin Street, Urbana, Illinois : Reverend Larry C. Simmons, eulogist; Reverend B.J. Tatum, officiant. -- 2006. (Call no.: B/JOHNSON/CEL) [Program of the memorial service for Mr. Johnson.]

[Miscellaneous materials relating to the life of Isaac Hess of Philo, Illinois] / [Alda Rice]. -- [A. Rice, 198-?]. (Call no.: B/HESS/RIC)

LOCAL AUTHORS

Perceptions : a collection of favorites. Volume I / Terry Harter. -- First United Methodist Church, 2002. (Call no.: 814/HAR)

OTHER COUNTRIES/STATES

GENERAL
Create your family history with Family Tree Maker : the official guide / Marthe Arends. -- PrimaTech, c2000. (Call no.: 929.10285/ARE)

History for genealogists / by Judy Jacobson. Clearfield, c2009. (Call no.: 929.1/JAC)

CANADA
Erin's sons : Irish arrivals in Atlantic Canada, 1751-1858. Vol. III / Terrence M. Punch. -- Genealogical Publishing Co., c2009. (Call no.: 929.371/PUN)

UNITED STATES--GENERAL
American prisoners of the Revolution / by Danske Dandridge. -- Clearfield, 2000. (Call no.: 929.3733/DAN)

Compendium of historical sources : the how and where of American genealogy / by Ronald A. Bremer. -- Rev. 1994 ed. -- Progenitor Genealogical Society, 1994. (Call no.: R/929.373/BRE)

UNITED STATES--FAMILY HISTORIES AND BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS
Abraham Lincoln : a biographic trilogy in sonnet sequence / by Della Crowder Miller. -- Christopher Publishing House, c1965. (Call no.: B/LINCOLN/CRO)

Abraham Lincoln the politician / by J.F. McKale. -- University of Arizona Alumni Association, [196-?]. (Call no.: B/LINCOLN/MCK)

An America that was : what life was like on an Illinois farm seventy years ago / by Albert Britt. -- Barre Publishers, 1964. (Call no.: B/BRITT/BRI)

Family trail of Benjamin Hobble & Elizabeth, 1830-1988 / [compiled by Alley H. Duncan]. -- [A.H. Duncan, 1988?]. (Call no.: 929.2/HOBBLE)

Hans Herr / by John Christian Wenger. -- Lancaster Mennonite Conference Historical Society, c1970. (Call no.: 929.2/HERR)

The Isaac Haskins family history and genealogy : including that of his son-in-law, Henry T. Peck, generally known as Harry T. Peck, all of Wakeman, Ohio, supplement added containing family history and genealogy of Mrs. Mary Tuller Bacon also of Wakeman, Ohio / by Charles R. Green. -- Printed by the Register Pub. Co., 1911. (Call no.: 929.2/HASKINS)

Lincoln sesquicentennial, 1809-1959 : handbook of information / prepared by the Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission. -- The Commission, [1958]. (Call no.: B/LINCOLN/LIN)

A part of the Harshbarger family lineage : leading down to the Len C. Harshbarger family, Atwood, Illinois / by Hugh Harshbarger. -- [H. Harshbarger], 1953. (Call no.: 929.2/HARSHBARGER)

ILLINOIS
Explore Illinois expedition land where vacations are a family affair. -- Division of Tourism, Dept. of Business and Economic Development, [1964?]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/EXP)

Geology underfoot in Illinois / Raymond Wiggers. -- Mountain Press Pub. Co., c1997. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/WIG)

History, State Universities Annuitants Association (1970-1988). -- State Universities Annuitants Association, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chapter, [1988]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/STA)

ICHS ... calendar. -- Illinois Central Railroad Historical Society. (Call no.: 385.09773) [1987, 1989, and 1990 calendars.]

Illinois : individual county plat maps (102 counties) -- H.M. Ives & Sons, Inc., [198-?]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/ATL)

Illinois, on the Lincoln Heritage Trail : the heritage trail, the southern trail, the western trail. -- Illinois Lincoln Heritage Trail Council, [1963?]. (Call no.: ILLINOIS/ILL)

Illinois Traction Society calendar. -- Illinois Traction Society. (Call no.: 385.0977) [2003 calendar.]

WISCONSIN
Germans in Wisconsin / Richard H. Zeitlin. -- Rev. and expanded ed. -- State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 2000. (Call no.: WIS/ZEI)

Play Ball!

2010-04-02T15:05:00.000-05:00

To celebrate opening day and the rites of spring, here's a little baseball news with a local flavor. From the Sunday, July 20, 1924 Champaign News-Gazette:

Introducing The Kincaid Cubs

Here they are - the Kincaid Cubs, who will be seen in action against the Legion at 3 o'clock this afternoon at the I. C. [Illinois Central] diamond.

This team, recently organized, has not lost a game and feels the fans have a right to look for better teams than coming here. Most of the players are local men or men who have played on local teams.

The teams is fully equipped with new uniforms and other accessories that tend to make a ball club. The Kincaid Motor Company, which recently took over the club, is furnishing the new outfits.

Samuel T. Busey: Ambrotype or Ferrotype?

2010-03-16T16:04:00.000-05:00

You're looking at a photograph of Samuel T. Busey we have in our collection here at the Champaign County Historical Archives. Busey, of course, was the Colonel of the 76th Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, and would later co-found Busey Bank with his brother Simeon. He then went on to serve as a five-term mayor of the City of Urbana and as a Representative from the 15th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. This image is a portrait of him in his uniform during the war.

We were curious as to what type of image we had on our hands. Ambrotypes and ferrotypes (also commonly called "tintypes") both use a similar process - a silver based emulsion that produces a positive image on a dark, non-reflective support. The major difference: ambrotypes have a glass support, while ferrotypes, as the name suggests, are supported by a thin sheet of iron. The problem is that when ambrotypes and ferrotypes are placed in a case, they are virtually indistinguishable. So, how to tell? Carefully place a small magnet on the center of the case - if you get a response, you have a ferrotype! And our Col. Busey? A ferrotype it is.

Here are some other Samuel T. Busey materials indexed on our Local History Online index.

Now Available in Local History Online

2010-03-16T15:16:00.000-05:00

Souvenir, Elks’ Minstrel Entertainment [Call no.: ILLINOIS/(Champ)/BEN]

This 51 page program, dating from 1910, includes portrait photographs of many of the members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge 991, most all of whom were Urbana’s most influential citizens at that time. The program also features a page of portrait photographs of the infant and preschool aged sons of some of these members, this page bearing the caption “We want to be Elks some day.” The names of all the people pictured have been entered into the Historical and Genealogical Index.

DAR Genealogy Workshop: Do You Have a Revolutionary Patriot in your family tree?

2010-03-16T11:30:00.000-05:00

Date: 6/19/2010
Start Time: 9:15 AM
End Time: 12:15 PM

Description:

Daughters of the American Revolution - Genealogy workshop: Find out who is eligible for membership? How is a Patriot defined? How can I find out more? DAR volunteers will provide guidance and assistance with your first step into the world of genealogy. FREE !

Location: The Lewis Auditorium (Ground Floor)
Contact: RSVP to 694-4578 or sandrasantas@gmail.com

Champaign's 150th Anniversary Celebration

2010-03-05T13:13:00.000-06:00

March 2010 launches a year-long celebration of Champaign’s 150th anniversary. To learn more visit: http://champaign150.com/

Greetings from your Champaign County Historical Archives!

2010-03-05T11:20:00.000-06:00

Hello!

This is the official blog for the Champaign County Historical Archives here at The Urbana Free Library. We'll be using this little corner of the online universe to talk about interesting historical and genealogical tidbits, programs and exhibits we are offering, as well as some of the exciting resources we are working on to assist you in your research needs. We'll see you online soon!