Our Collection

Some of the major goals of the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society's collection are to collect, preserve, and provide access and interpretation of wide range of pertinent records, books, and data—at the same time engaging in education and outreach to individuals, families, and groups interested in tracing persons and/or historic events, especially in Tazewell County.

If you have an item you'd like to contribute to our collection, consult the How to Donate page.

When you visit our library, you have free access to almost our entire collection—although we certainly appreciate monetary donations to aid in making additional acquisitions.  If you can’t or would rather not visit, we have many research services and publications to help you further your family history quest.

Records & Resources

Cemetery Listings
Funeral Home Records
Obituary Index & Collection
Birth Records prior to 1916
Marriage Records 1827-1950
Death Records through 1950
Naturalization Records
Land Records
Census Records
Newspapers prior to 1926
Family Correspondence Files

Book Collection

Over 13,000 Volumes
Local Area Histories & Atlases
Over 1,500 Family Histories
(many indexed)

Surrounding Counties
McDonough, Fulton, McLean, Mason, Menard, & Peoria
Extensive collection of Research Publications & Newsletters

Most Illinois Counties
Research Publications & Newsletters

The United States
(especially along early East-West Migration Routes)
Research Publications & Newsletters
Orphan Train Records:
A History of the New York Juvenile Asylum and Its Orphan Train (6 volumes)
Civil War Records:
The War of the Rebellion. A Compilation of the
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 128 Volumes

German Collection
Ship Passenger Lists (1857-1890):
Germans to America (67 volumes)
Ostfriesland Collection:
One of the few complete sets of
Ortssippenbücher and Ortsfamilienbücher
in the United States

Photograph Collection

Major Collections
Eslinger Glass Negatives
Mystery Photographs
Notable Men of Tazewell County
World War I Soldiers

Miscellaneous Photographs
People, Business, & Place Files

And much more!