The most common question readers of local history stories ask is, "How do you ever find out all the detailed historical information in these stories?"
Researching and writing a local history story is similar to the process used by chefs. A chef gathers all the needed ingredients for a dish, mixes them, and then cooks them into a gourmet meal.
A history story author gathers the ingredients by searching and discovering every fact possible about the story. This step is the most difficult part of the process. Once all the information has been captured, it is relatively easy to generate an interesting history story.
When researching a person in Fairbury, the first step is to search the four Livingston County history books published in 1878, 1888, 1900, and 1909. All four of these books have been digitized and are word-searchable. Eight thousand pages of Livingston County history can be searched in less than five minutes. CD copies of these history books can be purchased for $5 each at the Fairbury Echoes Museum. Free copies of the four books can be downloaded from the Livingston County Historical Society at https://tinyurl.com/s6eqxg4.
The next step is to see if the person or their relatives are buried in Graceland Cemetery. There are two primary places to search for burials in this cemetery. The first is the Dominy Memorial Library website. When you are on the library's website, click on the Cemetery tab at the top and search for burials. The second source is the Prairie Central High School website. Students have been mapping local cemeteries, including Graceland, in the last few years. This website can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/sm338yt.
It is also beneficial to construct a family tree on Ancestry.com. A subscription costs about $25 per month. An account at Ancestry.com gives access to many databases of records that are not readily available anywhere else. These records include U.S. Census data and military records. Some documents members post are incorrect, so analyze them carefully before accepting their authenticity. Many users stop their monthly subscriptions after completing their family tree and downloading all reference documents.
Obituaries are a wealth of family information. Obituaries can be found in the old Blade newspapers for free by accessing the archives from the Dominy Memorial Library website. Click on the Blade tab on the Dominy Library website and search. Unfortunately, the oldest Blades only go back to 1871.
The Pantagraph archives go back further in time than the Blade, to 1857. An annual subscription fee is required to access these archives. Because the Pantagraph archives are much easier to search than the Blade archives, it is better to search them first, then the Blade.
Another subscription service searches many newspapers across the United States. Newspapers.com allows users to search all of these newspapers for historical information and download copies of any information they find.
Google has digitized many old books and magazines. Using the general Google search box to find these old books and magazines is not productive. The Google Book search option will focus only on these types of documents. General Google searches can also be used.
The federal government has a database that shows who first bought farmland in Illinois. The website is maintained by the Bureau of Land Management and can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/ybpeqbsw. Landowners can also be found by consulting the 1893 and 1911 Livingston County Atlas books.
Find-A-Grave is a free website that allows searches for burials. Often, obituaries or other information are also included in the search results. The State of Illinois has an excellent website for searching for Civil War veterans. This site can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/ybkcdl7f.
Google has a better-performing website than the U.S. Patent Office for finding patents. To access Google's patent search engine, search for "Google Patent Search," then search by name. You can also search for patents on the USPTO.gov website.
The Fairbury Echoes Museum has many records that still need to be digitized. Some of these records include high school yearbooks, country school records, Fairbury phone books from 1930, and miscellaneous other information. A visit to the Echoes Museum can be beneficial in finding historical information. The Fort at Lexington is a historical research building maintained by the Lexington Historical Society. The people there are very helpful in answering questions.
The Dominy Memorial Library also has a lot of historical information. Librarians are very helpful and will point you in the right direction to answer your questions. The Pontiac Library has a special room dedicated to local history. Unfortunately, the Pontiac Daily Leader archives are only available online at the Pontiac Library unless you have a Pontiac library card.
The Sanborn Insurance Company made five maps of Fairbury between the years of 1885 and 1911. All of these maps can be digitally accessed at https://tinyurl.com/uaj3wxw. Mylar copies of the oldest 1885 Sanborn maps are available at the Dominy Library and the Fairbury Echoes Museum.
Thanks to the Internet, most historical research can be quickly and efficiently conducted from home. Visits to local museums and libraries can also be very beneficial. The Livingston County Historical Society website has a link to a guide explaining how to do genealogical searches. It can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/vsgockr.
(Dale Maley's local history feature on Fairbury News is sponsored each week by Dr. Charlene Aaron)
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