Genealogy

In order to learn about the local history of the area and its citizens, we have:

Books

• Censuses of Douglas County (1860-1900)
• Cemeteries - tombstone readings of the most of the Douglas County cemeteries
• Marriage records for Coles and Douglas Counties
• 1884, 1900, and 1910 Histories of Douglas Counties
• Histories of surrounding counties
• The Douglas County Genealogical Society Journal and 5 year index
• History of Villa Grove and various communities in Douglas
• Telephone Directories

Vertical Files

• Family Files - includes newspaper clippings, correspondence with genealogists doing research and material sent or brought in to add to family histories.
• The genealogy room has published histories of the following surname: Bedwell, Casida, Clabaugh, Cushman, Elam, Hackett, Harshbarger, Hurt, Meister, Skinner, Van Doren, Walden, and Zoller.
• Along with these family files with over 1,000 surnames of families from Villa Grove and surrounding areas. Many of the genealogists in the area have copies of their work in the family files providing researchers with obituaries, wills, marriages, etc.
• Local History - includes files on Churches, Schools, Surrounding Counties.
• Businesses - includes material on various businesses in the area.
• Homes and Buildings - an effort is being made to collect material on the homes and buildings in the area.

Funeral Home Records

• We have a good collection of Funeral Home records from 1906 to 1994. This includes records from The Mott Funeral Home.

The computers in the library have open access to HeritageQuest Online which has many of the Federal censuses indexed. You can also access this database at home from the HeritageQuest website using your patron barcode located on your library card.

Genealogy Weblinks

HeritageQuest Online(barcode access): http://www.heritagequestonline.com/barcode?aid=4251