Newspapers for Illinois Genealogical Research Newspapers for Illinois Genealogical Research Newspapers contain a wealth of information of interest to genealogists and historians. Obituaries and marriage and birth announcements are commonly found in newspapers. In many locations, the executor of an estate is or was required to advertise that the estate was being settled - often the newspapers have these advertisements. Sometimes you find information about who is moving into or leaving a community.
Newspapers also give a window into the life of the time and location.
In small town newspapers, you often find references that Aunt Sally went to shopping in the big city, or that Cousin Joe broken his arm falling out of the apple tree. For an example of what you may find, take a look at some extracts from the 1880s from a small town newspaper called the Leon Indicator, Leon, Butler County, Kansas. These are extracts about the Beadles family who moved to Kansas from Fulton County, IL, as well as other Illinois names and places which I recognized. General News Obituaries and Estate Notices Newspapers can be tedious to use, but they are valuable resource you won't want to miss. The Illinois State Historical Library , Springfield, Illinois has a very large collection of historical newspapers.