African American Resources for Illinois

African American Online Genealogy Records

Introduction
A list of resources for researching African American ancestors who lived in Illinois.

Online Resources
1846-1867 U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 at Ancestry ($) 1861-1872 United States, Freedmen's Bureau Marriages, 1861-1872 at FamilySearch 1865-1874 Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 at FamilySearch African American Digital Bookshelf - a growing list of digital books on FamilySearch and other websites Pullman Porter National Historic Registry of the African-American Railroad Employees Linkpendium links to resources about African Americans and other ethnic groups and Slaves, slave owners, and slavery in general Discover Freedmen - this site searches all of the Freedmen's Bureau record collections on FamilySearch altogether (and redirects there) Illinois State Archives: African-American Records. In addition to the servitude records mentioned above, this site provides research guidance, military databases, and record descriptions. </li> Illinois Servitude and Emancipation Records Database</li> Mapping the Stacks: A guide to Black Chicago's Hidden Archives is a plan to identify and organize the collections of Black Chicago. Finding aids are included.</li>

Research Strategy
See these books to learn more about how to do African American research: Witcher, Curt Bryan. African American Genealogy: a Bibliography and Guide to Sources. Fort Wayne, Indiana: Round Tower Books, 2000. Available at many libraries (WorldCat). </li> Rose, James M. and Alice Eichholz. Black Genesis: a Resource Book for African-American Genealogy. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2003. Many libraries (WorldCat); </li> Burroughs, Tony. Black Roots: A Beginners Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree. New York, New York: Simon &amp; Schuster, 2001. Available at many libraries (WorldCat); </li> Beasley, Donna. Family Pride: the Complete Guide to Tracing African-American Genealogy. New York, New York: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 1997. Many libraries (WorldCat); </li>

History
Slavery was banned by 1818 when Illinois became a state, though the southern part continued to allow slavery for several more years. This part, called "Little Egypt", was mostly settled by Southerners. By 1853 laws were passed prohibiting all African Americans, including freedmen, from settling in the state. This eventually changed after the Civil War.

The Great Migration of African Americans brought many from the rural South to Chicago. Most came from Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. By 2008, 15.0% of the population in Illinois was African American, with the majority living within the city of Chicago and the surrounding areas.

To learn more, see A History of African Americans in Illinois and African Americans in Illinois.

Explore a Timeline of African Americans in Illinois.

Also read:
 * Hine, Darlene Clark. The Black Women in the Middle West Project: a Comprehensive Resource Guide, Illinois and Indiana; Historical Essays, Oral Histories, Biographical Profiles, and Document Collections. Indianapolis [Indiana]: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1986. Many libraries (WorldCat);.
 * Miller, Edward A. The Black Civil War Soldiers of Illinois: the Story of the Twenty-Ninth U.S. Colored Infantry. [Columbia, South Carolina]: University of South Carolina Press, 1998. Many libraries (WorldCat); Google Books;
 * Smith, John David. Black Soldiers in Blue: African American Troops in the Civil War Era. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Many libraries (WorldCat)
 * Davis, Elizabeth Lisdsay. The Story of the Illinois Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. Chicago, 1922. Read online at Internet Archive. Available at many libraries (WorldCat).
 * Tregillis, Helen Cox, comp. River Roads to Freedom: Fugitive Slave Notices and Sheriff Notices Found in Illinois Sources. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1988. The information was obtained from newspaper microfilm available at the Illinois State Historical Library. Available at many libraries (WorldCat);
 * Hodges, Carl G., and Helene H. Levene, comps. Illinois Negro Historymakers. Chicago: Illinois Emancipation Centennial Commission, 1964. Available at many libraries (WorldCat);.
 * African American Research has more information about researching African Americans
 * Parrish, Randall. "The Battle Against Slavery," in Historic Illinois: The Romance of the Earlier Days. Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Co., 1905; pages 318-332. Free online at Google Books
 * Additional books at the

Census Records
Mortality Schedules
 * — How to Use this Collection

Emancipation Records

 * Illinois Servitude and Emancipation Records, 1720-1865 - a database containing records of over 2,000 people who were bought, sold, or emancipated in Illinois. Records list name, gender, race, and county of residence for the slave. at Ancestry ($)

Oral Histories

 * History Makers has the largest collection of African American video oral histories

Other Records

 * Gallatin County, Illinois slave register 1815-1839. (Harrisburg, Illinois : R. Schmook, 1994) FS Library 977.397 H63s — Rebecca Schmook, transcribed, typed and indexed.

Military Records

 * Edward A. Miller, The Black Civil War Soldiers of Illinois: The Story of the Twenty-ninth U.S. Colored Infantry Columbus, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1998 FS Library 977.3 M2mi
 * Reg Ankrom Illinois Glory Brigade. Quincy organized Illinois' only Black Civil War Regiment of the Civil War Illinois Heritage 25 (May-June 2022): 40-42

Newspapers

 * Tregillis, Helen Cox, comp. River Roads to Freedom: Fugitive Slave Notices and Sheriff Notices Found in Illinois Sources. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1988. The information was obtained from newspaper microfilm available at the Illinois State Historical Library. Available at many libraries (WorldCat);

Freedman's Bank
An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and freed slaves. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former master or mistress and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.

Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:
 * — How to Use this Collection
 * U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871 at Ancestry ($)

Freedmen's Bureau
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist former slaves in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former masters and plantations, and current residences. For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of former slaves. These films do not appear to contain the names of former slaves.

To find Freedmen's Bureau records:

Other FamilySearch collections not included:
 * DiscoverFreedmen - the search on this site will utilize all of the Freedmen's Bureau records on FamilySearch, including:
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 * Images — How to Use this Collection

More collections are available in the FamilySearch Catalog. Search for "FREEDMEN - ILLINOIS" in the Subjects search bar to find. Visit the African American Freedmen's Bureau Records page to learn more about utilizing these records.

Slavery Records

 * Illinois Servitude and Emancipation Records, 1720-1865 - a database containing records of over 2,000 people who were bought, sold, or emancipated in Illinois. Records list name, gender, race, and county of residence for the slave.

Marriage
The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist former slaves in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the former slaves. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.
 * — How to Use this Collection
 * U.S., Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Records, 1846-1867 at Ancestry ($)

Death

 * at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection

Archives and Libraries

 * Illinois State Archives Margaret Cross Norton Building Springfield, IL 62756 Phone: (217) 782-4682


 * The Illinois State Archives has a "Illinois Servitude and Emancipation Records" database available to search online for free. See the Databases to find this database and others that may contain names of African Americans. Read Illinois Servitude and Emancipation Records (1722-1863) to learn more about this database. Also, see the African-American Records pdf to learn more about how to find and use these records.


 * DuSable Museum of African American History 740 East 56th Place Chicago, IL 60637-1495 Phone: (773) 947-0600


 * Springfield Illinois African American History Foundation 883 Roanoke Drive Springfield, IL, 62702 Phone: (217) 698-6339


 * Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library 112 N. Sixth Street Springfield, IL 62701 Phone: (800) 610-2094 or (217) 782-5764 Holdings include materials on various ethnic groups and ethnic migration patterns as well as a collection of oral interviews conducted by the Springfield African-American History Foundation. Search the card catalog.


 * Newberry Library 60 West Walton Street Chicago, IL 60610 Phone: (312) 943-9090 "African American Genealogy" lists sources and helps for African American research. See African-American Genealogy for a list of African American resources at the library.


 * Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature Chicago Public Library, Woodson Regional Library 9525 S. Halsted Street Chicago, IL 60628 Phone: (312) 745-2080 The collection contains family papers, organizational files, annual reports, conference files, family newsletters, reunion books, funeral programs, and more.


 * Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum 1440 Monument Avenue Springfield, Illinois 62702 Phone: (217) 391-6323 The museum seeks to tell the stories of African American life in central Illinois.

Societies

 * African-American Cultural and Genealogical Society of Illinois 235 W. Eldorado Street P.O. Box 25251 Decatur, IL 62525 Phone: (217) 429-7458