Wilmette Illinois FamilySearch Center



TEMPORARY CLOSURE

'''As of January 2, 2022, The Wilmette Family History Center is CLOSED until further notice, due to the current COVID-19 surge in the area. If you have a "genealogical emergency," please call the director, Julie Busse, at 847-728-0267.'''

Location
The Wilmette Illinois Family History Center is located north of Chicago


 * 2727 Lake Avenue in Wilmette, Illinois


 * Location Map


 * There are three doors into the building from the large (free) parking lot. Push the buzzer at the 3rd door (furthest from Lake Ave) for access to the FHC during opening hours.

The Center is a few blocks east of the Edens Expressway (Lake Avenue exit) and on week days it's accessible by the 422 Pace bus (Lake and Locust stop).

Film Collection
The Center houses a large microfilm collection that includes many Chicago resources including vital records, city directories, and Catholic parish records. The collection is also strong in German, Swedish, and Polish records. Wilmette FHC Film/Fiche Holdings List. To determine if if the Wilmette Family History Center has a specific film, Click this link and scroll down the page that comes up, for directions.

Does Wilmette have it?

Book Collection

The Center also has a collection of genealogy-related reference books and research guides that support the research interests of local patrons. Some of the frequently-used volumes include A History of the parishes of the Archdiocese of Chicago, the Hamburg passenger lists: coordinated schedules, and A Translation guide to 19th-century Polish-language civil-registration documents. Books are shelved by geographic area or subject, to encourage browsing. They still have the Dewey numbers assigned to them in the FamilySearch catalog.

Computer Resources

The Center has nine computers for patron use and the Family History Center Portal offers free access to about 15 Premium sites including Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, ArkivDigital, MyHeritage and FindMyPast.com.

Hours
The regular hours are:


 * Tuesday: 10 am to 6 pm
 * Wednesday: 10 am to 9 pm
 * Saturday: 9 am - 1 pm

If the weather is bad, please call before visiting. We may be closed.

Holiday Closures
During 2022, the Center will be closed on the following days:

Saturday, April 2, General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Saturday, May 28, Memorial Day Weekend

Saturday, July 2, Independence Day Weekend

August - The Center is only open Saturdays during August

Saturday, September 3, Labor Day Weekend

Saturday, October 1, General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The week of November 21-26 - Thanksgiving break

December 19 - January 2 - Christmas and New Year's

If you have questions about the center, please call (847) 251-9818 during open hours or email: [mailto:il_wilmette@familyhistorymail.org Wilmette Family History Center]