African American Resources for Illinois

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



Brief History
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.

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.

In October 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed many buildings and records.

Explore a chronology of African-American history in Illinois. Courtesy of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Illinois Repositories with African American Collections

 * Illinois State Archives Margret Cross Norton Building Springfield, IL 62756 Phone: (217) 782-4682 Fax: (217) 524-3930


 * "African–American Records" describes what records are at the State Archives with an online method for ordering records.


 * Illinois State Archives Servitude and Emancipation Records Database (1722–1863) includes names of African American servants, slaves, or free persons from selected governmental records. A full description of this database can be found here.


 * 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.


 * 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.

Societies

 * African-American Genealogical Research Institute P.O. Box 637 Matteson, IL 60443


 * African-American Cultural and Genealogical Society 314 North Main St. Decatur, IL 62523

Published Sources
Books about 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).
 * Rose, James M. and Alice Eichholz. Black Genesis: a Resource Book for African-American Genealogy. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2003. Many libraries (WorldCat);
 * 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);
 * Beasley, Donna. Family Pride: the Complete Guide to Tracing African-American Genealogy. New York, New York: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 1997. Many libraries (WorldCat);

Books about African Americans


 * 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).

Additional Published Sources


 * 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 found at many libraries (WorldCat). Click the title to see libraries with the book.
 * Additional books at the.
 * See Illinois Ethnic Groups for additional resources.

Collections

The Booker T. Washington Papers, Library of Congress

Websites

 * Illinois Afrigeneas, African Ancestry in Illinois provides a brief history and links to state and county resources.
 * African Americans in Illinois Places Other Than Chicago has links to library catalogs with African American collections.
 * The History Makers, based in Chicago,is dedicted to preserving African American history.
 * Pullman Porter National Historic Registry of the African-American Railroad Employees
 * Linkpendium links to Ethnic resources and "Slaves, slave owners, and slavery in general" section - Free

African Americans
Some African-Americans may be listed in the comprehensive index of servitude and emancipation records at the Illinois State Archives. These records are also available in IRAD depositories. See also the following sources:


 * 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);.

For further information, see: Illinois African Americans.

Online Resources:


 * Illinois State Archives Servitude and Emancipation Records Database (1722–1863) includes names of African American servants, slaves, or free persons from selected governmental records..
 * African-American Genealogy (Newberry Library) includes research guides, periodicals, and genealogical records.
 * Illinois State Archives: African-American Records. In addition to the servitude records mentioned above, this site provides research guidance, military databases, and record descriptions.
 * Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature has digital collections as well as archival collections.
 * 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.