Chapters include
- Population, 1790-1930
- Colleges, Universities, and Churches, 1775-1890
- Boundaries, 1607-1927
- Industries and Transportation, 1620-1931
06 March 2023
Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States
Containing 14 chapters and nearly 700 maps, the Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States was first published in 1932. This wonderful resource, the product of the Digital Scholarship Lab, is available online at http://dsl.richmond.edu/historicalatlas
Chapters include
Chapters include
20 February 2023
Pre-Fire Marriages
The state of Illinois offers several databases that can be a significant help in your research. Since 1985, the Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) has cooperated with the Illinois State Archives to create an index to Illinois marriages occurring prior to 1901.
My mother wanted to stay active in her retirement but was physically limited, so she spent her mornings transcribing the Kankakee county married records from oversized photocopies of the original books into a software application used to index the records. The database can be searched at https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/databases/marriage.html
French Canadian settlers came to Kankakee County in 1834, after the federal government signed the Treaty of Camp Tippecanoe in 1832. The earliest marriage records for Kankakee are filled with surnames like Lambert, Brunnenier, LaMuret, and Jeannot. Over time, there was a decline in French surnames and an increase in Irish and German.
While the online Illinois marriages database provides only the names, date, location, and file numbers for a marriage, the original Kankakee books usually included residence, occupation, parents, and witnesses. Mom and I were fascinating by number of men living in Chicago who married wives in Kankakee county. Keeping in mind that many of these records are pre-1871, the Kankakee marriage records are a valuable resource to check if your ancestor was married before the Chicago Fire.
So take another look at the Illinois marriage database. Be VERY creative with surname spelling and you may track down your illusive pre-Fire ancestors.
My mother wanted to stay active in her retirement but was physically limited, so she spent her mornings transcribing the Kankakee county married records from oversized photocopies of the original books into a software application used to index the records. The database can be searched at https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/databases/marriage.html
French Canadian settlers came to Kankakee County in 1834, after the federal government signed the Treaty of Camp Tippecanoe in 1832. The earliest marriage records for Kankakee are filled with surnames like Lambert, Brunnenier, LaMuret, and Jeannot. Over time, there was a decline in French surnames and an increase in Irish and German.
While the online Illinois marriages database provides only the names, date, location, and file numbers for a marriage, the original Kankakee books usually included residence, occupation, parents, and witnesses. Mom and I were fascinating by number of men living in Chicago who married wives in Kankakee county. Keeping in mind that many of these records are pre-1871, the Kankakee marriage records are a valuable resource to check if your ancestor was married before the Chicago Fire.
So take another look at the Illinois marriage database. Be VERY creative with surname spelling and you may track down your illusive pre-Fire ancestors.
04 March 2014
Happy Birthday, Chicago!
Chicago: From trading post to global city
Check out the pictographic history of Chicago highlights set up by CNN.com
Incorporated as a city on March 4, 1837, here's what Chicago looked like in its early days. This is Lake Street, a major downtown east-west thoroughfare.
The picture wasn't dated but my guess, based on the women's dresses, is that the picture is from just before the 1871 fire.
Check out the pictographic history of Chicago highlights set up by CNN.com
Incorporated as a city on March 4, 1837, here's what Chicago looked like in its early days. This is Lake Street, a major downtown east-west thoroughfare.
The picture wasn't dated but my guess, based on the women's dresses, is that the picture is from just before the 1871 fire.
10 October 2012
Happy Birthday, MaryAnn!
You've probably heard about the Chicago Fire of 1871, but did you know the Peshtigo Fire started the same day? Peshtigo didn't get the same press -- being in northern Wisconsin and Michigan. Other fires have destroyed more acres, but Peshtigo is the deadliest, taking between 1,200 and 2,400 lives. You can see on this map of the fire area that Green Bay, Wisconsin, is just south of the damaged area.
Shortly after the 1870 census was recorded, Jan and Eva Piotrowska Janusz settled in Green Bay. On October 10, while the woods burned, their third child, Mary Ann, was born. (It would be more than a year later, on 2 Nov 1872, that her birth was recorded in the state records in Madison.)
Tragedy struck again on 26 January 1873 when Jan Janusz died. The death was entered in the state records on 31 Dec 1874 but no cause of death was listed. An illness? A farming or logging accident? Or the lingering effects from the smoke and ash endured 15 months earlier?
With 3 young children, Eva remarried in June 1873 and had 6 more children in the next 12 years with her second husband, Joseph Kroll. Still young at 53, Eva passed away 29 December 1901.
Martin Janusz, probably a brother of Jan's, lived in Milwaukee. Perhaps while visiting relatives, MaryAnn met Pawel Paprocki. They were married in Milwaukee the day after MaryAnn turned 21 — on 11 October 1892. Apparently, it was a love match. MaryAnn and Pawel had 12 children in the next 20 years.
MaryAnn's last child was born 11 October 1912 and named Paul Jr. Sadly, complications during the birth caused excessive bleeding and MaryAnn, at the much too young age of 41, passed away on 19 Oct 1912. She left 12 children who gave her 39 grandchildren and 72 great-grandchildren (that I've identified so far).
I'm thrilled that I can introduce my grandchildren to their great-great-great grandmother, and that together we can speculate about the inbetween spaces of her life.
Happy Birthday, MaryAnn! – from your great-granddaughter, Denise
Shortly after the 1870 census was recorded, Jan and Eva Piotrowska Janusz settled in Green Bay. On October 10, while the woods burned, their third child, Mary Ann, was born. (It would be more than a year later, on 2 Nov 1872, that her birth was recorded in the state records in Madison.)
Tragedy struck again on 26 January 1873 when Jan Janusz died. The death was entered in the state records on 31 Dec 1874 but no cause of death was listed. An illness? A farming or logging accident? Or the lingering effects from the smoke and ash endured 15 months earlier?
With 3 young children, Eva remarried in June 1873 and had 6 more children in the next 12 years with her second husband, Joseph Kroll. Still young at 53, Eva passed away 29 December 1901.Martin Janusz, probably a brother of Jan's, lived in Milwaukee. Perhaps while visiting relatives, MaryAnn met Pawel Paprocki. They were married in Milwaukee the day after MaryAnn turned 21 — on 11 October 1892. Apparently, it was a love match. MaryAnn and Pawel had 12 children in the next 20 years.
MaryAnn's last child was born 11 October 1912 and named Paul Jr. Sadly, complications during the birth caused excessive bleeding and MaryAnn, at the much too young age of 41, passed away on 19 Oct 1912. She left 12 children who gave her 39 grandchildren and 72 great-grandchildren (that I've identified so far).
I'm thrilled that I can introduce my grandchildren to their great-great-great grandmother, and that together we can speculate about the inbetween spaces of her life. Happy Birthday, MaryAnn! – from your great-granddaughter, Denise
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