Illinois Roots

Digital Illinois - A Group of Distinguished Physicians & Surgeons of Chicago (1904)

2007-04-03T17:51:00.000-04:00

Click & Read it Now!

A Group of Distinguished Physicians

and Surgeons of Chicago.
Chicago, IL: J.H. Beers & Co., 1904. 847p.

Digital Illinois - History of Jo Daviess County (1878)

2007-04-03T17:30:00.000-04:00

Click & Read it Now!

The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois

Chicago, IL: H.F. Kett & Co., 1878. 847p.

Madison County (IL) Historical Museum Librarians Praised

2007-04-02T07:27:00.000-04:00

There is a terrific article in Sunday's Belleville News-Democrat praising the work of Madison County Historical Museum's librarians: Mary Westerhold, Marion Sperling, and Leah Deem.

It's good to see their help and hard work being recognized by the community. The Madison County (IL) Historical Museum is in Edwardsville, IL.

(Photo by Zia Nizami, Belleville News-Demcrat, used by permission).

Martha Bender (1932-2007), Genealogist, Author, Normal, IL

2007-04-01T20:07:00.000-04:00

Martha Rosalie Heinzelmann Bender

Herald & Review (Decatur, IL) - March 27, 2007

Published with permission: www.GenealogyBank.com

ATWOOD - Martha Rosalie Heinzelmann Bender passed away suddenly Saturday March 24 at her home in Normal, Illinois. Martha was born April 14, 1932 in rural Piatt County, Illinois, near Atwood and was married to Kenneth D. Bender in Atwood on May 29, 1950. She was the daughter of Victor and Caddie (Fisher) Heinzelmann.

Her paternal grandparents were Godfrey and Elizabeth (Dilocker) Heinzelmann.; and her maternal grandparents were William Porter and Martha Florence (Jones) Fisher. She was preceded in death by siblings Agnes Heinzelmann, Florence Heinzelmann, Victor Heinzelmann, Madge Baker, and Paul Arthur Heinzelmann. She is survived by her husband Kenneth D. and son Paul E. of Normal and grandson Anthony DeGuerre of Staten Island, New York and sister Reta Riley of Roanoke.

Martha's life was full of service, learning and some adventure as she moved from Atwood to Lovington then on to Champaign and finally to Normal. Activities included being a Worthy Matron of the Lovington Order of Eastern Star, President of the Lovington Woman's Club, District Officer of the Women's Club, Library Board member in Lovington and also its representative on the Rolling Prairie Library Board. She was also a graduate of Atwood High School and pursued learning throughout her life being a graduate of Dale Carnegie and Dorothy Carnegie classes including being a graduate assistant.

She was a pioneer in the study of the computer and kept an active schedule on the computer up to the day of her passing. She was an accomplished organist. Her adventures included a trip to Great Britain, Ireland and Scotland with her husband Kenneth and a trip to Germany with her son Paul. After moving to Champaign she began literary pursuits that included having poetry published and attending several poet conventions.

Upon arriving in Normal she took an active interest in genealogy which resulted in her writing a book on her family's history entitled: "The Hilltop Old Tales of New Beginnings". The genealogy also took her around to different parts of the United States in pursuit of viewing her origins. She was actively working on the Moore Cemetery project, which is the resting place of her great grandmother Wilmina Fredricka Dilocker, within hours of her death. Flowers are appreciated, but in the alternative gifts to the Piatt County Genealogical Society would please her.

Funeral Services celebrating her life will be held at 10 A.M., Thursday, March 29, 2007 at the Hilligoss Shrader Funeral Home, 66 East US Highway 36, Atwood, IL. Order of Eastern Star Services will be held at 7:00 P.M., Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at the funeral home, with visitation following from 7:30 P.M. until 9:00 P.M. Burial will be in the Mackville Cemetery, Atwood, IL.

Macon County Book Discovered via www.WorldCat.org

2007-03-31T10:48:00.000-04:00

Herald & Review (Decatur, IL)
Saturday, March 31, 2007

Search for works on Macon County history turns up series of stories handed down through generations
By RON INGRAM - H&R Staff Writer

DECATUR - Local history buffs are excited by the rediscovery and recent publication of a series of vignettes on pioneer life in Macon County, penned in 1912 by the Rev. Nathan Martin Baker.Born in 1837 into the family that built the first cabin in Long Creek Township in 1828, the Presbyterian minister wrote the short stories for two of his grandchildren, Charles Martin Burrill and Lida Marilla Burrill.His family left its mark on the community, giving its name to Baker Woods west of Decatur Airport, which it owned before the Decatur Park District bought the property.

Baker's Civil War uniform and other personal items from that period are on display at the Macon County Historical Society Museum.A 1912 story in the Daily Review, a predecessor of the Herald & Review, was an interview with Baker, a highly respected Decatur resident, about the gift he created for his grandchildren. After that airing, the existence of the stories faded from public consciousness.

Enter Brent Wielt, historic sites manager for the Macon County Conservation District, who was on the Internet last fall searching www.worldcat.org for books on Macon County history when he ran across "Long-Ago Stories From a Pioneering Family of Macon County, Illinois," in the Library of Congress. It was compiled and edited by Jacqueline Baker Pratt and published by Gateway Press Inc. of Baltimore, Md.

"I stumbled across this and had no idea what it was," Wielt said. "I initially thought it must be family letters someone had published. I contacted the publisher to see how to get hold of (the editor)."Wielt found Pratt, 71, living in Oregon and struck up a correspondence with her that led to Pratt sending him a copy of the book.After reading it, Wielt said he thought the work should not simply sit in the Library of Congress but should be available locally."I was glad we could find a part of Rev. Baker's story," Wielt said. "He kept those stories from getting scattered to the four winds. It's not traditional history but told through anecdotal stories.

"Wielt wound up buying 10 of the books, which he has donated to the Decatur Public Library, Illinois State Library, University of Illinois Library and the Decatur Genealogical Society, among other places where the public can have access to them.

In a telephone interview, Pratt said she came across the stories by chance in 2005 while visiting an elderly aunt in Virginia."She handed me these stories all typed and asked if I'd ever seen them before," Pratt said. "I hadn't."However, she later found that her brother was aware of the tales. She said he gave her a small wooden box that had belonged to their father, William Young Baker. The box contained a letter dated Jan. 26, 1916, from the Rev. Baker that explained the box "was made out of a part of the ceiling of the stairway of a log house built by your great-great-grandfather (William D. Baker)- and may it not be possible to preserve these little keepsakes and their history, connected as that history is with so many generations of Bakers yet to be?"

"I'm a fairly tactile person, and holding that box really involved me in those stories," she said. "I took Rev. Baker talking about future generations as a calling."A good friend was a publisher with Gateway Books and arranged for 100 copies of the stories to be printed and bound in hardcover, Pratt said. She gave copies to all her known relatives as Christmas gifts but continued to search for the Burrill branch of the family, which she has not found."I was enchanted by him as a storyteller," Pratt said of the Rev. Baker, who served as a chaplain with the 116th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War.

He enlisted as a private and reportedly fought on the front lines. He later was pastor of several Presbyterian churches in the Decatur area during a 50-year span, including 28 years at North Fork Presbyterian Church. He died in May 1922 at age 84.Pratt said she may do a softcover copy of the "Long-Ago Stories" if there is enough interest in the book. She can be contacted via e-mail at jaciepratt@charter.net.Ron Ingram can be reached at ringram@herald-review.com or 421-7973.

Illinois - Newspaper Online

2007-03-29T18:46:00.000-04:00

More Illinois Newspapers are Now Online at:
www.GenealogyBank.com

You may search GenealogyBank for free and see a preview of the newspaper articles or other search results called "snippets". This will give you an idea if there is content on GenealogyBank that you can use.You need to sign-up to join GenealogyBank to see the full newspaper articles.

Algonquin Countryside (IL). 1/9/1997-11/15/2006
Algonquin Countryside with News of Lake in the Hills (IL). 11/23/2006-Current
Antioch Review (IL). 5/21/1998-Current Arlington Heights Post (IL). 1/9/1997-Current Barrington Courier-Review (IL). 2/22/1996-Current
Beacon News, The (Aurora, IL). 1/1/1997-Current
Belleville News Democrat. 1/02/1901-12/10/1918
Belleville News-Democrat (IL). 10/17/2000-Current
Booster (Lake View-North Center-Roscoe Village-Avondale, IL). 1/11/2006-Current
Booster (Wicker Park-Bucktown-Ukranian Village, IL). 1/11/2006-Current
Breeze Courier (Taylorville, IL). 7/3/2000 -Current
Buffalo Grove Countryside (IL). 1/2/1997-Current
Cary-Grove Countryside (IL). 8/27/1998-Current
Chicago Sun-Times (IL). 1/1/1986-Current Chicago Tribune (IL). 1/1/1985-Current
Chicago Tribune RedEye Edition (IL). 10/30/2002-Current
Courier News (Elgin, IL). 7/4/1998-Current
Courier, The (Lincoln, IL). 1/29/2000-Current
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL). 3/7/1995-Current
Daily Southtown (Chicago, IL). 7/31/2004-Current
Deerfield Review (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Des Plaines Times (IL). 12/12/1996-Current
Doings, The (Burr Ridge - Darien - Willowbrook, IL). 4/28/2005-Current
Doings, The (Clarendon Hills, IL). 4/28/2005-Current
Doings, The (Elmhurst, IL). 4/28/2005-Current
Doings, The (Hinsdale, IL). 4/28/2005-Current
Doings, The (La Grange - LaGrange Park - LaGrange Highlands, IL). 4/28/2005-Current Doings, The (Oak Brook - Oakbrook Terrace, IL). 4/28/2005-Current
Doings, The (Western Springs - Indian Head Park, IL). 4/28/2005-Current
Edgebrook Times Review (IL). 1/16/1997-Current
Edison-Norwood Times Review (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Edwardsville Intelligencer (IL). 7/4/2000-Current
Edwardsville Spectator. 5/29/1819-10/20/1826 Elk Grove Times (IL). 3/19/1998-Current Elm Leaves (Elmwood Park, IL). 1/1/1997-Current
Evanston Review (IL). 1/9/1997-Current Forest Leaves (River Forest, IL). 1/1/1997-Current
Franklin Park Herald-Journal (IL). 1/1/1997-11/8/2006 Franklin Park Herald-Journal with News of North Lake (IL). 11/15/2006-Current
Glencoe News (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Glenview Announcements (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Grayslake Review (IL). 2/13/1997-Current
Gurnee Review (IL). 2/13/1997-Current
Herald & Review (Decatur, IL). 10/1/1990-Current
Herald News, The (Joliet, IL). 1/2/1997-Current
ighland Park News (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Hoffman Estates Review (IL). 1/1/1998-Current
Inter Ocean. Variant titles: Chicago Inter Ocean; Daily Inter Ocean. 8/23/1878-6/04/1893 Journal Gazette (Mattoon, IL). 4/13/2004-Current
Lake Forester (IL). 1/16/1997-Current
Lake in the Hills Countryside (IL). 7/10/2003-11/9/2006 Lake Villa Review (IL). 2/13/1997-Current Lake Zurich Courier (IL). 1/16/1997-Current
Libertyville Review (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Lincolnshire Review (IL). 6/29/2000-Current
Lincolnwood Review (IL). 1/16/1997-Current
Maywood Herald (IL). 1/1/1997-11/8/2006
Melrose Park Herald (IL). 1/1/1997-11/8/2006 Morris Daily Herald (IL). 3/08/2006-Current
Morton Grove Champion (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Mount Prospect Times (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Mundelein Review (IL). 1/9/1997-Current Naperville Sun, The (IL). 1/1/1997-Current
News Sun, The (Waukegan, IL). 1/1/1997-Current
News-Gazette, The (Champaign-Urbana, IL). 6/2/1997-Current
News-Star (Edgewater, IL). 11/16/2005-Current
Niles Herald-Spectator (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Norridge News (IL). 1/9/1997-Current Northbrook Star (IL). 1/16/1997-Current
Northlake Herald-Journal (IL). 1/1/1997-10/18/2006 Oak Leaves (Oak Park, IL). 1/1/1997-Current
Palatine Countryside (IL). 1/9/1997-Current Pantagraph, The (Bloomington, IL). 1/1/1989-Current Park Ridge Herald-Advocate (IL). 1/23/1997-Current
Peoria Journal Star, The (IL). 7/15/1991-Current
Proviso Herald (Maywood-Melrose Park-West Proviso-Westchester, IL). 11/15/2006-Current River Grove Messenger (IL). 1/1/1997-Current
Rockford Register Star (IL). 1/1/1999-Current
Rolling Meadows Review (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Schaumburg Review (IL). 1/16/1997-Current
Skokie Review (IL). 1/16/1997-Current Skyline (Chicago, IL). 12/8/2005-Current
State Journal-Register, The (Springfield, IL). 7/5/1985-Current
Sun, The: 60504 Fox Valley (IL). 10/21/2002-Current
Sun, The: Batavia (IL). 9/4/2002-Current
Sun, The: Bolingbrook (IL). 9/6/2002-Current
Sun, The: Downers Grove (IL). 9/5/2002-Current
Sun, The: Homer Township - Lockport - Lemont (IL). 9/4/2002-Current
Sun, The: Lincoln Way (IL). 12/4/2002-Current
Sun, The: Lisle (IL). 9/13/2002-Current
Sun, The: Plainfield (IL). 9/13/2002-Current
Sun, The: St. Charles (IL). 8/18/2003-Current
Sun, The: Wheaton (IL). 9/6/2002-Current
Times, The (Harlem-Irving, IL). 11/4/2004-Current
Times, The (Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Belmont Cragin, IL). 11/4/2004-Current
Times-Courier (Charleston, IL). 4/13/2004-Current
Vernon Hills Review (IL). 1/9/1997-Current Wauconda Courier (IL). 4/15/2004-Current
West Proviso Herald (IL). 1/1/1997-11/8/2006 Westchester Herald (IL). 1/1/1997-9/13/2006 Wheeling Countryside (IL). 1/9/1997-Current Wilmette Life (IL). 1/9/1997-Current
Winnetka Talk (IL). 3/20/1997-Current

Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly - Spring 2007

2007-03-29T18:43:00.000-04:00

Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly. Spring 2007 (vol. 39, no. 1)

Table of Contents - List of articles

Slavin, Timothy A. Archives of the Archidiocese of Chicago. pp. 6-9
Lowe, Jeanie. Legislative Forum. pp. 10-13
Weible, Cherie L. Illinois sources, 1840 State and Federal census returns. pp. 15-20.
Kapustiak, Margaret M. More information from cemtery records: resources for filling in the details of your family's history. pp. 21-25.
Schuetz, Marian Richter. Carroll and Ogle County obituary album. Part 1. pp. 28-34, 37-39. Published by the Illiinois State Genealogical Society: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilsgs/