FREE / SUBSCRIPTION
Church Records
“Illinois, Chicago, Catholic Church records,” FamilySearch.org. Browse Chicago Archdiocese parish records from 1833–1925 on FamilySearch. Some indexing. These include Lake County’s Catholic churches. FREE
The Leaves of Healing was a publication of the Christian Catholic Church in Zion, Illinois. This link leads to a table of digitized copies of some issues of the publication.
City Directories
Ancestry U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
This collection has city directories for Waukegan. You can search them from the collection search box or browse individual directories. To look at individual Waukegan directories, go to the collection, then go to “Browse this Collection” on the right side of the page. Select Illinois, and then choose Waukegan from the drop-down box for county/city. Waukegan streets were renumbered by the time of the 1922 directory; that directory contains a section showing old and new street numbers. SUBSCRIPTION
Waukegan city directory years in this collection:
1901, 1903, 1905, 1908, 1913, 1916, 1919, 1922, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1948, 1951, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960
City, Village, and County Histories
Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Lake County (Chicago, Illinois: Munsell Pub. Co., 1902), Ancestry.com SUBSCRIPTION
Historical and Statistical Sketches of Lake County, State of Illinois (Waukegan, Illinois: E. G,. Howe, 1852), Google Books FREE
Our Town: The Story of the Growth and Development of a Typical American Town [Libertyville]. (Libertyville: Libertyville Lions Club, 1942), Internet Archive FREE
The Past and Present of Lake County, Illinois. Chicago: Wm. Le Baron & Co., 1877, Google Books FREE
Court
“Lake County Circuit Court Case Files Index, 1840—1898,” Illinois State Archives FREE
Lake County, Illinois Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Public Access System, 19th Judicial Court of Lake County FREE
Fraternal Organizations
Grand Army of the Republic, Waukegan Post 374, 1894 flier, Internet Archive FREE
Historical Societies and Museums
Bess Bower Dunn Museum (formerly Lake County Discovery Museum) The Curt Teich Postcard Archive was transferred to the Newberry Library in Chicago.
Deerfield Area Historical Society
Ela Historical Society and Museum
Fox Lake-Grant Township Historical Society
Grayslake Historical Society and Museum
Highland Park Historical Society
Historic Millburn Community Association
Lake Bluff History Museum Includes images of postcards, photographs, and letters.
Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society The website offers transcriptions of city and telephone directories for various years from 1903–1954.
Lakes Region Historical Society Northern Lake County and Antioch
Libertyville-Mundelein Historical Society
Warren Township Historical Society
Wauconda Township Historical Society
History
Lake County, Illinois History (Blog) FREE
Illinois Digital Archives, Secretary of State FREE
Illinois State Archive Website, Illinois State Archives FREE
Maps
Lake County Maps and Aerial Photos, Lake County GIS/Mapping Division:
- 1840 Federal Township Plats,
- 1861, 1873, 1885, 1907 atlases,
- 1939, 1946, 1961, 1974, 1980, 1993, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 Aerials (some infrared),
- 1960, 1972, 1993, USGS Quadrangle maps (topographic),
- others, FREE as a pdf or a download. [To see a list of images, click the Basemap Gallery Icon, which looks like four squares.]
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Library of Congress website:
- Antioch, Sep 1915
- Deerfield, May 1929
- Deerfield, May 1935
- Deerfield, May 1935-May 1941
- Grayslake, Jan 1934
- Highland Park, Apr 1900
- Highland Park, Aug 1907
- Highland Park, Oct 1912
- Highland Park, Sep 1918
- Highland Park, Dec 1924
- Lake Bluff, Nov 1928
- Lake Bluff, Jan 1937
- Lake Bluff, Jan 1937-Mar 1944
- Lake Forest, Nov 1904
- Lake Forest, Aug 1909
- Lake Forest, May 1917
- Lake Forest, Nov 1926
- Libertyville, Jul 1897
- Libertyville, Aug 1907
- Libertyville, Oct 1912
- Libertyville, Oct 1924
- Libertyville, Dec 1933
- Libertyville, Dec 1933-Jan 1948
- Waukegan, Oct 1885
- Waukegan, Aug 1890
- Waukegan, Jun 1892
- Waukegan, Jan 1894
- Waukegan, Apr 1900
- Waukegan, Jan 1906
- Waukegan, Feb 1912
- Waukegan, Apr 1917
- Waukegan, Jun 1924
- Zion, Jul 1907 Catalog Entry
- Zion, Dec 1911 Catalog Entry
- Zion, Jan 1918 Catalog Entry
Naturalizations
Lake County’s naturalization books (1856-1987) were taken by the state archives. The archives will keep the original books, but give the circuit clerk’s office images of them at an unknown point in time. It is not clear when the state will create the images of the records. So, at present, the circuit clerk’s office is unable to process any requests for naturalization records. The Lake County IL Genealogical Society’s index of naturalization records (1864-1920) and complimentary volumes are presently the only naturalization materials accessible to the public.
FamilySearch has started putting images of Northern District Petitions for Naturalization, 1906—1994, online. These are browse only and not yet complete. FREE
Newspapers
The Antioch News, 1888-1988, Old Fulton NY Postcards. To see a list of newspapers on the site select the FAQ Help Index. If you click “Download This Index” (on the upper right) the index downloads as a spreadsheet and is easier to review. FREE
Antioch News, various issues; Internet Archive, also see Antioch News FREE
Antioch Review, 1998-2011, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Barrington Courier-Review, 1890–1903 (various) Barrington Area Library FREE
Barrington Courier-Review, 1996-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Cook County Herald (Arlington Heights, Ill.), 1902, 1904-1910, 1919-1921, 1923, 1928-1930, 1934-1946, 1949, 1952-1954, 1959-1961, 1965-1966, [each year is not complete], Ancestry.com SUBSCRIPTION
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Ill.), 1995-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Deerfield Review, 1997-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Grayslake Review, 1997-2011, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Great Lakes Bulletin, 30 March 1918 – 1 October 1919 (392 issues), Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections FREE
Gurnee Review, 1997-2011, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Herald (Arlington Heights, Ill.), 1902-1910, 1919-1923, 1928-1946, 1949, 1952-1978, [each year is not complete], Ancestry.com SUBSCRIPTION
Highland Park News, 1997-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Highland Park Newspaper Index, 1874-2010 Online at the Highland Park Public Library’s website. FREE index, research fee for articles ordered.
Lake County News-Sun (Waukegan), 1997-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Lake County Suburban Life (Grayslake, Ill.), 2008-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Lake Forester, 1997-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Lake Villa Review, 1997-2011, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Lake Zurich Courier, 1997-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
The Lake Zurich News, 1911, 1914, 1918, 1920, incomplete years, Wauconda Historical Society FREE
Libertyville Review, 1997-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Lincolnshire Review, 2000-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Mundelein Newspaper Indexes, 1999–2007, includes Grayslake Journal 2007–2008 Fremont Public Library FREE
Mundelein Review, 1997-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Vernon Hills Review, 1997-current, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Wauconda Courier, 2004-2008, recent obituaries, Genealogybank SUBSCRIPTION
Wauconda Leader, 1897, 1898, 1903, 1904, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1914, 1917-1920, 1923, 1924-1935, 1937-1947, 1949-1951, 1953-1969, some years incomplete, Wauconda Historical Society FREE
The Leader, 1900, four issues, Wauconda Historical Society FREE
The Star, 1888, one issue, Wauconda Historical Society FREE
The Wauconda Torpedo, 1890, one issue, Wauconda Historical Society FREE
The Village Star, Wauconda, 1997-2001, Wauconda village newsletter, Wauconda Historical Society FREE
Waukegan Public Library, Genealogy and Local History FREE
The Zion Banner, 22 May 1901 – 30 June 1903 (134 issues), Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections FREE
The Zion City Independent, 3 June 1910 – 22 June 1917 (342 issues), Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections FREE
The Zion Herald, 8 May 1907 – 29 June 1910 (145 issues), Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections FREE
Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections FREE
“Newspapers on Microfilm,” Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum FREE
Various Resources
Lake County materials on Internet Archive FREE
Yearbooks
Keel, Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Company 569, 1960 Internet Archive FREE
Keel, Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Company 313, 1961 Internet Archive FREE
Keel, Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Company 179, 1962 Internet Archive FREE
Keel, Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Company 5933, 1963 Internet Archive FREE
I want to know if there is a fee for requesting an obit from Waukegan public library. Everytime I click on their site, a security risk warning comes up. Can you answer my question? I want an obit for Richard H. Ostrander born May 20, 1902 Decatur, IL and died Sept. 5, 1936 Waukegan, IL. Thank-you.
I do not know if the library charges a fee. I suggest calling them to see, or contacting the Lake County (IL) Genealogical Society, as they have an obituary file.