Research Resources

We have a wide variety of resources available in the Library.
Listed below are just a few:

Surnames Files: Check these files to see if your family has been researched and is in a published or unpublished genealogy, or one of our Edgar County Databases.
Obituaries and Death Records: ECGS & GL have collected Obits from Paris, IL Beacon-News, etc since 1985, with random obits from 1920. Some deaths December 1877 through 1925, with full-name indices by Linda Cary and Shirley Bishop.
Cemetery Locations & Records: Designated by ECGS members, with "911" county map avvailable.; Tombstone or burial records for over 150 cemeteries in the county now available, with updating in progress.
Military Records: Revolutionary War; War of 1812; Black Hawk; Mexican, Civil & Spanish-American Wars; WWI & WWII; Korea; Vietnam; Desert Storm; Illinois Adjutant General Reports with separate indicies (compiled by ECGL Volunteer Librarian Fred Delap).
Chronology of Edgar County: 1809 - part of Illinois Territory; 1816 - part of Crawford County; 1819 - part of Clark County; 1823 - Edgar County organized; 1826 - Vermilion County split off; 1830 - Coles County split off; Records for all of above in ECGL, plus others for Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Etc.
Microfilm Collection: Edgar County Births & Deaths (Dec 1877 - ca.1900); Edgar County Marriages 1823 - 1914; Edgar County Census Records 1820 - 1930; Illinois Public Domain Lands; IL State Marriage Index (complete, partial listings/82 counties pre 1818-ca.1900)
On The Bookshelf: Edgar County Vital Records; Cemetery Records; County & Township Histories; City & County Directories; School Yearbooks; Early Church Records; Genealogies of local families; Bible Records; Many other records for states of origin for local pioneers
Computer Tools: Lineage-linked Edgar County Families Database 1823-1920; Family Search; Social Security Death Index; International Genealogocal Index (IGI) and Ancestry Files from Salt Lake City, UT
Other Tools: Surname and Locality Card Catalogs; Vertical Files; Computer printouts from local databases