It’s the time of year that all Illinois genealogists look forward to: TryIt! Illinois time. Thanks to the Illinois State Library, we have free access for two months to hundreds of subscription databases above and beyond the ones available to Cook Memorial card holders. The initiative called TryIt! Illinois extends only until the the end…
Yippee! We will be able to continue accessing Ancestry Library Edition (ALE), our premier genealogy database, from home through December 31, 2020. ProQuest, the company that provides ALE to Cook Library, has graciously extended home access to Cook card holders through the end of the year. In the past, ALE was only available at the…
Most immigrants to America came through New York City, either at Castle Garden or Ellis Island. But New York isn’t the only port on our coast, nor were Castle Garden and Ellis Island the only places for immigrants to land. Port cities line up and down the east coast, and on the west coast as…
Today Ellis Island is a beautifully kept 27-acre island in the Upper Bay of the Hudson River, home to a museum that tells the story of immigration to America. But Ellis Island started out as a 3-acre mound of land peeking above the water level, home to sea gulls, oysters and not much else. Ellis…
June 5’s Genealogy Networking Group brought us together again (virtually) to share sources, ideas, and experiences. MyHeritage popped up in a couple of different conversations. We were reminded that they are offering a different record group–free–every day during the month of June. Take a look at the schedule and don’t miss the opportunity to search…
Shelf Life 