Illinois Weekly State Journal (Springfield, Illinois) Newspaper Archives (1831 - 1866)

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Charles H Simonson Bankruptcy Petition Notice
Notice of Bankruptcy Petition USDC District of Illinois. Petitioner lives in Dewitt County. Dated 17 Feb 1842
Illinois Weekly State Journal
Springfield, Illinois
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sethvbingham
Clipped 4 days ago

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2nd notice note William Engle
Illinois Weekly State Journal
Springfield, Illinois
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CousinCee
Clipped 10 months ago

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William Engle
Mentions George W Anterson, note and interest
Illinois Weekly State Journal
Springfield, Illinois
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CousinCee
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Jane Hall marriage June 6, 1841
Thomas Vandergrift
Illinois Weekly State Journal
Springfield, Illinois
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LindaFlesch
Clipped 1 year ago

Illinois Weekly State Journal Archive Search in Springfield, Illinois

Local newspapers are a vast source of information for family historians. If you're interested in uncovering your family history, looking through the Illinois Weekly State Journal archive in Springfield, Illinois can yield incredible results.

With historical records often being incomplete or difficult to find, uncovering those elusive ancestors can be challenging. Illinois Weekly State Journal historic newspapers are a valuable font of information.

The GenealogyBank archives contain thousands of newspaper issues across the decades. With more than 330 years of history, you can fill in the gaps in your knowledge and find the newspaper entries related to your family within Springfield, Illinois.

Just some of the reasons to begin searching through Illinois Weekly State Journal historical data include:

  • Uncover your family history.
  • Find long-forgotten ancestors.
  • Discover the riveting stories of family members who came before you.

At GenealogyBank, 95% of our newspapers can only be found through our platform. It’s one of the most comprehensive archive of Illinois Weekly State Journal historic online newspapers anywhere in the U.S.

Using our search feature, you can access the entire Illinois Weekly State Journal database in a matter of seconds.

The Value of Illinois Weekly State Journal Historical Data

Before the Internet came along, the primary vehicle for disseminating the comings and goings of any community was the newspaper. With the Illinois Weekly State Journal archive, you can climb through a window into the past.

Whether you’re looking for marriage announcements, death notices, obituaries, or feature stories about your ancestors, these archives can form a considerable part of any family history project.

So why else are these archives so valuable?

They add color to the stories of your family’s past. Official government records tend to provide the basic facts and nothing more. Newspapers tell the story of figures in the community and give you a personal account of how your ancestors lived and what they did.

Furthermore, Illinois Weekly State Journal historic newspapers may reveal through their announcements some of the relatives you didn’t know about.

Countless GenealogyBank users have discovered family members they’d never heard of through searching the Illinois Weekly State Journal database.

The historical data you uncover could form the foundation for additional research and further discovery.

How to Search the Illinois Weekly State Journal Database

At GenealogyBank, we make the process of sifting through Illinois Weekly State Journal historic online newspapers simple. It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking into your family history for the first time or whether you’re an experienced researcher.

Select your desired newspaper collection and enter the last name of the relative for which you are researching. Press the “Search” button, and you’ll receive a list of relevant records bearing your relative’s name.

Of course, this is the most basic search of Illinois Weekly State Journal historic newspapers you can make. You also need to know how to narrow down your results to ensure you have the right person.

Tens of thousands of Americans share the same name, so you need to be extremely careful not to make any mistakes.

Here’s a step-by-step guide for performing an advanced search of Springfield historic newspapers.

  • Step One - Include the first, last, and any middle names of a specific relative.
  • Step Two - Add in some keywords, such as the name of the town they lived in or the school they attended.
  • Step Three - If you need to further narrow down your results, consider excluding certain keywords, such as those of nearby towns and schools.
  • Step Four - Add in a year range to further hone in on a specific ancestor. This doesn’t have to be exact.
  • Step Five - Take advantage of filters to order results by best match, oldest, and newest. This can help you cut through any close match entries that don’t match the men and women within your family tree.

Tips for a Successful Illinois Weekly State Journal Archive Search

When dealing with common names, it can be difficult to find the right person amidst 330 years of U.S. history. Thankfully, there are multiple ways in which you can avoid adding people to your family tree who have no relation to you.

The problem lies within the way records were taken before modern recordkeeping standards were introduced. A newspaper editor likely recorded information from oral sources; therefore, they may have misspelled a name or made a blatant factual error.

Here are some more advanced tips for making sure you find the right ancestors via Illinois Weekly State Journal historical data:

  • Search for a relative by their initials. It was common practice for people to be recorded officially by the initials of their first and middle names.
  • Female relatives were often recorded via their husband’s name. Rather than searching for a female ancestor’s name, try searching for their husband’s name instead.
  • Use common misspellings. One wrong initial could mean you miss that forgotten family member.

It can be time-consuming but incredibly exciting to come across family members you’d never heard of before.

The Illinois Weekly State Journal archive can add some color to the names. Discover your story. Be amazed at what you find.