Henderson County Genealogy and Family History Society
The Henderson County Genealogy and Family History Society was formed in 2003 by a dedicated group of local family history enthusiasts. The society’s goals include helping those with Henderson County roots to trace their heritage, as well as to preserve the genealogy and historical records of the county.
We meet on the third Thursday of February, April, June, August and October at 7:00 p.m. at the Henderson County Public Library. The library is located on the southern edge of Biggsville (off the junction of US Route 34 and IL Route 94). An informative program usually precedes the regular business meeting. We invite all persons who have an interest in genealogy, especially in Henderson County, to attend our meetings and to join our society.
Newsletter - Spring, 2024
Newsletter - Summer, 2024
Newsletter - Fall, 2024
Newsletter - Winter, 2024-2025
Membership
Membership entitles you to the opportunity to listen and interact with informative speakers at our monthly meetings, issues of the society’s newsletters and unlimited, free queries in the newsletters. Dues are payable January 1st of each year and are as follows:
Membership Type | Dues |
---|---|
Individual | $12.00 |
Family | $18.00 |
Lifetime Member | $100.00 |
Student (Under age 23) | $4.00 |
Corporate | $25.00 |
Research
The society’s research committee will perform research at a rate of $10 per hour, plus the cost of copies and postage. Research sources include county census records, cemetery records, 1882 & 1911 biographical and county history books, donated family books and files, and newspapers on microfilm. We also have area high school annuals - now available on PDF (see below), and files on the old one room schools. We will search records at the courthouse in Oquawka. Some of those records are already on-line for your use.
Please provide us with a thorough description of your subject and the sources you wish to have searched. Advise us how many hours and/or the maximum amount of money you wish to invest in this search. We require that a $10 advance be included with your request to initiate the search. You will be billed for the remainder of the costs upon completion of the project.
You are welcome to come to the Library to conduct your own research.
Newspapers.com Archive
Our new online resource aims to preserve the county's local newspapers dating back to the 19th century. We also hope to improve accessibility to our newspapers for library patrons and those who no longer live in the county.
Free when using library computers.
This is a work in progress.
Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections
The Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections are free to search, free to browse, and free to download.
There are five collections on this site:
· Illinois Newspapers
· Farm, Field and Fireside (farm newspapers)
· American Popular Entertainment (vaudeville newspapers)
· Collegiate Chronicle (student newspapers)
· Black Newspapers
These collections contain 258,810 issues from 251 newspapers