Using the Family History Library Record Lookup Service

Have you heard about the Family History Library Record Lookup Service? It's a very convenient way to obtain digital copies of Chicago vital records.

If you're familiar with FamilySearch's Cook County indexes, skip to the bottom of this post to find out how to use the lookup service to get copies of the records. If you're not, skim the quick tutorial on finding index entries, and then continue on to learn how to get the corresponding images.

Start by searching a FamilySearch index like the ones linked below.

• Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915
• Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949
• Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1968
• Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1871-1998

Using a death certificate search for Marcia Mahala Smith as an example, search the Cook County death index. The two matches are shown in the image below.

Click on Marcia's name to open a new window on the right of the screen.

Click on "view record" moves to a new screen.

"Image unavailable" means the certificate can't be viewed on FamilySearch from a home computer because of copyright restrictions, but don't stop there.The arrow circled in red is the key to obtaining a digital copy of the certificate. Click on the it to find the digital folder number and the image number--the key pieces of information needed to retrieve the certificate image.

If you can visit a local family history center, an affiliate library, or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, you will have an option to view and download the certificate. But, if you can't, the Family History Library Lookup Service is a great alternative. Simply fill out the form using information from the FamilySearch index page, submit, and watch your email inbox for a digital copy of the record.

Everything you need to know about using the service is available on the page linked above, but, in a nutshell, you can request up to ten records per week and experience tells me the images usually arrive in a few days, but sometimes it takes longer. All of the early Cook County vital records that appear in the indexes should be available, but it's possible some of the later ones might not be. (If a record can't be shared, the volunteers will let you know.)

Have a Horrible Copy of a Chicago Vital Record from Microfilm? Try Again Online!

Back in the day, before many Chicago vital records were made available in digital format on FamilySearch,  I retrieved hundreds--maybe even thousands--of Chicago birth, marriage, and death records from microfilm.

Here's one of the records I printed long ago. I was really good at tweaking the settings and, I promise you, this is absolutely the best I could do.

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, death certificate no. 17017 (21 March 1908), Charles B. Smith; FHL microfilm 1239777; Wilmette Family History Center, Wilmette, Illinois.

I don't remember why, but not too long ago I decided to look for the same record on FamilySearch and this is the image that I found:

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, death certificate no. 17087 (21 March 1908), Charles B. Smith; digital image, "Chicago death certificates, 1878-1915," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/42925 : accessed 12 March 2019) > microfilm 1239777, digital folder 4004622 > image 841.

Comparing both images, it appears that they are of the same certificate. I'm thinking three things:

1) The online certificate image was created from the original, not from the microfilm. I talked with the FamilySearch folks who were digitizing records in the Cook County Clerk's office some years back and I remember them telling me they were working with some records that had already been microfilmed.

2) Just because a film number appears in the FamilySearch index entry doesn't mean the published image came from the film.

3) This is probably something that's unique to Chicago records and very few others.

So, for what it's worth, if, by chance, you have a hard-to-read printout or digital image that was made from FamilySearch microfilm, it might be worth checking online to see if you can now get a better copy.

Newly Available: Chicago Death Registers, 1871-1879

I woke up thinking it would be a good day to work on updating chicagogenealogy.com. I ate a pink-frosting-covered sugar cookie that I got on sale at the grocery store yesterday, went to work on the tutorial page for finding death records, and was like, "Wow. Wow! WOW!"

I don't know when it happened, and maybe this is old news, but Chicago death registers, 8 October 1871 to 29 February 1879, are now available for viewing on FamilySearch under the title Illinois, Cook County, Chicago, death registers, 1871-1879.

For years, I've been saying "they must have death registers" but I'd never seen one. I'd just seen evidence of their existence.

Remember the Indexes to deaths in the city of Chicago during the years 1871 to 1933 : showing name, address and date of death? Here’s the index entry for James A. Smith who died in 1875. The “D” refers to a death register, the “120” is the page number, and the “13” is the line number.

“Indexes to deaths in the city of Chicago during the years 1871 to 1933 : showing name, address and date of death,” digital image,FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/293534 : accessed 6 March 2019) 
> digital folder 4261177 > image 263, entry for James A. Smith, 1875.

Up until now, the only way to get the matching record was to write the Cook County Clerk’s Office. I did that some years ago and this is the document I received:

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, death registration no. D-120-13 (1875), James A. Smith; Cook County Clerk’s Office, Chicago.

It was great to have the information but it was clearly a derivative record. I knew it had to have been copied from a death register–that was the only logical explanation–and I longed to see the record the information was copied from.

Well, this morning, that dream came true. I discovered the record images are now online and knowing that I could only access them from a Family History Center or an affiliate library, I took a quick shower, dropped my husband at work, and headed to the Orange County FamilySearch Library.

Here’s the matching register entry:

Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, “Deaths 4, Jan. 1, 1875 to May 31, 1876,” p. 120, line 13, James A. Smith (1875); digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYX-R311-K?i=122&cat=3157227 : accessed 7 March 2019).

I believe this is actually a derivative record, too–it was likely created by copying information from certificates into the book as that’s the way the Chicago birth registers were created–but it’s one generation closer to the original.

And why is this so exciting? Because it means researchers can now access information about early post-Fire Chicago deaths without needing to rely on the Clerk’s office for help.

If you can’t get to a Family History Center to access the index and the register pages, I can search for you. Just send me a project request through my profile on Genlighten.com.

And, please post a comment to let me know if this post was of help to you in your research. I'd love to hear from  you.

One Person, Two Death Records

This is one of those not-sure-what-it's-worth-but-it's-fun-to-ponder posts.

I was searching for a death record online at FamilySearch.org's Record Search and I happened on two death records for the same individual.

WACHOWSKI, ADAM 1908-07-16 CHICAGO 06 MO U 00019664

I wasn't surprised. I knew that from 1908-1915 there are two sets of records for Chicago--but I had never really compared certificates from both sets before.



I believe the first record, the one with hurried handwriting stamped with numbers and a date, is the original, and the handwritten number in the top right corner is the certificate number--the one you find in the online index--and that's how those records are arranged.



I think the second record is a copy of the original probably made at the Cook County Clerk's Office. Notice that it has a different number in the top right corner--a register number--and that's the way those certificates are organized.

Things to notice . . .

The original certificate has the register number written on it in two places. The two records are connected.

The information on both records seems to be exactly the same.

The original record seems to have been torn from a book of records. The duplicate seems to be part of a book.

Things to wonder . . .

What does the number "33717" on the original certificate mean?

What does "See Book of Corrections Letter W Page 364 Line 17 (Bessie Wachowski)" mean? On later records I've seen certificates of correction. What is it about this record that's wrong? Or do these records reflect a correction? Is information from the Book of Corrections available from the county clerk's office?

Was Bessie Adam's mother?

The cause of death has the number "105" written next to it. Was that a code for "gastroenteritis" and/or "malnutrition?" I think the answer to that is yes--gastroenteritis. Take a look at a record with the same cause of death and same code. And notice that the cause of death code doesn't appear on the copied record. Who put that code on? Who kept track of that information? What was done with it?



What discoveries have you made about the death records at FamilySearch's Record Search? Feel free to post a comment and share.

Finding Chicago Death Records that "Aren't On" FamilySearch: Indirect Approach

I recently received a request for help in finding a death certificate for William J. Quinn. It doesn't come up easily in search results at FamilySearch's Record Search even though it's there.

QUINN, WILLIAM J 1892-01-21 CHICAGO 04 MO U 00014953 COOK

Here's how I found it:

I checked the Cook County Coroner's Inquest Index. If the name was there, William would have had a coroner's death certificate (different from the inquest) and I don't think those records are online. Searching "Quinn" and scanning for the death date, I didn't find a match.

Next I used Stephen Morse's One Step access to the Illinois Statewide Death Index to find "Q" deaths for January 1892. (The certificate numbers for Chicago death records before 1916 group the records together by first letter of surname within each month.)

I found a number of possibilities and so I chose the one that I though had the best chance of being indexed correctly: Charles Quinlin.

QUINLIN, CHARLES 1892-01-26 CHICAGO 11 MO U 00014952
QUEHL, INGER L 1892-01-16 CHICAGO 75 YR U 00014955
QIANI, CAROLINA 1892-01-08 CHICAGO 06 MO U 00014957

I searched Record Search for "Charles Quinlin" and narrowed the results to Cook County death certificates by clicking on the "Collection" link at the top of the page.

In this case, Charles' record came up easily and it happened to be one certificate away from the one I was looking for. I clicked to move one record forward and discovered that was #14951 and I was looking for #14953. I moved one record the other direction and located the record for William J. Quinn.

Looking at the record, I could see where an inexperienced indexer might read the surname as "Luinn" so I searched for that. No luck. So I tried Tuinn. No luck. So I searched William J. and found 151 close matches but no luck. So I tried Nilliam. And then I decided that it wasn't all that important for me to figure out how the record was indexed. My goal was to find the record and I did.

So, the short of it is this: if you don't find an early Chicago death record on Record Search, check the inquest index. If the name isn't there, locate the index entry in the Illinois Statewide Death Index. Then use Stephen Morse's One Step to find certificates beginning with the same surname letter for the same month and year. Search for nearby certificates, then once you're in the database, page through looking for the correct number.

If the name is on the coroner's inquest index or if you find a gap in numbers where the certificate should be, you are welcome to email me for help.