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.

Using Birth Registers to Search for Birth Certificates Not Coming Up on FamilySearch

I’ve had a number of researchers tell me, “I can’t find a birth certificate for that person on FamilySearch’s Record Search. It must not be online yet . . . “

I’m going to stick my neck out here. I suspect (but don’t know for certain) that the birth certificates available on FamilySearch now include all of the Chicago records that were available when the records were microfilmed.

My guess is that if a researcher can’t find a birth record online, it’s for one of two reasons:

1) The birth wasn’t reported so there’s no birth certificate to be found.

2) The name is misspelled in the index.

One of the best ways to check for both possibilities up through 1915 is to use the Chicago birth registers which are also online.

A little bit of background. It seems reasonable to me that the birth registers were created to log birth certificates that were returned to the county. The entries in all but the earliest books group names together by the first letter of the surname for each month. For example, all the “G” entries for April 1901 would be together, followed by all the “G” entries for May 1901, etc. The entries aren’t alphabetical. They’re in certificate number order which makes me think that the numbers were assigned as the records were recorded in the books.

So, because of the arrangement, it’s possible to use the registers as an alternate index if you know the month and year of birth or if you have a good deal of patience . . . .

Here’s how to do this at FamilySearch using an example of an “S” birth from January 1891:

1) Navigate to the search page for “Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915.



2) Type a common name with the same letter of the name you’re looking for in the surname box and type the year of birth in the year ranges boxes. In this case, I'm looking for an "S" birth, so I’ll use “Smith." For surnames beginning with other letters, you may have to try a few different names to be able to find a register in the ballpark of the month/year/name you're looking for.

3) Browse to find a birth from the same month you’re looking for. In this case, “Henry Smith” born January 1891 will work.



4) Click on the name, then click on the small thumbnail in the upper right-hand corner to view the register image.



5) Use the arrow buttons to navigate back to the beginning of the “S” section for January 1891. The month is usually on top of the left-hand page; the year is on top of the right-hand page. Each page has fifty entries and in my experience, even common letters of the alphabet have just a few pages to check.

6) View each register page looking for a match. I often look at the surname, the birth date, the mother’s name, and/or the father’s name.

A few tips on using the birth registers:

1) The catalog entries in the Family History Library Catalog can help you figure out the arrangement of the register entries. For example, in this case, the December 1890 “S” births came just before the January 1891 S” births. For some years, they might be in different books.

2) The register entries cross two pages.

3) For some of the later years, you might find stillbirths or infants who died soon after birth listed at the end of each section.

4) If you find a matching register entry, there should be a matching birth certificate and if you’re using film, you can use the register number to find the certificate. Most certificate numbers have five digits but you might see just two by the names on the page. Look at the very top line to find the other digits.

5) If you find a matching entry and want to locate the corresponding record on FamilySearch but haven't been able to pull it up there before searching the name, try searching for other names on the register page. If you can find a close certificate, you should be able to easily navigate to the right one.

If the birth certificates were assigned numbers when they were entered in to the registers then I think it’s unlikely that many were missed. If a certificate didn’t have a number, it couldn’t be filed away. And as long as a birth was recorded under the proper first letter, then it should be possible to pick out a match in the register even if the name is badly misspelled. Based on these two assumptions, if you don’t find a matching entry in the birth register, then it’s very likely there is no birth certificate to be found on FamilySearch.

If that turns out to be the case, there are a number of things you can do. Here are some ideas:

1) Look for a delayed birth certificate
2) Look for a baptismal record
3) Look for a Social Security application
4) Check for a passport application
5) Check for a school record

Chicago Telephone Books, 1878-1971

This morning my husband and I drove down to the Harold Washington Library at 400 S. State in Chicago so I could explore the resources available at the library for Chicago research—specifically telephone books and newspapers other than the Chicago Tribune. There was a public parking lot just around the corner from the library and the all-day weekend fee was $10.00. Not bad. (During the week parking would cost about $21 but it's easy and inexpensive to get to the library by public transportation, too.)

This blog post will focus on telephone books. The first Chicago telephone book appears to be The Telephone Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, published in October 1878. (For a short history of the telephone in Chicago see FundingUniverse.com's page for Illinois Bell Telephone.) The first book includes information about the telephone service along with a three-page “List of Subscribers”--names of businesses and a few individuals along with an address and numbers for “wire” and “call.” It also includes a three-page “Business Directory” which lists establishments by category much like a modern yellow pages.

Curious to know if your ancestor was an early adopter? Check the three subscriber pages linked from the top of this post. The printouts weren't the best, but the images should be readable. Make sure to check out the instructions for how to make a call on the top of page one. Reading them made me grateful for my cell phone.

As you'd expect, the number of subscribers increased year by year and the later books include many more personal names than the earlier volumes. I didn’t explore in detail, but it appears, at quick glance, that the books mostly include heads of household much like the city directories do.

So how useful would the telephone books be for genealogical research? I'd be curious to hear your experiences using them. But in the meantime, here's my quick take:

If you're researching the early years when city directories are available, I think they're the first-choice resource. A quick comparison of an 1886 city directory and telephone book makes that pretty clear.

Telephone Book: 7071 Skinkle, J. W. residence 543 W Monroe

City Directory: Skinkle, Jacob W. pres. Beck & Hopkins' mnfg. co. 390 Carroll av h. 543 W. Monroe

But, if you're researching a family in the gaps between city directory years (1918-1922, 1924-1927, and after 1928) and need to know an address or establish that they were living in the city, the telephone books might be useful.

Unfortunately, the later directories have tiny print and I found the one film I checked (from the 1930s) challenging to read. I don't think I could have gotten a good printout of it but I could have read it well enough to make a careful transcription to go along with a paper copy.

I'm planning to offer lookups in the Chicago telephone books in the near future. I don't expect to get many requests, but I think the research might occasionally be helpful.

So, where was Albert S. Bowman in 1900?

A Little Holiday Fun:

A one pound box of Fannie May chocolates to the first person to find a particularly elusive Albert S. Bowman in the 1900 census for me. The images below show Albert with his family in 1880 and as a single man (I'm pretty sure this is the right person) in 1910. An 1897 city directory shows him living at 224 N 8th in Philadelphia.

Additional Information:

He doesn't seem to appear in the 1900 Philadelphia directory unless he had temporarily changed occupations.

He may have also gone by A. S. Bowman. I don't know what the "S" stands for.

Important Rule for the Challenge:

I have done quite a bit of online research on Albert and his family and there is no need to spend time looking for any other census records or related documents unless they will help you in your search. No reward for anything other than the 1900 census page.

The Fine Print:

I have no idea whether or not Albert appears in the 1900 census, although he should be there, right? If no one is successful with the search, I reserve the right to eat the box of chocolates myself.

Ready, set ...

Okay, remember--the first person to post a comment that leads me to the census image wins. (Once you have it, just tell me enough that I can find it on Ancestry or Heritage Quest or FamilySearch.) And if you have any questions, just post them for my reply.

... go!

Introducing Genlighten.com

As many of you know, Dean and I have been working on launching Genlighten.com for a couple of years and we now have a slide show online which explains what we're up to! Please take a look. Cynthia

Introducing Genlighten.com

View more presentations from Genlighten.com.

The "Burial Permit Index"

What should we call this index?

If you search the Family History Library Catalog at FamilySearch.org you will find a resource listed under “Illinois, Cook, Chicago - Vital records – Indexes” called "Indexes to deaths in the city of Chicago during the years 1871 to 1933 : showing name, address and date of death" created by the Chicago Board of Health. It’s a very long, descriptive title, but it’s somewhat misleading.

It’s true that most of the people listed in this index died in Chicago, but the index also includes people who died outside the city. And, in fact, a note in the catalog says, “These indexes are believed to be for burial permits, the actual deaths having occurred both in and outside the city of Chicago, often times out of state.” That’s probably why some researchers call it the “Burial Permit Index,” but that’s misleading, too. As far as I’ve been able to determine, the numbers given in the index don’t lead to burial permits; they lead to death certificates and/or death register entries.

For lack of a better title, I often refer to the index as the “Chicago Death Index, 1871-1933” (CDI) as a short way of distinguishing it from the Illinois Statewide Death Index online.

What’s the index like?

The CDI is arranged alphabetically by surname, then given name, then death date. For example, a John Smith who died in 1888 will appear before a John Smith who died in 1902 and both will appear before a John C. Smith who died in 1872. Each entry includes a name, a place of death, a death date and a few codes and numbers which I’ll talk about later.

What makes this index useful?

I’ll list a few answers to this question and then illustrate the points with a case study from the lookups that I did today.

· The index includes deaths between 1871 and 1878 that aren’t in the online index. If you find an early entry here, you can be pretty sure that the county clerk’s office will be able to provide you with a transcription of the record if you send in a $15 request.

· The index lists place of death. If the death was in Chicago, you’ll see a street address. This can be very useful if you’re trying to figure out when someone with a common name died if you have a last-known address from a directory or census or other source. If the death was somewhere else, you’ll see a city and state. Sometimes people who are buried in Chicago aren’t in the online index because they died some place else—like Michigan. A quick check of the CDI can sometimes save a lot of time and frustration trying to pull an index entry out of the online index when it just isn’t there. Out-of-town death records for 1909-1915 are available on FHL microfilm. In most cases, though, I think it's best to try to get a copy of the original death record from the place where the person died.

· The index lists stillbirths for some years. (I haven’t focused on these entries and so I’m not able to provide additional information about what years are covered or how to find the corresponding records. There are some stillbirths listed with the Illinois Statewide Death Certificates, though.)

· Sometimes names are spelled differently in this index than they are in the online index.

· Sometimes a year is wrong in the online index. Cross-checking with this index can help you figure out where to look for the death record.

So what about the numbers in this index?

This index appears to provide register numbers. For deaths from 1916 forward, the register number is the same as the certificate number from the online index and you can use it to locate the actual record on FHL microfilm.

For deaths between 1878 and 1915 the register number is different from the certificate number and it can’t be used (directly) to find a death certificate on FHL microfilm. However, if a name is in the index, it’s very likely that there is a corresponding index entry in the online index and it’s worth digging for it using Stephen Morse’s One Step access if it doesn’t pop up immediately.

For deaths between 1908 and 1915, there is a small subset if FHL microfilms arranged by register number as well as an overlapping set arranged by certificate number. The numbers from the CDI can be used to find records on the register number films. (It’s not obvious from the FHLC which films these are; it’s best to use my key which is available on the Wilmette FHC website.)

So, how about a case study?

Today I was looking for three deaths from the 1890s, none of which seemed to appear in the online index. (I'm going to change the name to Smith but the details remain the same.)

Minnie Smith 9/16/1893
Lilly Smith 1892
August Smith 4/2/1891

Using Stephen Morse’s One Step site, I was able to find an index entry for Minnie. She was listed under “Winnie.”

SMITH, WINNIE 1893-09-16 CHICAGO 40 YRU 00001369

I then found two possible matches for Lilly:

SMITH, LILY 1892-11-15 CHICAGO 06 YRU 00001710
SMIDT, LILLIE 1892-07-01 CHICAGO 01 YR U 00000804

In the CDI, one of the two was listed with the same address of death as Minnie—most likely the record the client was searching for.

August was a bit more difficult.

I didn’t find any good matches in the online index for him but searching the CDI I found an entry for

Smith Augustus F 4 2 1892 [2 Apr 1892]

The chances of two August[us] Smiths dying on the same day and month are small and so my guess is this is the person the client was searching for even though it was off by a year. (Hopefully the client will be able to tell based on address, occupation, birth place, length of time in Chicago, etc.)

I went back to the online index and was able to pull up the matching entry. It was listed under the initials G. F. but based on the address of death it was the match.

SMITH, G F 1892-04-02 CHICAGO 67 YR U 0001418

I might have stumbled on the index entry for G. F. if I had looked closely at death dates for every Smith who died between 1890 and 1892 (I often broaden the date range because sometimes dates are wrong) but the Chicago Death Index made the search much simpler.

Now the question is this: If the death certificate just has initials, where did the name listed in the CDI come from? If I figure it out one of these days, I’ll post!

Polish Newspaper (1908-1917) Dziennik Zwiazkowy Online

This evening, I was looking for online newspapers that might help me with a bit of research I'm doing on a composer by the name of A. S. Bowman (I'll blog about him soon) and I stumbled on a resource that might be of interest to those of you who have Polish ancestors in Chicago.


It looks as though the first ten years (1908-1917) of Dziennik Zwiazkowy, “Chicago’s largest and oldest Polish newspaper,” are available online for free.

The newspaper is part of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection. Other titles include Barrington Review, Southern Illinois Journal, and several newspapers from Quincy.

For online newspapers from other states, check out Penn Libraries research guide titled Historical Newspapers Online. It's the web page that led me to the Illinois newspaper page.