For other cemetery indexes, search the subjects Registers of births, etc.--[state name] and Cemeteries--[state name] in the computer catalog.


Federal censuses, taken every ten years, often provide valuable name and location information for researchers.

Gail Borden Public Library owns microfilm of all Kane County census schedules from 1840 through 1880 and 1900 through 1930 (most of the 1890 census was destroyed by fire in the 1920's).

1920 census microfilm for all Illinois counties and for a few other counties for other census years is also available.

Print indexes to some or all of Illinois and some other states can be found by searching the subjects [state name]--Census and [county name] County--Census in the computer catalog.


Microfilm of extant Elgin newspapers from 1845 to the present is available in the microfilm area.
A card index of births, marriages, and deaths mentioned in these newspapers between 1845 and 1914 is located in the genealogy area.


A card index to the Watch Word, the in-house newsletter of the Elgin National Watch Company,
is located in the genealogy area.

The Watch Word was published from 1921 through 1956, except for 1933 through early 1935. The Watch Word microfilms are located in the microfilm area.

The Elgin National Watch Company was Elgin's primary employer for nearly a century, and thousands of Elginites were employed there from 1865 into the 1960's.