Genealogy & Local History

Genealogy Online Resources

Naperville Public Library has great online resources to help you with your research. These resources are free to use - just log in with your Naperville Public Library card number.

		Tutorial
America’s Genealogy Bank	Explore genealogical records from 1690 to 1994, including obituaries, marriage notices, birth... more
Ancestry - Library Edition	More than 3,000 databases and census records with more than 1 billion names.
Black Life in America	The experience and impact of African Americans as recorded by the news media, 1704 to today.
Chicago Tribune (1985 – current)	Text only
Chicago Tribune Historical (1849 – 2011)	Page images available
Encyclopedia of Chicago	Articles, maps, and special features from the Chicago History Museum, Newberry Library, and... more
FamilySearch	(Affiliate Library Access is In-Library Use Only) Search over two billion genealogical images and... more
Fold3	Fold3 Library Edition provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories,... more
Gale eBooks	The full-text of many literature reference books can be found here including Drama for Students,... more
Gale Power Search	Time saving tool that cross-searches our Gale resources.
Heritage Hub (formerly America’s Obituaries & Death Notices)	Full-text obituaries and death notices by name, date, or keyword.
Naperville Heritage Digital Collection	Full-text information about Naperville's history from primary source materials. Annotated list.
Naperville Heritage Film Collection	These films about Naperville's history can be viewed in their entirety online, for free. Many... more
Naperville Sun	Full text of the Naperville newspaper back to 1997.
Naperville Sun Index	The Naperville Sun Index database contains more than 35,000 citations to major articles appearing... more
Salem Press History	Salem History is an online database that covers American history, ancient history, and major... more

Local History Resources

Naperville Digital Heritage Collection

Online collection contains over 300 fully digitized books and images relating to Naperville and DuPage county history.

Naperville Heritage Film Collection

Online film collection lets you view films about Naperville's history in their entirety, for free.

1886 Naperville Business map

Map shows historical businesses in downtown Naperville, as listed in Holland's Business Directory from 1886. The text for each entry was taken from the business's ad, or the profession index, if there was no ad. Locations are approximate, based on the location stated in the ad.

Genealogy Assistance

Connect with a volunteer from the Fox Valley Genealogical Society in person or via Zoom to get started on a genealogy project, or complete a family history challenge. Contact smcquaid@naperville-lib.org to make an appointment.

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