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
American History Online	Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history to cover the... more
America's Obituaries & Death Notices	Full-text obituaries and death notices by name, date, or keyword.
Ancestry - Library Edition	(In-Library Use Only) More than 3,000 databases and census records with more than 1 billion names.
Annals of American History	Primary sources including speeches and eyewitness accounts of important historical events organized... more
Chicago Tribune Historical Archive	Access to full page and article images with searchable full text from 1849 to 1989.
Chicago Tribune Online	Full-text newspaper content, including obituaries and death notices, dating back to 1987.
Encyclopedia of Chicago	Articles, maps, and special features from the Chicago History Museum, Newberry Library, and... more
Fold3	Fold3 Library Edition provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories,... more
Gale Power Search	Time saving tool that cross-searches our Gale resources.
Gale Virtual Reference Library	The full-text of many literature reference books can be found here including Drama for Students,... more
Heritage Quest	Genealogy warehouse with U.S. Census data from 1790-1930, family and local histories, Revolutionary... more
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.
Salem Press History	Salem History is an online database that covers American history, ancient history, and major... more
World Book Student	The World Book Encyclopedia, plus current news articles, primary source material, and a Spanish... more
World Book Timelines	Browse World Book's timelines by category. Create your own timeline by searching the World... 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.

Drop-In Help

Genealogy Drop-In Help is offered on a repeating basis. Check our calendar for the next date.

A volunteer from the Fox Valley Genealogical Society will be available in the adult services department to help any interested individuals who wish to obtain assistance either to get started on a genealogy project or to complete difficult genealogical research challenges.

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