If your ancestors lived in Rock Island County between about 1850 and 1906 the Genealogical Abstracts for Rock Island County Illinois Newspapers is a great place to find information about their lives.
In the early 1970’s, Janet K. Pease, a charter member the Rock Island County Illinois Genealogical Society, realized that newspapers were an important source for genealogical research. Not only did they record vital statistics such as births, marriages, and deaths, but old newspapers included additional family information that could help add color to the lives of our ancestors.
Janet embarked on a lifelong project to find the early newspapers of Rock Island County and to painstakingly write abstracts of items of genealogical interest. She published this information in 43 volumes that are being added one volume each month to our RICIGS Website in the Members Only area. She is still at work on this project and so there will be more volumes to come.
A name index is provided in each volume making it easy to find your ancestor. Each abstract lists the newspaper and date where the news item appeared and with so many newspapers online you can check to see if the full article contains additional information.
The “Pease Abstracts” is where I first found that my 3rd great grandmother inherited a large sum of money and that was why she traveled back to England and spent several years there. And a story on my 2nd great grandfather’s peach crop gave a new perspective to life on the family farm.
Don’t overlook this important source of information on your Rock Island County ancestor! If you are not a member of RICIGS, these volumes are available for purchase in our Website Shop.
