Browse By Collection Title | Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

This album contains photographs of numerous white and African American people, including several notable abolitionists, dating to the 1860s-1880s. The bulk of the photographs were created by photographers located in Quincy, Illinois, including Catherine McCormick Reed (1818-1900) (also known as Candance McCormick Reed). The compiler of this album likely resided ...

This collection contains ephemera and memorabilia related to the foundation, dedication, and opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) in Springfield, Illinois. The ALPLM began with the construction of the library building in 2001. The Presidential Library incorporated the materials of the Illinois State Historical Library, and ...

This collection consists of a circular sent by Charles Francis Adams, Ambassador of Great Britain, to Consuls and Vice-Consuls of the United States. The circular announced mourning protocols following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Charles Francis Adams (1807-1886) was the son of John Quincy Adams and grandson of John Adams. He ...

This collection contains a 1927 typescript of the Civil War diary of Jacob Adams, Private, Co. F, 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Jacob Adams was born in Hancock County, Ohio on March 30, 1842. He enlisted as a recruit to the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry in January of 1862. After the war, ...

Charles Francis Adams, raised near Urbana, Ill., entered the Illinois Industrial University (the University of Illinois) in 1876, devoting much time to taxidermy. A graduate in the Class of 1883, he traveled widely to collect specimens. This collection includes a 160-page account of his travels and work as a taxidermist, 1884-87. ...

This collection contains twelve drawings by architects Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan of their plans for the Oakland Passenger Station, an Illinois Central Railroad Company passenger station located on 39th Street, in Chicago. The plans were prepared in May 1893 to accommodate local passenger transportation to the World's Columbian Exposition. Dankmar ...

This poster, designed in conjunction with the Krannert Art Museum exhibit [i]Through the Years: African American History Comes Home[/i], illustrates the history of African American churches in Champaign County, Ill., during the twentieth century. The poster features descriptive content and illustrations related to six local churches: African M.E. Church, Morning ...

This collection consists of a cabinet card depicting an African American firefighter in uniform. The card was made by the photography business Huszagh based in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago's first Black fire department was Engine Company 21, established in 1872. Engine Company 21 was the first fire department to install a fireman’s ...

The Alayu Family collection documents the experiences of an immigrant Filipino family living in Chicago during the twentieth century. The earliest materials relate to the family's patriarch, Joaquin Alayu (1867-1947), who lived and farmed in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines, for much of his life. A diary and correspondence written in ...

According to the recollections of Charles and Robert Allen, descendants of the Allen family, two Allen brothers came to Virginia from Northern Ireland during the mid-eighteenth century. They settled for a time in Virginia, and their descendants later moved to Kentucky. Charles and Robert's grandfather, Joseph, left Kentucky and settled ...

Begun by John Y. Allison, of Kansas, Ill., who was a state senator in 1846-47, this record book was later passed to his son, James W. Allison, an ordained minister and farmer. The elder Allison, treasurer of the Kansas School District, recorded procedures for establishing a school district and building ...

Clarence W. Alvord was a member of the History Department of the University of Illinois (1901-20) and of the University of Minnesota (1920-23). He served as editor of the [i]Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library [/i](1906-20) and of [i]The Centennial History of Illinois[/i] (1917-20), and as managing editor of ...

This teacher's second grade certificate was issued to Grace J. Alward on July 25, 1898, by the superintendent of schools of Fulton County, Illinois. The certificate includes her examination scores in several subjects and also lists the number of days Alward spent at a teacher's institute and her previous teaching ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Champaign-Urbana branch of the American Association of University Women. Located in east central Illinois, the Champaign-Urbana branch promotes equity, education, and opportunities for women of all ages. Records include minutes, correspondence, scrapbooks, newsletters, and other materials. The American Association of University Women began ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Maywood-Proviso branch of the American Association of University Women. Located west of Chicago, the Maywood-Proviso branch promoted equity, education, and opportunities for women of all ages. Records include minutes, yearbooks, and scrapbooks. The American Association of University Women began in 1881 when seventeen ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Addison branch of the American Association of University Women. Located west of Chicago, the Addison branch promoted equity, education, and opportunities for women of all ages. Records include bylaws, minutes, correspondence, event calendars, and other materials. The American Association of University Women began ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Aurora branch of the American Association of University Women. Situated in the western suburbs of Chicago, the Aurora branch promotes gender equity for women of all ages through education, research, and advocacy. Records include newsletters, a newspaper clipping, and a yearbook. The American ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Charleston-Mattoon Area branch of the American Association of University Women. Located in east-central Illinois, the Charleston-Mattoon Area branch focuses on promoting education and equity for women and girls, lifelong education, and positive societal change. Records include newsletters, minutes, newspaper articles, correspondence, and ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Chicago, Inc. branch of the American Association of University Women. The Chicago, Inc. branch promotes equity, education, and opportunities for women of all ages. Records include three member directories. The American Association of University Women began in 1881 when seventeen women in Boston ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Collinsville branch of the American Association of University Women. Located northeast of St. Louis, the Collinsville branch focuses on advancing women's equality and rights through education, advocacy, and research. Records include newsletters, reports, correspondence, and other materials. The American Association of University Women ...

The associational history of college-educated women in Illinois began with the formation of the Western Association of Collegiate Alumnae in 1883. This Chicago organization was modeled on the Boston-based Association of Collegiate Alumnae, chartered in 1881. These two groups, which merged in 1889, joined with the Southern Association of College ...

This collection is comprised of records from the North Shore branch of the American Association of University Women. Centered in the northern suburbs of Chicago, the North Shore branch focuses on advancing women's equality and rights through education, advocacy, and research. Records include newsletters, minutes, reports, correspondence, and other materials. The ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Oak Park-River Forest branch of the American Association of University Women. Located in the suburbs just west of Chicago, the Oak Park-River Forest branch aimed to develop and promote opportunities for women and girls, especially through education. Records include bylaws, membership records, ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Rantoul branch of the American Association of University Women. Located in east-central Illinois, the Rantoul branch focused on advancing women's equality and rights through education, advocacy, and research. Records include minutes, correspondence, bylaws, newsletters, and other materials. The American Association of University Women ...

This collection consists of records from the Riverside, IL branch of the American Association of University Women. The Riverside branch aimed to empower women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Records include administrative materials, minutes, scrapbooks, newsletters, and other materials. The American Association of University Women began in 1881 ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Rockford branch of the American Association of University Women. Located in northern Illinois, the Rockford branch promotes equity, education, and opportunities for women of all ages. Records include three member directories. The American Association of University Women began in 1881 when seventeen women ...

This collection is comprised of records from the Western Springs Area branch of the American Association of University Women. Located west of Chicago, the Western Springs Area branch promoted equity, education, and opportunities for women of all ages. Records include bylaws, yearbooks, branch awards, minutes, correspondence, and other materials. The American ...

The American Fur Company was incorporated in New York State in 1808 by John Jacob Astor and dominated the fur trade in the United States by the 1820s. This collection consists of three components: photocopies of two letterbooks (1816-1825), a typescript calendar of correspondence and other papers (1831-1849) held at ...

These letters and reports were written to the secretary of the American Home Missionary Society by Presbyterian and Congregational ministers and agents. They discuss social, economic, and educational issues in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Michigan. Some notable Illinois correspondents include Stephen Bliss, John Ellis, Thomas Lippincott, B. Y. Messenger, and ...

The Central Illinois Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.) was originally organized in 1917 as the Peoria Society of Architects with the purpose of promoting the objectives and ideals of the A.I.A. in the region. According to its constitution, the members endeavored to promote "the aesthetic, scientific and ...

Nineteen World War I veterans in Monticello, Ill., established an American Legion Post in 1919. The post was officially named in 1922 for Roy Hamm, Monticello's first casualty in World War I, but was changed in 1981 to the Hamm-Burke Post to honor Robert Burke, a local man killed in ...

The American Missionary Association began as an interdenominational missionary organization which was strongly influenced by abolitionism. Its chief characteristics were evangelical abolitionism and religious and educational work among minority groups. This collection relates to the American Missionary Association's work in Illinois. Most of the collection (12 reels) date between 1853 and ...

This collection contains copies of correspondence addressed to Sir Jeffrey Amherst by British officers commanding various forts and posts, including Fort Pitt, Fort Ontario, and Fort Niagara. Among the other correspondents are Sir William Johnson, Henry Bouquet, Lord Halifax, and Robert Rogers. There are also several copies of letters and ...

This collection mainly contains photocopies of letters between Union soldiers and their families. John Mifflin and Little Absher, Co. H, 128th Ill. Vol. Inf., received letters from their wives in 1862. Mifflin was later transferred to Co. C, 9th Ill., according to an 1864 letter. There are also letters from ...

The Richard Clough Anderson collection consists in large part of material relating to the bounty lands in the Virginia Military District in Kentucky and Ohio. These lands were awarded to Virginia soldiers in the Continental Line during and after the American Revolution. In addition to over 10,000 loose papers, there ...

Maj. Robert Anderson was the officer in command of the forts in Charleston Harbor when South Carolina began to threaten secession. These personal letters were written on Jan. 2 and Mar. 20, 1861, from Fort Sumter, and reveal Anderson's apprehensions about the imminent conflict. The letters are copies of originals in ...

W. S. Angus gathered the materials for this "Rural Community Scrapbook" while he was a student at Eastern Illinois State Teachers College, Charleston, Ill. The volume contains correspondence, a handwritten essay on Byron Township, Ogle County, a preface, and several topically arranged chapters. The scrapbook contains clippings, photographs, and maps. The ...

This collection contains personal papers and a journal belonging to Reverend Benjamin Applebee, a Methodist Episcopal minister in central Illinois. Benjamin Applebee was born in Tranesville, Ohio in 1820 and grew up near Canton, Illinois. He served as a minister in central Illinois for over thirty years. He died in 1897. The ...

Sgt. Robert G. Ardry, Co. B, 11th Ill. Vol. Inf., recorded in this 29-page diary his experiences in Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's army from Nov. 15, 1864, to Mar. 1, 1865. Ardry describes the army's attacks on Fort McAllister, Ga., Savannah, Ga., and Columbia S.C., as well as its ...

Dubbed "the premiere pork baron" by one biographer, Philip D. Armour owned numerous successful slaughterhouses throughout the United States during the late nineteenth century. Correspondence from Armour (all but three letters in the collection) includes business letters to Frank F. Miles, a business associate at the Omaha plant, personal letters to ...

This collection consists of transcripts of letters written between 1834 and 1845 to James Armstrong of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, by his two sons Robert and James, who emigrated from Scotland to Peoria County, Illinois. James and Robert Armstrong were the sons of James Armstrong. The two brothers were originally from Scotland but ...

Writing on Apr. 1, 1852, John T. Arnall of Waynesboro, Va., ordered one hundred pounds of candy from Simon Bonavita in Richmond.

Lee Ann Arnold's letter of Aug. 23, 1933, explains the origin of the name of Opdyke, Jefferson County, Ill., as well as characteristics of the town during the Depression. The original letter is in the possession of George Opdyke, Jr., great-great-grandson of Wilbur F. Opdyke, after whom the town of Opdyke, ...

The Ashmore Family Papers document five generations of one Illinois family in Jo Daviess and Stephenson Counties, and contain materials related to Joseph Ashmore (1787-1868), a farmer; his children, Charles (1829-1925); Henry (1842-1908); and Arthur (1882-1969), also farmers; Henry's wife Belle (1850-1925) and son Walter (1879-1960); Arthur's wife Jessie (1887-1972), ...

Rufus Atherton served in Co. I, 77th Ill. Vol. Inf. during the Civil War. A resident of Elmwood, Ill., Atherton enlisted on Aug. 14, 1862, and served until June 17, 1865. The collection contains six letters written by Atherton to family members between Dec. 12, 1862, and Feb. 10, 1865. ...

Jacob Atkinson, writing to his parents in Maine, on June 7, 1846, describes his life in Dixon, Ill. Wilbur Duncan of Decatur, Ill. donated the letter to the Illinois Historical Survey.

This collection includes a scrapbook inventory of Mrs. E. E. Atwater's collection of artifacts. Artifacts include architectural and cultural remnants from around the world, botanical specimens, mineral fragments, and Civil War battlefield relics. Elizabeth Emerson Atwater was born in Norwich, Vermont on August 8, 1812. She went to boarding school in ...

John Atwood of Alton, Madison County, Ill., was active in the purchase and sale of land near Sioux City, Iowa. His transactions involved land that had been set aside for the benefit of the Iowa Agricultural College and Farm (now Iowa State University). The collection includes original land grant certificates ...

Phineas Orlando Avery (1838-1916), of Earl, LaSalle County, Ill., enlisted as a private in Co. I, 4th Ill. Cav., on Sept. 4, 1861, and mustered out as a corporal on Nov. 4, 1864. His unit served in Tennessee and Mississippi, including at Shiloh, Apr. 6-7, 1862. After the war, Avery ...

Phineas Orlando Avery (1838-1916), of Earl, LaSalle County, Ill., enlisted as a private in Co. I, 4th Ill. Cav., on Sept. 4, 1861, and mustered out as a corporal on Nov. 4, 1864. His unit served in Tennessee and Mississippi, including at Shiloh, Apr. 6-7, 1862. After the war, Avery ...

James Sterling Ayars was a successful writer for young people, an editor of scientific and religious publications, and an activist for civil liberties and human rights. Ayars also served as a technical editor at the Illinois Natural History Survey from 1937 until his retirement in 1965. In addition, Ayars authored ...