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 in or near Quincy.

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.

This collection includes a 160-page account of his travels and work as a taxidermist, 1884-87. Between Dec. 10, 1884, and Jan. 14, 1885, he crossed the country by train between Tolono, Ill., and San Francisco, and sailed from there to Auckland, New Zealand. The diary records his work as a ...

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.

This collection contains a 1927 typescript of the Civil War diary of Jacob Adams, Private, Co. F, 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

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.

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.

This collection consists of one letter written on June 12, 1864, from Democrat Frederick A. Aiken to explorer and politician John C. Frémont. The letter discusses members of the Democratic Party’s support of the Frémont’s nomination as the Radical Democracy Party’s candidate for the 1864 presidential election.

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 ...

This collection contains papers and correspondence of the Allen family from 1803 to 1913. The correspondence includes five Civil War letters of Artemus Ward Allen and one from G. C. Smith, a doctor with the 43rd Indiana. These letters contain comments on life in the Army, Gens. McClellan and Halleck, ...

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 ...

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 ...

The Alvord collection contains papers and correspondence relating to books, articles, and court cases; notes and drafts for [i]The Mississippi Valley in British Politics[/i]; and correspondence with other historians, including Reuben G. Thwaites, Guy Stanton Ford, Lee Bidgood, Elizabeth M. Shepherd, Wallace Rice, Herbert S. Salisbury, and Louise Phelps Kellogg. ...

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 ...

Part I (1983-1994 Accessions, Lots 1-7) contain records spanning from 1924 to 1992. Between 1983 and 1994, these records were inventoried in seven distinct lots. Although the records in each lot often overlap chronologically with records in other lots, material on any given topic can be located by using the ...

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.

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.

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.

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 other materials.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, handbooks, recruitment event materials, and other documents.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 records include correspondence between the chapter and the national organization, the organization's constitution and by-laws, minutes of chapter meetings, committee papers, financial and membership records, and publications. Of particular interest are the papers relating to New Deal programs of the 1930s and the domestic building cutbacks of World War ...

The collection contains correspondence, legal documents, membership lists, newsletters, and other materials.

This collection relates to the American Missionary Association's work in Illinois. Most of the collection (12 reels) date between 1853 and 1874. Included are letters, observations, and reports relative to all activities and relationships of the organization including reform activities other than abolitionism.

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 are 28 bound volumes in the collection, with volumes 9 and 10 available on microfilm.

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.

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 ...

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 his family and friends, and letters detailing the plans for a packing plant in Seattle, to cash in on the Klondike business.

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.

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 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), ...

The collection contains six letters written by Atherton to family members between Dec. 12, 1862, and Feb. 10, 1865. The letters mainly concern his family, although he also discusses many different aspects of army life. He refers to the capture of Arkansas Post (Fort Hindman) and the Fall of Vicksburg ...

Jacob Atkinson, writing to his parents in Maine, on June 7, 1846, describes his life in Dixon, Ill.

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.

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 ...

This microfilm collection contains Avery's diary, Sept. 4, 1861, to Nov. 6, 1864, and also 42 letters, Sept. 16, 1861, to Mar. 25, 1864, from Avery to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Hamilton Avery, of Malugin Grove, Lee County, Ill.

The Allen Avner Oral History Interview Collection consists of nineteen interviews with Richard Allen Avner conducted by Alexander Scheeline between December 2022 and January 2023.

Series I of the Ayars collection relates to the writing and publishing of [i]The Illinois River[/i], including correspondence, notes, early drafts, and card files. The card files include an index based on alphabetical headings, a card file based on subject note cards, and a card file based on brief descriptions ...