Welcome to the Illinois Surname Index Search webpage. This webpage will assist genealogists and historians in locating biographical sketches that are included in nineteenth and early twentieth century Illinois county histories, biographical directories, and encyclopedias that are held in the Reference collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library (ALPL) and many other libraries across the state and nation. This webpage provides only the citation to the biographical sketch…for assistance, please consult your local librarian.

To use this index, enter as much of the name as you know in the boxes below then left click once on the Submit button to retrieve the results. A list of results will appear, if found. If more than one page of results are found the page numbers at the bottom of the result list can be selected in order to page through the records. Click on the button in the Select column and a separate line will appear under the Source banner to provide the bibliographic citation of the source where the biographical sketch is found. You can write the information down or click on the X in the Add to List column. This will add your record to a list that can be printed out with the Print Selections button. You can review your selected list with the Show Selections button.