NEHGS newsletter this week features the Illinois State Archives. I have sent references to it in the past. We have several Bunker families that spent time in Illinois. Bette Spotlight on State Archives: Illinois State Archives http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/databases.html The Illinois State Archives have an extensive collection of online databases that may prove useful to those of you researching your Illinois ancestors. Among the databases you will find indexes to a variety of vital statistics records, court records, almshouse registers, and veterans' rolls. The databases can be searched individually by clicking on the specific database link on the homepage or you can opt to use the Global Database Search, which enables you to examine all of the databases on the website at the same time. To initiate a search, enter a complete surname followed by a comma into the search box. The results are returned in the form of a list of the databases in which the name you are seeking may be found. Clicking on a database link will take you directly to the individual database search screen. The next step is to perform a search of the specific database. Search results may include the volume and page number of the original source, date of the event, and other database specific information. To read a description of the database and the records it indexes, press the back arrow button located at the very bottom of the search screen. The following is a sampling of the databases: The Databases of Illinois Veterans This collection includes databases for the War of 1812, the Winnebago War, the Black Hawk War, the Mexican War, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War. Illinois Servitude and Emancipation Records Database Over three thousand names of servants, slaves, or free persons and masters, witnesses, or related parties were extracted from governmental records involving the servitude and emancipation of Africans for the period from 1722 to 1863 to create this database. The records also include some Indians. Illinois Statewide Vital Records Databases Marriage index, 1763-1900; death index, pre-1916; and death index 1916-1950. The global search feature also searches the records collections found in several Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD). These databases include indexes to birth and death certificate registers and court records such as coroner's inquest files, probate case files, circuit court criminal case files, and will record indexes. There are also indexes for almshouse and poor farm records; Chicago Police Department homicide records, 1870-1930; and some county naturalization papers. There are many databases available on the Illinois State Archives website. You can check them out at http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/databases.html. ____________________________________________ Check out the Bunker Family Association. http://www.bunkerfamilyassn.org. If your name is Bunker and you are a male, consider joining our surname DNA project.