Hi, I saw this message on the IL list and wanted everyone to know about it. Roger Cramer Peoria, AZ The Illinois State Historical Library will send you a free copy of "Newspapers in the Illinois State Historical Library" which lists the newspapers, locations and dates they have available on microfilm thru inter-library loan. Some counties have newspapers dating back to the early 1800's. For more information see their web site at: <A HREF="http://www.library.uiuc.edu/techserv/inp/main.htm">Illinois Newspaper Project Main</A> There are also a few old IL newspaper extracts/abstracts online at: <A HREF="http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~newspapr/">Newspaper Abstracts Home Page</A> Newspapers can lead you to valuable genealogical information but you will need to keep in mind that they are considered a secondary source of information as they are not always accurate in their storytelling. And of course unless you have an approximate date of a mention of your ancestor it can be a very tiring task.