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Created in 1935 as part of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration, the Illinois Historical Records Survey undertook to locate and describe federal, state, county, municipal, and church archives in Illinois. After August 1936 the survey operated as a separate project within the Women's and Professional Division of the Works Progress Administration. In 1938 the Survey expanded to include inventories of manuscript depositories and Lincolniana in Illinois newspapers. In 1939 the Works Progress Administration changed its name to the Work Projects Administration and federal sponsorship of the Survey ended. Sponsorship continued on a state level until the survey ended in 1943. By then only a small number of the inventories had been published. All remaining research data and inventory work sheets from unpublished inventories were deposited with the Illinois State Archives.
954.001
ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS. 1936-1942. 3 cu. ft. No index.
File contains material relating to Historical Records Survey operations in Illinois including lists of inventoried material; instructions on inventory procedures for fieldworkers and editors; edited drafts of inventory entries; preliminary research material on tours, probably compiled while the Historical Records Survey was part of the Federal Writers' Project; black-and-white photographs and postcard pictures of state and local government buildings; index to Lincolniana in the Chicago Tribune; copies of published inventories; and a small amount of correspondence and memoranda. File also includes a record of the transcripts of county board proceedings received at the Chicago office.
954.002
INVENTORY OF FEDERAL ARCHIVES. 1936-1937. 6 cu. ft. No index.
Fieldworkers' inventory work sheets are on the archives of the Civil Works Administration, Works Progress Administration, and the U.S. Post Office as it operated in Illinois. Included are separate forms for agencies, serials, buildings, and rooms. Forms for agencies list name of city/town; names of department/office and subdivision; date of establishment; description of any administrative reorganization; name and location of building that agency occupies; names of other buildings occupied and dates of occupation; whether there has been loss or destruction of archives; date, cause, and extent of damage; policy with regard to "useless" papers and sending of archives to Washington headquarters; source from which information obtained; where additional information can be obtained; comments on the condition of the records and agency procedures regarding their handling; and the project supervisor's name and inventory date.
Forms for serials list name of city/town, name and address of building, room number, agencies of origin and custody and their subdivisions, serial title, inclusive dates, description of serial noting type and organization, frequency of use, description of any indexes or inventories, physical form in which archives maintained, size and volume (i.e., in linear feet), number and type of containers, any evidence of physical damage or deterioration, names of persons who have supplied or could supply information, and fieldworker's and project supervisor's names with the inventory date.
Forms for buildings list name of city/town, name and location of building, date and type of construction, degree of fire hazard, whether there has been any fire or other damage and explanation (i.e., dates, extent of damage), precautions and protective devices, and project supervisor's name with the inventory date.
Forms for rooms list name of city/town, building name and address, room number, purpose for which room is used, menaces to archives in room, impediments to use of archives in room, and project supervisor's name with the inventory date. File also includes correspondence of Historical Records Survey officials concerning survey and a small number of administrative histories.
954.003
INVENTORY OF STATE ARCHIVES. 1936-1941. 23 cu. ft. No index.
Fieldworkers' inventory work sheets and research material are on State of Illinois departments and agencies. Work sheets include forms for maps and photographs, volumes, unbound records, and buildings. Often only a list of record titles, their inclusive dates, and amount of space used is given. Research material comprises historical sketches and administrative histories of various state departments which often list all related legislation. File also includes lists of appellate court cases, sixty-two black-and-white
photographs/photostats of federal records, and Historical Records Survey manuals on inventory and editing procedures. Correspondence among Historical Records Survey personnel also is included in this file.
Inventory forms for maps and photographs list name of county and city/town; name of agency/department and bureau; name of other owner, if any; name and address of building in which records are kept; type of items; area covered, title, or subject; number of items or pages; date, size, scale, and type of map; condition of writing and paper; name or artist/author, publisher/engraver; place of publication; locations of rooms and vaults; and other descriptive information.
Inventory forms for volumes list name of county and city/town; name of agency/department and bureau; exact title and dates; total number of volumes; number of missing volumes; labeling; description of contents; summary of forms used; type of indexing; form of recording (i.e., manuscript, typescript, printed); type of binding; conditions of volumes, paper, and writing; size and average number of pages in volumes; locations of rooms and vaults; subtitle division; other information on handling of records; and occasionally the fieldworker's name.
Inventory forms for unbound records list name of county and city/town; name of agency/department and bureau; exact title and dates; number of volumes; dates of obvious gaps; labeling; sizes; description of types of records; types of indexing; conditions of writing, paper, and containers; and locations of buildings, rooms, and vaults.
Inventory forms for buildings list name of county and city/town, name and address of building, names of bureaus that have records in building, room and vault names, date building constructed, material used, dimensions and general plan of building, degree to which building is fireproof, damage done to building by fires and floods, percentage of records in fireproof vaults, building owner's name, and whether rental is paid on building and if so the amount paid. Brief historical sketches of county or city/town occasionally are included. Inventories are included for these state departments and agencies:
Appellate Court
Attorney General
Auditor of Public Accounts
Court of Claims
Department of Agriculture
Department of Conservation
Department of Finance
Department of Labor
Department of Mines and Minerals
Department of Public Health
Department of Public Safety
Department of Public Welfare
Department of Public Works and Buildings
Department of Purchases and Construction
Department of Registration and Education
General Assembly
Industrial Commission
Secretary of State
State Athletic Commission
State Board for Vocational Education
State Board of Law
State Council of Defense
State Deportation Agent
State Historical Library
State Planning Commission
State Tax Commission
State Treasurer
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Supreme Court
954.004
LEGAL ESSAY MATERIAL. 1936-1941. 8 cu. ft. No index.
File includes research material and essays on state and local government and Illinois history. For county and state offices/officers information usually includes enumeration of powers and duties as well as abstracts of all laws pertaining to the office. Essays on county offices often are in final draft form. Topics researched on Illinois history cover a wide variety of subjects including early railroads, the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and other internal improvements; slavery laws, 1819-1825; territorial laws and government; school laws; public land in early Illinois; merits of township government; and Civil Administrative Code of 1917. File also includes various lists of enacted laws and bibliographies on coal, banking, religion, and historical sources in Illinois as well as copies of published articles on these subjects.
954.005
TRANSCRIPTS OF GOVERNOR'S CORRESPONDENCE. 1809-1858. Compiled 1938-1941. 2 cu. ft. Index, 1809-1853.
Fieldworkers' transcripts are of the general correspondence of Illinois Governors, 1809-1857, and correspondence concerning solely military matters, 1829-1834 and 1836-1858. Each letter was either copied in full, with all identifying marks noted, or a manuscript work sheet was completed. Information listed on work sheet includes fieldworker's name and date; date manuscript written; author's name, birth and death dates; place manuscript written; type of manuscript; address and name of recipient; transcript of the body of the letter; authorship symbol; language written in; number and size of pages; location; nature of recording (i.e., handwritten/typed); name of collection to which it belongs; descriptions of seal, enclosures, envelope, and stamp; restrictions on use; and remarks on condition of paper and type of ink. Also includes drafts of calendar for general correspondence, 1809-1853, and index to persons, places, and titles of publications listed in the calendar.
For original correspondence see RS 101.001-101.010.
954.006
TRANSCRIPTS OF COUNTY BOARD MINUTES. 1802-1941. Compiled 1938-1942. 135 cu. ft. No index.
Transcripts are of the proceedings of boards of county commissioners and boards of county supervisors, 1802-1941. File includes both manuscript and typed copies of transcripts for all county boards, except those for Brown, Carroll, and Cook Counties. Occasionally only a digest of the proceedings is included. For Champaign County transcripts cover only county court proceedings, 1833-1867.
Board proceedings concern all county business such as approval of expenditures, establishment of roads and bridges, construction of county public buildings, licensing of taverns and ferries, and reports of county school superintendents. Transcripts or digests of proceedings are held for these counties:
Adams, 1825-1938
Alexander, 1819-1861; 1870-1913
Bond, 1817-1865
Boone, 1837-1878
Bureau, 1837-1882; 1887-1917
Calhoun, 1825-1918
Cass, 1837-1843; 1849-1878
Champaign, 1833-1849; 1859-1867
Christian, 1839-1911
Clark, 1833-1869
Clay, 1825-1917
Clinton, 1825-1863; 1874-1922
Coles, 1832-1887
Crawford, 1817-1897
Cumberland, 1885-1891
De Kalb, 1837-1922
De Witt, 1839-1939
Douglas, 1859-1938
Du Page, 1839-1850
Edgar, 1823-1884
Edwards, 1815-1921
Effingham, 1843-1901
Fayette, 1821-1833; 1839-1857; 1865-1940
Ford, 1859-1938
Franklin, 1846-1936
Fulton, 1829-1838; 1854-1865
Gallatin, 1807-1829; 1840-1846; 1860-1941
Greene, 1821-1849
Grundy, 1841-1898
Hamilton, 1821-1876; 1886-1934
Hancock, 1829-1903
Hardin, 1884-1937
Henderson, 1841-1853
Henry, 1837-1853; 1857-1903
Iroquois, 1867-1917
Jackson, 1823-1937
Jasper, 1835-1919
Jefferson, 1819-1938
Jersey, 1839-1869
Jo Daviess, 1827-1849; 1853-1869
Johnson, 1813-1912
Kane, 1836-1849
Kankakee, 1853-1934
Kendall, 1842-1847
Knox, 1830-1845; 1934-1936
Lake, 1839-1894
La Salle, 1831-1878
Lawrence, 1821-1940
Lee, 1839-1938
Livingston, 1837-1939
Logan, 1867-1886
McDonough, 1830-1876; 1879-1888
McHenry, 1837-1940
McLean, 1831-1854; 1868-1874
Macon, 1829-1911
Macoupin, 1829-1903
Madison, 1813-1908
Marion, 1823-1871
Marshall, 1839-1880
Mason, 1841-1917
Massac, 1843-1941
Menard, 1839-1886
Mercer, 1835-1923
Monroe, 1816-1936
Montgomery, 1821-1873
Morgan, 1824-1846; 1852-1936
Moultrie, 1843-1905
Ogle, 1837-1898
Peoria, 1825-1916
Perry, 1827-1871
Piatt, 1843-1906
Pike, 1822-1844
Pope, 1816-1905
Pulaski, 1873-1885; 1891-1936
Putnam, 1831-1922
Randolph, 1802-1814; 1824-1838
Richland, 1841-1917
Rock Island, 1833-1936
St. Clair, 1817-1880; 1884; 1889-1902
Saline, 1847-1857; 1874-1940
Sangamon, 1821-1924
Schuyler, 1825-1880
Scott, 1839-1884
Shelby, 1860-1898
Stark, 1839-1930
Stephenson, 1850-1877
Tazewell, 1827-1860
Union, 1818-1922
Vermilion, 1826-1869; 1876-1882
Wabash, 1825-1832; 1844-1941
Warren, 1830-1843; 1848-1882
Washington, 1818-1835; 1846-1880
Wayne, 1886-1941
White, 1816-1913
Whiteside; 1839-1920
Will, 1836-1846; 1853-1906
Williamson, 1839-1933
Winnebago, 1836-1847
Woodford, 1841-1883
954.007
INVENTORY OF COUNTY ARCHIVES. 1936-1942. 24 cu. ft. No index.
Fieldworkers' inventory work sheets on county archives list worker's name, inventory date, name of county, name of agency/office, address of office of custody, record title, dates, quantity, labeling, discontinued and missing records, arrangement, type of indexing, how written, contents, location by dates and quantities, and other information. Also included are maps, photographs, and essays on points of interest in all counties and a pasteup draft copy of the Cass County inventory. Inventories are included for these counties:
Alexander
Bond
Boone
Bureau
Calhoun
Christian
Clay
Clinton
Coles
Cook
Crawford
De Kalb
Du Page
Edgar
Edwards
Ford
Fulton
Gallatin
Greene
Grundy
Hamilton
Hancock
Hardin
Henderson
Henry
Iroquois
Jasper
Jefferson
Johnson
Kane
Kankakee
Kendall
Lake
La Salle
Lawrence
Lee
McDonough
McHenry
McLean
Macon
Madison
Marion
Marshall
Mason
Massac
Mercer
Monroe
Perry
Pope
Pulaski
Putnam
Randolph
Richland
Schuyler
Stark
Tazewell
Union
Wabash
Warren
Washington
Wayne
White
Whiteside
Will
Williamson
Winnebago
Woodford
954.008
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF COUNTIES. 1936-1942. 4 cu. ft. No index.
Information was compiled by county officials in response to an Historical Records Survey questionnaire. It was to be used in writing historical sketch sections of published inventories. Questions cover a wide range of topics including organization of or attempts to organize townships; appointments of commissioners; minutes of first meeting of board of supervisors; titles of county commissioners; information on current townships; conditions of tuberculosis sanatoriums; statistics on blind, old age, and mothers' pensions; county health programs; colleges and seminaries; coal mining and railroad operations; County Farm Bureau and County Home Bureau organizations; decennial financial reports of county officials; construction of courthouses; and sketches of public squares, courthouses, and other official buildings. Usually included are county maps showing township boundary lines and legal descriptions of townships. Occasionally publications about the counties are included. Material is included for these counties:
Bond
Cass
Christian
Clay
Coles
Crawford
Du Page
Edgar
Edwards
Ford
Hamilton
Hancock
Henderson
Iroquois
Jasper
Jefferson
Jersey
Kankakee
Lake
Lawrence
McDonough
McLean
Macon
Madison
Marion
Marshall
Mason
Massac
Mercer
Monroe
Perry
Pope
Putnam
Richland
Schuyler
Stark
Tazewell
Wabash
Washington
Williamson
Woodford
954.009
RESEARCH MATERIAL ON COOK COUNTY. 1937-1942. 2 cu. ft. No index.
Research material and preliminary essays written by Historical Records Survey workers include drafts of historical sketches of Cook County and Chicago, legal essay material on county officials and county courts, and bibliographical information on books about Cook County.
954.010
RESEARCH NOTES ON MADISON COUNTY. 1936-1942. 0.25 cu. ft. No index.
Note cards are on various aspects of Madison County life (e.g., political development, education, growth of transportation).
954.011
INVENTORY OF MUNICIPAL ARCHIVES. 1936-1941. 9 cu. ft. No index.
Fieldworkers' inventory work sheets on Illinois municipal archives include separate forms for maps and photographs, volumes, unbound records, and buildings. For types of information given on each of these forms see INVENTORY OF STATE ARCHIVES, RS 954.003. Inventories are included for these municipalities:
Adams County
Quincy
Boone County
Belvidere
Brown County
Mount Sterling
Bureau County
Princeton
Carroll County
Chadwick
Lanark
Milledgeville
Mount Carroll
Savanna
Shannon
Champaign County
Champaign
Urbana
Clinton County
Breese
Cook County
Bellwood
Berwyn
Blue Island
Brookfield
Chicago
Cicero
Crestwood
Des Plaines
Dixmoor
Evanston
Forest Park
Franklin Park
La Grange
Lyons Township
Maywood
Melrose Park
Oak Park
Park Ridge
River Forest
Riverside
Summit
Tinley Park
Westchester
Westmont
Du Page County
Addison
Bensonville
Bloomingdale
Clarendon Hills
Downers Grove
Elmhurst
Glen Ellyn
Hinsdale
Itasca
Lombard
Naperville
Roselle
Villa Park
West Chicago
Westmont
Wheaton
Winfield
Wood Dale
Ford County
Paxton
Franklin County
Benton
Hancock County
Hamilton City
Jefferson County
Belle Rive
Bluford
Bonnie
Dix
Ina
Mount Vernon
Nason
Texico
Waltonville
Woodlawn
Jo Daviess County
Galena
Kane County
Aurora
Carpentersville
Compton Township
East Dundee
Elgin
Geneva
Plato Township
Rutland Township
St. Charles
West Dundee
Knox County
Galesburg
Lake County
Waukegan
Lawrence County
Lawrenceville
Lee County
Amboy
Dixon
Livingston County
Pontiac
Logan County
Lincoln
McDonough County
Macomb
McLean County
Bloomington
Macoupin County
Benld
Brighton
Bunker Hill
Gilespie
Girard
Hettick
Medora
Mount Olive
Nilwood
Palmyra
Scottville
Staunton
Virden
White City
Wilsonville
Madison County
Alhambra
Alton
Bethalto
Collinsville
Edwardsville
Glen Carbon
Granite City
Hartford
Livingston
Marine
Maryville
Nameoki Village
New Douglas
Roxanna
Saint Jacob
Troy
Williamson
Wood River
Worden
Marion County
Alma
Central City
Centralia
Fonti Township
Foster Township
Haines Township
Iuka
Junction City
Kell
Kinmundy
Odin
Omega
Patoka
Romine Township
Salem
Sandoval
Stevenson
Vernon
Menard County
Petersburg
Monroe County
Valmeyer
Waterloo
Morgan County
Jacksonville
Perry County
Du Quoin
Randolph County
Baldwin
Chester
Coulterville
Ellis
Percey
Prairie du Rocher
Red Bud
Sparta
Steeleville
St. Clair County
Belleville
Brooklyn
Caseyville
Dupo
East St. Louis
Fairmont
Freeburg
Lebanon
Marissa
Mascoutah
Millstadt
Saint Libory
Smithton
Summerfield
Swansea
Washington Park
Sangamon County
Springfield
Stark County
Bradford
Essex Township
Goshen Township
Lafayette
Toulon
Wyoming
Stephenson County
Freeport
Washington County
Addieville
Ashley
Du Bois
Hoyleton
Irvington
Nashville
New Madison
Oakdale
Okawville
Radom
Richview
Venedy
Wamac
Whiteside County
Sterling
Will County
Beecher
Braidwood
Channahon
Crete
Custer
Du Page
Elwood
Florence Township
Frankfort Township
Godley
Green Garden Township
Homer Township
Jackson Township
Joliet
Joliet Township
Lockport
Manhattan
Manhattan Township
Mokena
Monee
New Lenox Township
Peotone
Plainfield
Reed
Rockdale
Steger
Troy Township
Wilmington
Winnebago County
Rockford
954.012
INVENTORY OF CHURCH ARCHIVES. 1941-1942. 5 cu. ft. No index.
Fieldworkers' inventory work sheets on church archives list worker's name; inventory date; name of county and city/town; church name and address; denomination; date organized; date of lapse if now defunct; information about previous buildings; date present building consecrated or dedicated; date rebuilt; descriptions of architecture, bells, inscriptions, and special features; name of first settled clergyman and dates of tenure; his educational background; descriptions of minute books, record books of Sunday school or other organization, financial records, and register books of baptisms, confirmations, marriages, members, and deaths; locations and conditions of records; general condition of all records; bibliographical information on any published or unpublished historical sketches of church; and other information particularly as to origins, history, and previous names of church. File also includes correspondence with fieldworkers and pastors concerning the inventory; occasional essays on the background and history of religious denominations in certain areas; descriptions of records of orphanages, schools, and rest homes affiliated with churches; and photographs of churches. Inventories are included for Illinois churches of the following religious groups:
Adventist bodies
Assemblies of God
Baptist bodies
Brethern bodies
Christian Union
Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Scientists)
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Church of the Living God (Christian Workers for Fellowship)
Church of the Nazarene
Congregational Christian Churches
Disciples of Christ
Episcopalian bodies
Evangelical and Reformed Church
Evangelical Church
Friends (Quakers)
Holiness bodies
Judaic bodies
Lutheran bodies
Methodist bodies
Moravian Church
Pentecostal bodies
Presbyterian bodies
Roman Catholic Church
Salvation Army
Universalist Church
nondenominational bodies
954.013
INVENTORY OF MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS AND DEPOSITORIES. 1936-1941. 0.25 cu. ft. No index.
Fieldworkers' inventory work sheets and notes were on special manuscript collections and depositories. Depository forms list fieldworker's name and date of inventory; name and title of official in charge; hours and days depository open to the public; description of depository's history and collection policies; description of building in which collection housed; quantity of manuscripts in depository; percentage of manuscripts arranged; description of arrangement; percentage of manuscripts cataloged by accessions or pieces; number of catalog cards; type of information on catalog cards; description of any finding aids; plans for improving finding aids; names, periods, subjects, and sections of the country chiefly dealt with; restrictions on use of manuscripts; and number of regular employees.
Manuscript collection forms list fieldworker's name and date of inventory; name of collection; earliest, latest, and most important dates of material; quantity (i.e., number and size of volumes); location and physical condition of collection; description and importance of collection; principal persons mentioned; history of collection and how acquired; accessibility; percentage arranged or cataloged; description of arrangement; number of temporary and permanent catalog cards; type of information given on catalog cards; and description of any finding aids.
These records are available at the Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State.
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