The McDonough County Genealogical Society is the collective memory center for west-central Illinois families.
A giant paper trail of family histories within the county and surrounding area are contained in a room within Western Illinois Museum.
“At some point, every kid asks, ‘Where did I come from?’,” said society president Allen Nemec. He and others volunteer their time to answer this question. Organized in 1979, the genealogical society preserves ancestral and historical records from the area, and helps people who want to learn about them.
“We are called the McDonough County Genealogical Society,” Nemec said. “However, our mission statement and our collection are for west-central Illinois, so we hold records for McDonough County, Hancock County, Fulton County, Schuyler County, all surrounding counties.”
These records include:
• Birth, marriage and death record indexes and some certificates
• Cemetery records
• Census records
• Church records
• County , Township and City histories
• Family histories
• Land records
• Maps and atlases
• Macomb Journal issues from 1861 to 2014
• Veterans’ information The State of Illinois began collecting vital records – birth, death and marriage certificates – in 1916, according to Nemec.
Before then, information was recorded by families and for marriages, by churches.
The society’s pre-1916 birth index of the county’s birth records was reliant on families reporting the information.
Managing more than 100 years of obituaries is one of the society’s biggest ongoing projects. Newspaper clippings through 2017 are in files; later obituaries published by area funeral homes are saved digitally.
“Obituaries are a good source of information,” said society treasurer Marla Vizdal. “Through an obituary, you can find the existence of someone who lived and died, you can find where they were born, when they were born, who the parents were, what they did, who their children are, where they lived, who they were predeceased by and where they’re buried.”
Besides obituaries, the genealogical society accepts family histories, photographs and other documentation.
“We’re always willing to look at what they have and talk to them about what they have,” Vizdal said. “If it’s something we feel is not appropriate for our collection, we’ll try to refer them to another place that is.”
The society works alongside the Western Illinois Museum to maintain the area’s history.
“Genealogy focuses more on family. We deal more in paper format,” Vizdal said.
“We do not have room here or the means to preserve the artifacts that the museum does – that being things like pieces of pottery or machinery or quilts or other things that document and show the history of the county.”
Hunting for information Nemec and Vizdal are among some 200 members of the McDonough County Genealogical Society who share an interest in preserving the past.
“I started out when my parents were going to hit their 50th wedding anniversary,” Nemec said, adding that giving them a silver platter wasn’t an option. “What was important to them was family and the family history – about their parents, their grandparents – so I started writing my family's genealogy, researching my own personal family. Once you get the bug, as most genealogists tell you, all of a sudden you’re hooked.”
In his research, Nemec learned his mother’s family emigrated from Poland and his father’s family came from Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) in the late 1800s and early 1900s. “Emigrate” means leaving one’s country. “Immigrate” means coming to another country to live.
Nemec and Vizdal both enjoy the thrill of the hunt when looking for family treasures from the past.
“When we get things that have left the county and have returned to the county, it gets really exciting,” Nemec said. His most-recent discovery is a photo album featuring members of the Greg and Ronda McKee family of Macomb. He found the album on an online auction site.
“I regularly search eBay for things tied to Macomb,” Nemec said. He bid for the album on behalf of the genealogical society and won.
The seller was in Indiana.
The society owns the album but Ronda McKee scanned the photos for her family.
Vizdal, who worked in Archives & Special Collections at Western Illinois University for more than 30 years, has seen many historically significant items in her lifetime. It’s the people who are searching for information that intrigue her.
“In my work, I got great joy in helping other people find answers to their questions. So it was a natural fit that when I retired, I came over here and continued,” she said.
Vizdal shared this story: “There was a woman that called us, and she was looking for information on her family from the Industry area. She lived in Peoria and was coming over here to visit. I said, ‘Before you come over here, please go to our website and look at our newspapers that are digitized.’ And I gave her the information of where it was.
“She walked in here about a week or so later and said, ‘After you gave me the link to that newspaper digitization site, I stayed up all night long reading and looking and finding and embracing what I found, and I had to call in sick to work.’ … When people come in and say, ‘I’ve never seen this picture of my great-grandmother before. I never knew this about my family,’ that, to me, is the most interesting thing because you hear their stories.”
Making history today McDonough County published its first historical volume – a yearbook of sorts – in 1878. It and subsequent volumes, which were published sporadically, are in the society’s collection. The most-recent edition, with nearly 300 pages, was released in 2018, the year of Illinois’ bicentennial.
Besides information about the county, its townships and businesses, the book features 187 pages of information about McDonough County families. It is available for $50 at Community News Brief, 13 East Side Square, Macomb.
Nemec said the society sent a request for family information to every address in McDonough County.
Lifelong residence in the area wasn’t a prerequisite.
“Sometimes people stop in McDonough County for a short period of time, whether it’s to work at Western or whatever, so we wanted to record that. We recorded their history, the towns they came from, who their family members are so they’re captured in our history. It’s amazing how many people submitted their stories who are now deceased. l [Former] Mayor Anstine and his wife, Sue, both submitted their stories and now they’re both gone.”
Besides providing a historical record, the 2018 book is a fundraiser for the nonprofit society. The organization also raises money by charging a fee for conducting research by request.
“In our research, we go to great lengths to answer questions,” Vizdal said.
There is no charge for visitors who visit the society’s office and conduct their own research. How-to books and access to genealogy websites are available to get them started.
“We have a donation jar on the table always,” Vizdal said. “Some people come in and we help them find an obituary they’ve been looking for. We charge 25 cents a copy. They might throw a $10 bill or a $5 bill in the donation jar because they’re just so thrilled that we take the time to collect this stuff and help them find it.”
Becoming a member The McDonough County Genealogical Society meets at 6 p.m. the third Monday of every month, except December and January at the Western Illinois Museum.
Membership is open to everyone. Yearly dues are $25 for individuals or $35 for a family; the lifetime membership fee is $225. Members receive society newsletters, discounts on research services and publications, and other benefits. The society is preparing to launch a members-only section on its website that will provide additional information.
Some members help visitors with research, transcribe records, file materials, enter data, help with youth programs and work on special projects.
The genealogical society is open from 1 to 4 p.m.
Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fridays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. For more information: Email mcgs@macomb. com Call 309-255-5161 Visit mcdcgs.org Visit McDonough County Genealogical Society on Facebookcebook.
