Local & Family History Services
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Digital Collections & Databases


available anywhere image1875 St. Joseph County Atlas Database link1875 Illustrated Historical Atlas of St. Joseph County, Indiana:
• Searchable, browsable digital version
• Plat maps, biographies, engravings




available anywhere image1910 South Bend and Mishawaka Elks Convention Book Database link1910 Official Souvenir, 9th Annual Convention, Indiana State Association, B.P.O.E., South Bend, Indiana:
• Searchable, browsable digital version
• Text & illustrations
• People, businesses, & the community



available anywhere imageca. 1910 South Bend YMCA Book Database link1910 A Manhood Factory in the Center of South Bend's Greatest Industries:
• Searchable, browsable digital version
• Text & illustrations
• People, the YMCA, and the community


available anywhere image1936 St. Joseph County Platbook Database link1936 St. Joseph County Platbook:
• Searchable, browsable digital version
• Landowners in the unincorporated areas of the county at that time




in the library imageNew England Ancestors database linkAmerican Ancestors:
• Over 250 databases related to New England
• Town, church, family, Bible, vital, land, tax records
• Includes New York, Ireland, England, & Eastern Canada



in the library imageAncestry Library Edition Database linkAncestry Library Edition:
• Federal and state census images
• Military records
• Immigration and passenger list records
• Indexes of vital statistics
• How To Use (PDF)


library card imageThe Chicago Tribune (historical) database link

• Chicago Tribune newspaper articles & entries
• Years 1849-1988
• Search Tips



library card imageHeritage Quest Database linkHeritageQuest:
• Revolutionary War pension files
• Freedman's Bank records
• Searchable genealogy & history books
• PERSI: The Periodical Source Index
• Many federal censuses
• How To Use (PDF)

in the library imageIndiana Genealogical Society database linkIndiana Genealogical Society:
• Over 40 databases related to Indiana history
• Indexes to county, church, military, and school records
• Accessible at any SJCPL branch with username/password from library staff

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Subject Guides database link Links to the Past: Michiana History
• Images and historical background
• People, places, buildings, businesses
• St. Joseph County, Michiana area, and Indiana



in the library imageNewspaper Archive database link• Articles & images
• Millions of U.S. newspaper articles
• Multiple geographical areas and time periods
• Search Tips



available anywhere imageThe New York Times (current) database link• New York Times newspaper articles
• Years 1981-Present
• Search Tips




available anywhere imageThe Chicago Tribune (historical) database link• New York Times newspaper articles
• Years 1851-1980
• Years 1851-1922 can be viewed at no cost
• Search Tips


available anywhere imageObituary Index database linkObituary Index:
• Index to obituaries that appeared in the South Bend Tribune
• For people with ties to St. Joseph County
• From 1913-Present
• How To Use (PDF)



library card imageDigital Sanborn Maps 1867 - 1970 Database linkDigital Sanborn Maps:
• Historical birds'-eye view maps of Indiana
• How To Use (PDF)




in the library imageSouth Bend Tribune Online Archive database link• South Bend Tribune newspaper articles
• Years March 1998-Present
• Search Tips



in the library imageProQuest Tribune Business Weekly• Back issues of the Tribune Business Weekly through March 2012
• Local business information archives
• Search Tips



in the library imageProQuest Tribune Business Weekly• Access to a variety of Indiana newspapers
• Current editions and archives
• Search Tips



available anywhere image
Subject Guides database link SJCPL Subject Guides:
• Genealogy resources
• Selected by SJCPL librarians





available anywhere imageService Notes Index database linkService Notes Index:
•Index to Service Notes printed in the South Bend Tribune
• World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War eras






available anywhere image
Available on any computer anywhere. Available on any computer with a valid St. Joseph County Public Library card
 Available at all branches of the St. Joseph County Public Library
Programs & Classes

Past Programs
  • Finding Your Ancestors Online (October 2006)

  • Limburger & Lace: Belgians in St. Joseph County (November 2006) Program Slides (pdf):

  • Genealogy 101: Beginning Family History Research (March 2007)

  • Journeys & Journals: Indiana Immigration & Writing Your Family History Memoirs (April 2007)

  • Genealogy 101 (August 2007)

  • So You Want to Join a Lineage Society? (March 2008)

  • Where Our Grandparents Walked: Finding Our Ancestral Homelands (May 2008)

  • Archives Alive! (October 2008)

  • Local & Family History Services Open House (October 2008)

  • Your Indian Ancestors: How to Research the Native Americans in Your Family Tree (April 2009)

  • American Stories: African American Life and Roots; the History Behind To Kill a Mockingbird (May 2010)

  • Who Do You Think You Are? Uncover Your Family's History (November 2010)

  • All About Ancestry.com (November 2011)

  • 1940 Census Party (April 2012)

  • Solve Family Mysteries with Ancestry.com (April 2012)

  • A Case of Identity: Or Who is Hilda Johansson? (April 2012)