Chicago Genealogy: Chicago German-Language Newspapers
are an invaluable source for German genealogical research in Chicago.
Gottfried Hann’s obituary
I’ve been working on the list of research resources for finding German ancestors in Chicago and there is a LOT of good stuff out there. I can’t stress enough what a valuable research tool the German-language newspapers are. Without an obituary in a Chicago German-language newspaper for my great-grandfather, he’d still be a complete brick wall.
Tomorrow and Thursday I’ll be posting the rest of my German-American resources for Chicago, including church records, organizations, archives, and more.
And also note: Every single one of my Chicago German-American ancestors turned out to be in fact Prussians. My ancestors were from Posen and Pomerania, which is now in Poland. As you know, Germany’s borders were very fluid in the 19th century and after World War II. However, I think in nearly all cases of Prussian ancestry, you are better served consulting German resources rather than Polish ones. My obituaries for my Prussians and Austrians were found in German-language newspapers, for example.
German-Language Newspapers Published in Chicago
German-language newspapers are an invaluable source for German genealogical research in Chicago. Obituaries that would not have appeared in English language papers often appear in German-language papers. The Chicago History Museum (formerly Chicago Historical Society) and The Newberry Library have the largest collections of German-language newspapers on microfilm. If you cannot do your research in person, the Newberry offers a list of genealogists for hire.
The leading papers were:
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Abendpost and the Sunday edition, Sonntagpost, 1889-1929 and 1977-1978
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Illinois Staats-Zeitung, 1871 – 1900
Chronicling America has digitized the following paper, available for browsing online here: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045868/
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Vorbote. 1874-1924
Chicago Foreign Language Press Survey
This survey was published in 1942 by the Chicago Public Library Omnibus Project of the Works Progress Administration of Illinois. The project’s purpose was to translate and classify selected news articles that appeared in the foreign language press from 1855 to 1938. The project consists of 120,000 typewritten pages translated from newspapers of 22 different foreign language communities in Chicago
The CFLPS is a unique way of getting access to ethnic newspapers in a number of languages from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries — many of which are difficult or impossible to find anywhere else.
The CFLPS does not contain the full run of any particular newspaper; it does contain a selection of translated articles based on topics that were thought to be important in the 1930s. German-language collection includes multiple volumes.
Chart of Selected Chicago Foreign Language Daily Newspapers
Illinois Newspaper Project
The Illinois Newspaper Project (INP) is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and administered by the Library of Congress as part of the U.S. Newspaper Program(USNP) and the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). Both programs involve a cooperative effort between the states and the federal government designed to preserve the nation’s historic newspaper heritage.
Under the USNP, the INP team traveled throughout Illinois inventorying and cataloging collections held by libraries and repositories, private organizations, and individuals. A web-based searchable database of all newspapers discovered and preserved through the project is available. Newspapers that were not already been preserved on microfilm were filmed to create a permanent record of this vanishing material. All microfilm produced for INP is made available through interlibrary loan. Note: “u” in dates in citations means the span of publication date is unknown.
Abend-Presse OCLC no. 29458337
Published in: Chicago
Language: German
Years Published: 1896 – 1913
Subject: German Americans
Abendblatt der Illinois Staats-Zeitung OCLC no. 09287864
Published in: Chicago
Language: German
Years Published: 1891 – 1894
Continued by: Abendblatt (Chicago)
Subject: German-American
Abendblatt OCLC no. 09287699
Published in: Chicago
Language: German
Years Published: 1894 – 1899
Continues: Abendblatt der Illinois Staats-Zeitung
Subject: German-American
Abendpost OCLC no. 09642267
Published in: Chicago
Language: German
Years Published: 1889 – 1950
Subject: German-American
America-Herold und Chicagoer-Herold OCLC no. 29572240
Published in: Chicago
Language: German
Years Published: 1929 – 19uu
Subject: German-American
Chicago Abend-Zeitung OCLC no. 21315480
Published in: Chicago
Language: German
Years Published: 186u – 18uu
Subject: German-American
Chicagoer Arbeiter-Zeitung OCLC no. 09357922
Published in: Chicago
Language: German
Years Published: 187u – 19uu
Subject: German-American
Chicagoer Daheim OCLC no. 13519441
Published in: Chicago
Language: German
Years Published: 188u – 18uu
Continues: Daheim (Chicago, Ill. : 1871). Continued by: Daheim (Chicago: 1889)
Subject: German-Americans
Chicagoer Frauen-Zeitung OCLC no. 29458343
Also called: Chicagoer Frauen Zeitung
Published in: Chicago
Language: German
Years Published: 1893 – 190u
Subject: German-Americans
Chicagoer Freie Presse OCLC no. 09335264
Also called: Chicagoer Hausfreund und Freie Presse
Published in: Chicago
Language: German
Years Published: 1874 – 1921
Continues: Freie Presse (Chicago). Absorbed by: Illinois Staats-Zeitung (Chicago: 1862)
Subject: German-Americans
These German-language Chicago newspapers can help your family research.
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