Focus on C. E. Brehm Memorial Library

If you are doing genealogical research on a southern Illinois ancestor, you should be familiar with the C. E. Brehm Memorial Library Genealogy collection in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. In 1992 the library acquired the large collection of genealogy material from the Shawnee Library system and added this to its already sizable collection. The result is one of the best research collections in the southern part of the state.

Their collection focuses on states from which many southern Illinois ancestors came - places like Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North and South Carolina. In addition, they have several national resources.  Lesser (but still significant) holdings are available for Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arkansas, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Louisiana.

They have 14,750 volumes as well as 3,900 microform resources. They maintain subscriptions to multiple online genealogical services.

Among the unique items in their collection:

- 2,600 items from Illinois State Organization of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  These often include things such as Bible record transcriptions, long-forgotten family histories, etc.

- "Justice Collection" - unique local research on Jefferson County records - AN EXCELLENT resource if you have Jefferson County ancestors!

- Mt. Vernon, Illinois newspapers from the 1880s including an index of obituaries.

- Other local southern Illinois newspapers

- Microfilm/microfiche of many statewide Illinois sources such as Death certificate index (1916 - 1942), census records, and Civil War soldiers.

Illinois Library can request information from their collection for your use through the OCLC process. Loans of material is also available to out-of-state library patrons for a fee.

The friendly staff is always ready to help you with your questions.

So plan a day trip to Mt. Vernon and see what you can add to your knowledge of your southern Illinois ancestor or let Backstory Bloodhound make the trip for you.  Check out the Services tab at the top for more information on what I offer.