My name is Wini Caudell and I'm your host for Rock Island County.

My goal is to help you in your search of your family in Rock

Island County. Hopefully you will also learn about this wonderfully historic

county.

Any and all contributions will be gratefully accepted and never used for profit

To contact me, email me at winicaudell@yahoo.com

 

** If you would like to join my mailing list contact me here and I'll sign you up!!

Please let me know it's for Rock Island ***

 

**This site now has a search engine below**

 

Registration is now open for our 38th Quad Cities Genealogical Conference!!!

Click here for more info!

 

 

Board of Directors Meetings
2nd Thursday of each month
(All members are welcome at the BOD meetings)

Board meetings are held in the Oak Room of Butterworth Center on the 2nd Thursday of the month . The Oak Room is most easily accessed through the doors under the canopy on the lower level.
Meeting time is still 6:30.

 

 

 


                                                      We're Grateful For Your Financial Support!                                                                                                                                                                  

The townships of Rock Island. The links are below.

 

"We must continue throughout our lives to do what we conceive to be good"

Black Hawk

 

You have reached the county of Blackhawk, mighty warrior of the Sauk. The Sauk Indians lived in Saukenuk, now Rock Island, Illinois where they raised their crops, hunted, and lived peaceably until the white man disrupted their lives. Rock Island was the western-most site of Revolutionary War, and winning the Blackhawk War in 1832 was crucial to the development of the West.

Rock Island was one of the major crossing sites of the Mississippi River. Most of the early settlers went to Memphis, St. Louis, Rock Island or Minneapolis to head west. Rock Island had the first railroad bridge across the river. Abraham Lincoln began his law practice here by defending the railroads against a steamboat lawsuit caused by the Effie Afton which ran into one of the bridge's pillars. Abe was also sworn into the US Army during the Blackhawk Wars in Milan, just across the Rock River from Rock Island.

John Deere moved to Rock Island County from Grand Detour, Illinois in 1843 for better water transportation to bring in steel for his plows. David Sears offered him free water power from his dam for five years to entice him to come. John Deere is known world wide.

Rock Island County has a wonderful Genealogical Society, (Rock Island County Illinois Genealogical Society)and also the Rock Island County Historical Society (RICHS) and a number of preservations societies and commissions.

All of these organizations are very dedicated to keeping history alive here.Everyone is very friendly and helpful.

Join me as I take you through some of Rock Island County's history. While it is both unique and typical at the same time, I think you will find it exciting to follow on your journey to the past in Rock Island County.

 

Abraham Lincoln Black Hawk Brick Walls Cemeteries
Cities Immigrants Family Histories Links
Military Pictures Pioneers Railroads

Portraits of Rock Island County Residents

Obituaries

Marriages

Townships

Biographies

Family Pictures

Quad Cities Area

Biographical Lists

History of R.I. County

Business Directories(1918)

 

Business Directories (1877)

1918 Auto Directory

Mystery Pictures

Rock Island Arsenal       Quincy Soldier and Sailors Home Residents

Where to Go For Help     Schools                  Rock Island News Briefs      

Prairie Farmers Directory of Rock Island County

Come Visit Rock Island County

Prairie Farmers Breeders Directory

1939 Rock Island County Directory

1939 Breeder Directory

Professional Directory (1918)

Old Rock Island Advertisements(1918)

1939 Rock Island Advertisements

1939 Township Lists

1886 Rock Island County Directory

1886 County Bussinesses

   1870 Black Hawk township Mortality Schedule

Codicil

Past Residences

 

 

Lilly Setterdahl’s Not my time to die: Titanic and the Swedes on board, is a great history of the Titanic as reported by the press of the day the American, the Swedish, and most importantly the Swedish-American press. Her book describes the conditions in Sweden in 1912, the reasons for the emigration, and profiles each of the 123 Swedes on board.  It also covers the stories of the 34 survivors.

You can buy it at amazon.com

 

Help Wanted!!

I am looking for volunteers who live in Rock Island Co. or the surrounding area who might be willing to do some transcriptions from old newspapers, obits or anything that may be available to transcribe for this web site.

Also, looking for volunteer's with a digital camera to photograph the cemetery gravestones in Rock Island

I'd sure appreciate the help!

Michelle Ross has volunteered to look up obituaries for people.

Her list of counties and cities is HERE

 

Check out my Awards Page!

.AWARDS PAGE

 

Updated: Mar. 4, 2012

Updates HERE

 

A proud member of the Rock Island Illinois Genealogical Society

Please Consider Joining!!

 


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Other Illinois Ancestors Counties

FULTON KNOX MERCER WARREN
HENDERSON MASON PEORIA WINNEBAGO
HENRY MENARD STARK WOODFORD
BUREAU BOONE STEPHENSON McDONOUGH

STATE-WIDE DATA

DIRECTORIES MILITARY OFF SITE RESOURCES
GOVERNORS RESOURCES ABE LINCOLN

 

If you want to see some old postcards of Rock Island visit the Rock Island Preservation Societies web site. They are a wonderful organization that advocates preservation of Rock Island's old historical buildings. They also have memberships for just $10 a year. There is also information about their tours and pictures of various homes.

Go to their site and click on " Postcards from Home"

" Updated Sept. 12, 2011"

Fern Buford Walker has a beautiful site with information about the

Rock Island Bufords. It's a great site! You'll love it!! HERE .

She just added some really great updates!

 

The Word of Life Ministry is housed in the Charles Buford mansion to see this beautiful place and read its history go HERE

 

For those of you looking for your Swedish roots, this is a great site. Elizabeth Thorsell is also the editor of Augustana Colleges Swedish American Genealogist

 

*A Great Site: Penny Postcards. Postcards from Towns and Counties all over the country.

Click HERE

 

 

 

 

Andalusia Township I support Genealogy.

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