The TCGHS Press
Society Publications for Sale

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Tazewell County Histories

Everett McKinley Dirksen…a Boy from Pekin Documents Senator Dirksen's life from childhood and early beginnings in Pekin through his rise to prominence in the national scene in Washington, DC.  Although written for a third through seventh grade reading level, the book presents many facts and photos of the Senator's life that adults also would find interesting. Here's more information on the content and creation of the book.  100 pages.  Soft cover.	$15.50
Atlas Map of Tazewell County, Illinois. - 1873 (Andreas, Lyter & Co.) CD-ROM Compiled, drawn & published from personal examinations & surveys.  Scanned by TCGHS from the original 14" x 17" book into a searchable Adobe PDF file - contains 27 fully colored maps, many pages of uncolored views of farms, homes and commercial buildings. Land owners identified.  Biographies,  portraits, residents, and the history of 1873 Tazewell County.  Contains the original published index as well as an every person index that was manually compiled by Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society volunteers. 165 pages. CD-ROM.  More info...	$39.00
History of Tazewell County - 1879 (Chas. C. Chapman & Co.) CD-ROM Scanned by TCGHS from the original book into a searchable Adobe PDF file - includes sketches of Tazewell County cities, villages and townships; educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons and biographies of representative citizens. The CD also includes the History of Illinois — embracing accounts of the pre-historic races, Aborigines, French, English and American conquests, and a general review of its civil, political, and military history. 794 pages. CD-ROM. More info...	$24.00
Portrait & Biographical Record -- Tazewell & Mason Counties (Biographical Publishing Co. 1894) CD-ROM Scanned by TCGHS from the original book into a searchable Adobe PDF file - contains biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties, together with biographies and portraits of all the governors of the state and the presidents of the United States. 707 pages. CD-ROM. More info...	$24.00
Lynch Law - One of our members, Jim Conover, has co-authored the definitive book on the history of "the Berry Gang", which terrorized the people of Tazewell County for years in the late 1860's, despite the efforts of Pekin's tough City Marshal Alfred Stone, Tazewell County Sheriff Edward Pratt, and his deputies - including the gang's eventual downfall. Based on historical documents and family histories.  A classic piece of western frontier history right here in central Illinois! Here's a brief overview of the book, including surnames mentioned!  297 pages.  Soft cover.	$20.00
Tazewell County Veterans of World War II Remembrances Contains memories from oral and written histories of over 450 Tazewell County Veterans collected by TCGHS.  About 500 pages.  High-quality hardback binding.  Read more details.	Sale! $46.00 $65.00 plus $1.34 Handling
The Education of Private Urish by Earl Urish An account of a young Tazewell County private's experiences in combat during World War II.  Hardback.	$22.50
The Pekin Centenary 1849-1949 Commemorates 100 years of community progress in the city of Pekin, Illinois.  Hardback.	$21.00
Pekin History Then and Now - written and arranged by Rob Clifton Photographs and/or Lithographs comparing how various Pekin locations looked in the 1800's vs 2004.  Also explains how the Pekin "female" streets (Ann Eliza, Catherine, Carolyn, Henrietta, etc.) were originally named.  Soft cover.	$24.00

Marriage books include a bride's index.  Beginning with volume 4, all information contained on the application is listed.
Volume 1	1827 to October 1859	$12.50
Volume 2	November 1859 to December 1868	11.50
Volume 3	January 1869 to December 1877	11.50
Volume 4	January 1878 to December 1882	14.50
Volume 5	January 1883 to December 1887	14.50
Volume 6	January 1888 to December 1892	14.50
Volume 7	January 1893 to December 1897	14.50
	January 1942 Through December 1952	24.00
	January 1953 Through December 1962	24.00
	January 1963 Through December 1972	26.00

Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society (TCGHS) compiled this index using the original returned marriage licenses which were in storage at the Tazewell County courthouse. TCGHS has scanned the original license. Each entry in the index contains Record Number, Bride & Grooms names, Date of Marriage, Surnames of Groom's mother, Surname of Bride's mother, and any other Surnames mentioned (for instance, if this was a 2nd marriage and the record said Mrs. Gail ROGERS, but her father's name was George JONES, then JONES would be listed under "Other Surnames Mentioned"). TCGHS will provide a copy of the original license for $5.00 post paid. Orders may be made online, at the library (719 N 11th Street, Pekin, IL 61554), or by mail (PO Box 312, Pekin, IL 61555-0312). You may contact the society for additional info by email or call at 309 477-3044. TCGHS is not responsible for any mistakes made in this index. Many of the names were originally handwritten – so the transcribers sometimes had a difficult time deciphering them. Researchers should check any possible spelling variations when searching for a license.
Volume 1	Bride or Groom Surnames A-E, 190 pp, soft cover	$24.50
Volume 2	Bride or Groom Surnames F-K, 188 pp, soft cover	24.50
Volume 3	Bride or Groom Surnames L-R, 198 pp, soft cover	24.50
Volume 4	Bride or Groom Surnames S-Z, 198 pp, soft cover	24.50

1850 Tazewell County Census - Volume 1.  Published by McLean County Genealogical Society. Note: Index is in Volume 2.	$14.00
1850 Tazewell County Census - Volume 2.  & Index. Published by McLean County Genealogical Society.	14.00
1860 Tazewell County Census - Eastern Half. Indexed. (Washington, Tremont, Deer Creek, Morton, Mackinaw, Little Mackinaw, and Hittle Townships)	14.00
1860 Tazewell County Census - Western Half. Indexed. (City of Pekin, Pekin, Cincinnati, Sand Prairie, Fondulac, Groveland, Elm Grove, Dillon, Delavan, Malone, and Spring Lake Townships)	15.00

Tazewell County Land Records Index Volume 1 (1827-March 1838) A list of the entries from the first eight volumes of the Tazewell County Deed Record Books, which covered land transfers between 1827 and March 1838.  Each entry contains the grantor (seller), date & type of deed transfer, record book volume & page Number, and the grantee (buyer).  Both grantor and grantee indexes are included.	$14.00
Tazewell County Naturalizations Volume 1 A-L (1839-1909) An alphabetical listing of those who filed one or more papers necessary to become a U.S. citizen. Depending on the year & type of document, your ancestor's name, port of departure, port of arrival, birth date or age, country or origin, witnesses present, etc. will be listed.	16.00
Tazewell County Naturalizations Volume 2 M-Z (1839-1909) An alphabetical listing of those who filed one or more papers necessary to become a U.S. citizen. Depending on the year & type of document, your ancestor's name, port of departure, port of arrival, birth date or age, country or origin, witnesses present, etc. will be listed.	16.00

1873 Tazewell County Atlas.  Index only!	5.00
1861 Root's Pekin City Directory (reprint)	Sale! 9.00 12.00
1917 Prairie Farmer's Reliable Directory of Farmers & Breeders of Tazewell County (reprint). Indexed. Softbound.  A list of the county's farmers & breeders with information about each farm.   Also lists the county's businesses, rural automobile & tractor owners. The name of head of household, spouse & all children are shown as well as the exact size & location of the farm, and much more.	17.00
1937 City Directory of South Pekin	6.00

2002 Historic 1950's Churches Wall Calendar This calendar featured black & white photograph's of a dozen Tazewell County churches. Although now outdated as a calendar, it provides a look at the churches of Tazewell County, circa 1950.  Contains approximately 8" x 10" photos of Armington Christian Church, Creve Coeur Church of the Nazarene, Delavan First Methodist Church, Green Valley Presbyterian Church, Hopedale St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Morton Apostolic Christian Church, Pekin St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Pekin St. Paul's Evangelical Church, South Pekin Congregational Church, Tremont Apostolic Christian Church, Tremont First Methodist Church, and Washington Presbyterian Church.	Close Out! 6.00 7.50
Roaring Thru the 20's booklet Includes stories, photographs, and history of Tazewell County in the 1920's.	Sale! 9.00 12.00
Whirlwind of South Pekin booklet On March 30, 1938, a family of three to five tornadoes moved across central and west central Illinois during the afternoon. The worst damage from the outbreak occurred in South Pekin, where seven people were killed, three city blocks were leveled, and 250 homes were damaged or destroyed.  This booklet describes the destruction in detail and includes several photographs.	9.00
Steamer Columbia Sinks at Wesley booklet One of the worst disasters in the history of United States inland navigation occurred at midnight, Friday, July 5, 1918 when the excursion steamboat Columbia hit a submerged stump and sank into the Illinois River with 496 passengers near Wesley City (present day Creve Coeur). Eighty-seven passengers, mostly women and children, drowned in the submerged wreckage.  This booklet describes the destruction in detail including photographs of the wreckage.	6.00
Pictures of The Columbia Disaster	5.00
Passenger List of The Columbia Disaster	5.00
Pekin 175th Anniversary Christmas Ornament TCGHS created a limited edition pewter Christmas ornament to mark the 175th anniversary of the founding of Pekin, the Tazewell County seat. We are delighted in how the ornament turned out - the photo really doesn't do justice to the texture and depth of the winter scene of a sleigh hauling a Christmas tree past an early settler's barn! This is a high-quality heavy pewter ornament - approximately 3 inches across!	Close Out! 8.50 18.00
Historical Post Cards. Pekin Hotels, Courthouse, Court Street, two river scenes, Terminal Station, Fountain; three Delavan scenes; County Courthouse & Jail; Hopedale High School & Main Street. (minimum order is 6 cards)	Sale! .60 1.00	Preview Cards
Note Cards - Prints from 1873 Atlas. Package of six - 5" x 7". Ivory Vellum with envelopes.  Suitable for framing. Includes Melick's Store (Green Valley), Minier Mills (Minier), Sherman House (Washington), Wagenseller's Store (Pekin), New Public School (Morton), Cobean & Watkins Livery (Delavan)	5.00
TCGHS The Monthly Newsletter Surname Index 1978-2000	$18.50
TCGHS The Monthly Past Issues (queries, old letters, diaries, newspaper excerpts, etc.) Shipped Hard Copy of our newsletters - available years 1979-2015. 12 issues/year.	1979-2015 10.50/yr	Select Year: 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
TCGHS The Monthly Past Issues (queries, old letters, diaries, newspaper excerpts, etc.) Emailed PDF Copy of our newsletters - available years 2007-2016. 12 issues/year in a zip file	2007-2015 4.50/yr	Select Year: 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

PCHS West Campus Shelf Sitter

To remember the landmark 98-year-old Pekin Community High School West Campus building was demolished in 2015, despite the efforts of many citizens ) to save it. the society has released a commemorative shelf sitter.  The 1" thick wood shelf sitter stands up on its own and measures 9 inches wide by 3 inches tall.  It depicts the front view of the building and has an inscription on the back.  Makes a great gift for anyone who attended school in this building.   More info and photos

Pekin Community High School West Campus Shelf Sitter. More info and photos	25.75

TCGHS Historic Shelf Sitters

TCGHS has released a series of Tazewell County Shelf Sitters which depict historic Tazewell County Buildings.  All of these buildings were regularly visited by Abraham Lincoln when he rode the eighth circuit during the late 1840's and early 1850's.  The shelf sitters vary in size but are all around 5" x 7".  They are about an inch thick and, of course, stand upright on their own.  More info and photos

Tazewell County Courthouse, Pekin, Illinois. Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, and Judge David Davis argued cases here.  More info and photos	20.75
Jones-Menard "Red Brick" House, Tremont, Illinois Lincoln and many other notables entertained here including Judge David Davis, Judge Lyman Trumbull, Hon. Leonard Sivell, and Bishop Philander Chase.  A presidential campaign rally was held here for Lincoln in 1860.  More info and photos	20.75
Lilly Inn, Lilly, Illinois Abraham Lincoln was believed to have slept at the Inn when he rode the court circuit from Danville to Peoria. More info and photos	20.75
Tazewell House, Pekin, Illinois The hotel was one of Pekin's best and offered shelter to such prominent guests as Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas when the were trying cases in Tazewell County.  More info and photos	20.75

All prices include shipping and handling.
(save by buying at the library!)