chicagogenealogy

User Rating:

567 Ratings
1431 Lookups completed

Cynthia

Specializes In: Divorce and probate research in Cook County, Illinois; budget-priced Chicago death certificate retrieval, 1923-1947. -- I can also handle custom research projects. Send me a quick, no-obligation note to tell me what you need and I'll reply to tell you if I think I can help.

About Me:

I have 5+ years of experience helping family history researchers locate Chicago records and over twenty years of experience researching my own family history. I usually visit the Circuit Court Archives once a week for probate and divorce searches and I can retrieve Chicago death certificates, 1923-1947 four days a week. I have a bachelor's degree in Japanese and a master's degree in reading instruction, but genealogy has been my focus since moving to Illinois. I'm the founder of a website for Chicago research and I'm also the co-founder of Genlighten.com. If I'm not working on research, I'm playing the fiddle. I started lessons in 2008 and old-time music has become a very happy part of my life.

Genealogical Training, Certifications, or Society/Association Memberships:

I learned about handling, storing, and indexing archival records while working on two grant projects in a small upstate New York town. I currently volunteer at the local Family History Center and I coded and maintain a website for the local historical museum. I'm the author of "ChicagoGenealogy: Research Insights from Study and Serendipity" on Blogger.com.

Lookups Offered:

Client Feedback:

Lookup: Death Certificate, Chicago
Cynthia, you have made my day. Fantastic service. Many thanks, Lars

Lookup: Divorce Lookup Part II
Very prompt, very professional and helpful too. Thank you so much!

Lookup: Death Certificate, Chicago
Thanks again for the prompt response and excellent customer service!

Lookup: Death Certificate, Chicago
Very prompt service and very good image quality.

Lookup: Divorce Search, Cook County, Illinois
Fantastic job! Thanks for the fast service and doing the leg work that I wasn't able to do! Highly recommended!

Lookup: Coroner's Death Certificates, Chicago / Cook County
Another 5 star lookup from chicagogenealogy!!!!! when you want something quick and priced right, it's the only way to go! Glad you are out there!!

Lookup: Divorce Lookup Part I: Index Search, Cook County Circuit Court Archives

Lookup: Divorce Lookup Part II
I highly recommend the services of chicagogenealogy. Fast results with high quality at reasonable prices. Exceeded expectations.

Lookup: Divorce Lookup Part II
Excellent service with very reasonable pricing and discounts. A pleasure to work with. I expect to use her services again soon.

Lookup: Divorce Search, Cook County, Illinois
Cynthia thank you for finding the answers to all of my questions and doubts concerning my deceased parents divorce and the custody of me and my sister. We were brought to Canada and lived under a different last name and lived a life in hiding with my mother because my dad had legal custody of us. So many secrets! It's a shame that I found my dad through his death notice four years ago and we never got to talk. You provide a great service! A million thanks. Connie Tomiyama

Lookup: Cook County Naturalization (Circuit, Criminal, Superior, and County Courts Only)
Very pleasant to work with and unbelievably fast.

Lookup: Chicago Death Certificate (you have a certificate number)

Lookup: Cook County Naturalization (Circuit, Criminal, Superior, and County Courts Only)
Excelent service

Lookup: Divorce Lookup Part II: Color Scans from File
Cynthia provided timely and helpful communication and rendered excellent service in fulfilling my document request.

Lookup: Chicago Death Certificate (you have a certificate number)
Very satisfied with service. Quick turnaround is appreciated.

Lookup: Chicago Death Certificate (you have a certificate number)
Excellent service I'm very happy Thank you Marilyn

Lookup: Chicago Death Certificate (you don't have a certificate number)
Cynthia figured out a problem I have been trying to solve for two years. I had a death certificate with the address obscured. But Cynthia knew that the death with address would also be printed in the Chicago Death Index. In one day, she broke my brick wall. Thank you chicagogenealogy!!

Lookup: Chicago Death Certificate (you have a certificate number)

Lookup: Cook County Naturalization (Circuit, Criminal, Superior, and County Courts Only)
Great Service. When a single document only appeared, Miss Chicago Genealogy asked the registrar if there was more. Good advancement on her part. Scan of document was good quality. My thanks.

Lookup: Cook County Naturalization (Circuit, Criminal, Superior, and County Courts Only)
The service was friendly and prompt. I received results in less than a week. The quality of the doc. was also good. I will definitely use them again! K. Short

Lookup: Chicago Death Certificate (you don't have a certificate number)
Awesome!! Very impressive, fast results and excellent communication! Thank you!!

Lookup: Chicago Death Certificate (you have a certificate number)
Thank you so much! Very quick, thorough, and complete with follow-up instructions!

Lookup: Chicago Death Certificate (you have a certificate number)
Fast as lightening. Good quality image. Just what I needed.

Custom Request: Chicago Tribune-4 Obits
Fair price for look-up service and fast delivery of documents.

Custom Request: Delayed Birth Index - Chicago
Fast, excellent service. I hope to use them again.

Custom Request: Guillemenot divorce papers
great service, prompt and clear communication, and reasonable prices. Most highly recommended

Custom Request: Photocopies from Minnich divorce file made by ChicagoGenealogy
Thanks for doing such a great job. I really appreciate your service and will use you again. I'd give you 10 stars!

Custom Request: Geissler/Hanrahan/Harrison/Michels
great as usual!!!

Custom Request: Well - Burman Divorce File Circuit Court Case 49 C 5952
The person I was in contact with rates 5 stars but as for this site I give a half star. I found it VERY difficult to even access this site - each time I received an email notice and clicked on the link I had to sign in and then a notice came up to sign in and it blocked the area for you to sign in if you were already a member(?). I have been doing research on-line for 12 years and this site has been my was worst experience EVER - I will never use it again!

Custom Request: Chicago Circuit Court Divorce File
Very reasonable rate for this amount of work. I received images of the entire file, clearly labeled. Communication with this provider is outstanding.

Custom Request: Pre-1916 Death Record
Very prompt and helpful

Custom Request: Test Request to Evaluate Current Custom Lookup Process

Rating for chicagogenealogy

FAQ for this lookup

Do these records list funeral home names and places of burial?

Yes, the undertaker's name is usually listed and I've only seen a few death records where a cemetery name isn't given.

What information can I expect to find on a death record?

The information will vary, depending on what an informant knew, but below is a list of information you might expect to find for the various years. 1878-1903 name sex and race age in years, months, days occupation date of death marital status nationality and place where born (usually a state or country) how long a resident in the state place of death (street address and ward) cause of death duration of disease place of burial name of undertaker 1904-1909 all of the information above father's birthplace (usually a state or country) mother's birthplace (usually a state or country) number of years in Chicago 1910-1915 all of the information above name and birthplace of father (usually a state or country) maiden name and birthplace of mother (usually a state or country) informant's name and address 1916 forward all of the information above name of spouse

What is the "Chicago Death Index, 1871-1933?

The long title for this index is "Indexes to deaths in the city of Chicago during the years 1871 to 1933 : showing name, address and date of death" but that is somewhat misleading. This index is probably for burial permits, and it includes entries for deaths that occurred inside and outside of Chicago, including out of state.

Here are some reasons to search it:

1) Sometimes an address can help distinguish between two or more individuals with the same name who appear in the Cook County Death Index, 1871-1916 or the Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916-1950

2) The index lists individuals who died outside the city but are buried in Chicago. Sometimes this can help solve the "mystery" of why a person buried in a city cemetery doesn't appear in the Cook County Death Index. Local certificates for Out of Town Deaths, 1909-1915 are available on Family History Library microfilm.

3) Sometimes this index can lead to a death certificate for an individual who does not seem to appear in the Cook County or Statewide Death Indexes mentioned above. If you find an entry for a pre-1916 death in this index, but aren't able to find a certificate number in the online or microfiche index, it is worth scrolling thorough the certificate film for the surname letter/month/year. I have found a number of certificates in this way.

4) For pre-1916 death certificates, the register number in this index matches the number that is stamped on the death certificates but not the one that is handwritten. It is not useful in locating the pre-1916 death certificates on films that are arranged by the second, handwritten number, but it is useful in locating certificates if they fall on the "mixed" films from 1908-1915 or if they are for certificates for 1916-1933.

Are you able to get copies of burial permits?

No. Even though this index is often referred to as the "Burial Permit Index" (probably because it includes out-of-town deaths), it actually seems to lead to "regular" death certificates. In fact, from 1916 forward, the numbers in this index are the same as the numbers you'd find in the Illinois Statewide Death Index,

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