Category Archives: Genealogy

Found it in the Archives!

Imagine….. A donor brings historic documents, written in French, to the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center at the Davenport Public Library that were passed down through the family. Having no sentimental ties to the brittle, fragile papers, they bring them to … Continue reading

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Davenporter of Note: Bailey Davenport

January 9th was the 123rd anniversary of the death of Bailey Davenport, the second son of Col. George Davenport.  And although he didn’t live in Davenport for a good portion of his life, we think the title of this blog … Continue reading

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Just Shelved: Family Trees, Hoosier Histories, and a Generous Legacy

Donald and Marietta Southwood were both long-time supporters of our Special Collections Center. They worked countless volunteer hours indexing and organizing resources and assisting patrons with their research. Mrs. Southwood passed away April 1, 2005, and Mr. Southwood followed on … Continue reading

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Local History Film Screening–and More!

As part of our 30th anniversary celebration, we will be having a special screening of local history film footage from our Archive & Manuscript Collections. The films will be shown this Saturday, October 20th at 1:30pm in the Film Room, … Continue reading

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Cool Resource: Widows’ Pension Records

One hundred years ago, there weren’t a lot of options for widowed mothers who needed help caring for their children. In Iowa and parts of Illinois, if a judge felt that the mother could not provide for her family, the … Continue reading

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Just Shelved: Quad-City Times Newspaper Index to Social Events

One of the first things a genealogist learns is how to find obituaries, which usually appear in the local newspapers within two or three days after the date of death, if the deceased was a current resident. One of the … Continue reading

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Just Shelved: Wheatland, Iowa, newspapers

We’re pleased to announce that the following Wheatland, Iowa, newspapers have been added to our microfilm collections: The Wheatland Times — 11Feb1860 – 30June1864 The Clinton County Advocate — 3Nov1864 – 6June1867 The Wheatland Gazette — 9May1888 – 23July1981 The … Continue reading

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The mystery of the missing county vital records

This is an update on an earlier post about the State-Level Death records that are available at the State Historical Society in Des Moines. The State Historical Society of Iowa has been slowly adding counties to the index for those … Continue reading

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One hundred years ago: Vollstedt – De Beaulieu wedding

Alma Caroline De Beaulieu married Dr. William C. Vollstedt on September 26, 1912. The wedding took place at 7:30 am, at Holy Cross (Kreuz Kirche) German Lutheran Church, located at 626 Belle Avenue in Davenport.  The Rev. Henry P. Greif … Continue reading

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A Genealogist’s Walk: Oakdale Memorial Gardens

Favorite haunts of genealogists and local historians seem to be indoor locations a great deal of the time. We feel at home in local libraries and history centers pouring over books, faded documents, and microfilm until our eyes feel dry and … Continue reading

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