The Dekalb County History Center is located at 1730 N Main Street in Sycamore Illinois. Present within it’s building is the Joiner History Room, a premier facility for genealogical research into Dekalb County ancestors. The combined facilities have significant holdings of genealogical material, some of which have made it online. The following online databases are free to research:
- Joiner History Room Obituary Database
Over 40,500 obituaries in an online, searchable database. Joiner History Room volunteers have worked for over five years inputting obituaries. - 1902 Small Pox Vaccination List
Vaccinations provided by Dr. Westgate in 1902. - Farm Name Registration 1915-1988
A registration of farm names and the owner who registered the name. - Professional License Registers
A set of seven register books was found in the basement of the Dekalb County Court House in 1979. Physicians, Chiropractors, Dentists, Veterinarians, Architects, Nurses, etc. had to register their certificates before they could legally open a practice. Information in these books varies, starting in the mid 1800’s. It may contain copies of the individual’s license to practice or a hand written description of the person applying for the permit, or some other means of identification.\ - Oral History Project Index
A collection of oral history tapes date from 1976 to 1979. Most of them were interviews conducted at Kishwaukee College by local volunteers. Thanks to a grant from National Bank and Trust of Sycamore, these tapes have now been converted from cassettes to CD’s. Copies are available for purchase. - Registration of Farm Names 1915-1988
Rooted in English tradition, proud land owners often named their property. In Illinois an act of the General Assembly entitled An Act Providing for the Registration of Farm Names was approved on 25 Jun 1915 and in force 1 Jul 1915. - Coroner Records 1850-1905
These records reflect transactions in which the County paid for burial expenses of indigent people. The date listed in the left hand column is the date of the transaction not the date of death. Copies of these papers are available from the Joiner History Room. - The DeKalb County Poor Farm Deaths and Cemetery List
This list is a compilation of three sets of records pertaining to deaths occurring at the poor farm and the burials in the poor farm cemetery. Not all individuals who died at the poor farm were buried in the farm’s cemetery. - Index for Cornsilk from 1976 – 2019
Cornsilk is published by the DeKalb County Historical-Genealogical Society in the months of March, June, September and December
Military Records
- Certificate of Burial of U. S. War Veterans
This is a collection of certificates required by the State of Illinois and issued by the County Clerk for U. S. War Veterans who died in DeKalb County.
Newspapers
Illinois Newspapers
- Compton Record (1887-1895)
- Country Courier (1991-2000)
- DeKalb Chronicle
- Dekalb County Express (1901-1960)
- Evening Times (1887-1887)
- Genoa Issue
- Genoa Journal
- Genoa Republican
- Hinckley Review (1878-1985)
- The Hinckley Review (1902-1971)
- Lee County Times (1882-1959)
- Paw Paw News (1874-1876)
- Review (1986-1991)
- Shabbona Express (1917-1925)
- Sycamore Tribune
- Sycamore True Republican
- Waterman Leader (1878-1962)
