Jesse White is Illinois’ Secretary of State and State Archivist. Most everyone thinks about his department and his job in regards to the DMV. No, that isn’t the Demilitarized Zone, even though many are reminded of one when they are standing in line for hours to get their license updated. Another of his major responsibilities is the State Archivist duties. Check out the links to databases that the State of Illinois has online.

The official description as posted on their website is:

The Illinois State Archives serves by law as the depository of public records of Illinois state and local governmental agencies which possess permanent administrative, legal, or historical research values. Its collections do not include manuscript, newspaper, or other nonofficial sources.

Example databases just for Illinois Veterans:

• Database of Illinois War of 1812 Veterans
• Database of Illinois Winnebago War Veterans
• Database of Illinois Black Hawk War Veterans
• Database of Illinois Mexican War Veterans
• Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Database
• Database of Illinois Civil War Veterans Serving in the U.S. Navy
• Database of Illinois Civil War Veterans of Missouri Units
• Database of Illinois Spanish–American War Veterans
• Database of the 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor
• Database of Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home Resident

There are numerous resources on the website and I would like to highlight one in particular. Check out this link to President Abraham Lincoln’s document images. Additionally, here is the link to many of the documents they have in the state archives. There is a lot of information that is accessible for Illinois educators through this site. Next time Jesse White’s name comes up, don’t just think Department of Motor Vehicles.