Genealogy & Local History

Illinois Resources

Online Resources

Ancestry Library Edition

Ancestry Library Edition grey text logo with a light green leaf to the left of the text.

Ancestry Library Edition is the largest online family history resource which provides access to family history via documents that record the lineage of individuals from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and more.

Family Search

'Family Search' in lime green text and a brown tree with green and grey leaves.

FamilySearch adds over 300 million free genealogical records and images online yearly from all over the world and manages the famous Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Newspapers.com by Ancestry

Newspapers.com by Ancestry in light blue and grey text

Newspapers.com by Ancestry has millions of digitized newspaper pages, offering searchable access to historical articles, obituaries, and photos for genealogy and research.

Two gravestones

Obituary Listing

This Excel file contains obituary information about residents from Byron and the surrounding area. You will find more than just names and dates. We have tried to fill in as many blanks as possible. For those of you researching your family history, this file should not be overlooked! You might find the name of a distant relative you never knew existed. While browsing, if you should find a mistake, please send us an email so that we can investigate. Information listed in red means we already know something is wrong with the entry and we are working to fix it. Finally, if you are looking for someone who is not listed please send us an email with as much information as possible about the individual in question and we will do our best to find answers for you. Contact us at library@byronlibrary.org. Thank you for your patience with this project!

Obituaries 1874-1969  Obituaries 1976-2000

Stack of print newspapers

Byron Newspapers Archive

This resource offers a searchable database of Byron newspapers from 1874 to 1969. These archives can be viewed online 24/7 to assist in your genealogy or Byron history research.  A more comprehensive database can be accessed on all library computers, and personal laptops using the library WIFI.

Byron Newspapers 1874-2016
Byron Business Review

Byron Business Review 1952

Check out who was who in 1952! The Byron Business Review not only lists the names of businesses in Byron operating in 1952, but also lots of photos and facts about those businesses. Can you guess where some of those businesses were actually located, and what is in its place today?

Byron Business Review PDF
Dedication of Temple Byron Lodge 1858-1979

Dedication of Temple Byron Lodge 1858-1979

This file contains a digital copy of the program that was created for the dedication of the Byron masonic lodge’s new temple August 5, 1979. This booklet gives a brief history of the lodge, its members, and its work in the area through most of 1979.

Byron Lodge PDF