McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 184, Crystal Lake, IL 60039-0184

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Woodstock, Illinois 1856-1894

The Woodstock Sentinel is the oldest extant newspaper in McHenry County. The first issue was published on July 17, 1856, a single sheet containing no local news and only four columns of advertisements. As its popularity grew, the editors added local news, including death notices and marriage announcements. Not a single birth notice appears in the issues from 1856 through 1869. Researchers should be aware that obituaries, as we know them today, were very rare in the early issues of this newspaper. Instead, death notices were published—usually a line or two providing the name, age, death date, and sometimes the names of parents or a spouse. These early issues are extremely difficult to read; variant spellings and misspellings of names were frequent.

Microfilmed copies of the newspaper are available at the Woodstock Public Library, 414 W. Judd Street, Woodstock, IL 60098

Copies of the death notices/obituaries may also be obtained by writing to the Illinois State Historical Library, Old State Capitol, Springfield, IL 62701. There is a charge; please contact the library for more information.

Microfilm of the original newspaper may also be obtained on inter-library loan from the Illinois State Historical Library—contact your local library for further information.