Index to the Death Notices
Appearing in the Newspaper
The Sentinel
Woodstock, Illinois 1856-1869
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.
Click the following
links to take you to the indexes:
Surnames
A-D Surnames
E-H Surnames J-P
Surnames R-Y
