Use these 75 state-focused genealogy websites to find your ancestors and bust down brick walls.

For our ancestors living in rural America—where half the US population resided as late as 1920—mail-order catalogs served “not only as a marketing tool, but also as school readers, almanacs, symbols of abundance and progress, and objects of fantasy and desire,” according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago (a city that was home to both Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck. Read about how mail-order catalogues might have shaped your ancestors' lives.

Nicknamed the Windy City, Second City and City of the Big Shoulders, Chicago also has been called the "most American of American cities." Find your Chicago, Illinois, ancestors with our guide to genealogy research in the city.

Here's help finding ancestors in the Eastern United States.

Click to your roots from Alabama to Wyoming on these 75 stellar state-focused websites.

Where to find Illinois census records, immigration records, land records, maps, vital records and more.

Learn about Illinois's history and available records in this research guide that includes a map and bibliography.

Find contact information for archives, libraries and other genealogical organizations in Illinois.

Our county-by-county listing of Illinois has contact information and dates vital records for historic and modern-day counties.

You can stop blaming Mrs. O'Leary and her cow for the Great Chicago Fire.