Recently, a volunteer to the museum who happens to be a Genealogist approached us with an idea to begin researching family trees for individuals. Those individuals having their family history researched would have the option to have the records made public through printed material at the Museum and or posted on our website. We think this would be a great tool for those searching for historic genealogical records pertaining to the City of Centralia and surrounding area. Her research would not be limited to this area only, as she is willing to do research for any region as this is her profession. Below is a synopsis of what she will offer.

Researching your family tree

one leaf at a time.

I started researching my family history 20 years ago. It was first an obsession, then a hobby. Now it is my profession. Would you  like to know who your ancestors were? Let me find them for you.

In your report not only will you recieve the names of your ancestors, you will recieve everything I can find about them. Please click on the link below for the Genealogy Research Request Form.

My goal for this website, with your permission, is to list all of the families that I have found through my research that lived in Centralia, Illinois from it's beginnings.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Elizabeth O'Neill, Family Historian

Click here to download a form to give as much information to Beth as possible to get your research started along with all of the details that the research contains. If you prefer we have this form available at the Museum also. This an experimental endeavor that the Museum will not monetarily profit from. We are not sure where this will take us or what will come of it but we are hopeful that it will benefit the museum by giving us another historical artifact to offer to the public. Below are some photos of Beth's ancestors she acquired while doing research on her own family.