Sources checked October 29, 2026. Holdings checked against official catalogs and repository descriptions. Staff-confirmed details are identified below; other holdings are based on published sources. No name-level search; dates do not guarantee complete coverage or online images.
STOP 01 / NIU IRAD
Albany Township: health administration beside town meetings
Board of Health minutes offer an unusual local-government source. Township meeting minutes provide a broader administrative context for the same locality.
Albany Twp: Board of Health Minutes 1915–1944 · Accession 1/0248/04
Do the health minutes have a subject index, and are there related township decisions for the date or issue I am studying?
Evidence limit: Health-board minutes are not necessarily patient or death registers. Names, diagnoses and record-access conditions have not been verified.
STOP 02 / NIU IRAD
Newton Township: road labor assessments and road taxes
Assessment lists and road-tax lists offer a way to ask how township road obligations were recorded between census years.
Newton Twp: Highway Labor Assessment Lists 1865–1912 · Accession 1/0166/04
Newton Twp: Road Tax Lists 1857–1904 · Accession 1/0166/01
A focused question to ask
Can these lists be searched by name, road district or land description, and which volumes cover my target year?
Evidence limit: An assessed obligation does not prove labor was performed. A tax entry does not by itself identify an occupant or establish kinship.
STOP 03 / NIU IRAD
Albany Township: drainage decisions over four decades
Drainage district minutes can be useful when the research question concerns changing land use, waterways or local infrastructure.
Albany Twp: Drainage District Minutes 1887–1928 · Accession 1/0248/05
A focused question to ask
Which drainage district is represented, and are there internal indexes, maps or references to associated petitions?
Evidence limit: The catalog does not establish which parcels or people appear. Do not assume the district covered all of Albany Township or that related maps survive.
IRAD is an Illinois Secretary of State program administered by the Illinois State Archives. Depository location: Northern Illinois University, DeKalb. Direct IRAD research requests to the regional depository, not the university’s separate archives or special collections.
Call to ask a question or schedule an appointment. The IRAD office is in Founders Memorial Library, Room 265, on the second floor. For a remote request, follow the statewide telephone/mail policy and confirm the current mailing address with staff.
Start with no more than two names, approximate dates, the county and the record type. Include the township or school where known and the accession number above. Ask whether an index exists, which volumes survive and what copying will cost. For an unindexed series, agree on a manageable search before requesting a long period. The statewide policy directs research requests to telephone or mail rather than email; wait for a response before sending another request. See the statewide research policy ↗.
Request template: I am researching [person or place] in [locality] around [years]. Your catalog lists [title], accession [number]. Which volume covers that period, is it indexed, and how can I consult or obtain the relevant pages? Please let me know any gaps, restrictions and copying charges.
Collection dates at a glance
The table lists IRAD series with verified date spans. Community collections above may have different or unspecified coverage and separate access rules. Catalog spans are starting points, not guarantees of every year, locality or individual. Use the Research Planner to compare your years with these cataloged series.
Selected cataloged series for Whiteside County
Record series
Catalog dates
Accession
Albany Twp: Board of Health Minutes
1915–1944
1/0248/04
Albany Twp: Township Meeting Minutes
1852–1950
1/0248/01
Newton Twp: Highway Labor Assessment Lists
1865–1912
1/0166/04
Newton Twp: Road Tax Lists
1857–1904
1/0166/01
Albany Twp: Drainage District Minutes
1887–1928
1/0248/05
Keep the record and your interpretation separate.
Save the depository, collection, accession number, volume, page, dates and any copy correspondence. Record uncertain names as uncertain. A shared road, school or signature can suggest an association; it does not establish a family relationship.
Suggest a correction, an overlooked collection or an updated access detail. An official link or source helps us check it before making a change. Please leave out private family documents and sensitive personal information.