Investigating Chicago Police Ancestors

Grace DuMelle from the Newberry Library will be our speaker. Find local and online sources for deceased members of the Chicago police force. Learn when they joined, where they were stationed, what they were paid, and some of their notable cases. There are special sources as well for those killed in the line of duty. The presentation is suitable for beginner, intermediate, and advanced researchers.

Grace DuMelle has been a professional researcher since 1995, helping clients from all over the United States and several foreign countries. Her firm, Heartland Historical Research Service, has assisted the United States Department of Justice and Graystone Communications (parent company of The History Channel), among others. Heartland’s projects have taken Grace to the Library of Congress and the National Archives as well as facilities throughout the greater Chicago area.

Since 2001, Grace has also been on staff at the Newberry Library in Chicago, one of the country’s foremost genealogical libraries. Guiding beginners to discoveries about their families is something she greatly enjoys. Her experience on both sides of the reference desk -- as a staffer and as a researcher -- influenced the very practical, hands-on approach of her book, Finding Your Chicago Ancestors:  A Beginner’s Guide to Family History in the City and Cook County. It received state, regional and national awards for instructional nonfiction, and went out of print in August 2018 after thirteen years.