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| Updated: May 29, 2007 - 10:04:33 CDT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Family history preserved
Digging up genealogy information is a whole lot easier at the Sandwich Library thanks to one man. Ken Bastian, 87, has spent the last dozen or so years organizing and indexing tens of thousands of obituaries from local newspapers dating back to 1878. He explained how his project began as research into his own family history. “I was looking for some general information at the library and they referred me to the newspapers that were on microfilm,” Bastian said. He soon discovered what a mammoth task it was to look through thousands of newspapers. Bastian said the old microfilm was not indexed in any way. “I decided to make an index of the obituaries and put it in a book. After I got those done, it seemed logical to get all [the obituaries],” Bastian said. “ŠIt's one of those things that kind of grew.” The meticulous work includes gathering obituaries from several local papers from the Sandwich and Hinckley areas. Some obituaries are more detailed than others and some are merely death notices. Bastian said there was a period of about five years when there were no newspaper records in Sandwich. For these years, he was able to find some information in Hinckley papers. But the connections and historical references that can be made are invaluable to researchers. “It's a very valuable research tool because we get researchers from all over the country,” said Jennifer Burke, administrator for the Sandwich Library. The library recently gave Bastian an award for his efforts. “It's so easy and provides so much for all who are going through their family genealogy,” said Boots Hoffman of the Sandwich Historical Society. The obituary records are indexed by last name and cross-referenced by books organized by years. Records are also stored in computer files. Bastian said he has about 53,000 individual obituaries in his tree maker file. He is a member of the Sandwich Historical Society and they appreciate his work, as well. “It is wonderful to have all this information at our local library,” Hoffman said. “I have referred many individuals to this service. I also enjoy just reading the old obits learning about former residents and their lives.” Bastian figures he has spent between 10,000 and 12,000 hours doing this. And he is not done. He is constantly updating the records and said he will keep up with it as long as he can. “I did it primarily because it needs to be done,” Bastian said. “ŠI want to share it with people.”
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| Valley Free Press, 37 S. Main St., Sandwich, IL 60548
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