Illinois, U.S., South Pekin Railroad Employment Cards, 1900-1948

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Illinois, U.S., South Pekin Railroad Employment Cards, 1900-1948 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2021.
Original data: Chicago & North Western Historical Society. Personnel Cards from South Pekin, IL. North Riverside, IL.

About Illinois, U.S., South Pekin Railroad Employment Cards, 1900-1948

General Collection Information

This collection includes railroad employment cards from South Pekin, Illinois between 1900 and 1948. South Pekin was established as a railway station on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad in 1912.

Using this Collection

This database can be searched by query or browsed by last name ranges. The details in this collection come from an online database which includes the following:

  • Name
  • Birthdate
  • Employment start date
  • Occupation
  • Employment place
  • Application date

    • Employment cards can be a great resource when researching your ancestors, as they can provide details about your ancestors’ whereabouts at a specific time. For instance, if any absences are noted during the summer months, it could mean that your relatives were farmers. These cards can also tell you how old a person was when they started working on the railroad and if they were able to collect a pension.

    History of the Collection

    South Pekin, Illinois started as a railway station for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, and it later developed into a bustling village. The railroad began to build a new station in South Pekin in March 1912, and the first resident moved in on Christmas Day of that year. The area was originally called McFadden Flats, and it housed railway workers and their families in boxcars in a side yard next to the station.

    Images accompanying this collection have been provided by the Springfield-Greene County Library District in Missouri from their collection for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, commonly known as “the Frisco.”

    Bibliography

    Chicago & Northwestern Historical Society. “About.” Last Accessed January 13, 2021, https://cnwhs.org/wp1/about/.

    Genealogy Trails. “Illinois Railroads in 1901.” Last Accessed January 13, 2021, http://genealogytrails.com/ill/cook/railroads.html.

    Olar, Jared. “Houses on wheels: South Pekin’s early history.” From the History Room, March 9, 2016. https://fromthehistoryroom.wordpress.com/tag/south-pekin-history/.

    Springfield-Greene County Library District. “Employee Cards.” Last Accessed January 12, 2021, https://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/employee_cards/cards.cfm.

    Springfield-Greene County Library District. “The History of Frisco.” Last Accessed January 12, 2021, https://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/history/1962history.cfm.