{"id":3513,"date":"2025-12-05T15:46:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/?p=3513"},"modified":"2025-12-05T15:46:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T15:46:29","slug":"dual-citizenship-part-2-chicago-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/?p=3513","title":{"rendered":"Dual Citizenship Part 2: Chicago Chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"33\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1-1024x33.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1-1024x33.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1-300x10.png 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1-768x25.png 768w, https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1.png 1144w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cook County, Illinois Marriage Indexes, 1912-1942, Koss, Mary, digital image; Ancestry.com: accessed 30 July 2025, image 145 of 304.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After all the issues I\u2019d already encountered (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/?p=3511\">you can read about here)<\/a>, I foolishly believed things could only get better. So off to Chicago I went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stop 1: Cook County Clerk\u2019s Office<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I started at the County Clerk\u2019s office, bracing myself, several colleagues had warned me about unhelpful staff. To my surprise, the clerk I got was wonderfully professional. One small mercy. Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t walk away with any of the three records I was hoping for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I had a certificate number for my grandparents&#8217; marriage record, but it wasn\u2019t in the system. You can see it exists from the picture above. I was also looking for a birth certificate that was possibly never filed; after all, I had a church-issued \u201cBirth and Baptism\u201d certificate. Back then, churches often issued those in lieu of civil records, and that document had even been used by a family member to enroll in Social Security. Still, no luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was also searching for a death certificate I\u2019d requested by mail on 31 March, four months prior to my visit, with no response. After about an hour of searching, the clerk informed me that a specialist would need to take over the research and contact me once they found something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Correction: if they find something.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stop 2: The Elusive Archives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Tip for Cook County researchers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ask security where to scan your parking garage ticket to get a discount.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When you first arrive, skip the main office, go down the first hallway with a large sign and a barcode. Scan it to get an electronic number. My wait? Only 25 minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>While I waited for a maybe, I moved on to Plan B: <strong>the Archdiocese of Chicago<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From there, I drove several  blocks to the address listed on the Archdiocese&#8217;s website. Found a garage, $27 for 15 minutes (ouch), and entered the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside, I was informed (drumroll&#8230;) the archives are no longer located there. They <em>knew<\/em> the website was wrong. No apology, no signage, no indication they planned to correct it. Clearly, they don\u2019t want people to use the archives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The receptionist suggested I call the real archives before heading over I suppose they don&#8217;t like visitors. I did and was told to mail my request instead of dropping it off. I explained I was already in town for one day and just wanted to drop off the application to ensure my information was correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back to the car. $27 parking bill for 15 minutes. No discount from the diocese, either. So much for grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stop 3: A Parking Lot Blessing?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I spotted another lot across from what I hoped was the <em>correct<\/em> archives this time only $11 for 15 minutes. Progress! As I crossed the street, I realized the building was none other than <strong>Old St. Pat\u2019s<\/strong>, where my husband\u2019s great-great-grandmother, Mary \u201cMolly\u201d O\u2019Brien Cook, had secretly brought her sons to be baptized. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/?p=1116\">Read my blog about dear Molly<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That felt like a good sign. (Also made for a great photo op.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside, however, I was told the archivist wasn\u2019t available, was going on a two-week vacation, and I shouldn\u2019t check back until <em>late August<\/em>. The secretary reviewed my paperwork, made a few copies, took my check, and that was that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The wrinkle? I wasn\u2019t 100% sure which church my grandparents had married in, either <strong>St. Salomea<\/strong>, which is now closed, or <strong>St. Benedict\u2019s<\/strong>, the family\u2019s parish at the time of my great grandparents&#8217; last child\u2019s birth. Here\u2019s a fun fact: if you don\u2019t know the <em>exact<\/em> church, the Archdiocese will not help you. No guessing allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I gambled on St. Salomea and asked how to access St. Benedict\u2019s records. \u201cThey\u2019re still open,\u201d the secretary told me, handing me their address. I asked if she\u2019d mind calling ahead to make sure someone would be there. She wouldn\u2019t. Just handed me the address and not even a good-bye. Wouldn&#8217;t give me the phone number, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, onward to Blue Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stop 4: St. Benedict\u2019s\u2014Sort Of<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>About 30 minutes later, I arrived to find the church closed and the office now located somewhere else entirely. Apparently, the Archdiocese archives hadn\u2019t gotten the memo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My GPS couldn\u2019t find the new location, so we tried another app and eventually found the building, locked. After ringing the bell twice, a woman finally came to the door. Without opening it, she told us everyone was in a meeting and to come back later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I explained that I\u2019d been sent by the Archdiocese and simply wanted to leave a message. After a pause, she let us in and asked for the couple\u2019s names and marriage date. I handed her a copy of the Cook County index listing with the certificate number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She disappeared into a back room, reemerged a few minutes later, and informed me: <em>\u201cNo one by that name was married on that date.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sigh. The saga continues next week&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After all the issues I\u2019d already encountered (you can read about here), I foolishly believed things could only get better. So off to Chicago I went. Stop 1: Cook County Clerk\u2019s Office I started at the County Clerk\u2019s office, bracing myself, several colleagues had warned me about unhelpful staff. To my surprise, the clerk I &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/?p=3513\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Dual Citizenship Part 2: Chicago Chaos&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[1346,1319,1344,1347,1348],"class_list":["post-3513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boots-on-the-ground-researching","tag-church-records","tag-cook-county","tag-dual-citizenship","tag-illinois","tag-vital-records"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3513"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3682,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513\/revisions\/3682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogyatheart.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}