Genealogical Assistance
Do you need help researching the history of a family that resided in or near Dekalb County, Illinois? Maybe you are researching the history of Serbian-Americans? Then please reach out to us today and we will be happy to assist you with your research and lookup requests. We have volunteers who can help with research in Dekalb County and surrounding areas. This service is free of charge and we hope that it will help to keep the memory of our people alive. Some of our services include research help with:
- Church Records
- Immigration and Naturalization Records
- State and Federal Censuses
- Military Service Records
- City Directories
- Cemetery Records
- Family Trees
About US
Many persons of Serbian descent came to Dekalb in the early to mid 1900s from the Balkan and Adriatic Regions of Southeastern Europe. Many of the families came from Lika, Croatia and neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Some even came from the same villages in the old countries and then later lived in Dekalb near each other. Most of the Serbs lived near each other in their own neighborhoods near Dodge Avenue and Market Street. Although there were also Serbians from Serbia proper, most were from neighboring countries within Austria-Hungary and later Yugoslavia. Most of these Serbians worked in the Steel and Wire Industry, manufacturing, on the railroads, or as general laborers. Once settling permanently in their new country and working towards becoming naturalized citizens, the Serbs in Dekalb established “Gusle” Lodge # 192 of the Serbian National Federation to preserve their heritage and culture. The lodge, along with the Serbian Orthodox Church, were the two main organizations that kept the Serb Diaspora unified and encouraged their cultural preservation. The lodge erected two dedication markers in the cemetery which can still be viewed today in both English and Serbian Cyrillic language. Some of the graves are also inscribed in Cyrillic and bear witness to our cultural heritage.
About Me
Hello,
My name is Jacob. I have created this website in order to inform both groups and individuals about the Serbs of Dekalb and Dekalb County, Illinois and their genealogies and history. This website is dedicated to them, our brave immigrant ancestors. My hope is that I may be of further service in helping to perpetuate their memory in the hearts and minds of all their descendants today.
The idea about creating a website on the Dekalb Serbs came to mind when after searching the internet for information on the history and families I could find hardly anything on them or their history published online.
This is when I decided it was time for me to take on the task of building a website geared towards the community of the past and also geared towards our modern community of descendants today.
I am the great-grandson of Rade Hrnjak and Danica Svilar. Rade was a Serb from Trnavac (Korenica), Lika-Senj, Croatia and Danica was born in Dekalb, Illinois to Ilija Svilar and Sofija Hinić of Kozjan (Bunić), Lika-Senj, Croatia. The family also has origins in and around the areas of Krbavica in Lika-Senj, Croatia and many places in Serbia.
My name is Jacob. I have created this website in order to inform both groups and individuals about the Serbs of Dekalb and Dekalb County, Illinois and their genealogies and history. This website is dedicated to them, our brave immigrant ancestors. My hope is that I may be of further service in helping to perpetuate their memory in the hearts and minds of all their descendants today.
The idea about creating a website on the Dekalb Serbs came to mind when after searching the internet for information on the history and families I could find hardly anything on them or their history published online.
This is when I decided it was time for me to take on the task of building a website geared towards the community of the past and also geared towards our modern community of descendants today.
I am the great-grandson of Rade Hrnjak and Danica Svilar. Rade was a Serb from Trnavac (Korenica), Lika-Senj, Croatia and Danica was born in Dekalb, Illinois to Ilija Svilar and Sofija Hinić of Kozjan (Bunić), Lika-Senj, Croatia. The family also has origins in and around the areas of Krbavica in Lika-Senj, Croatia and many places in Serbia.