Genealogical Services

The Rush University Medical Center Archives staff will perform limited research of the collections for external research requests. If a request exceeds 30 minutes of staff research time, the Archives will ask the researcher to perform any further research in person.

Please note that there are few student records in the Rush University Medical Center Archives. Student records from Rush's earliest years were destroyed in the great Chicago fire of 1871.

Historians interested in Rush Medical College student transcripts from 1898 to 1942 may contact the University of Chicago's Office of the Registrar. During this period, Rush Medical College was affiliated with the University of Chicago.

Information pertaining to students in the Medical Center Archives is generally limited to university publications. Researchers commonly gain information about students from class photographs, annual announcements of Rush Medical College, lists of graduates, and Alumni publications.

f you are planning a research visit to the Rush University Medical Center Archives, please contact us with your research topics and the date of your upcoming visit. [Contact the Archives]. Sources of interest to genealogists in the Archives include:

• Record Group 023000: Rush Medical College (1837-1969)
• Record Group 027000: St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing (1885-1956)
• Record Group 028000: Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing (1903-1956)
• Record Group 029000: Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing (1956-1968)
• Record Group 021020: Health Systems Management Alumni Association
• Record Group 021030: Medical Alumni
• Record Group 021040: Nursing Alumni
• Record Group 044000: Audio-Visual Materials
• Reference Collection (over 4,000 subject files on Organizations, Biography, Buildings and Chicago Medicine)

The Rush University Medical Center Archives can often confirm student graduations from the Rush Medical College, St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, and Rush University. Generally our collections only include a student's photograph and year of graduation. However, this data is incomplete for some years and classes.

Researchers interested in information on employees in the medical or professional staff at Rush, Presbyterian, or St. Luke's Hospital should make an appointment to perform research in person.

Class photographs are on file for most graduating classes (1879 to the present) of Rush Medical College, St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, and Rush University. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of a student's photograph, complete a Photograph Search Request Form [Adobe PDF] [Rich Text Format] and mail it to the Archives. Please refer to the Reproduction Services page for more information on reproduction options, fees, and delivery.