Spotlight on Kane County, Illinois

 Kane County is located in northern Illinois.  It one of the “Collar counties”, on the western edge of the Chicago metropolitan area.   Kane County was formed in 1836 from LaSalle County.  It was named for Elias Kane, a United States Senator from Illinois and the first Secretary of State for Illinois.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1878.  Marriage records date to the founding of the county.  Land and Probate Records also begin in 1836.  Many of the earlier vital and probate records have been digitized and are available at FamilySearch.org.  There were 2 courthouse fires, one in 1843 and one in 1890 which destroyed a small number of records each time.

The county courthouse is located in the county seat of Geneva and vital records may be obtained at https://www.kanecountyclerk.org/VitalRecords/Pages/Genealogy.aspx .  Some records may also be located at the IRAD at Northern Illinois University.  There, in addition to vital records, one might find jail records and naturalization records.

The Kane County Genealogical Society may be found at http://www.kcgsillinois.org/.  In addition, the Elgin Genealogical Society is a good resource.  They are at www.elginroots.com. The Gail Borden Library in Elgin has a good collection of area publications and microfilm.  They can be found at https://gailborden.info/research/genealogy.  

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (September 2021).   

Spotlight on Madison County, Illinois

 Madison County is located in southwest Illinois.  It lies along the Mississippi River and compirises part of the greater St. Louis metropolitan area.  Madison County was formed in 1812 from portions of Randolph and St. Clair Counties.  It was named for our fourth U.S. President James Madison and originally contained most of present-day Illinois as well as Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and part of Minnesota, in other words, a large portion of the Northwest Territory.  By 1843 it had been reduced to its current size.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1878.  Marriage records date to the founding of the county, while some Probate files and Land Records are even earlier.  Many of these records have been digitized and are available at FamilySearch.org. 

The county courthouse is located in the county seat of Edwardsville and vital records may be obtained at https://www.co.madison.il.us/departments/county_clerk/vital_records/genealogy_research.php .  Some records may also be located at the IRAD at Southern Illinois University.  There, in addition to vital records, probate records and land records, one might find poor farm records and naturalization records.

The Madison County Genealogical Society may be found at http://sites.rootsweb.com/~ilmadcgs/index.html.  In addition, the Hayner Public Library in Alton contains books and records related to early Madison County. They may be found at https://www.haynerlibrary.org/genealogy-local-history/about-genealogy-local-history. 

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (August 2021).   

Spotlight on Pope County, Illinois

Pope County is located in southern Illinois.  While it is the second-least populous county in Illinois, it is also one of the oldest.  The county seat of Golconda began as a ferry stop in 1798 while still part of the Northwest Territory.  Pope county itself was formed in 1816 from portions of Gallatin and Johnson counties. It was named for Nathaniel Pope, an early Illinois politician. 

Birth and death records have been kept since 1877.  Marriage records, Probate files and Land Records date to the founding of the county in 1816.  Many of these records have been digitized and are available at FamilySearch.org. 

The courthouse is located in the county seat of Golconda and their address is P.O. Box 216, Golconda, IL  62938 .  Some vital records may also be found at the IRAD depository at Southern Illinois University. Other county records housed at the IRAD are naturalization and school board records.

 

There are some records online at the Pope County GenWeb site - https://pope.illinoisgenweb.org/index.htm.  The Genealogical Society of Southern Illinois at www.ilgssi.org  also has records from Pope County.

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (May 2021).   

Spotlight on Carroll County, Illinois

Carroll County is located in northwest Illinois.  It was formed in 1839 from Jo Daviess county. It was named for Charles Carroll, a Marylander who signed the Declaration of Independence.  Although Mr. Carroll never set foot in Illinois, many of the county’s early settlers were from Maryland.  The county itself remains fairly rural and they boast of only one stoplight in the entire county.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1877.  Marriage records, Probate files and Land Records date to the founding of the county.  Unfortunately, few records are accessible on FamilySearch.  There are some early vital records online at  https://carroll.illinoisgenweb.org, along with some obituaries and cemetery information.

The courthouse is located in the county seat of Mt. Carroll and their website is  https://www.carroll-county.net/clerkrecorder.  Some vital records may also be found at the IRAD depository at Northern Illinois University. Other county records housed at the IRAD are land, probate, and naturalizations records.

The Carroll County Genealogical Society has some church records online as well as records of naturalizations, and county poor farm records. They may be reached at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~haliotis/index2.html.

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (March 2021).   

Spotlight on Vermilion County, Illinois

Vermilion County is located in east central Illinois.  It was formed in 1826 and has been its present size since 1859. It was named for the Vermilion River which passes through the county on its way to the Wabash River.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1877 (some earlier birth records still exist).  Marriage records, Probate files and Land Records date to the founding of the county.  Many of the early records may be found on FamilySearch.org.

The courthouse is located in the county seat of Danville and their website is vercounty.org.  Vital records may also be found at the IRAD depository at Illinois State University. Other county records housed at the IRAD are school records, police dockets and Justice of the Peace dockets.

The Danville Public Library in Danville contains many genealogical records relating to Vermilion County and surrounding areas.   https://danvillepubliclibrary.org/genealogy-resources-online/ .  The Illiana Genealogical and Historical Society may be reached at ighs@sbcglobal.net 

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (January 2021).  

Spotlight on DeWitt County, Illinois

DeWitt County is located in central Illinois.  It was formed in 1839 from Macon and McLean Counties. It was named for the seventh Governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton, and the county seat is the city of Clinton.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1878.  Marriage records, Probate files and Land Records date to the founding of the county.  Many of the early records may be found on FamilySearch.org.

These records may also be requested in writing from the County Courthouse at 201 W. Washington St., Clinton, IL  61727.  Records are also found at the IRAD depository at Illinois State University.  In addition to vital records, the IRAD has naturalization records and Justice of the Peace dockets.

The Vespasian Warner Public Library in Clinton has some collections of local genealogical interest.  These include yearbooks, newspapers, and civil war diaries, among others. They can be found at https://www.vwarner.org/local-history-genealogy.  This library also holds the collection of the Dewitt County Genealogical Society.  More information about this society can be found at https://dewittcountygenealogicalsociety.com.

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (November 2020).  

Spotlight on McHenry County, Illinois

 McHenry County is in Northern Illinois, bordering on Wisconsin.  It is often considered part of the greater Chicagoland area.  It was formed in 1836 from Cook and LaSalle counties and has been its present size since 1839.  It was named for Major William McHenry who served in the Illinois Militia during Tecumseh’s War and the Blackhawk War, and later served in the Illinois legislature.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1878, Marriage records, Probate records and Land Records date to the founding of the county.  Many of the early records may be found on FamilySearch.org.

Vital Records can be requested from the County Clerk’s office for a small fee.  Information is at https://www.mchenrycountyil.gov/county-government/departments-a-i/county-clerk/vital-records

Early records may also be found at the IRAD depository at Northern Illinois University.  Additional records available at IRAD include school records and naturalization records.

Two libraries in McHenry County have genealogical collections.  They are the Crystal Lake Public Library at https://www.clpl.org/ and the McHenry Public Library at  http://www.mchenrylibrary.org/.

 

There is an active Genealogical Society for the County – the McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society at mcigs.org.

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (September 2020).  

Spotlight on Hamilton County, Illinois

Hamilton County is in Southern Illinois.  It was formed in 1825 and is named for Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.

Birth and death records have been kept since 1878.  Marriage records and Probate records date to the formation of the county and the earliest land records are from 1835.  Only some probate records can be found on FamilySearch.org.

The County Clerk’s office holds the vital and land records.  The courthouse is location at 100 S. Jackson St., McLeansboro, IL  62859.  The form to order vital records is at https://www.hamiltoncountyillinois.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/genealogy-application-1.pdf.

The IRAD depository at Southern Illinois University holds some probate and naturalization records for this county.  A useful site with several types of records is the Yesterdays of Hamilton County, Illinois site at http://www.carolyar.com/Illinois/HamiltonCounty.htm.

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (July 2020).  

Spotlight on Pike County, Illinois

Pike County is in Western Central Illinois along the Mississippi River.  It was formed in 1821 from Madison county and has been the current size since 1823. 

Birth and death records have been kept since 1877.  Marriage records and land records date to the formation of the county.  Probate Records also date from 1821.  Many of these early records can be found online at FamilySearch.org.

The County Clerk’s office holds the vital and land records.  The Circuit Clerk’s office has probate records.  The Courthouse is located at 121 E. Washington, Pittsfield, IL 62363.  Birth, marriage and death records can be ordered online at https://www.officialrecordsonline.com/Select/Index.html?state=IL&county=PIKE#/

Some records are at the IRAD depository at Western Illinois University. In addition to early vital records, there are also school teacher registers and jail registers.

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (May 2020).  

Spotlight on Clark County, Illinois

 Clark County lies along Interstate-70 and the Indiana State Line.  It was formed in 1819 from Crawford county and has been the current size since 1830. 

Birth and death records have been kept since 1877.  Marriage records and land records date to the formation of the county.  Probate Records date from 1840.  Many of these early records can be found online at FamilySearch.org.

The County Clerk’s office holds the vital and land records.  The Circuit Clerk’s office has probate records.  The Courthouse is located at 501 Archer Avenue in Marshall.  Many records have been indexed by the Clark County Genealogical Society and their library is across the street at 612 Archer Avenue.  Since the library is staffed by volunteers, the hours are limited – check their website at https://clkcogenlib.wixsite.com/clark-co-gen-library.

Another good resource for western Clark County is the Casey Township library at 307 E. Main St. in Casey.

Some records are at the IRAD depository at Eastern Illinois University – primarily vital records, and a few school and township records.

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Note: This was originally published in the "County Spotlight" column in the Illinois State Genealogical Society Newsletter (March 2020).