ILLINOIS STATE ARCHIVES

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Kane County

Established
January 16, 1836 (Laws, 1836, p. 273)

Origin of the name of the county
Named for Elias Kent Kane, a pioneer lawyer, Territorial judge, prominent member of the Constitutional Convention of 1818, first Secretary of State of Illinois, and later United States Senator

Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in
1835–1836 — LaSalle
1825–1835 — Putnam
1823–1825 — Fulton
1821–1823 — Pike
1819–1821 — Clark
1816–1819 — Crawford
1815–1816 — Edwards
1812–1815 — Madison
1801–1812 — St. Clair
1790–1801 — Knox, Northwest Territory

County Seats
1836–  — Geneva

History of county governing board
1836–1850 — County Commissioners’ Court
1850–   — County Board of Supervisors

Documented Record Losses
1843 — Fire. Some records lost or damaged.
March 13, 1890 — Fire. Volumes saved; 5,000 court files burned.

Township Government
Adopted — November 6, 1849

Township Names
Aurora
Batavia
Big Rock
Blackberry
Burlington
Campton — Name changed from Milo on July 2, 1850.
Dundee
Elgin
Geneva
Hampshire
Kaneville
Plato — Name changed from Homer on July 2, 1850.
Rutland — Name changed from Jackson on July 2, 1850.
St. Charles
Sugar Grove
Virgil

Township Map

Pertinent Databases
Federal Township Plats of Illinois
Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916–1950
Illinois Statewide Marriage Index
Kane County Circuit Court Case Files Index (1836–1870)
Local Governmental Records Database
Name Index to Illinois Local Governments