Family History Resources in IRAD

The Illinois State Archives does hold death certificates from 1916 – 1947 maintained by the Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales records.

• Births

  To find date and place of birth and names of parents, consult:

  Birth Certificates (most beginning 1877)
  Birth Registers (most beginning 1877)
  Delayed Birth Certificates

  
  

• Deaths

  To find date, place, and cause of death, or place of burial, consult:

  Death Certificates (most beginning 1877)
  Death Registers (most beginning 1877)
  Probate Records
  Almshouse/Poor Farm Records
  Cemetery Records
  Coroner's Inquest Records

  
  

• Marriages

  To find date and place of marriage, age and residence of bride and groom, consent of parent in case of minors, consult:

  Marriage Certificates
  Marriage Applications (beginning 1877)
  Marriage Record
  Marriage Licenses

  
  

• Divorces

  To find date of dissolution of marriage and divorce proceedings and agreements, consult:

  Circuit Court Chancery Case Files
  Circuit Court Chancery Records

  
  

• Residences

  To find place and duration of or changes in residence, consult:

  Assessor's Books
  Collector's Books
  Voters' Registration Records
  Election Records
  Deed Records
  Naturalization Petitions and Affidavits

  
  

• Real Property

  To find amount, location, and value of real estate owned; to find sale or mortgaging of property or division among heirs, consult:

  Assessor's Books
  Collector's Books
  Deed Records
  Tax Sale Records
  Probate Records
  Mortgage Records

  
  

• Personal Property

  To find types of personal property owned, assessed valuations, mortgages, inventories, and sales of estates, consult:

  Assessor's Books
  Probate Appraisement Records
  Probate Sale Records
  Probate Inventory Records
  Chattel Mortgage Records

  
  

• Naturalizations

  To find date of naturalization, age, nationality, date of emigration, place of residence in this country, consult:

  Naturalization Papers
  Naturalization Declarations of Intention
  Naturalization Records
  Naturalization Records of Soldiers and Minors

  
  

• Estates

  To find date of death, details of will, names and relationships of heirs, guardians appointed for children, widow's portion of estate, settlement of estate, and results of contested estates, consult:

  Wills
  Probate Records
  Guardianship Records
  Widow's Relinquishment and Selection Records
  Probate Case Files
  Circuit Court Chancery Records(for contested estates)

  
  

• School Attendance

  To find age, grade, and residence of children, consult:

  School Schedules
  School Pupil Registers

  
  

• Court Actions

  To find involvement in civil, criminal, or chancery cases, consult:

  Circuit Court Records
  County Court Records
  Circuit Court Case Files
  County Court Case Files
  Circuit Court Indexes
  County Court Indexes

  
  

• Paupers

  To find name, age, residence, occupation, birthplace, and occasionally death date and place of burial of paupers, consult:

  Almshouse/Poor Farm Records
  County Hospital Records
  Cemetery Records
  Board of Supervisors' Minutes
  Board of Supervisors' Proceedings Files

  
  

• Professions

  Records usually include names, residences, and dates of certification. Teachers' records often give age, residence, and education. Miners' records give age and years worked in mines.

  Physicians, Midwives, Nurses, Dentists, Optometrists, Veterinarians, Architects and
           combined Professional Registers (most beginning 1877)
  School Teachers' Records
  Miners' Examining Board Records (1908–)
  County Officials Oaths and Bonds
  Election Records