Research Resources within GenWeb Projects
Earliest Records in County Courthouses For a table by county of vital and court record start dates
ILGenWeb Archives Gateway to files containing Illinois-specific transcriptions and images
- Census Project
- Census Images Project
- Illinois Maps Provides a variety of state maps and various county maps
- Marriages Project
- Obituary Project
- Tombstone Project Listings by county of cemeteries and interments
ILGenWeb County Projects Table containing links to each county home page as well as military-related links
ILGenWeb Special Projects
Genealogy & Historical Societies Lists organizations focusing on state-wide, county-specific, military-specific, ethnic and/or religious-specific.
USGenWeb Gateway to neighboring states
Research Resources Outside GenWeb Projects
Links to web sites that are not part of GenWeb are provided for your convenience and do not imply any endorsement of the web sites or their contents by GenWeb.
Books & Newspapers
- Google Newspaper Archive has hundreds of newspapers that have been digitized for reading online. You can search for a specific newspaper by title or browse for articles by date and title.
- Open Library free online books
- Illinois Online Historical Newspapers
- University of Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection
- Internet Archives free online books
- Project Gutenburg free online books
- Chronicling America free searchable online newspapers
- Newspaper Abstracts
Burials
- BillionGraves
- Find A Grave
- Illinois Ancestors Tombstone Project
- Illinois State Cemetery Project provided by Illinois State Genealogical Society
- WikiTree
Census
- Federal Census – The first Federal Census for the state of Illinois was taken in 1820. The census records for 1810-1840 list only the head of household by name. Starting with the 1850 census, members of each household were enumerated. The type of information recorded on each individual varies from year to year. The 1890 census was destroyed by a fire in the Washington, D.C. repository where it was being stored. If your ancestors were in Illinois in 1807, check the Indiana Territory census for that year.
- Military Census – During the Civil War, state law mandated that township assessors enumerate every male between the ages of 18 and 45 who were fit for military service. These military census lists were compiled from 1861 to 1863, and record each person’s name, age, birthplace, and occupation. This series of records is organized by county and township, but has not been indexed. This record series is held at the Illinois State Archives. In addition, it is available through the Family History Library and Heritage Quest.
- State Census – The state of Illinois conducted its own census enumeration in 1820, 1825, 1830, 1835, 1840, 1845, 1855, and 1865. Each of these enumerated only the head of household. The only census years for which nearly all the records still exist are 1820, 1855, and 1865. The other years are missing some or all of the records. For a more complete description of extant records, check the Genealogical Research Series Pamphlet No. 5: State Census Records from the Illinois State Archives.
- Illinois State Census 1855 An index
- Illinois State Census 1865 To see census images
- US Census Bureau – Illinois Quickfacts
- Illinois Census Information
History
- Illinois Harvest is a free public gateway combining search, aggregation, and discovery services providing organized and thematic access to digitized and born-digital resources about Illinois, created by Illinois scholars, and from the digital collections of the University of Illinois Library
- Illinois Historical Digital Project offered by the Northern Illinois University Library
- Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
- Illinois State Museum
- Illinois Department of Public Health – Vital Records Administrative Code
- Illinois Secretary of State Archives Databases
- Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900
- Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916
- Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916-1950
- Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
- Database of Illinois Servitude and Emancipation Records
- Database of Illinois War of 1812 Veterans
- Database of Illinois Black Hawk War Veterans
- Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home Residents
- Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Database
- Database of Illinois Spanish-American War Veterans
- Database of the 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor
- IRAD Illinois Regional Archives Depository
Maps
- 1895 Atlas large state and smaller county maps
- Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
- Bureau of Land Management searchable database for land patents
- Catholic Dioceses of Illinois Map
- Color Landform Atlas
- Historical Maps of the United States provided by the University of Texas
- Historical Maps Online provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Illinois County Boundaries 1790 – Present
- Illinois Digital Archives State Highway Maps
- Library of Congress’ American Memory Map Collections
- Maps of US – Illinois with awesome Interactive Map of Illinois County Formation History
Military
- Histories of Illinois Civil War Regiments and Units
The following histories of Illinois Civil War regiments and units originate from the first eight volumes of the nine volume publication, Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Illinois (1900-1902). The histories, some written shortly after the wars end, are the work of numerous authors throughout the intervening years. The 1886 version of the Adjutant Generals Report included regimental histories compiled by that office which had not previously been published. The final 1900-1902 republication of the report incorporated revisions and corrections to the histories. - Coffelt Database of Vietnam Casualties
- DAR Genealogical Research System
- Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs
- Soldiers and Sailors Database by the National Park Service
- Federal Office of Government Information Services FOIA Ombudsman
Other Free Genealogy-Focused WebSites
- Access Genealogy
- Cyndi’s List
- Family Search
- Family Tree Guide – Share your family tree!
- Genealogy Search Advice
- Genealogy Trails
- Illinois Genealogy and History
- RootsWeb
Social Security Death Index
Research Resources at Physical Archives
- Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
- Illinois Records and Depository System For each library’s contact information and a list of the counties for which the library retains
- Family History Centers To find the Family History Center closest to you
- Family History Center Catalog To plan your visit
- Newberry Library – Chicago
The Newberry has been collecting genealogy and local history materials since 1887. Staff at the Genealogy and Local History desk can help you explore the Newberry’s rich collections of family histories; local histories; censuses, probate, deed, court, tax, and cemetery records; military rosters; periodicals; genealogical guides; and reference works.