DeKalb County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois DeKalb County

County Organization
Dekalb County's civil records start the following years:

* Incomplete birth and death records

County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for DeKalb County are kept, see the DeKalb County Courthouse page.

Historical Facts
DeKalb County is named for who was a German baron who fought on the side of the Americans during the Revolution.

Parent County

 * 4 March 1837: - DeKalb County was created from Kane County.

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of DeKalb County boundary changes.

Places/Localities
To see a list of places in DeKalb County, click on [Show] in the bar, above. The preceding list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have web sites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names.

Name Index to Illinois Local Governments Illinois State Archives listing of local governments, their form, establishment, incorporation, and any former names.

Biography
The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a DeKalb County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of DeKalb County residents. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.

Cemeteries
Find A Grave, list of cemeteries. Additional information can be found at local level (city, township, etc.)


 * DeKalb Co. IL USGenWeb Tombstone Project usually gives the names of the deceased in alphabetical order by last name with birth and death dates plus any remarks.


 * Illinois Cemeteries by county.

Federal
For tips on accessing census records online, see Illinois Census.

1840 Pensioners

 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C., 1841. ; ; digital version at Google Books. [See Illinois, DeKalb County on page 186.]

African American
The following have information concerning African American research.


 * African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records


 * Illinois State Archives pamphlet on African American Research describes what records are at the State Archives with an online method for ordering records.
 * African-American Resources for Illinois

History

 * Boies, Henry L. History of DeKalb County, Illinois. Chicago: O.P. Bassett, Printer, 1868. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Portrait and Biographical Album of DeKalb County, Illinois: Containing Full-page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County: Together with Portraits and Biographies of All the Governors of Illinois, and of the Presidents of the United States: Also Containing a History of the County, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1885. Digital version at Ancestry ($); another Ancestry ($) version.
 * Gross, Lewis M. Past and Present of DeKalb County, Illinois. Chicago: Pioneer Pub. Co., 1907. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a DeKalb County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of DeKalb County residents. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.

Land and Property

 * 1840 - 1850 Taxable Land Bought at Publick Sale, courtesy: ILGenWeb
 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales

Maps

 * Federal Township Map of DeKalb County Courtesy of the Illinois State Archives

Civil War
Civil War service men from DeKalb County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies or regiments that were formed from men of DeKalb County.


 * - 42nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K.
 * - 52nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C.
 * - 55th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.
 * - 58th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies C and E.

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1840–1950 Naturalization Index To access this record you must have the soundex number for your name of interest.  Explore how to use soundex.
 * 1860–1908 Genealogical Society of DeKalb County, Illinois.Naturalization Records of DeKalb County, Illinois. Sycamore, Illinois : Genealogical Society of DeKalb County, Illinois, 1981.

Newspapers

 * Sycamore True Republican (1869-1872, 1877-1968) is available from the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection.
 * Clinton Township Public Library Historical Index is a collection of news items collected by librarians since 1916.

Obituaries

 * Clinton Township Public Library Historical Index is a collection of news items collected by librarians since 1916.

County Courthouse
County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for DeKalb County are kept, see the DeKalb County Courthouse page.

Vital Records
See Illinois Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Illinois. Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded 1878–1916 are kept by the DeKalb County Clerk while those recorded after 1916 are kept by the Illinois Department of Public Healthwith a copy to the County Clerk. The county clerk does not have birth records after 1916. Original marriage records are kept by the County Clerk from 1837 to the present. Original divorce records are generally in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk.

No birth, marriage or death records for DeKalb county are held at the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) at Northern Illinois University, except for the Birth and Death Reporting Accounts 1902–1903. See below for other sources of vital records copies, indexes and abstracts.

Births
The following indexes to birth records are avaialable:


 * 1878–1903 Genealogical Society of DeKalb County, Illinois. Index to Birth Record Books of DeKalb County, Illinois. Sycamore, Illinois: Genealogical Society of DeKalb County, Illinois, 198-?
 * 1837–1890 Marshall, Florence Houghton. Some Early Births in DeKalb County, Ill. and Vicinity, 1837-1890.S.l.: s.n., 1987. Other Libraries
 * 1902–1903 Birth and Death Reporting Accounts 1902–1903. IRAD–NIU.

Marriages

 * 1837–1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index 1763–1900 Courtesy of the Illinois State Archives.
 * 1837–1850 Steenrod, Robert L. De Kalb County, Illinois marriage records, 1837-1850. Belvidere, Illinois: s.n., 1960. Other Libraries
 * 1837–1850 Steenrod, Robert L. De Kalb County, Illinois marriage records, 1837-1850. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1970. Manuscript on film
 * 1837–1850 Illinois Marriages, 1790-1860  Ancestry ($)
 * 1837–1877 Genealogical Society of DeKalb County, Illinois.Marriage records of DeKalb County, Illinois. Sycamore, Illinois: Geneal. Society of DeKalb County, Illinois, 1979. Other Libraries
 * 1865-1900 "1865-1900 Marriages Performed at St. John Catholic Church, Somonauk, DeKalb County," The Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Winter 1992).

Deaths

 * 1878–1903 Anderson, Marian. Index to Death Register I, January 1878-June 1903. Sycamore, Illinois: Geneal. Society of DeKalb County, Ill., 1982. Other Libraries (Worldcat)
 * 1885–1916 Marshall, Florence Houghton. Alphabetical Index to the Death Register of DeKalb County, Illinois, 1885-1916. S.l.: s.n., 1996. Other Libraries (Worldcat)
 * 1916–1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates 1916–1950 Courtesty of the Illinois State Archives

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Dekalb County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)