Massac County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  Massac County

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

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

Historical Facts
Massac County gets it's name from Fort Massac which was named in honor of the Marquis de Massiac who was a French Naval minister.

Parent County

 * 1843--Massac County was created 8 February 1843 from Pope and Johnson Counties. County seat:  Metropolis

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

Cemeteries
One of the best places to start Massac County cemetery searches are the six volumes published by the Massac County Illinois Genealogical Society. Free surname indexes are available online, courtesy: ILGenWeb.

The Illinois Cemeteries page provides general explanations of the following online Massac County resources:

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

Catholic
FamilySearch has made parish records from two Belleville Diocese Catholic churches in Massac County available online. The records include first communions, confirmations, marriages, and deaths:


 * , browsable online (no index); courtesy: FamilySearch.
 * , browsable online (no index); courtesy: FamilySearch.

Court Records
Copies of original records


 * 1843–1849 Order book, A


 * 1843–1849 Circuit court record IRAD (SIU)

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 IllinoisCemeteries

History
The online Shawnee Community College Local History Project includes dozens of personal interviews and even a "Letter From the Birdman of Alcatraz," that give you a taste of historic Massac County. Was your relative one of the interviewed individuals?


 * Page, Oliver J. History of Massac County, Illinois: With Life Sketches and Portraits. Metropolis, Ill.: O.J. Page, 1900. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive.

Land and Property
Abstracts


 * 1816–1878 Massac County Genealogical Society. Massac County, Il. land entries and swamp land sales, 1816-1878. Metropolis, Illinois : Massac County Genealogical Society (Illinois), 1998.Other libraries (WorldCat)


 * Boyd, Gregory A. Family maps of Massac County, Illinois: with homesteads, roads, waterways, towns, cemeteries, railroads and more. Norman, Oklahoma : Arphax Pub. Co., c2008.Other libraries (WorldCat) The publisher's bookstore includes a free online surname index.

Copies of original records


 * 1843–1900 Grantee index
 * 1842–1900 Grantor index
 * 1843–1896 Deeds
 * 1843–1900 Deed index IRAD (SIU)
 * 1843–1911 Deed record IRAD (SIU)
 * 1984 Rockford Map Publishers. Massac County (Illinois), land atlas and plat book, 1984. Rockford, Ill. : Rockford Map Publishers, [©1984]. 12052115 Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * Plat of Macadonia Cemetery south side
 * St. John Lutheran church, old cemetery plat
 * Plat of L.W. Smith &amp; Salem Trustees addition of Salem Cemetery

Military Records

 * Civil War Civil War service men from Massac 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 Massac County.


 * - 56th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A and D.

Probate Records
Copies of original records


 * 1846–1894 Probate index
 * 1860–1894 Will and index ; IRAD (SIU)
 * 1866–1885 Probate journals IRAD (SIU)
 * 1871–1883 Probate records are also available in . Click on the browse through images link, select Massac County, and select the record type you are interested in.
 * 1846–1964 Probate case files index IRAD (SIU)

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

Societies
Genealogical Society of Southern Illinois has a page with details about its' activities.

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 until the year 1916 are kept by the Massac County Clerk while those recorded after 1916 are kept by the Illinois Department of Public Health. with a copy to the County Clerk. Original marriage records are usually kept by the County Clerk from the establishment of the county to the present. Original divorce records are generally in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk.

The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through online databases, the Family History Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Massac County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

General

 * 1849–1869 Fellows, Paul E. Massac County memories. Metropolis, Illinois: Massac Print., 1992. libraries (WorldCat)

Births:
Copies of Original Birth Records


 * 1864–1941 Births
 * 1878–1916 Birth record IRAD (SIU)
 * 1878–1941 Birth record index IRAD (SIU)
 * 1864–1877 Birth record delayed IRAD (SIU)

Marriages:
Abstracts of Marriage Records


 * 1843–1900 Foss, Carolyn Cromeenes and Judy Foreman Lee. Massac County, Illinois early marriage records. [Newburgh, IN] (6688 Outer Gray St., Newburgh 47630): J.F. Lee, 1991-&lt;1993&gt;. Other libraries (WorldCat)


 * 1858–1903 Massac County Genealogical Society. Massac County, Illinois marriages from misc. sources, 1858-1903. Metropolis, Illinois: Massac County Genealogical Society (Illinois), 1998.Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * 18–18 Other libraries (WorldCat)

Copies of original Marriage Records


 * 1854–1923 Marriage records and index
 * 1854–1923 Marriage record IRAD (SIU)
 * 1854–1901 Marriage record index IRAD (SIU)

Deaths:
Abstracts of Death Records


 * 1906–1908; 1913–1917 Ferrell, Ed. Index to obituaries and death notices which appeared in the Metropolis Herald, Massac County, Illinois, 1906-1908; 1913-1917. Other libraries (WorldCat)


 * 1878–1902 Massac County Genealogical Society. Massac County, Ill. death records. Metropolis, Illinois : Massac County Genealogical Society, 1992. Other libraries (WorldCat)


 * 1896–1914 Coles, James E. and Brenda Jenkins. Massac County, Illinois coroner's reports : volume one (Book A 1869-1914). [Metropolis, Illinois]: Massac County Geneal. Society, 1992. Other libraries (WorldCat)

Copies of original Death Records


 * 1878–1971 Deaths
 * 1878–1915 Death recordIRAD (SIU)
 * 1878–1971 Death record indexIRAD (SIU)

Places / Localities
To see a list of places in Massac 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.



Web Sites

 * Massac County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)
 * Massac County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)