Christian County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  Christian County

Christian County Organization
Christian 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 Christian County are kept, see the Christian County Courthouse page.

Historical Facts
Large numbers of Kentuckians settled in frontier Christian County, Illinois. The name of the county (Christian) is reminiscent of Christian County, Kentucky - the previous residence of many pioneer settlers.

Boundary Changes

 * 15 February 1839: -- Christian County was created fromSangamon and Shelby Counties. It was formerly Dane County, until the name was changed to Christian County 1 February 1840.


 * Interactive map of Christian County boundary changes.

Biography
The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Christian County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Christian 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.)


 * Christian 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.
 * Linkpendium links to a number of cemetery and tombstone projects in Christian County.

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

Church History and Records
Illinois' GenWeb for Christian County has a list of churches in the county as they appear in the telephone directory. They are listed by denomination with addresses and telephone numbers.

The Family History Library has very few church records, and they represent different denomination. The Library's church records are found on the town, not the county, level.

Timeline of major denominations in Christian County:


 * 1842 Christian Church. The first preacher may have been W.P. Bowles who was invited to preach by a Baptist minister.
 * 1846 Roman Catholic Church organized in Taylorsville, the first town organized in the County
 * 1848 Baptist Church
 * 1852 United Presbyterian Church began with meetings of the Associate Reform Church
 * 1855 Methodist Episcopal Church
 * 1856 Presbyterian Church first organized in Pana
 * 1856 Congregational Church

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

Land and Property
BLM GLO Records. Search original land patents for Christian County from the Govenment Land Office (GLO) or Eastern States Office. Some searches include images of the original warrants. All search results include the patant details needed for requesting copies of the land entry files at the National Archives. The GLO is the custodian of millions of land title documents. The General Land Office Automated Records Project is responsible for making these important documents available to the public.

Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales. The Illinois State Archives has an online index to the records of Public land sales held by the State Archives. The indexes are by purchasers name and by legal description. This is a statewide collection with nearly 550,000 land sales fro 54740 square miles.

Land records that include Bond County at Ancestry.com $:


 * "Illinois Public Land Purchase Records" This record extract includes over 538,000 land sales from the 19th Century. Each entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, and in some cases the purchaser's sex and residence.
 * "U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796 to 1907:" Records of Illinois are among the 13 states included in this set. It includes images of the land patents which contain the information necessary for ordering the complete case files from the National Archives. This appears to be the same information that is online at the Federal Land Office site http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/.
 * Sheldon, Theodore. Land registration in Illinois. Chicago: Callaghan Co., 1901. Digital book. Expains the laws regarding land and the land systems used in Illinois. Includes court cases involving land issues. In addition to being on Ancestry, this book is available online at no cost at Internet Archives and Google Books.

Civl War
Civil War service men from Christian 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 Christian County.


 * - 3rd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company M.
 * - 33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
 * - 35th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.
 * - 41st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies G and I.
 * - 54th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.

Probate Records
Original probate records are held by the circuit court clerk. Probate records include wills, inventories, settlements, and guardianship records. For more information see the wiki page Illinois Probate Records. No probate records are held at IRAD for Christian County. Explore how to search IRAD–UIS. The following copies are available in the Family History Library Catalog:


 * 1839–1919 Probate Records
 * 1839–1886 Probate Records

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

Family History Center
There are no family history centers in Christian County. It appears that the nearest centers are:


 * Springfield Illinois Family History Center 3601 Buckeye Dr. Springfield, Illinois 62707 Contact: 217-529-7930 Open selected hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday
 * Litchfield Illinois Family History Center 12367 Robertson Rd Litchfield, Illinois 62056 Contact: 217-324-2396 Open selected hours on Tuesday, Thursday

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
The Archives hold many records for Greene County. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page

Illinois Regional Archives Depository LIB144 University of Illinois at Springfield Region One University Plaza, MS BRK 140 Springfield, Illinois 62703-5407 217-206-6520

Public Libraries
Assumption Public Library District 205 North Oak Street Assumption, IL 62510 Phone: (217) 226-3915 Website

Kitchell Memorial Library 300 Se 5th Street Morrisonville, IL 62546 Phone: (217) 526-4553

Carnegie-Schuyler Library 303 East Second Street Pana, IL 62557 Phone: (217) 562-2326

Taylorville Public Library 121 West Vine Street Taylorville, IL 62568 Phone: (217) 824-4736 Website Taylorsville Library has a small genealogy room with materials that are not cataloged.

Societies
Christian County Genealogy Society P.O. Box 28 Taylorville, Illinois 62568-0028 Library Hours: - Summer April through November: Thursday through Saturday 10 am to 3 pm - Winter hours (December thru March):Saturday 11:00a.m. – 4:00p.m. The genealogical society is located in the Pence Building, the Christian County Historical Museum.

Christian County Historical Society and Museum Address: P.O. Box 254 Taylorville, IL 62568-0028 Phone: 217-824-6922 E-mail: cchs254@gmail.com

Location: 325 Abe’s Way (in front of the Super 8 Motel) Near the intersection of Routes 29 and 48 Taylorville, IL 62568

The Christian County Historical Society and Museum is dedicated to preserving the ancestry and the history of Christian County Illinois. They have extensive genealogical resources as well as an impressive collection of material culture.

Births
Available at the IRAD Repository


 * Birth certificates 1878 to 1915
 * Birth records 1877 to 1916
 * Birth records index 1877 to 1925

Marriages
Some of the Family History Library's Collection of Christian County marriages have been or will be made available digitally:.

Available at the IRADRepository


 * Marriage Records 1839 to 1921
 * Marriage records index 1866 to 1924

Available through Ancestry.com $:


 * Christian county marriages in "Illinois Marriages 1790 to 1860." The source of this collection is films in the Family History Library's collection
 * Christian County marriages in "Illinois Marriages 1851 to 1900." The source of this collection is films in the Family History Library's collection

Deaths
Available at the IRAD repository


 * Death Records 1877 to 1915
 * Death record index 1877 to 1931
 * Death records, coroners 1913 to 1915

Web Sites

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