Lawrence County, Illinois Genealogy

Guide to Lawrence County, Illinois ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.



Description
Lawrence County was named for Captain James Lawrence, who was killed in action during the War of 1812 while commanding the frigate USS Chesapeake. Mortally wounded, he gave his men the famous last order, "Don't give up the ship." The county seat is Lawrenceville and the county was organized on January 16, 1821. The county is located in the southeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Lawrence County Courthouse 1100 State St Lawrenceville, IL 62439 Phone: 618-943-2815 Lawrence County Courthouse

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

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Biographies

 * Toussaint Dubois played an important role in the early history of Lawrence County.
 * USGenWeb, Lawrence County, Illinois (ILGenWeb), Pioneer Biographies
 * The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Lawrence County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Lawrence County residents. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.

Census Records

 * 1850-1885 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 at Ancestry ($)

 1840 Pensioners
 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C., 1841. ; . Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Illinois, Lawrence County on page 187.

Church Records
 List of Churches and Church Parishes Online Records  Catholic FamilySearch has made parish records from three Belleville Diocese Catholic churches in Lawrence County available online. The records include first communions, confirmations, marriages, and deaths:
 * FamilySearch Places
 * 1865-1965 Allison Prairie Church of the Brethren. Allison Prairie, 1865-1965 : 100th anniversary, Sunday, July 25, 1965. [S.l. : s.n.], 1965.
 * 1854-1899 Union Presbyterian Church records
 * USGenWeb, Lawrence County, Illinois (ILGenWeb), Churches of Lawrence County
 * 1729-1956 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only

Court Records

 * Original court records are held in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk. See Illinois Court Records for more information about using court records.
 * The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Eastern Illinois University (EIU) - search for Lawrence County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the Wiki article IRAD (EIU).

Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1835-1948 Justice of the Peace Dockets IRAD-EIU

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
 African Americans
 * African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records
 * Illinois African-American Resource Guide by the Illinois State Archives describes what records are at the State Archives with an online method for ordering records.
 * African-American Resources for Illinois

Land and Property Records
Original land records are held in the office of the County Clerk. See Illinois Land and Property for more information about using land records. The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through online sources, the FamilySearch Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Eastern Illinois University (EIU) - search for Lawrence County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the Wiki article IRAD (EIU). Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1796-1907 U.S. General Land Office Records at Ancestry ($)
 * 1820-Onward Land Patent Search See Illinois Land and Property for more information about this database.
 * 1821-1950 Deed Index IRAD-EIU
 * 1821-1960 Deed Record IRAD-EIU
 * 1821-1936 Deed records
 * 1925-1926 Chattel Mortgage Dockets IRAD-EIU
 * Family Maps. Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Lawrence County, Illinois (Norman, Oklahoma: Arphax Pub. Co., c2009.)
 * Land Atlas and plat book Rockford Map Publishers (Rockford, Illinois) Land atlas and plat book, Lawrence County, Illinois, 1983 (Rockford, Illinois:Rockford Map Publishers, c1982.) ;
 * Early trails and settlements Satterhwaite, Geralding and Richard L. Palmer Early trails and settlements of Lawrence Co., Illinois ([S.I.]: G. Satterthwaite and R.L. Palmer, 1996) ;
 * Illinois Federal Township Plats, by County
 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales at the Illinois State Archives. 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 from 54740 square miles.
 * 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.
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

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

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)
 * Lawrence County Federal Township Plats
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * Database of 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor, created by Fred Delap and donated to the Illinois State Archives. Illinois burial locations of over 72,000 military personnel who served in U.S. wars.

 Civil War Regiments. Civil War service men from Lawrence 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 Lawrence County.
 * - 8th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (3 months, 1861), Company I.
 * - 36th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C
 * - 61st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies H and K
 * - 62nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A
 * - 66th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I
 * - 70th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K
 * - 91st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F
 * - 130th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I
 * - 154th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E


 * Satterthwaite, Geraldine, and Terry Warren. Civil War Men, Lawrence Co. Bridgeport, Ill. (?: G. Satterthwaite, 2000). A list of Civil War young men from Lawrence County taken from the original County Civil War records that have been lost. Library with this book.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1800-1998 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1856-1991 Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 at Ancestry - index and images ($)

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

Probate Records
Original estates and wills are held in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk. See Illinois Probate Records for more information about using probate records. No probate record holdings noted in IRAD-EIU Lawrence County Listing. Search for Lawrence County records. Information about how to use IRAD Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1772-1999 Illinois Wills and Probate Records 1772-1999 at Ancestry — index and images ($)
 * 1819-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
 * 1821-1929 Will records
 * 1859-1929 Probate records

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records
The following copies of original records may be accessed through the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Eastern Illinois University (EIU) - search for Lawrence County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the Wiki article IRAD (EIU). Online Tax Indexes and Records
 * 1872-1900 Tax Deed Affidavits IRAD-EIU

Vital Records
Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded until the year 1916 are kept by the Lawrence 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 FamilySearch Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Eastern Illinois University (EIU) - search for Lawrence County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the Wiki article IRAD (EIU).

Birth

 * 1877-1911 Birth Record Index – IRAD-EIU
 * 1877-1923 Birth Record - IRAD-EIU
 * 1878-1923 Vital records Index to birth records 1878-1911 and Birth records Book 1-8 1877-1923.
 * 1889-1970 Birth Certificates - IRAD-EIU
 * 1890-1921 Birth Record Index, Delayed - IRAD-EIU
 * 1896-1852 Birth Record, Corrected - IRAD-EIU
 * 1882-1972 Birth Record, Delayed - IRAD-EIU

Marriage

 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast index ($)
 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1790-1860 Illinois Marriage index at Ancestry ($)
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1810-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1821-1937 Marriage Record IRAD-EIU
 * 1821-1970 Marriage Record Index IRAD-EIU
 * 1821-1849 Miller, Ada Marriage licenses, Lawrence County, Illinois, 1821-1849 ;
 * 1821-1849 Miller, Ada Additions, corrections and notes to marriage licenses, Lawrence County, Illinois, 1821-1849 (Salt Lake City, Utah:Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1970.)
 * 1840-1899 Taylor, Lola B. Early marriages of Richland County, Illinois, 1840- (Olney, Illinois:Taylor Print Shop, c1970.) ;
 * 1878-1937 Vital records Index to marriage records 1878-1937 (Alphabetical by the groom's surname) and marriage records Book 1-4 1878-1933
 * 1878 Lawrence County, Illinois 1878 Marriage Records Courtesy Lawrence County ILGenWeb.net
 * 1879 Lawrence County, Illinois 1879 Marriage Records Courtesy Lawrence County ILGenWeb.net
 * 1880 Lawrence County, Illinois 1880 Marriage Records Courtesy Lawrence County ILGenWeb.net
 * 1881 Lawrence County, Illinois 1881 Marriage Records Courtesy Lawrence County ILGenWeb.net
 * 1909-1971 Marriage License Applications IRAD-EIU
 * 1937-1970 Marriage Licenses IRAD-EIU

Death

 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1860,1870,1880 Compiled by the Richland County Genealogical and Historical Society (Olney, Illinois) Mortality Schedules, 1860, 1870, 1880 ([S.I.:s.n.], 1978.) ;
 * 1878-1925 Vital records Index to death records 1878-1907 and Birth records Book 1-4 1878-1925.
 * 1878-1927 Death Record Index IRAD-EIU
 * 1878-1972 Death Record IRAD-EIU
 * 1889-1907 Death Certificates IRAD-EIU
 * 1888-1960 Death Certificates, Stillbirths -&amp;nbspIRAD-EIU
 * 1902-1909 Death Reports IRAD-EIU
 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)
 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950 at Illinois State Archives - index
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1951-1971 Illinois Death Certificates, 1951–1971 at Illinois State Archives - index

Archives
Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) The Illinois State Archives administers a system of Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD) to manage the archival records of local governments. Local governments which have transferred records to the regional depositories include counties, townships, municipalities, and school districts. The records of Lawrence County come under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Illinois University (EIU) regional depository. Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) Booth Library 600 Lincoln Avenue Charleston, IL 61920 Phone: 217-581-6093

FamilySearch Centers

 * Linton Indiana FamilySearch Center
 * Terre Haute Indiana FamilySearch Center
 * Vincennes Indiana FamilySearch Center
 * Clay County Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * Knox County Public Library - Indiana - an affiliate library
 * Pike County Library - Indiana - an affiliate library

Libraries
Irene Black Genealogical Library 125 E. Olive Bridgeport, IL 62417 Phone: 618-945-7113 Lawrence County Public Library 814 12th St. Lawrenceville, IL 62439 Phone: 618-943-3016 Website Genealogical collection includes (but is not limited to): marriage indexes, obituaries, biographies, local county histories, newspapers on microfilm, and census records on microfilm (1830-1920) and in book form (1850-1880 w/indexes).

Societies
Lawrence County Historical Society (LCHS) PO Box 425 Museum-619 12th St Lawrenceville, IL 62439 Phone: 618-943-3900 Email: [mailto:lawrencelore@gmail.com lawrencelore@gmail.com] Facebook Website Lawrence Lore is the Lawrence County, Illinois Historical Society blog, with articles about Lawrence County history, and includes biographies, obits, military records, business owners. Finding aids are provided as topic names and a search engine for specific names. Photographs are included in web albums, e.g., identified school pictures.

Websites

 * Lawrence County IL Genealogy
 * Lawrence ILGenWeb
 * Lawrence County, IL Linkpendium
 * – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.