Kankakee County, Illinois Genealogy

Guide to Kankakee County, Illinois ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records. Illinois Online Genealogy Records

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

History
Kankakee is an Indian name given to a river which joins the Des Plaines river and forms the Illinois river.

Description
The county was named for the Kankakee River. The county seat is Kankakee and the county was organized on February 11, 1853. The County is located in the Northeast part of the state.

Parent County

 * 1853--Kankakee County was created 11 February 1853, from Iroquois and Will Counties. County seat:Kankakee

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Illinois county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Illinois County Boundary Maps" (1790-1869) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.


 * 1836-1853 Will


 * 1833-1853 Iroquois


 * 1826-1835 Vermilion


 * 1823-1825 Edgar


 * 1823-1825 Fulton


 * 1819-1823 Clark


 * 1816-1819 Crawford


 * 1815-1816 Edwards


 * 1812-1815 Madison


 * 1801-1812 St. Clair


 * 1790-1801 Knox, Northwest Territory

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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:

Neighboring Counties

 * Ford
 * Grundy
 * Iroquois
 * Lake County, Indiana
 * Livingston
 * Newton County, Indiana
 * Will

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

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

St George Catholic Church Records 1868-1957. by Bill Korstick WorldCat

The Kankakee Valley Genealogical Society has published many church records some are available. WorldCat

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.

Ethnic Research
Bourbonnais; or the Early French Settlements in Kankakee County, Illinois

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

French Canadian
The French Canadian Interview Project (Kankakee Community College) Photos, oral histories, and family tree information for 16 French Canadian Kanakakee County citizens.

Land and Property
Original land records are held in the office of the County Clerk. See Illinois Land and Property for more information about using land records.

Online Resources


 * Beginning 1820 Land Patent Search See Illinois Land and Property for more information about this database.
 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
 * 1796–1907 U.S. General Land Office Records found at Ancestry ($)
 * Illinois Public Land Purchase Records This record extract includes over 538,000 land sales from the 19th Century. Each entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, and in some cases the purchaser's sex and residence. Available at www.ancestry.com ($)
 * Kankakee County Federal Township Plats

Maps

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

Military Records
For information about using Military records see Illinois Military Records

Revolutionary War
Veteran Burials  (Source: Genealogy Trails History Group)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Kankakee 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 Kankakee County.

Artillery


 * - 1st Regiment, Illinois Artillery, Battery I

Cavalry


 * - 4th_Regiment,_Illinois_Cavalry, Company K.
 * - 12th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company E.

Infantry


 * - 20th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company G.
 * - 42nd_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company D, and Company H.
 * - 53rd_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company E.
 * - 76th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company D, Company F,  Company H, and Company I.
 * - 88th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company F.
 * - 113th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B, Company H, and Company K.
 * - 138th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G.
 * - 147th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K.
 * - 156th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company F.


 * Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)


 * A list of GAR post in Illinois, additional site for post list Library of Congress


 * Civil War Veterans of Kankakee County, Illinois: Department of Illinois, Grand Army of the Republic. by Mary Ann Schatz. item 5 Book 977.363 M2


 * 1883 Kankakee County Pensioner List- USGenWeb

Naturalization and Citizenship
Original naturalization records are held in the office of the County Clerk. See Illinois Naturalization Records for more information about using naturalization records.

Online Records
 * 1800-1998 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1856-1991 Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 at Ancestry - index and images, ($)

Newspapers
Chronicling America   ( Library of Congress )
 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1772 - 1999 Illinois Wills and Probate Records 1772-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1819 - 1988 at FamilySearch.org — images

Original estates and wills are held in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk. Digital copies of original Kankakee County probate and will books are available online as part of the Illinois Probate Records, 1819-1970 (FamilySearch.org)

See Illinois Probate Records for more information about using probate records.

The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through the FamilySearch Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Illinois State University (ISU) - search for Kankakee County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the ISU IRAD Wiki page.

1853-1900 County Court and Probate case files IRAD-ISU

1866-1869 Probate Dockets IRAD-ISU

FHL Collection

1853-1928 Kankakee County Illinois probate and will records on 21 films

Repositories
IRAD is a system of Illinois Regional Archives Depositories managed by the Illinois State Archives, housing the archival records of local Illinois counties, townships, municipalities and school districts. The seven Regional Depositories are housed on state university campuses scattered throughout Illinois. Illinois State University houses the records for Kankakee County.

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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Bourbonnais Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Morris Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Ottawa Illinois FamilySearch Center


 * Jasper County Public Library - DeMotte - an affiliate library
 * Jasper County Public Library - Wheatfield - an affiliate library
 * LaSalle County Genealogy Guild - an affiliate library
 * Wilmington Public Library District - an affiliate library

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
Illinois State University (ISU) 2016 Warehouse Road Campus Box 1520 Normal, Illinois 61802 Phone: 1-309-452-6027

Illinois Regional Archives Depository System - Local Governmental Records Listings Arranged by County

Societies

 * Bradley Historical Society 147 S. Michigan Ave Bradley, IL 60915 Phone 815-936-5149 (village hall) Email:[mailto:bradleyhist@gmail.com bradleyhist@gmail.com] Website
 * Bourbonnais Grove Historical Society PO Box 311 698 Stratford Drive East Bourbonnais, IL 60914-0311 Phone 815-933-6452 Email:[mailto:bbgrovehs@yahoo.com bbgrovehs@yahoo.com] Facebook Website
 * Kankakee County Historical Society 801 South 8th Avenue Kankakee, IL. 60901 Phone 815-932-5279 Email:[mailto:kankakeecountymuseum@gmail.com kankakeecountymuseum@gmail.com] Facebook Website
 * Kankakee Valley Genealogical Society PO Box 442 Bourbonnais, Illinois 60914 Website
 * Manteno Area Historical Society 192 West 3rd Manteno, IL 60950-1104 Phone 815-933-2031 Facebook Website

Taxation
1858-1858 Tax Sale record IRAD-ISU

Vital Records
See Illinois Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Illinois. See also How to order Illinois Vital Records or order electronically online. The website of the Kankakee County Clerk explains how to order original birth, marriage, and death records.

Birth
Original birth records at County Clerk. The following copies are available:

1863-1905 Birth Record Index IRAD-ISU

1877-1918 Birth Record IRAD-ISU Also availalble at the first of 7 films

1864-1910 Birth Certificates, Delayed Also available at the for years 1863-1915.

1864-1926 Birth Certificates, City of Manteno IRAD-ISU

Marriage
Original marriage records at County Clerk. The following copies are available:


 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHertitage($)
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1810-1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index


 * 1877-1967 Marriage Record Index IRAD-ISU
 * 1853-1926 Marriage Record IRAD-ISU Also available at the first of 24
 * 1889-1925 Marriage Licenses IRAD-ISU
 * 1899-1905 Marriage License Applications IRAD-ISU Also available at the
 * Miscellaneous Marriages, Kanka Kee County Illinois (GenealogyBuff)

Death
Original death records at County Clerk. The following copies are available:


 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHertitage($)
 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHeritage ($)

Online Resources
 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1877-1915 Death Record IRAD-ISU
 * 1877-1916 Death Record Index IRAD-ISU Also available at the item 6; first film of 3
 * 1915-1951 Death Certificates IRAD-ISU Also available at the
 * 1916-1958 Death Certificate Index IRAD - ISU Also available at the first film of 23
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index, ($)

Places / Localities

 * Kankakee State Hospital was legitimate residence place between January 1, 1910 and May 10, 1974 when it was renamed the Samuel H. Shapiro Developmental Center.

Websites

 * Kankakee County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Kankakee County IL Genealogy
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook

Databases pertinent to Kankakee County

Local Governmental Records Database

Name Index to Illinois Local Governments

Illinois Statewide Marriage Index

Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916–1950

Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database

Federal Township Plats of Illinois


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