LaSalle County, Illinois Genealogy

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



Description
LaSalle County was named for the early French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. The county is located in the north-central part of the state.

County Courthouse
LaSalle County Courthouse 119 W Madison St Ottawa, IL 61350 Phone: 815-434-8671 LaSalle County Courthouse

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

 * Biographical and Genealogical Record of La Salle County. 2 volumes. Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co., 1900. Online at: Vol. 1 - Internet Archive; Vol. 2 - Internet Archive.
 * History of La Salle County, Illinois : together with biographical sketches. By U. J. Hoffman. Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1906. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * History of La Salle County, Illinois : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns, ... portraits of prominent persons, and biographies or representative citizens. 2 volumes. Chicago : Inter-State Pub. Co., 1886. Online at:.
 * The Past and Present of La Salle County, Illinois : containing a history of the county; its cities towns, &c., a biographical directory of its citizens. Chicago, Illinois : H.F. Kett, 1877. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

Census Records
 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, LaSalle County on page 187.

Church Records
 List of Churches and Church Parishes  Methodist
 * FamilySearch Places
 * IL GenWeb's list of LaSalle County Illinois Churches provides mailing addresses and phone numbers.
 * Little Indian Creek Wesleyan Methodist Church. Church Records &amp; History, 1843-1877. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1994 from original manuscripts at the Northern Illinois Conference, United Methodist Church, Evanston, Illinois. The Little Indian Creek church was probably in northern La Salle County. Includes references to the Ophir Weslyan Methodist Church assumed to be in Ophir Township, La Salle County, Illinois. Includes church history, 1843–1875; baptisms, 1865-1868; members, 1855-1872; minutes, 1865-1876; and member-related records in loose papers, 1857-1877.
 * La Salle Mission, Methodist Episcopal Church. Membership &amp; Baptism Records, 1859-1878. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1994 from original manuscripts at the Northern Illinois Conference, United Methodist Church, Evanston, Illinois. Text in Swedish, Norwegian &amp; English. Includes Leland, Mission Township, Otter Creek, Dayton, Norway, and the streams of Indian Creek and Otter Creek. Much earlier dates of birth are listed.

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 FamilySearch Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at Northern Illinois University - search for LaSalle County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the NIU IRAD Wiki page. Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1831-1870 Circuit Court Records IRAD-NIU; search for LaSalle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1831-1923 Probate court records
 * 1843-1875 Chancery Court Records IRAD-NIU; search for LaSalle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1840-1900 Naturalization Records for both Circuit and County Courts IRAD-NIU; search for LaSalle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1836-1963 County Court Records IRAD-NIU; search for LaSalle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1859-1871 Chancery Court Records IRAD-NIU; search for LaSalle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1913-1925 Judgement dockets

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 online, through the FamilySearch Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at Northern Illinois University search for LaSalle County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD - Northern Illinois University NIU IRAD Wiki page. Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1800s-Present Use the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Land Patent Index to obtain original federal land transfer records including homestead, military warrants, and cash entry patents. These records help a research establish location and lead to National Archives' records which may include genealogical information. Earlier land transfer records are housed at the National Archives.
 * 1800s-Present Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales from Illinois State Archives also provides an index to federal land sales.
 * 1796-1907 U.S. General Land Office Records found at Ancestry ($)
 * Illinois Public Land Purchase Records This record extract includes over 538,000 land sales from the 19th Century. Each entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, and in some cases the purchaser's sex and residence. Available at www.ancestry.com ($)
 * LaSalle County Federal Township Plats
 * 1831-1943 Deeds at FamilySearch Catalog
 * 1835-1901 Grantor and Grantee indexes at FamilySearch Catalog
 * 1842-1870 Surveyor's Record IRAD-NIU
 * 1936-1945 Chattel Mortgage Record IRAD-NIU
 * 1941-1962 Chattel Mortgage Index IRAD-NIU
 * 1952-1968 Chattel Mortgage Entry Books IRAD-NIU
 * Family Maps of LaSalle County, Illinois (2008) plats the land of many nineteenth-century LaSalle County residents. at FamilySearch Catalog

Local Histories

 * History of La Salle County, Illinois. 3 volumes. By Michael Cyprian O'Byrne. Chicago, Illinois : Lewis Pub. Co., 1924. Online at:.
 * History of La Salle County, Illinois. By Elmer Baldwin. Chicago, Illinois : Rand McNally, 1877. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * History of La Salle County, Illinois : together with biographical sketches. By U. J. Hoffman. Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1906. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * History of La Salle County, Illinois : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns, ... portraits of prominent persons, and biographies or representative citizens. 2 volumes. Chicago : Inter-State Pub. Co., 1886. Online at:.
 * Ottawa, old and new : a complete history of Ottawa, Illinois, 1823-1914. Ottawa, Illinois : Republican Times, 1912-1914. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * The Past and Present of La Salle County, Illinois : containing a history of the county; its cities towns, &c., a biographical directory of its citizens. Chicago, Illinois : H.F. Kett, 1877. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)
 * Township Map of 1870 LaSalle County, Illinois with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records
 Civil War Regiments. Civil War service men from LaSalle 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 LaSalle County.
 * - 1st Regiment, Illinois Light Artillery, Battery C
 * - 4th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company A (Grant's Escort), Company B (Carrnichael's Cavalry Company), and Company I
 * - 6th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company B
 * - 7th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company C (Morgan's Escort, Palmer's Escort, Smith's Escort)
 * - 10th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (3 months, 1861), Company F (Also known as Ottawa Artillery or Houghtaling's Battery)
 * - 11th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (3 months, 1861), Companies H, I, and K
 * - 11th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies H and K
 * - 12th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B
 * - 12th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (3 months, 1861), Company B
 * - 14th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company C
 * - 15th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company L (Ford's Cavalry, Grant's Escort)
 * - 20th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H
 * - 23rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies D, F, and H
 * - 24th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I
 * - 26th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E
 * - 37th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E
 * - 39th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K
 * - 44th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A
 * - 53rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, B, C, D, F, I and K
 * - 55th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies G and I
 * - 57th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A
 * - 58th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H
 * - 64th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (Yates’ Sharpshooters), Company A
 * - 88th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B
 * - 90th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K
 * - 104th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, all Companies
 * - 132nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company A
 * - 138th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies I and K
 * - 147th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies C and H
 * - 156th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H

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 ($)

Obituaries
The La Salle County Genealogy Guild has online indexes to obituaries and holds original copies of early newspapers on microfilm.

Probate Records
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
 * 1831-1922 Probate estate file indexes
 * 1831-1900 Probate Records IRAD-NIU
 * 1831-1945 Probate records, wills, and guardianship records for LaSalle County probate records are also available in . Click on the browse through images link, select LaSalle County, and select the record type you are interested in.
 * 1831-1901 Probate estate files
 * 1844-1921 Digital images of guardianship and probate files (1844-1921) are available online at FamilySearch as part of the Illinois Probate Records, 1819-1970 collection. Browse probate records by volume (organized by date).

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. 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 Northern Illinois University (NIU) - search for LaSalle County records. For information on how to use IRAD see theNIU IRAD Wiki page.
 * The La Salle County Genealogy Guild has online indexes to Probate Records and holds the original probate files.

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 LaSalle 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 Northern Illinois University (NIU) - search for LaSalle County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

Birth

 * 1843-1890 Index to Delayed Birth Certificates IRAD-NIU
 * 1843-1890 Delayed Birth Certificates IRAD-NIU
 * 1858-1940 Birth &amp; stillbirth certificates, [one for 1941]
 * 1877-1891 Birth records and indexes
 * 1877-1890 Birth Record Index IRAD-NIU
 * 1877-1890 Birth Records and Certificates IRAD-NIU

Marriage

 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast, index ($)
 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHeritage($) at Illinois State Archives; Index
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1810-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1831-1925 Marriage licenses
 * 1831-1926 Marriage records and indexes
 * 1831-1916 Marriage Records and Licenses IRAD-NIU
 * 1831-1915 Marriage Record Index IRAD-NIU
 * The La Salle County Genealogy Guild has online indexes to marriage records (by both bride and groom) and death certificates.

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
 * 1877-1940 Index to death records
 * 1877-1915 Death records
 * 1877-1922 Death Certificates
 * 1877-1940 Death Certificate Index IRAD-NIU
 * 1877-1916 Death Record and Certificates IRAD-NIU
 * 1910-1915 Death Certificates, Coroner's IRAD-NIU
 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * 1916-1941 Death Certificates, Stillbirths IRAD-NIU
 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950 at Illinois State Archives - index
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates at Illinois State Archives; Index
 * 1951-1971 Illinois Death Certificates, 1951–1971 at Illinois State Archives - index

Archives
 Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) The Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD), managed by the Illinois State Archives, houses 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. The Northern Illinois University (IRAD-NIU) holds the records for LaSalle County. Learn more about finding and using their records.
 * Illinois Regional Archives Depository c/o Regional History Center Founders Memorial Library, Room 400 Northern Illinois University DeKalb, IL 60115 Telephone: (815) 753-1807

FamilySearch Centers

 * Bourbonnais Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Chicago Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Chicago Illinois Hyde Park FamilySearch Center
 * Griffith Indiana FamilySearch Center
 * Morris Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Orland Park Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Ottawa Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Peoria Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Sterling Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Arlington Heights Memorial Library - an affiliate library
 * Barrington Area Library - an affiliate library
 * Bureau County Genealogy Society
 * Cook Memorial Public Library District - an affiliate library
 * Glenview Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Lake County IL Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * LaSalle County Genealogy Guild - an affiliate library
 * Oak Lawn Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Schaumburg Township District Library - Hoffman Estates - an affiliate library
 * Valparaiso Public Library/Porter County Public Library System - an affiliate library

Libraries
The following LaSalle County libraries have collections of particular interest to genealogists. Lasalle Public Library 305 Marquette Lasalle, IL 61301 Phone: 815-223-2341 The Genealogy and Local History collection includes city directories, local and state histories, yearbooks, LaSalle newspapers, maps, and more. Oglesby Public Library District 111 S. Woodland Ave. Oglesby, IL 61348 Phone: 815-883-3619 Website The library has local history books. Peru Public Library 1409 11th St. Peru, IL 61354 Phone: 815-223-0229 Website The Local History and Genealogy collection includes yearbooks, city directories, maps, and books of local interest. Reddick Public Library District 1010 Canal St. Ottawa, IL 61350 Phone: 815-434-0509 Website The Illinois Room offers photos and documents related to Ottawa and LaSalle County. Robert W. Rowe Public Library District 120 E. Si Johnson Avenue P.O. Box 358 Sheridan, IL 60551 Phone: 815-496-2031 Website The library is developing a local history collection of historical maps, obituaries, and other items. Utica Public Library District Mill & Grove Streets Utica, IL 61373 Phone: 815-667-4509 Website Join with the history club to categorize photographs and memorabilia related to the Utica area. LaSalle County Historical Society Museum Library Canal and Mill Streets P.O. Box 278 Utica, IL 61373 Phone: 815-667-4861 Website Staff-assisted research is available in their collections of military records and histories, biographies, and Illinois Michigan Canal books.

Museums
LaSalle County Historical Society Museum 101 E Canal St Utica, IL 61373 Phone: 815-667-4861 Email: [mailto:office@lasallecountyhistoricalsociety.org office@lasallecountyhistoricalsociety.org] Facebook Website Mendota Museum & Historical Society 901 Washington St. Mendota, IL 61342 Phone: 815-539-3373 Email: [mailto:mmhsmuseum@yahoo.com mmhsmuseum@yahoo.com] Facebook Website

Societies
Earlville Community Historical Society PO Box 683 136 South Ottawa St. Earlville, IL 60518 Phone: 815-246-9778 or 815-985-3763 Email: [mailto:earlville.history@yahoo.com earlville.history@yahoo.com] Facebook Website LaSalle County Genealogy Guild 115 West Glover Street Ottawa, IL 61350 Phone: 815-433-5261 Facebook Website The LaSalle County Genealogy Guild has posted online indexes to county marriages (by both bride and groom), death certificates, obituaries, probate records, and burials. LaSalle County Historical Society Museum 101 E Canal St Utica, IL 61373 Phone: 815-667-4861 Email: [mailto:office@lasallecountyhistoricalsociety.org office@lasallecountyhistoricalsociety.org] Facebook Website Mendota Museum & Historical Society 901 Washington St. Mendota, IL 61342 Phone: 815-539-3373 Email: [mailto:mmhsmuseum@yahoo.com mmhsmuseum@yahoo.com] Facebook Website Onsite holdings include original probate files, microfilm of early newspapers, and many other resources. Seneca Historical Guild 431 N. Main Seneca, IL 61360 Phone: 815-769-5077 Email: [mailto:senecahistory@gmail.com senecahistory@gmail.com] Facebook Website Streatorland Historical Society Museum 306 S. Vermillion St Streator, IL 61364 Phone: 815-672-2443 Email: [mailto:strh1@frontier.com strh1@frontier.com] Facebook Website

Websites

 * LaSalle County ILGenWeb
 * LaSalle County IL Genealogy
 * LaSalle 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.