Calhoun County, Illinois Genealogy

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

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

Historical Facts
Calhoun County is named for who served in politics and became Vice-President of the United States.

Description
The county was named for Vice President John C. Calhoun. The County Seat is Hardin and was founded 1825. It is located in the West-Central area of the state.

Boundary Changes

 * 10 January 1825: Calhoun County was created from Pike

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.

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:

Biography

 * Every Name Index to Portrait and Biographical Album of Pike and Calhoun Counties, Illinois. Every Name Index compiled by Cathy L. O'Connor, 2011, original text by Biographical Publishing Company, 1891, reproduction by Unigraphic, Inc., 1975.  EveryNameIndex.com


 * Portrait and Biographical Album of Pike and Calhoun Counties, Illinois: Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with Portraits and Biographies of All the Presidents of the United States, and Governors of the State. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1891. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive


 * Portrait Biographical Album of Pike and Calhoun Counties, Illinois. Chicago, IL, USA: Biographical Publishing, 1891. Digital version at Ancestry ($). Reprint 19823 with index

Cemeteries

 * GenealogyTrails.com. Find headstone transcriptions for Calhoun County Cemeteries.


 * Illinois Ancestors Tombstone Project. Find or submit Calhoun County tombstone photos.


 * Linkpendium. Has links to several Calhoun County Cemetery related websites.


 * Epodunk has a list of Calhoun County Cemeteries. The website provides name of cemetery, address and telephone number when available, Google Map with cemetery marker, and other helpful Internet links.


 * The Illinois State Genealogical Society's "Cemetery Location Project" has identified many Calhoun County Cemeteries.

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


 * Calhoun County, Illinois 1830 census.
 * United States census, 1850, Calhoun County, Illinois
 * U. S. census, Calhoun County, Illinois, 1860, indexed
 * Ancestry.com (FI$)
 * heritagequestonline.com (LAR)

State

 * State census, 1855 and 1865 Ancestry.com (FI$)
 * State census, 1855 Historical Collections index,
 * State census, 1865
 * Name index to early Illinois records

1840 Pensioners

 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C., 1841. ; ; digital version at Google Books. [See Illinois, Calhoun County on page 186.]

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 Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Western Illinois University (WIU) - search for Calhoun County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the WIU IRAD Wiki page.


 * 1825–1850 Circuit court dockets IRAD–WIU
 * 1825–1843 Court records
 * 1842–1850 Court records

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
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 Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Western Illinois University (WIU) - search for Calhoun County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the WIU IRAD Wiki page.

Copies of original records


 * Tract Index
 * 1825–1926 Grantee and grantor indexes
 * 1825–1881 Deeds
 * 1841–1857 School land records
 * 1854–1894 Estray book
 * 1825–1915 Public records
 * 1987 Land atlas and plat book Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * 1825–1850 Entry books IRAD–WIU
 * 1825–1886 Marks and brands record IRAD–WIU
 * 1827–1894 Estray record IRAD–WIU
 * 1841–1853 School land sale petitions IRAD–WIU
 * 1841–1857 School land sale record IRAD–WIU
 * 1841–1851 School land sale reports IRAD–WIU
 * 1846 Taxable lands lists IRAD–WIU
 * 1847–1852 Surveyor's record IRAD–WIU
 * 1850–1860 Chattel Mortgage record IRAD–WIU
 * 1853–1872 Swamp land record IRAD–WIU

Online Resources


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

Maps

 * Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Calhoun 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 Calhoun County.


 * - 97th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C.


 * Genealogy Trails. (Civil War) Military Data for Calhoun County. (accessed 31 May 2011)

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.

The following copies of original records may be accessed through the Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Western Illinois University (WIU) - search for Calhoun County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the WIU IRAD Wiki page.


 * 1849–1897 Naturalization record, finalIRAD–WIU
 * 1859–1924 Naturalization declarations of intent IRAD–WIU
 * 1866–1902 Naturalization declarations of intent IRAD–WIU
 * 1867–1906 Naturalization record of minors IRAD–WIU
 * 1868–1902 Naturalization record, final IRAD–WIU
 * 1903–1926 Naturalization record IRAD–WIU
 * 1911–1926 Naturalization petition record IRAD–WIU

Online Records
 * 1800-1998 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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.

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

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

Online Resources


 * 1829–1916 Some estate records, probate records, and wills for Calhoun County probate records are also available in . Click on the browse through images link, select Calhoun County, and select the record type you are interested in.
 * SAMPUBCO - Index of testators of wills.
 * Calhoun County Wills found at USGenWeb Archives Illinois.

Copies of original records


 * 1829–1874 Estate Records
 * 1832–1843 Estate books
 * 1834–1843 Probate settlement record IRAD–WIU
 * 1859–1904 Probate records
 * 1870–1916 Will 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 Calhoun County are kept, see the Calhoun County Courthouse page.

Family History Center
There are over 4500 Family History Centers in more than 80 countries offering public access to genealogical records from all over the world. Family History Centers provide patrons with access to over a billion online records and approximately 2.5 million circulating microfilms. Centers are staffed by local volunteers who are eager to provide genealogical research assistance. Currently there are no Family History Centers located directly in Calhoun County. To find the nearest Family History Center, check out the Family Search Centers page on the FamilySearch.org website.

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD-WIU)
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. Western Illinois University houses the records for Calhoun County.

Public Libraries
South County Public Library District Main Street P.O. Box 93 Brussels, IL 62013 Tel: 618-883-2522

Societies
Calhoun County Historical Society PO Box 46 204 North County Road Hardin, IL 62047-0327 Telephone Number: 618-576-2660 E-mail:[mailto:calhounhistoricalsociety@yahoo.com calhounhistoricalsociety@yahoo.com] Website The Calhoun Historical Society is located on the second floor of the Farm Bureau building.

Pike-Calhoun County Genealogical Society 305 W. Quincy PO Box 104 Pleasant Hill IL 62366-0104 Telephone Number: 217-734-2712

Taxation

 * 1852–1876 Tax judgement and sale record IRAD–WIU
 * 1823–1850 Tax sale record IRAD–WIU

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.

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded until the year 1916 are kept by the Calhoun County Clerk while those recorded after 1916 are kept by theIllinois 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 Western Illinois University (WIU) - search for Calhoun County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

Births
Copies of Original Birth Records


 * 1878–1904 Birth Registers
 * 1877–1905 Birth record IRAD–WIU

Marriages
Abstracts of Marriage Records


 * 1825–1982 Calhoun County Historical Society. Marriages of Calhoun County, 1825-1982. [Hardin, Illinois]: Calhoun County Historical Society, [1982?]. Other libraries (WorldCat)

Copies of original Marriage Records


 * 1825–1905 Marriage record IRAD–WIU

Online Resources


 * 1587-1959 - Illinois, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900. Also found at genealogytrails.com.
 * 1790–1860 Illinois Marriage indexfound at Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1810–1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index

Deaths
Copies of original Death Records


 * 1877–1903 Death records IRAD–WIU
 * 1878–1903 Death records
 * 1893–1915 Coroner's inquest record IRAD–WIU

Online Resources
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950. Also found at genealogytrails.com.
 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916
 * 1850–1885 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 found at Ancestry.com (free)

Additional Resources
Additional resources for Calhoun births, marriages and deaths may be found in the topic page of the FamilySearch Catalog. Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FamilySearch Catalog may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the FamilySearch Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Websites

 * Calhoun County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Calhoun County IL Genealogy
 * Calhoun County, IL Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * EveryNameIndex.com  Free online genealogy indexes for those big old county histories.