Menard County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  Menard County

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

Historical Facts
Menard County is named for Pierre Menard who was the first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois.

Parent County

 * 1839--Menard County was created 15 February 1839 from Sangamon County. County seat: Petersburg

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Menard County boundary changes.

Populated Places

 * Athens (city)
 * Greenview (village)
 * Oakford (village)
 * Petersburg (city)
 * Tallula (village)

Neighboring Counties

 * Cass
 * Logan
 * Mason
 * Sangamon

Cemeteries
Illinois cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.


 * Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried. Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone.  May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.


 * Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Menard County and links to the information for the individuals buried there.


 * Menard 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.


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists . Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Menard County cemeteries gives the names of the cemeteries in the county with a link to more information such as address, phone number, and web site.
 * Irish Grove Cemetery http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilmaga/menard/cemetery/cem_irish_a_d.html

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, Menard County on page 187.]

Church Records
Church records may give birth, death and marriage information as well as indictate family relationships. See Illinois state wiki article Church Records for more ideas about how to use church records in your research. Many libraries( WorldCat) and the hold abstracts of church records for Menard County. Learn more about how to search WorldCat.

Baptists

New Salem The church appears to one of the first churches in the area. It was actually organized in 1829 prior to Menard County being formed. The church was known as Salem until 1832, then it was listed as "New Salem." More information can be found at Church and Family History Research Assistance for Menard County, Illinois.
 * 1823–1837 Minutes of the Sangamon United (later Regular) Baptist Association

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

History
http://www.lincolnsnewsalem.com/  Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, about 2 miles South of Petersburg, is a reconstruction of the village where Abraham Lincoln spent his early adulthood.

Land and Property
BLM GLO Records. Search original land patents for Menard 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.

IRAD holdings include school land sales, swamp land accounts, and taxable land lists.

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.

Military

 * Civil War Civil War service men from Menard 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 Menard County.


 * - 28th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies F and K
 * - 71st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G.
 * - 85th Regiment, Illinois Infantry

Probate Records
Original probate records are held by the circuit court clerk. Probate records include wills, inventories, settlements, and guardianship records. Copies of probate records are held at IRAD. Explore how to search IRAD–UIS. The following copies are available at IRAD–UIS and in the Family History Library Catalog:


 * 1839–1924Probate Record IRAD–UIS
 * 1839–1891Probate Record Online images. Browse for Menard records.
 * 1849–1884Probate Will Record IRAD–UIS
 * 1849–1864 Probate Administrator's and Executor's ReportsIRAD–UIS
 * 1849–1858Probate Records Online images. Browse for Menard records.
 * 1859–1881Probate Dockets IRAD–UIS
 * 1859–1875Probate Judgment Dockets IRAD–UIS
 * 1859–1864Probate Ledgers IRAD–UIS
 * 1868–1937Probate Administrator's Record IRAD–UIS Online images. Browse for Menard records.
 * 1868–1923Probate Executor's and Will Record IRAD–UIS Online images. Browse for Menard records.
 * 1859–1860Record of Letters and Wills Online images. Browse for Menard records.
 * 1860–1884Will Record v. A Online images. Browse for Menard records.

The following index is abstracted from Menard County probate records:


 * 1839–1963 Weaver, Jeanine Crain. Menard County, Illinois, Index to Probate Records.Petersburg, Illinois: Weaver Genealogical Publications, 1987.

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

Family History Center
Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah (United States) and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources to assist you in the research and study of your genealogy.

Currently there are no Family History Centers located directly in Menard County. The center in Springfield is the closest. The wiki page may supply hours and other information.

Springfield Illinois Family History Center 3601 Buckeye Dr. Springfield, Illinois 62707 217-529-7930

You may search for other centers on the FamilySearch site.

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
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.

The University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) houses the records for Menard County. The link will help you find and use the records. There address is:

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
Petersburg Public Library

220 South 6th street Phone - (217) 632-2807 Fax - (217) 632-2833

http://petersburgil.org/library.htm

Societies
Menard County Historical society

125 S 7th St Petersburg, IL 62675 Hours

Mo-Fr 9-12; except holidays Jun-Aug: also Mo-Fr 1-4

Birth Records

 * Menard County Birth Records November 1878 thru December 1887, courtesy: Researching Your Roots in Central Illinois

Marriage Records

 * Menard County Illinois Marriages 1926 - 1932 Groom Index, courtesy: Researching Your Roots in Central Illinois
 * Menard County Illinois Marriages 1926 - 1932 Bride Index, courtesy: Researching Your Roots in Central Illinois

Available at Ancestry.com $:


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

Death Records

 * Menard County Death Records December 1877 thru April 1910, courtesy: Researching Your Roots in Central Illinois
 * Menard County, Illinois Death Certificates (incomplete, but very good), courtesy: Researching Your Roots in Central Illinois
 * WWII Deaths from Menard County, Illinois, courtesy: Researching Your Roots in Central Illinois
 * Menard County Patient Deaths at the Illinois State Hospital (1910s-1930s)

Web Sites

 * Menard County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Illinois Ancestors Presents Menard County Extensive Cemetery, Census, Church Photographs, Directory, Funeral Home, Local Histories, Maps, Military, Mortality Schedule, Obituary, Probate, Tax Lists, Vital Records, and Voting Records.
 * Menard County, Illinois Resources (Researching Your Roots in Central Illinois). Birth, Cemetery, Census, Church Records, Death Records, Directories, Local History, Marriages, Soldiers' and Sailors' Home Records, and Voting Records
 * Menard County, Illinois Resources (Researching Your Roots in Central Illinois). Birth, Cemetery, Census, Church Records, Death Records, Directories, Local History, Marriages, Soldiers' and Sailors' Home Records, and Voting Records