Ogle County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  Ogle County

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

Historical Facts
Ogle County is named for Captain Joseph Ogle who distinguished himself with courage in the early days of Illinois state history.

Parent County

 * 1836--Ogle County was created 16 January 1836 from Jo Daviess County. County seat:  Oregon

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Boone
 * Carroll
 * DeKalb
 * Lee
 * Stephenson
 * Whiteside
 * Winnebago

Biography

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

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


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


 * Ogle 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.


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists.


 * ComPortOne lists Ogle County cemeteries by township, some with links to transcriptions.


 * ePodunk list of Ogle 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.

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, Ogle County on page 187.]

Church History and Records
Church records may give birth, death and marriage information. It is usually best to locate church records with a search at a local level such as the city, town, or village.


 * Historical Churches of Ogle Co. links to photos and histories of several congregations.
 * History of North Grove Christian Church and Cemetery, Leaf River, Illinois Includes photos, histories, and indexes for gravestone inscriptions.
 * History of Silver Creek Church of the Brethren Includes a church history and a surname index for Silver Creek Cemetery.


 * [1894-1903] Mayer, John Lucien. [His] Pastoral Record, 1858-1903. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1985. This record covers several localities with varying time periods, including service in Forreston and Westgrove of Ogle County, 1894–1903.

Court Records

 * 1837–1842 Circuit court records and index
 * 1837-1915 Circuit and Chancery Court Case Files IRAD-NIU; search for Ogle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1872-1963 County Court Case Files IRAD-NIU; search for Ogle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

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 online, through the Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at Northern Illinois University - search for Ogle County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD - Northern Illinois University NIU IRAD Wiki page.

Online Resources


 * 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.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 ($)


 * Ogle County Federal Township Plats

Copies of original records


 * 1833-1855 Land Patent Records IRAD-NIU; search for Ogle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1837–1903 Grantor and Grantee indexes
 * 1837–1934 Deeds
 * 1837-1940 Deed Records IRAD-NIU; search for Ogle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1837-1942 Deed Index IRAD-NIU; search for Ogle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Ogle County land and property may be found in the and. Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Ogle 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 Ogle County.


 * - 2nd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, (Logan's Escort, Ord's Escort, Stevenson's Escort) Company A.
 * - 4th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company D (Also known as Quinby's Escort).
 * - 7th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company B (Also known as Rosecran's Escort).
 * - 17th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company M
 * - 34th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies E, F, and H.
 * - 39th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
 * - 55th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B and H.
 * - 65th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (Scotch Regiment), Company A.
 * - 92nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B, D, E, H, and K.

Naturalization

 * 1872-1906 Naturalization Papers at Illinois State Archives; Index


 * 1839-1900, 1906-1929 Naturalization Records, Circuit Court IRAD-NIU; search for Ogle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)


 * 1839-1931 Naturalization Record Index, Circuit Court IRAD-NIU; search for Ogle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)


 * 1872-1906 Naturalization Records, County Court IRAD-NIU; search for Ogle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

Newspapers and Obituaries
Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available on-line. Their database has Freeport City newspapers from the late 1800's and early 1900's that covered local news on residents from Ogle County. The Rock Island Public Library provides free access to this database at its library.

Poorhouses

 * 1878-1933 Ogle County Almshouse Register at Illinois State Archives; Index
 * 1878-1933 Almshouse Registers IRAD-NIU; search for Ogle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

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.

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

Copies of original records


 * 1838–1940 Probate recordsIRAD-NIU


 * 1839–1942 Probate records, wills, administrators' records, executors' records, guardian records, and miscellaneous records for Ogle County probate records are also available in . Click on the browse through images link, select Olge County, and select the record type you are interested in.

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

Family History Centers
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.

You may search your address for a center near you on the FamilySearch site.

Currently there are no Family History Centers located directly in Ogle County. The following centers are located in surrounding counties. Their wiki pages may supply hours and other information.


 * Dekalb Illinois Family History Center 675 Fox Avenue Sycamore, Illinois 60178 Telephone: (815) 895–0702


 * Freeport Illinois Family History Center 1716 S Forest Rd. Freeport, Illinois 61032 Telephone: (815) 232-3310


 * Rockford Illinois Family History Center 324 University Dr. Rockford, Illinois 61107 Telephone: (815) 332-7782


 * Sterling Illinois Family History Center 2709 N 16th Avenue Sterling, Illinois 61081 Telephone: (815) 625-1229

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 Ogle 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

Public Libraries
The following Ogle County libraries have collections of specific interest to genealogists.


 * Bertolet Memorial Library District 705 S. Main St., Box 339 Leaf River, Illinois 61047 Telephone: (815) 738-2742 They offer microfilmed Leaf River Newspapers, photos and family history files.


 * Byron Public Library District 109 N. Franklin St. Byron, Ilinois 61010 Telephone: (815) 234-5107 The library has fiche from Byron Newspapers with a printed index available.


 * Oregon Public Library 300 Jefferson Street Oregon, Illinois 61061 Telephone: (815) 732-6643 Their Genealogy Department offers resources collected and maintained by the Ogle County Genealogical Society.


 * Polo Public Library District 302 West Mason Street Polo, Illinois 61064-1417 Telephone: (815) 946-2713 They offer local history resources and links to online databases, including "Polo Cemetery Records."


 * Rockford Public Library 215 N. Wyman St. Rockford, IL 61101 Telephone: (815) 965-6731 Although in Winnebago County, their Local History Room includes materials for Ogle County.

Vital Records
See Illinois Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Illinois.

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded until the year 1916 are kept by the Ogle 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 Family History Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Northern Illinois University (NIU) - search for Ogle County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

General Online Resources

 * Digital version of Newspaper clippings from the Davis Leader and Freeport Journal

Birth Records
Copies of Original Birth Records


 * Delayed birth index and delayed birth certificates
 * 1857-1965 Birth Record Index IRAD-NIU
 * 1878-1935 Birth Records and Certificates IRAD-NIU; search for Ogle County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1870-1954 Delayed Birth Record Index IRAD-NIU

Marriage Records

 * 1837-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index at Illinois State Archives; Index

Copies of original Marriage Records


 * 1837-1923 Marriage Records and Licenses IRAD-NIU
 * 1837-1930 Marriage Record Index IRAD-NIU
 * 1837–1930 Register of marriages and applications for marriage licenses

Death Records

 * 1878-1915 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 at Illinois State Archives; Index
 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates at Illinois State Archives; Index

Copies of original Death Records


 * 1902-1915 Death Certificates, Stillbirth IRAD-NIU
 * 1878-1934 Death Records and Certificates IRAD-NIU
 * 1878-1965 Death Record Index IRAD-NIU
 * 1878–1901 Register to deaths
 * 1878–1953 Index to deaths

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

Web Sites

 * Ogle County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Ogle County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)