Stephenson County, Illinois Genealogy

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

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

Historical Facts
Stephenson county is named for Colonel Benjamin Stephenson, who served as a colonel in the War of 1812 in the Illinois Militia. He also served as adjutant general of the territory in 1813.

Parent County

 * 1837--Stephenson County was created 4 March 1837 from Jo Daviess and Winnebago Counties. County seat:  Freeport

Description
The county was named for Colonel Benjamin Stephenson, an official of the Illinois Territory. The county seat is Freeport and the county was organized on 1837. The County is located in the Northwest area of the state.

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.

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

 * Carroll
 * Green County, Wisconsin
 * Jo Daviess
 * Lafayette County, Wisconsin
 * Ogle
 * Winnebago

Cemeteries
Online Stephenson County Cemetery Records:
 * 1850-2007 at FamilySearch — index; Also at: Ancestry ($)
 * 1854-1983 at FamilySearch — index; Also at: Ancestry ($)

Church History and Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

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.


 * Genealogy Trails' site for Stephenson County has a list of many churches with links to photos and other information.


 * USGenWeb offers a list of churches in Stephenson County.

Church of the Brethren


 * 1856, 1862, 1871, 1877, 1882 History of the Waddams Grove Church.... Photoreproduction of original published: Elgin, Ill.: Brethren Pub. House, 1910. Includes a list of members from Stephenson and Jo Daviess counties, Illinois, and nearby Wisconsin counties.

Methodist


 * 1853–1971 Basswood United Methodist Church–includes membership records, baptisms, marriages, and death records for Richland, Lena, Jewells Prairies, and Rusch (or Rush) Creek of the Galena District.

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 copies of original records may be accessed through the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at Northern Illinois University - search for Stephenson County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the NIU IRAD Wiki page.


 * 1893-1907 Insanity Dockets IRAD-NIU

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

American Indian
Indians of Stephenson County, Illionis. by Mary X. Barrett. FHL book 970.1 B275t. WorldCat

The Illinois and Indiana Indians. by Hiram Williams Beckwith. FHL book 970.1 B389i WorldCat

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 Stephenson 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 ($)


 * 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 ($)


 * Stephenson County Federal Township Plats

Abstracts


 * Family Maps of Stephenson County, Illinois (2008) plats the land of many nineteenth-century Stephenson County residents.

Copies of Original Records


 * 1837-1962 Deed Records IRAD-NIU; search for Stephenson County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)


 * 1837-1938 Deed Index IRAD-NIU; search for Stephenson County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Stephenson County land and property may be found online in the and. Online microfilm are indicated by the camera icon in the catalog entry. 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.

Maps

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

Civil War
Civil War service men from Stephenson 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 Stephenson County.


 * - 11th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.
 * - 14th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company I.
 * - 15th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G.
 * - 26th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B and H
 * - 71st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.
 * - 90th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I.
 * - 92nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, F and G.
 * - 93rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies D and G.
 * - 142nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company F.
 * - 146th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
 * - 147th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Records


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

Newspapers and Obituaries

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) 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 Stephenson County residents as well as residents from surrounding counties. The Rock Island Public Library provides free access to this resource at its library.

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

Miscellaneous Probate Records: IRAD-NIU; search for Stephenson County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1848-1859
 * 1864-1865
 * 1868-1879

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

Family History Center

 * Introduction to Family History Centers
 * Freeport Illinois Family History Center

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 Stephenson 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 Stephenson County libraries have collections of specific interest to genealogists.


 * Freeport Public Library 100 East Douglas Street Freeport, IL 61032 Telephone: (815) 233-3000 The Frances Woodhouse History Room offers resources for Stephenson County and the town of Freeport.

Societies

 * Cedarville Area Historical Society 450 West 2nd St. Cedarville, IL 61013 Phone 815-563-4485 Email:[mailto:info@cedarvilleareahistoricalsociety.org info@cedarvilleareahistoricalsociety.org] Facebook Website
 * Lena Area Historical Society PO Box 620 427 West Grove Street Lena, IL 61048 Phone 815-809-5362 Email:[mailto:gnprice@frontier.com gnprice@frontier.com] Website
 * McConnell Area Historical Society PO Box 42 202 East Main Street McConnell,IL 61050 Phone 815-821-2428 Email:[mailto:robin59@aeroinc.net robin59@aeroinc.net] Facebook
 * Stephenson County Historical Society 1440 South Carroll Avenue Freeport, IL 610 Phone 815-232-8419 Email:[mailto:director@stephcohs.org director@stephcohs.org] Facebook Website

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 Stephenson County Clerkwhile 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 Stephenson County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

General Online Resources
FamilySearch Digital Library.

Birth Records

 * 1855-1903 Birth Certificates IRAD-NIU; search for Stephenson County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1940-1976 Delayed Birth Certificates IRAD-NIU; search for Stephenson County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

Marriage Records

 * 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
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837-1926 Marriage Licenses IRAD-NIU; search for Stephenson County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

Death Records

 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1850,1860,1870,1880 U. S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 at Ancestry ($) These include the deaths occurring twelve months before the census was taken.
 * 1878-1913 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 at Illinois State Archives; Index
 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950 at Illinois State Archives; Index
 * 1878-1954 Death Certificates IRAD-NIU; search for Stephenson County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1878-1915 Death Certificates, Stillbirths IRAD-NIU; search for Stephenson County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

Online Resources
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index, ($)

Additional Resources
Additional resources for Stephenson County births, marriages and deaths may be found in the, and the topic pages of the FamilySearch Catalog. Online microfilm are indicated by the camera icon in the catalog entry. 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

 * Stephenson County ILGenWeb
 * Stephenson County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Stephenson County IL Genealogy
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Stephenson County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Stephenson County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)