Carroll County, Illinois Genealogy

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

Description
The county was named for Charles Carroll who signed the Declaration of Independence and was founded in 1839. The county seat is Mount Carroll and the county is located in the North-West area of the state.

County Courthouse
Carroll County Courthouse 301 N Main St Mt. Carroll, IL 61053 Phone: 815-244-0230 Carroll County Courthouse County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Carroll County are kept, see the Carroll 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:

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Biographies

 * The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois at has a Boone County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Boone County residents.  See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.
 * 1930 Carroll County Biography Business 1930 at GenealogyTrails.com

Census Records

 * 1850 Smith, Marjorie. Carroll County, Illinois federal census and mortality schedules for the year 1850. [Forest Park, Ill. : Smith, introd. 1971]. , covers June 1, 1849 to May 31, 1850.
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images

 State
 * 1855 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1855 Name index to early Illinois records
 * 1855 State Census
 * 1865 State Census

 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, Carroll County on page 186.]

Church 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.
 * Genealogy Trails Carroll County Churches includes photos and histories of several congregations.

 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

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 Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at Northern Illinois University - search for Franklin County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the NIU IRAD Wiki page.

Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1849-1861 County Court Miscellaneous Files IRAD-NIU
 * 1867-1944 Insanity Dockets IRAD-NIU

Directories

 * 1930 Carroll County Biography and Business Directory 1930 at GenealogyTrails.com

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.

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 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 ($)
 * Illinois Public Land Purchase Records This record extract includes over 538,000 land sales from the 19th Century. Each entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, and in some cases the purchaser's sex and residence. Available at www.ancestry.com ($)
 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database

Local Histories

 * Portrail and Birgraphical Album of Carrol County Illinois(1889) Biographies.
 * Carroll County, Illinois Biography (WorldCat)
 * Pioneer Families of Carroll County Illinois
 * Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois (1913); digital version at Ancestry ($). Other copies.
 * The History Of Carroll County, Illinois, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc. (1878); digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Portrait and Biographical Album of Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties, Illinois. MyHeritage ($). (This site is available for free use at FamilySearch Centers). Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Carroll County: A Goodly Heritage. Mt. Morris, Ill.: Kable Print. Co., 1968. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)
 * 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 Carroll 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 Carroll County.
 * - 7th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company B (Also known as Rosecran's Escort).
 * - 15th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K.
 * - 34th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I.
 * - 45th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A and E.
 * - 55th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.
 * - 61st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A and B.
 * - 71st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.
 * - 91st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I.
 * - 92nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies C and I.
 * - 142nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company G.
 * - 146th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.

 World War I
 * 1917-1918 World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

 World War II
 * 1942 . United States World War II Draft Records
 * 1938-1946 U. S, Word War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946.

Naturalization and Citizenship
The Carroll County Genealogical Society's website includes several naturalization collections:
 * Index to Naturalizations from the Carroll County Circuit Court
 * Declarations of Intention: First Papers of Naturalization Carroll County, Illinois
 * Miscellaneous Naturalization Documents

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 & images ($)

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * March 16,1898 Carroll County Democrat, March 16, 1898
 * 1800s-1900s Newspaperarchive.com ($) 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 Carroll County. The Rock Island Public Library provides free access to this database at its library.

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 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

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 Carroll County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the NIU IRAD Wiki page.


 * 1839-1962 Probate Record IRAD-NIU
 * 1860-1955 Probate Appraisement Record IRAD-NIU
 * 1865-1957 Probate Inventory Record IRAD-NIU
 * 1865-1967 Probate Will Record IRAD-NIU

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

Birth

 * 1872-1942 Birth Record Index IRAD-UIS
 * 1877-1913 Birth Certificates IRAD-UIS
 * 1923-1927 Birth Record IRAD-UIS
 * Carroll County Births.

Marriage

 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($) — index
 * 1796-1900 Ilinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1796-1900.
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1810-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1839-1847 Carroll County Marriages 1839-1847, courtesy: ILGenWeb
 * 1861-1876 Carroll County, Illinois Marriages courtesy I Dream of Genealogy.

Death

 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1951-1971 Illinois Death Certificates, 1951–1971 at Illinois State Archives - index
 * Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916.
 * Illinois Statewide Death Index (1916-1950).
 * Deaths in Carroll County, Illinois courtesy Genealogytrails.com

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 Carroll 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

 * Freeport Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Sterling Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Hancock County Public Library - Sugar Creek - an affiliate library
 * Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * Polo Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
The following Carroll County libraries have collections of specific interest to genealogists. Lanark Public Library 110 W. Carroll St. Lanark, Illinois 61046 Telephone: (815) 493-8045 Website

Societies

 * Carroll County Genealogical Society History Room of the Savanna Township Library 326 Third Street Savanna, IL 61074 Telephone Number: 815-273-3714 E-mail:[mailto:ahaliotis@internetni.com ahaliotis@internetni.com] Website
 * Carroll County Historical Society 107 East Broadway Mt. Carroll, IL 61053 Phone 815-244-3474

Websites

 * Carroll County ILGenWeb
 * Carroll County IL Genealogy at ldsgenealogy
 * Carroll County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (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.