Illinois, Cook County Marriage Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection consists of a name index to marriages for Chicago and Cook County, Illinois. It covers the years 1871 to 1920. For copies of the certificate for this time period please contact Cook County.

Image Visibility
Due to the provisions and guidelines of a revised contract with Cook County, FamilySearch has removed all images for Illinois, Cook County vital records from its historical records collections online; free indexes to the collections will remain. The images are available at Cook County Genealogy, a third party affiliate, for a fee. The images can be downloaded from the site.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Marriage records may contain:
 * Names of bride and groom
 * Ages of bride and groom
 * Town of residence of bride and groom
 * Date license was issued
 * Date marriage was solemnized
 * Name of person officiating at marriage

After 1916, the following information was added:


 * Birth date of bride and groom
 * Full names of parents
 * Employer

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of Illinois marriages, click here.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it will be helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The approximate date of marriage
 * The place where the marriage occurred
 * The name of the intended spouse

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s marriage record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Search for other vital records, such as birth and death
 * Search the family in census records
 * Look for other records in Cook County, such as church, land and probate

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby counties
 * If you know their religion, search for the marriage in church records
 * Search family records such as a family bible

General Information About These Records
Early records were kept in register books beginning in 1877. By the early 1900s, most events were recorded on pre-printed forms.

Marriage returns were submitted to the county clerk by the minister or justice of the peace who performed the marriage. Most of these records prior to 1871 were destroyed by the. Only a few marriage records exist prior to that date. Couples were not required to obtain a marriage license until 1877. A statewide register of marriages was started in 1962 as county clerks forwarded marriage information to the Illinois Department of Health. A few marriage records have markers shaped like spades that indicates records with document numbering problems. When searching the collection displays a image with such markings, a second search might yield an unmarked marriage record with a new number without spades.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used. "Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1920." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2017. Citing Cook County Clerk. Cook County Courthouse, Chicago.
 * Collection Citation:

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