Bureau County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois Bureau County

Bureau County Organization
Bureau County's civil records start the following years:

Historical Facts
Bureau County is named for Pierre Bureau (Belleau or de Beuro) who established a trading post on the Illinois River.

Boundary Changes

 * 28 February 1837: -- Bureau County was created from Putnam County.

Cemeteries
Find A Grave, list of cemeteries. Additional information can be found at local level (city, township, etc.)


 * Bureau 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.

Federal
For tips on accessing census records online, see Illinois 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, Bureau County on page 186.]

Court Records

 * 1872-1952 Court Records IRAD-NIU; search for Bureau 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

History

 * The Biographical Record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1896. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Harrington, George B. Past and Present of Bureau County, Illinois. Chicago: Pioneer Pub. Co., 1906. Digital version at Ancestry ($); Another Ancestry ($) version; Internet Archive.

Land and Property

 * 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.


 * 1816-1900 Deed Index IRAD-NIU; search for Bureau County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

Maps

 * Federal Township Plats of Illinois (1804-1891)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Bureau 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 Bureau County.


 * - 33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
 * - 52nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.
 * - 57th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B, F, H and K.
 * - 64th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (Yates’ Sharpshooters), Company B.
 * - 66th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C.
 * - 88th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
 * - 93rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B, C, E, H, I and K.

Naturalization

 * 1837-1923 Naturalization Papers IRAD-NIU; search for Bureau County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

Newspapers and Obituaries
A good collection of obituaries and death notices can be found at Genealogy Trails.

Probate Records

 * 1837-1900, 1906-1955 Probate Records IRAD-NIU; search for Bureau County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

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

Marriages

 * 1837-1854 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index at Illinois State Archives; Index

Deaths

 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates at Illinois State Archives; Index


 * Bureau County, Illinois Obituary and Death Notices Collection Free from GenealogyBuff.com. From various funeral homes in the Princeton, Hall, Spring Valley, Selby, Arispie, Sheffield, Walnut, Wyanet, Ladd and surrounding area.

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Bureau County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

Places / Localities
To see a list of places in Bureau County, click on [Show], above. The preceding list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have web sites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names.