Macon County, Illinois Genealogy

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

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

Historical Facts


The county is named after U.S. Senator Nathaniel Macon (1758-1837).

Parent County

 * 1829--Macon County was created 19 January 1829 from Shelby County. County seat: Decatur

Description
The county was named for Nathaniel Macon, who served as a Colonel in the Revolutionary War. Macon later served as senator from North Carolina until his resignation in 1828. The county seat is Decatur and the county was organized on January 19, 1829. The County is located in the central part 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.

Neighboring Counties

 * Christian
 * DeWitt
 * Logan
 * Moultrie
 * Piatt
 * Sangamon
 * Shelby

Cemeteries
The following web sites have additional information on Macon county cemeteries.


 * Confederate soldiers buried in Macon County. Courtesty of Genealogy Trails.


 * ePodunk list of Macon 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.


 * Illinois State Genealogical Society Cemetery Location Project

Church Records
Church records may give birth, death and marriage information as well as indictate family relationships. See Illinois Church Records for more ideas about how to use church records in your research. Many libraries (WorldCat) and the hold abstracts of church records for Macon County. Learn more about how to search WorldCat and the FamilySearch Catalog.


 * Macon County, IL, Churches Index. Courtesy of ILGenWeb.
 * Early Church History for Macon County, Illinois Courtesy Genealogytrails.com. Includes Baptist, Catholic, Christian, Church of God, Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, United Brethren and Universalist Churches.
 * Forney, Christian Henry History of the Churches of God in the United States of North America (Board of Directors of the Publishing House and book rooms of the Churches of God, 1914.) Available for viewing at Google Books.

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

Copies of Original Records


 * 1829-1904 Circuit Court Case Files including Criminal Files IRAD-UIS
 * 1830-1848 Circuit Court Record IRAD-UIS
 * 1831-1848 Court record, Vol. A-B
 * 1857-1871 Justice of the Peace Dockets IRAD-UIS
 * 1831-1866 Circuit Court Execution Files IRAD-UIS
 * 1869-1869 Circuit Court Dockets, Common Law IRAD-UIS
 * 1872-1934 County Court Record IRAD-UIS
 * 1878-1881 Circuit Court Cockets IRAD-UIS
 * 1883-1892 County Court Dockets IRAD-UIS
 * 1893-1910 County Court Judgment Record IRAD-UIS
 * 1893-1906 Insanity and Conservator's Record IRAD-UIS
 * 1893-1910 Insanity Dockets IRAD-UIS
 * 1895-1926 Insanity Record IRAD-UIS
 * 1899-1909 County Court Dockets, Criminal IRAD-UIS
 * 1900-1933 County Court Miscellaneous Record IRAD-UIS

Abstracts


 * 1831-1838 Hauffe, Jean Parks Abstracts of Macon County, Illinois Circuit Court records, book A, 1831- 1838 ;

Online Resources


 * Macon County Jail, 1930 Index of Prisoners, courtesy: Blacksheep Ancestors.
 * 1829-1861 Macon County Circuit Court Case Files Index Courtesy Illinois State Archives.

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 the University of Illinois at Springfield - search for Macon County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the UIS IRAD Wiki page.

Online Resources


 * BLM GLO Records. Search original land patents for Macon County from the Govenment Land Office (GLO) or Eastern States Office. Some searches include images of the original warrants. All search results include the patant details needed for requesting copies of the land entry files at the National Archives. The GLO is the custodian of millions of land title documents. The General Land Office Automated Records Project is responsible for making these important documents available to the public.


 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales. The Illinois State Archives has an online index to the records of Public land sales held by the State Archives. The indexes are by purchasers name and by legal description. This is a statewide collection with nearly 550,000 land sales fro 54740 square miles.


 * 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 ($)


 * Macon County Federal Township Plats


 * Sheldon, Theodore. Land registration in Illinois. Chicago: Callaghan Co., 1901. Digital book. Expains the laws regarding land and the land systems used in Illinois. Includes court cases involving land issues. In addition to being on Ancestry, this book is available online at no cost at Internet Archives and Google Books.

Copies of original records


 * 1829-1893 Deed Index IRAD-UIS
 * 1829-1901 Deed Record IRAD-UIS
 * 1830–1893 Land records index
 * 1830–1887 Deeds records
 * 1830–1874 Original entry
 * 1857-1893 Mortgage Record IRAD-UIS
 * 1871-1948 Chattel Mortgages IRAD-UIS

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Macon County land and property may be found online in the. 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)

Library Records

 * 1879-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Military

 * 1879-2007 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil War
Civil War service men from Macon 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 Macon County.


 * - 7th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company I.
 * - 8th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (3 months, 1861), Companies A and B.
 * - 8th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A and B.
 * - 21st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.
 * - 41st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A and E.
 * - 63rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.
 * - 70th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
 * - 115th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.
 * - 116th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, B, C, D, E, G, I, and K.
 * - 145th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
 * - 150th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (1 year, 1865), Company I.
 * - 152nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry (1 year, 1865), Company K.

Naturalization
Online Records
 * 1800-1998 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers and Obituaries
Historic

Ancestry.com and NewspaperArchive.com have digitized dozens of historic Macon County newspapers. Cyndi's List provides a detailed list.

Current

The website of the Decatur Herald &amp; Review provides free access to birth and death notices published in the newspaper since 1997.

Probate Records
Online Probate Records
 * 1772 - 1999 Illinois Wills and Probate Records 1772-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1819 - 1988 at FamilySearch.org — images

Original probate records are usually held by the circuit court clerk. Probate records include wills, inventories, settlements, and guardianship records. Copies of probate records are held at IRAD. Explore how to search IRAD–UIS. The following copies are available at IRAD–UIS and in the FamilySearch Catalog:


 * 1830–1872 Probate Case Files Index IRAD–UIS
 * 1830–1972 Estate Files Index
 * 1830–1890 Probate Case Files IRAD–UIS
 * 1830–1885 Estate Files
 * 1847–1916 Probate Will Record IRAD–UIS
 * 1847–1916 Will Records
 * 1860–1960 Probate Inventory Record IRAD–UIS
 * 1873–1939 Probate Administrator's Record IRAD–UIS
 * 1883–1904 Probate Widow's Relinquishment and Selection Record IRAD–UIS
 * 1887–1962 Probate Appraisement RecordIRAD–UIS
 * 1904–1957 Probate Heirship Record IRAD–UIS
 * 1943–1962 Probate Wills IRAD–UIS

In addition, IRAD maintains an online index to


 * Macon County Circuit Court case files, 1829–1861. These records include chancery cases.  Although, not officially probate records, chancery court records may include plaintiffs and defendants in property settlements.

Other abstracted probate records for Macon County can be explored through a subject search of the (Probate Records), (Probate indexes) and WorldCat.

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

The FHC center in Macon County is located in Decatur. Be sure to call and visit its wiki page for hours of service and other information.

Decatur Illinois Family History Center 3955Lourdes Drive Decatur, Illinois 217-845-9396

You may search your address for a center near you on the FamilySearch site, if you live outside the area.

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
IRAD is a system of Illinois Regional Archives Depositories managed by the Illinois State Archives, housing 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 University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) houses the records for Macon County. The link will help you find and use the records. There address is:

Illinois Regional Archives Depository LIB144 University of Illinois at Springfield Region One University Plaza, MS BRK 140 Springfield, Illinois 62703-5407 217-206-6520

Public Libraries
Barclay Public Library 220 S. Main St. P.O. Box 349 Warrensburg, Illinois 62573 Office 217-672-3621 217-672-8404

They have a wide variety of genealogy and local history resources. They are also digitizing their collection, which can be accessed online and in the library. Be sure to view the Genealogical section on their site.

Decatur Public Library 130 N. Franklin St. Decatur, IL 62523 Phone:(217) 424-2900 Ext. 7 Shilling Local History Room with newspapers, obituary index, cemetery listings, local directories. Call ahead for times.

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Illinios Macon County, Decatur Public Library Collections (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Maroa Public Library 305 E. Garfield Street Maroa, IL 61756 Phone (217)794-5111 Prairie Post Online Obituary Index

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at: Illinois, Macon County, Decatur Public Library Collections (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Societies
Decatur Genealogical Society and Library 1255 W. South Side Drive Decatur, Illinois Telephone Number: 217429-0135 Website

Macon County History Museum and Prairie Village 5580 North Fork Road Decatur, Illinois 62521 Telephone Number: 217-422-4919 Website

Museum and Library for researching the Decatur and Macon County area.

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 since 1877 are kept by the Macon 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 kept by the County Clerk from 1829 to the present. Original divorce records are generally in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk.

Copies of original records may be accessed through the Family History Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Universtiy of Illinois–Springfield(UIS). Search Macon County records in the Local Governmental Records Holdings Database. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD–UIS Wiki page.

found in the FamilySearch Catalog. Other libraries(at WorldCat) also hold copies of abstracted Macon County vital records. (How to explore WorldCat).

Birth

 * 1850–1922 Birth Records Index
 * 1850–1890 Birth Records Index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Macon County records.
 * 1877–1917 Birth record IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Macon County records.

Marriage

 * 1587-1959 - Illinois, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1810–1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1829–1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index search for Macon County records.
 * 1829–1930 Marriage records index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Macon County records.
 * 1829–1918 Marriage Records IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Macon County records.
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1883–1884, 1889 Marriage License Applications IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Macon County records.
 * 1829–1850 Illinois Marriages 1790 to 1860. Search for Macon county records.Ancestry ($). The source of this collection is films in the Family History Library's collection
 * 1851–1900 Illinois Marriages 1851 to 1900. Search for Macon county records.Ancestry ($)The source of this collection is films in the Family History Library's collection

Death

 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1877-1922 Death Records Index. Available at UIS IRAD Region Search for Macon county.
 * 1877-1918 Death Record. Available at UIS IRAD Region Search for Macon county.
 * 1878-1902 Death Record, Stillbirths IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Macon County records.
 * 1844-1987 Burial Record, Soldiers and Sailors.Available at UIS IRAD Region Search for Macon county.

Macon County records are not included in the Pre–1916 Statewide Death Index at IRAD.


 * 1916-1950 Illinois Statewide Death Index Search for Macon County.

Divorce

 * Macon County Divorce Index from newspaper abstracts Courtesy of USGenWeb.

Websites

 * Macon County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Macon County IL Genealogy
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Macon County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Macon County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Illinois, Macon County, Decatur Pubic Library Collections - FamilySearch Historical Records