Perry County, Illinois Genealogy

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

Description
Perry County was named for Oliver Hazard Perry who defeated the British fleet at the decisive Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. The county seat is Pinckneyville and the county was organized on January 29, 1827. The county is located in the southwestern area of the state.

County Courthouse
Perry County Courthouse 1 Public Square Pinckneyville, IL 62274 Phone: 618-357-6726 Perry County Courthouse

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

Biographies

 * All of the Perry County, Illinois family biographies from The Portrait and Biographical Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry and Monroe Counties, Illinois (1894) published by Biographical Publishing Co. are available free online at My Genealogy Hound.

Census Records
For tips on accessing census records online, see Illinois Census.
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1850-1885 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 found at Ancestry ($)

 1840 Pensioners
 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C., 1841. ; . Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Illinois, Perry County on page 188.

Church Records
 Catholic FamilySearch has made parish records from five Belleville Diocese Catholic churches in Perry County available online. The records include first communions, confirmations, marriages, and deaths:  List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1729-1956 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
 * 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. Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1828-1835 County record, no. 1, book A
 * 1852-1924 Insanity proceedings
 * 1913-1937 Mother's petitions for relief

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. The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through online sources, the FamilySearch Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Perry County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the SIU IRAD Wiki page.

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1796-1907 U.S. General Land Office Records found at Ancestry ($)
 * 1814-1903 Land patent record IRAD (SIU)
 * Beginning 1820 Land Patent Search See Illinois Land and Property for more information about this database.
 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
 * 1827-1863 Deed Index IRAD (SIU) Search for Perry records How to use IRAD
 * 1827-1890 Grantor and grantee index
 * 1827-1950 Deeds
 * 1850s-1894 Swamp land records IRAD (SIU)
 * 1920 Randolph County Genealogical Society (Illinois). Plat book and complete survey of Perry County, Illinois 1920. Chester, Illinois: Randolph County Genealogical Society (Illinois), 1991. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * 1987 Land atlas and plat book
 * Illinois Public Land Purchase Records This record extract includes over 538,000 land sales from the 19th Century. Each entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, and in some cases the purchaser's sex and residence found at Ancestry ($).
 * Perry County Federal Township Plats
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Local Histories

 * Portrait and Biographical Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry and Monroe Counties, Illinois: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the Counties: Together with Biographies and Portraits of All the Presidents of the United States, and the Governors of the State of Illinois. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1894. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive. For additional access, see WeRelate.
 * Robertson, Robert Crawford. Pioneer Families of Randolph and Perry Counties, Illinois: Notes on the Campbell, Crozier, Flack, Milligan, Steele and Thompson Families: The Crawfords of Ballynease, Londonderry, Ireland, with Descendants in the U.S.A., and Their Descendants in the Elsey, Garven, Matthews and Robertson Families. Chattanooga, Tenn.: R.C. Robertson, 1960. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Neville, J. Wesley. Student's History of Perry County. 1990. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)
 * Township Map of 1870 Perry County, Illinois with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * 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 Perry 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 Perry County.
 * - 6th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company I.
 * - 12th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G.
 * - 12th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (3 months, 1861), Company G.
 * - 18th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.
 * - 31st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.
 * - 71st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K.
 * - 81st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, C and K.
 * - 89th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
 * - 110th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.
 * - 136th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies A and D.

Naturalization and Citizenship
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 and images

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * 1869-1876 Randolph County Genealogical Society. The Valley Clarion Newspaper, Chester, Illinois, August 1869– April 1876. Chester, Illinois: Randolph County Genealogical Society, [1990?]Other libraries (WorldCat)

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. The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through, the FamilySearch Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Perry County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the SIU IRAD Wiki page.

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
 * 1828-1858 Probate record IRAD (SIU)
 * 1829-1843 Probate will record IRAD (SIU)
 * 1840-1953 Index to estates
 * 1843-1856 Probate administrator's bonds and letters IRAD (SIU)
 * 1858-1889 Probate record
 * 1860-1875 Administrators records
 * 1867-1884 Proceedings on petition to sell real estate
 * 1867-1909 Will record
 * 1875-1883 Estate record
 * 1897-1917 Wills and executors
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

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 Perry 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 Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Perry County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the SIU IRAD Wiki page.

Birth

 * 1845-1877 Miscellaneous births
 * 1845-1914 Birth Certificates, Delayed IRAD (SIU)
 * 1871-1915 Delayed births
 * 1878-1915 Births, IRAD (SIU)
 * 1878-1916 Birth index, IRAD (SIU)
 * Dickinson, H.B. and Elda Jones. Birth records, Dr. H.B. Dickinson, Coulterville, Illinois. Marissa, Illinois Marissa Historical &amp; Genealogical Society, 2003. Other libraries (WorldCat)

Marriage

 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($) — index
 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * 1790-1860 Illinois Marriage index found at Ancestry ($)
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1827-1850 Perry County, Illinois Marriage Records 1827–1850, available online, courtesy: USGenWeb Archives.
 * 1827-1850 Cooke, Dorothy and Elizaeth Eiker. Marriage licenses issued in Perry County, Illinois beginning 1827 to 1850.[Pinckneyville, Ill., 1959]. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * 1827-1850 Spurgeon, Elizabeth Eiker and Dorothy Cooke. Perry County, Illinois, marriages 1827–1850 with genealogical notes. Thomson, Illinois: Heritage House, 1973. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * 1827-1867 Marriage record
 * 1827-1868 Parent's permission to marriage IRAD (SIU)
 * 1827-1916 Marriage record IRAD (SIU)
 * 1827-1974 Marriage record index IRAD (SIU)
 * 1868-1896 Schick, Lee, Naomi Schick, and Mary Alyce Browne Kern. Perry County, Illinois marriage records, 1868-1896, a few through 1903. Carterville, Illinois: Genealogy Society of Southern Illinois, 1992. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * 1868-1974 Marriage index
 * 1878-1916 Marriage register

Death

 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1870-1892 Coroner's inquest record IRAD (SIU)
 * 1878-1915 Death index IRAD (SIU)
 * 1878-1915 Registers of death IRAD (SIU)
 * 1911-1915 Coroner's death certificates IRAD (SIU)
 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * 1916-1950 Death Index 1916–1950 at Genealogy Trails.
 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950 at Illinois State Archives - index
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1951-1971 Illinois Death Certificates, 1951–1971 at Illinois State Archives - index

Archives
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. Southern Illinois University houses the records for Perry County.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Carbondale Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Eldorado Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Foxcroft Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Herrin City Library - an affiliate library
 * Perry County Genealogical Family Research Library and Archive Center - an affiliate library

Libraries
Cutler Public Library 409G S. Main Cutler, IL 62238 Phone: 618-497-2961 Du Quoin Public Library 28 South Washington Street Du Quoin, IL 62832 Phone: 618-542-5045 Website Pinckneyville Public Library 312 South Walnut Street Pinckneyville, IL 62274 Phone: 618-357-2410 Website Has local newspapers on microfilm, and many historical publications Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library 112 North Sixth Street Springfield, IL 62701-1507 Phone: 217-524-6358 or 217-558-8844 Website Has online indexes for obituaries in their newspaper collections, surnames found in Illinois county histories, biographical directories and encyclopedias.

Societies
Perry County Historical Society 108 W. Jackson St. Pinckneyville, IL 62274

Websites

 * Perry County IL Genealogy
 * Perry County, IL Linkpendium
 * Perry ILGenWeb
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * – 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.