Illinois Archdiocese of Chicago Cemetery Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
These records begin as early as 1864 and go through 1989.

Record Description
The Archdiocese of Chicago covers parishes in Cook and Lake counties. The records are 95% in English with the remaining 5% distributed in Czech, Latin, German, and Hungarian.

Record Content


The records include the following:

The death and burial records include:


 * Name of deceased
 * Death date
 * Burial dates and places
 * Age
 * Cause of death
 * Residence

How to Use the Record
Church records have research based on the event they record:


 * Use christening and birth records of christenings (baptisms) to identify a person’s birth date and place. They are an excellent substitute for civil birth information.
 * Use church records of confirmations to identify a person’s birth date and place or his or her age. If only the age is given, use it to calculate the person’s death date.
 * Use church records of deaths or burials to identify a person’s birth date| and place. Use age at death or burial to calculate the person’s birth date. They are an excellent substitute for civil death information.
 * Use church records of marriages to identify a couple, the marriage date and place, and to begin compiling a family group. They are an excellent substitute for civil marriage information.
 * Use church records in general to identify other family members who may have served as witnesses to the event.

Record History
Church records in the United States began in the early 1600s. They can be found in the churches, church archives, or university archives. They normally record christenings, confirmations, marriages, and deaths.

The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian church in the world. Traditionally Catholic records have been kept at the parish level, so a majority of records will be found at the church where the event transpired. Older Catholic records and records of defunct Catholic parishes have often been moved to archives, historical archives or university libraries.

Why This Record Was Created
To know who were members, Churches were required to record the date a person was baptized in the Christian religion. Many churches also recorded the date of birth along with the date of baptism. Churches were also required to record the burial and marriage dates of the members of the local congregation. Only some churches performed confirmations and were required to record the names of those that were confirmed members of the church.

Record Reliability
Church records are considered a primary source. They are usually reliable because they are kept by the priest or a clerk appointed by the priest, who usually recorded an event at or very near the time it occurred.

Related Websites
This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related websites here.

Related Wiki Articles
Illinois Catholic Records Illinois Belleville Catholic Church Records

Sources of This Collection
“Illinois, Archdiocese of Chicago Cemetery Records, 1864-1989,” database, FamilySearch; (http://familysearch.org); from Archdiocese of Chicago Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Archives &amp; Records Center, Chicago. FHL microfilm, 344 rolls, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
Please add sample citations to this article following the format guidelines in the wiki article listed above.

Examples of citations:


 * United States. Bureau of the Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: September 29, 2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B, line 71
 * Mexico, Distrito Federal, Catholic Church Records, 1886-1933, digital images, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Fernandez Jimenez, 1 Feb. 1910, San Pedro Apóstol, Cuahimalpa, Distrito Federal, Mexico, film number 0227023