Henderson County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  Henderson County

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

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

Historical Facts
Large numbers of Kentuckians settled in frontier Henderson County, Illinois. The name of the county (Henderson) is reminiscent of Henderson County, Kentucky - the previous residence of many pioneer settlers.

Parent County

 * 1841--Henderson County was created 20 January 1841 from Warren County. County seat: Oquawka

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Henderson County boundary changes.

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Neighboring Counties

 * Des Moines County, Iowa
 * Hancock
 * Lee County, Iowa
 * Louisa County, Iowa
 * McDonough
 * Mercer
 * Warren

Biography

 * The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Henderson County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Henderson County residents. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.

Cemeteries
Illinois cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.


 * Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried. Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone.  May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.


 * Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Henderson County and links to the information for the individuals buried there.


 * Henderson 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.


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists . Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Henderson 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.

Church 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 through the Family History Library.


 * 1834–1861 Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of South Henderson minutes
 * 1846–1884 Marriages performed by Rev. W.S. Campbell
 * 1865–1900 Parsons, Mary Lou and Ethel Ketchum Trego. Smith Creek United Presbyterian Church, Henderson County, Illinois, 17 June 1865-1900. [S.l. : s.n., 1996?].

Court Records
Abstracts


 * 1841–1853 Warren County, Illinois Genealogical Society. Early court commissioner's records of Henderson County, IL: 1841-1853. [S.l.] : Warren County, Illinois Genealogical Society, 1992. Digital version at History Archives

Copies of original records


 * 1843–1928 Probate records and index
 * 1856–1944 Naturalization records
 * 1859–1939 Miscellaneous probate records and bonds

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 through online sources, the Family History Library.


 * 1841–1886 Grantee index
 * 1841–1887 Grantor index
 * 1841–1902 Deed records
 * 1982–1983 Land atlas and plat book Many libraries (WorldCat)

Additional resources for Henderson County land and property may be found in the. Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Online Resources


 * Beginning 1820 Land Patent Search See Illinois Land and Property for more information about this database.
 * 1796–1907 U.S. General Land Office Records found at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
 * Henderson County Federal Township Plats

Local Histories

 * History of Mercer and Henderson Counties Together with Biographical Matter, Statistics, Etc. Chicago, Illinois: H.H. Hill and Company, 1882. ; digital versions at Ancestry ($), and Internet Archive (free)

Military

 * Civil War Civil War service men from Henderson 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 Henderson County.


 * - 65th Reigment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.
 * - 84th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies G and K.
 * - 91st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B and C.

Naturalization
Original naturalization records are held in the office of the County Clerk. See Illinois Naturalization Records for more information about using naturalization records.

The following copies of original records may be accessed through the Family History Library.


 * 1856–1944 Naturalization records

Newspapers and Obituaries

 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has historical newspapers online including Burlington, Iowa newspapers dating back to the mid 1800's that may have included Henderson County residents. This database is free at some libraries.

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 Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Western Illinois University (WIU) - search for Henderson County records. For information on how to use IRAD see theWIU IRAD Wiki page.

Online Resources


 * 1841–1939 Probate records, wills, administratiors' records, executors' records, guardianship records, and widows relinquishment records for Henderson County probate records are also available in . Click on the browse through images link, select Henderson County, and select the record type you are interested in.

Copies of original records


 * 1841–1923 Probate Record
 * 1843–1928 Probate records and index
 * 1859–1939 Miscellaneous probate records and bonds

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Henderson County probates may be found in the topic page of the Family History Library catalog (FHLC). Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

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

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. Western Illinois University houses the records for Henderson County.

Vital Records
See Illinois Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Illinois.

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded until the year 1916 are kept by the Henderson 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 Family History Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Western Illinois University (WIU) - search for Henderson County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

Births
Copies of Original Birth Records


 * 1877–1901 Birth register IRAD–WIU
 * 1877–1915 Birth Record Index IRAD–WIU
 * 1878–1887 Index to births

Marriages
Copies of original Marriage Records


 * 1841–1934 Index to Marriages IRAD–WIU
 * 1841–1901 Marriage register IRAD–WIU

Online Resources


 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900
 * 1790–1860 Illinois Marriage indexfound at Ancestry.com ($)

Deaths

 * 1878–1915 Death Record index IRAD–WIU
 * 1878–1900 Death index
 * 1878–1902 Register of deaths, v. 1 IRAD–WIU and

Online Resources


 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950
 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916
 * 1850–1885 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 found at Ancestry.com ($)

Additional Resources
Additional resources for Henderson County births, marriages and deaths may be found in the and the  topic page topic page of the Family History Library catalog (FHLC). Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Web Sites

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