McHenry County, Illinois Genealogy

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

Description
McHenry County was named for Major William McHenry, a member of the Illinois Militia, later a major, and a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate. The county seat is Woodstock and the county was organized on January 16th, 1836. The county is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
McHenry County Courthouse 2200 N Seminary Ave Woodstock, IL 60098 Phone: 815-334-4000 McHenry County Courthouse

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

History Timeline
Historically, all or part of the present county were parts of the following counties : If your ancestor lived in what is now McHenry County prior to the county formation in 1836, you may find records mentioning your ancestor in one of these counties.

Biographies
Some McHenry County histories include biographies of the local citizens. See McHenry Local Histories. See also Illinois Biography for more biographical links.


 * 1832-1968 Nye, Lowell Albert. McHenry County, Illinois, 1832–1968. Woodstock, Illinois: McHenry County Board of Supervisors, 1968. (*);.
 * 1872-1878 Swanson, Viola Ashman, et al. Autobiographies of Fox Valley Pioneers. Elgin, Illinois : Elgin Genealogical Society, 1981. ; Other libraries (WorldCat).
 * Biographical directory of the Tax-payers and Voters of McHenry County. Evansville, Indiana: Unigraphic, 1976. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Other libraries(WorldCat). Index: Index to the short biographies in the 1877 Biographical Directory of the tax-payers and voters of McHenry County. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1989..
 * McHenry County Biographies at Genealogy Trails. From various sources, including abstracts from the McHenry County 1885 History. Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co., 1885, 991 pgs. ; available online at some libraries through HeritageQuest Online; Other libraries (WorldCat).

Census Records
Federal Census
 * Federal population schedules 1830-1930 for McHenry County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see Illinois Census.
 * McHenry County, IL census assignments, including links to transcribed files. The USGenWeb Census Project. Locally abstracted census indexes are often more accurate than national indexes. Abstracted indexes for federal census records in McHenry County are as follows:
 * Bauer, Phyllis J., Roberta Smith, Linda Stengele. McHenry County, Illinois 1840 Federal Census. McHenry, Illinois: McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society, 1986. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * McHenry County Genealogical Society. McHenry County, Illinois 1860 Federal Census. McHenry, Illinois: McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society, 1986. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * Stambazze, Dee–Ann. 1870 McHenry County, Illinois Federal Census . Crystal Lake, Illinois: McHenry County Illinois Geneal. Society, 1992. Other libraries (WorldCat)

 Non-Population Schedules 1850-1880 agricultural, industry and manufacturing schedules were kept for McHenry County in addtion to the population schedules. See Illinois Census for more information. Selected copies are available at Ancestry ($). See McHenry Deaths for information about the mortality schedule.

 State Census A census for the state of Illinois was taken in McHenry County in 1855 and 1865. Available on Ancestry ($).

Church Records

 * 1781-1969 U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
 * 1852-1909 Early Records of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church at McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society; an index to Volume I, 1852-1868. A partial online index courtesy of Genealogy Trails. Other libraries(WorldCat).
 * Johnson, Martin William. Church Records from Four McHenry County, Illinois Churches and one Kane County, Illinois church: Abstracts of Surnames, Villages, Towns or Cities, Deaths and Confirmations. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1992. Microproduction of original manuscripts. Includes the following churches: Trinity Lutheran Church, Hampshire, Kane Co.; St. John's United Church of Christ (formerly a Lutheran Church) Harmony, McHenry Co.; Trinity Lutheran Church, Huntley, McHenry County; Zion Lutheran Church, Marengo, McHenry Co.; St. John's Lutheran Church, Union, McHenry Co. ($). Partial online transcription of Zion's Lutheran Church only at Genealogy Trails.
 * History of McHenry County, Illinois. Chicago: Munsell Pub. Co., 1922. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Other libraries (WorldCat).  Provides some information on the formation of Baptist, Catholic, Christian Science, Congregational, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Universalist churches in early McHenry County. Names of founding members and clergy are included.
 * Other libraries also hold copies of abstracted McHenry County church records. (How to explore WorldCat).

 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records

 * See Illinois Court Records for information about how to use county court records.

Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1840-1957 Probate Packets from McHenry County Courthouse.
 * 1849-1922 Illinois, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999 Ancestry ($)
 * 1851-1955 Illinois County Naturalization Papers database includes McHenry County.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
 African Americans This database includes approximately 3,400 names found in governmental records involving the servitude and emancipation of Africans and, occasionally, Indians in the French and English eras of colonial Illinois (1722–1790) and African-Americans in the American period of Illinois (1790–1863). The Archives extracted the names of servants, slaves, or free persons and masters, witnesses, or related parties from selected governmental records to produce this database. Courtesy of the Illinois State Archives.
 * Database of Servitude and Emancipation Records (1722–1863)
 * 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

Genealogies
This list includes publications about families with connections to McHenry County, Illinois. If your family's surname is not listed, your ancestors may still be mentioned in one of these books.
 * McHenry County Genealogical Society. McHenry County, Illinois Genealogical Society Surname Index. Crystal Lake, Illinois McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society, 1982-1990 Other libraries (WorldCat) Online copy 1985–2004.
 * Family Histories in the McHenry County Genealogical Society Collection.Use WorldCat to find if these publications are available at other libraries. Many histories are manuscripts submitted to the historical society. These histories are housed at the McHenry Library. See McHenry for contact information.
 * [Behrens] Behrens, Bradley H. The Behrens Family. Oak Park, Illinois: B.H. Behrens, ca. 1990. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * [Button-Kronwall] Walworth County Genealogical Society.Button-Kronwall Family Scrapbooks: Walworth County, WI &amp; McHenry County IL. Delavan, Wisconsin Walworth County Genealogical Society, 2003. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * [Fanning] The Fanning Family Tree. Gibson, Louisiana: M.F. Giroir, 199-?.
 * [Frink] Frink, Sidney Richard. A Saga of the Frink Family. Loves Park, Illinois: R.G. Peterson, 1982. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * [Hart] Reeve, Kenneth J. Rev. Ichabod Andrews Hart, his Ancestors and Descendants: a Hart Family History and Genealogy. Columbus, Indiana K. J. Reeve, 1980. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * [Heald] Drury, Edwin. Line of descent from John Heald in Concord, Massachusetts, 1635, to Mary Elizabeth Heald who died Feb. 1, 1871, at McHenry, Illinois. Wilmette, Cook County, Illinois: E. Drury, 1880. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * [Herbes] Wollenzein, Eleanor Herbes. Henry Herbes, Come on Over: a History of the German emigrant, Henry Herbes, 1840-1901. Provo, Utah: E. H. Wollenzien, 2001. Other libraries (WorldCat);
 * [Hesselgrave] Kahler, Polly Upson. Hesselgrave Families in America. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1979. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * [Kline] Lee, Ruth Kline. The Ancestors and Descendants of Israel and Barbara (Notestine) Kline, 1625-1971.Washington [District of Columbia]: L.C. Photoduplication Service, 1985. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * [Neale] Carman, Gay. Carman collection: ancestry of Frederick D. Carman (b. 1858, Jacksonville, N.Y.) and Gay Neale (b. 1872, McHenry, Illinois) and Genealogical Data on the Sheffield, Gibbs, Carpenter, Gaylord, Bacon, Miner, etc. Families. Manuscript on film.
 * [Nokes] Schvaneveldt, Evelyn Crawford. Sidney Ostler Silcox and Maria Bates Nell, Their Descendants and Ancestors. Salt Lake City, Utah E.C. Schvaneveldt, 1993.
 * [Owen] Owen, Charles Starr. Genealogy of the Descendants of Daniel Owen, Jr. of McHenry, Illinois: With Especially Attention Given to the Descendants of his son, Edwin Mortimer Owen, and the Allied Families of Norton, Warner, Stanton and Patterson.
 * [Pfeifer] Shuman, Barbara. The family of Mathias John Pfeifer and Mary Barbara Scheuring Pfeifer.Oakes, North Dakota: B. Shuman, 1988.Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * [Schumacher] Noteman, Gene.A genealogy of the families of Michael and Anna Maria Gerber and Andrew and Anna Smith. Adams, Minnesota: G. Noterman, 1975. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * [Thorne] Walker, Dorothy Thorne. The Descendants of William Thorne and his Wife, Sophronia Metcalf. Anchorage, Alaska D.T. Walker, 1992. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * [Van Ness] Van Ness family Bible records, ca. 1770-1831. Houston, Texas: Houston Genealogical Forum, 1963.
 * [Wayne] Eder, Linda Farroh. Charles H. Wayne.West Chicago, Illinois: Micro Data, 1989.
 * [Wilson] Stevens, Ken. Scotch Wilsons from Western Massachusetts. Walpole, New Hampshire: K. Stevens, 1993. Other libraries (WorldCat),

Land and Property Records
1830–present Original land and property records for McHenry County are available at the County Recorder's Office. This office is offsite from the McHenry. See Illinois Land and Property for more information. Land records are extraordinarily accessible in McHenry County.The County Recorder's web site includes a free web search.The index to deeds, mortgages, affidavits, liens, and more can be searched by name and/or document type and/or date.The system can return a maximum of 200 hits, and begins with the most recent transactions first. Because the index contains thousands of entries, searchers may need to include a date range as well as surname, to ensure that the oldest records are included in the results. Records from the original leather-bound first volume of the McHenry County Commissioners’ Court Minutesfrom 1837 - 1848 are available in PDF format online at the County Recorder's site, as well. This Board established precincts (townships would come later), set the rate for taxable property, and began the process of laying out roads and determining the location for the county seat. Because Lake wasn't divided off until March of 1839, early Lake County information is included.

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1841-1945 Deed Index IRAD-NIU Search for McHenry records. Information about how to use IRAD.
 * 1841-1901 Deed Indexes
 * 1845-1945 Deed Record IRAD-NIU Search for McHenry records. Information about how to use IRAD.
 * 1845-1871 Deed Record first of 31 films
 * Illinois Federal Township Plats, by County
 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales at the Illinois State Archives. 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 from 54740 square miles. Also at Ancestry ($). Each purchase entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, numeric code indicating the county in which the land is located, legal description (township, section, range), volume and page numbers of original entry, and variously, the sale type, and the purchaser's sex and residence.
 * Dates Vary United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - incomplete index and images, counties and dates vary

Local Histories
A short McHenry County history is found on the McHenry County Government site. Scroll to the heading "McHenry County's Early History." An additional online McHenry County history and town and township histories at Illinois Genealogy Trails.
 * History of McHenry County, Illinois together with sketches of its cities ... and biographies... . Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co., 1885. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Other libraries (WorldCat). Online index at Illinois Genealogy Trails.
 * History of McHenry County, Illinois. Chicago: Munsell Pub. Co., 1922. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; Other libraries (WorldCat).
 * McHenry County Old Settlers' Association at Illinois Genealogy Trails.
 * McHenry County Yearbooks IRAD-NIU . Search for McHenry records. Information about how to use IRAD. These books include information about population, county and township offices, post offices, schools and political offices for any given year.
 * Encyclopedia of Chicago gives short histories of most McHenry County villages. Type the name of the village in the search box.
 * National Register of Historic Places in McHenry County

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 1788-1940 Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)
 * 1855-1856The Northern Counties Gazetteer and Directory, for 1855-6
 * 1872, 1892, 1908 U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918 at Ancestry ($)
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Illinois Federal Township Plats, by County
 * Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of McHenry County, Illinois. Norman, Oklahoma: Arphax Pub. Co., 2008. Plats the land of many nineteenth-century McHenry County residents. Arphax Publishing provides online surname list. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * McHenry County (Illinois) Land Atlas and Plat Book, 1985. Rockford, Illinois Rockford Map Publishers, 1985. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * Current map of McHenry County

Military Records
 Multiple Wars Veterans Databases at Illinois State Archives. Includes War of 1812, Indian Wars, Mexican War and various other databases.

 Civil War Regiments. Civil War service men from McHenry 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 McHenry County.
 * Illinois Civil War Muster and Descriptive Rolls Database at Illinois State Archives
 * Database of Illinois Civil War Veterans Serving in the U.S. Navy at Illinois State Archives
 * Database of Illinois Civil War Veterans of Missouri Units at Illinois State Archives
 * Civil War Volunteers of McHenry County. Database including name, company, service term, death, and burial information.
 * 1861-1863 McHenry County Military Census for all men ages 18–45, at Genealogy Trails.
 * U.S. Army Officers from McHenry County in the Civil War at Genealogy Trails.
 * 1877 Veterans listed in the 1877 McHenry County Directory at Genealogy Trails.
 * List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... 1883. Washington, D.C : Government Printing Office. Online at: Internet Archive, Ancestry ($).
 * –3rd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company A (at right, 1863)
 * –8th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company G, H, I.
 * –9th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company G.
 * -15th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, D, and F.
 * –17th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company G.
 * –15th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, D, and F.
 * –36th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H. Diary of Wallace P. Benson at Algonquin Historic Commission.
 * –47th(Consolidated) Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
 * –52nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I.
 * –95th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, C, D, F, H, and I.
 * –141st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.
 * –147th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I.
 * –153rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B and K.

 World War I
 * 1917-1918 World War I Draft Registration Cards Ancestry ($)

 World War II
 * 1942 Browsable images of WW II Draft (old men's draft) United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
 * McHenry County World War II Casualties. Courtesy of Illinois Trails.
 * McHenry County World War II Army Casualties.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records may give immigrant information including hometown, arrival in the U.S., marriage and family data. See Illinois Naturalization and Citizenship for more about these records.

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 1840-1950 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1819-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
 * 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
McHenry County obituary index spans 1884–2009.This index is provided by the McHenry County Historical Society and Museum.The organization's website states that not all people buried in McHenry County are included in the index.Copies of obituaries may not name the newspaper where the obituary was originally printed.
 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

 County-wide
 * 2005–Present Northwest Herald Genealogy Bank ($).
 * 2003-2006 Northwest Herald incomplete Ancestry ($)

 Algonquin
 * 2005–present The Algonquin Area Newspapers Index includes obituaries appearing in the Northwest Herald and Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Countryside from January 1, 2005 - Present. Selected obituaries mentioning Algonquin or Lake in the Hills from the Daily Herald and Elgin Courier News are also included.
 * 1997-2006 Algonquin Countryside; Genealogy Bank ($).
 * 2006–present Algonquin Countryside with News of Lake in the Hills Genealogy Bank ($).

 Cary/Fox Grove
 * Cary–Grove Countryside Genealogy Bank ($).

 Crystal Lake/Nunda

Crystal Lake Herald The Index, broken down by 10 year intervals, gives: Bride’s name, Groom’s name, and Issue date and page.
 * 1880-1979 Marriages, 1880-1979 These indexes represent a list of couples whose notice of marriage license issued, or marriage performed or wedding conducted, or news items for anniversaries celebrated, appeared in the weekly Crystal Lake Herald newspaper. Information was not necessarily limited to residents of Crystal Lake and/or Nunda Township. Researchers should look for variant spellings within each index.

Obituaries

 * Algonquin Area Obituary Index, a searchable listing of selected obituaries mentioning Algonquin or Lake in the Hills from from the Daily Herald and Elgin Courier News beginning January 1, 2005.Website

Elgin Daily Herald,  Elgin Courier News
 * 1880-1945 Index to Deaths Appearing in the Nunda (Crystal Lake) Herald. The McHenry County Genealogical Society has created an index to the names of deceased individuals whose notice of death appeared in the weekly Crystal Lake Herald newspaper. Information was gleaned from obituaries, death notices, police reports, and newspaper articles and is not necessarily limited to residents of Crystal Lake and/or Nunda Township. It was not unusual for a death notice to appear months and even years after the event, particularly in the case of war dead. Researchers should scan several indexes when searching for the name of a specific individual and look for variant spellings within each index.
 * Index to Deaths Appearing in the Crystal Lake Herald
 * 2005–present Crystal Lake Herald Genealogy Bank ($)

 Marengo Republican
 * 1872-1989 Index to Deaths appearing in the Marengo Repubican.  Courtesy of the McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society. Not all years are included in this index.

 Woodstock Woodstock Sentinel
 * 1865-1889 Death Notices Index:


 * Sullivan, Gary L. Abstracts of Notices Published in the Woodstock Sentinel. Crystal Lake, Illinois: McHenry County Illinois Geneal. Society, 1998-2002. Other libraries (WorldCat)1856–1862 1863–1866 Other libraries (WorldCat)Includes full-name indexes. Abstracted primarily from pages 3 and 4 of each issue.

Woodstock Independent
 * 2003-2008 (Incomplete) Ancestry ($)

Voting Records

 * 1877 Biographical Directory of the Tax-payers and Voters of McHenry County Other libraries(WorldCat)
 * 1877, index Johnson, Martin W. Index to the short biographies in the 1877 Biographical Directory of the tax-payers and voters of McHenry County. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1989.
 * This book includes listings of men registered to vote or who paid taxes in 1877.Some listings include brief biographies giving his occupation, the date and place of birth for both the man and his wife, their marriage date, and the number of children.

Periodicals
Local periodicals can be rich with county information. Read more about periodicals in the Illinois state and U.S. Wiki articles.
 * McHenry County, Illinois Connection Quarterly is a publication of the McHenry County Genealogical Society. It contains general research helps and as well as ideas about research unique to McHenry County. Volumes may include abstracted records. Publication dates are from 1983 to the present.  ; Other libraries (WorldCat).  Indexed in PERSI as ILMC. Online Index 1983–2008.
 * Twigs and Branches (Rockford, Illinois) is a publication of the North Central Illinois Genealogical Society. Research in McHenry and surrounding counties are its subject. It is indexed in PERSI as ILTB. ; Other libraries (WorldCat).
 * The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1950-2006)
 * Illinois Heritage (1997-2008)

Probate Records
Original McHenry County probate records are available at the McHenry by the circuit court clerk. See the Wiki article Illinois Probate Records for more information about using probate records. The following copies of probate records are available:
 * See Illinois Probate Records for more information. Probate records may give death and family relationship information. Probate records include wills, inventories, settlements, and guardianship records.

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
 * 1840-1957 Probate Packets
 * Wills in Alphabetical Order
 * 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

Tax Records
Online Tax Indexes and Records This book includes listings of men registered to vote or who paid taxes in 1877.Some listings include brief biographies giving his occupation, the date and place of birth for both the man and his wife, their marriage date, and the number of children.
 * 1877 Biographical Directory of the Tax-payers and Voters of McHenry County Other libraries(WorldCat)
 * 1877, index Johnson, Martin W. Index to the short biographies in the 1877 Biographical Directory of the tax-payers and voters of McHenry County. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1989.

Vital Records
Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded since 1877 are kept by the McHenry 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 1837 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 FamilySearch Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at Northern Illinois University (NIU). Search McHenry County records in the Local Governmental Records Holdings Database. For information on how to use IRAD see the Wiki article IRAD (NIU). found in the FamilySearch Catalog. Other libraries (WorldCat) also hold copies of abstracted McHenry County vital records. (How to explore WorldCat).

Birth
Delayed birth records include submissions by individuals who were born before the state officially collected birth records, but who are in need of a birth record for identification. These may include affidavits by family members or Bible records.
 * 1877–present McHenry County birth records 1877-present are housed at the County Clerk's office. Original records are to 1916; copies are after 1916. Additional copies are available as follows:
 * 1849-1900–Birth Certificates, Delayed IRAD–NIU. Search for McHenry records. Information about how to use IRAD.
 * 1849-1916–Birth Record Index IRAD–NIU. Search for McHenry records. Information about how to use IRAD.
 * 1849-1900–Birth Certificates, Delayed
 * 1877-1902–Birth Records IRAD–NIU. Search for McHenry records. Information about how to use IRAD.
 * 1878-1902–Birth Record Index
 * 1878-1902–Birth Records

Marriage
The original McHenry County marriage records are held by the McHenry County Clerk and the Illinois Department of Health.
 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1810-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1837-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 Search for McHenry County marriages in this online index then find the complete marriage record in one of the above-mentioned repositories.
 * 1837-1923 Marriage Record Index IRAD-NIU Search for McHenry records. How to use IRAD
 * 1837-1850 Illinois Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry–($); Index, INCOMPLETE
 * 1851-1900 Illinois Marriages, 1851-1900 at Ancestry–($); Index, INCOMPLETE
 * 1837-1923 Marriage Records IRAD-NIU Search for McHenry records. How to use IRAD
 * 1837-1923–Marriage Registers and Returns, 1837-1923
 * 1877-present McHenry County Clerk - Vital Records Information and Request Form
 * 1878-1899 Stengele, Linda, et al. McHenry County, Illinois, Marriages . Crystal Lake, Illinois: McHenry County Illinois Geneal. Society, 2003–2006. FS Library lacks volume 1 and it is no longer in print.
 * 1880-1979 Crystal Lake Herald Marriage IndexThese indexes represent a list of couples whose notice of marriage license issued, or marriage performed or wedding conducted, or news items for anniversaries celebrated, appeared in the weekly Crystal Lake Herald newspaper. Information was not necessarily limited to residents of Crystal Lake and/or Nunda Township. Researchers should look for variant spellings within each index.

Death

 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1850-1880 US Census Mortality Schedule. Only those persons dying in the 12 months prior to the census are listed on this schedule. Browse for McHenry County. Ancestry ($).
 * 1877–present The McHenry County death records 1877-present are housed at the County Clerk's office. Original records are to 1916; copies are after 1916. The following copies and indexes are available:
 * 1877-1909 IRAD-NIU Search for McHenry records. Information about how to use IRAD.
 * 1877-1924 Death index IRAD-NIU Search for McHenry records.
 * 1878-1909 Death Records and Index, 1878-1909
 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHeritage($)
 * 1916-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 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
 * History of McHenry County. Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co., 1885. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Genealogy Trails (History of McHenry County, Ch. X "The Honored Dead"); Other libraries (WorldCat).

Archives
The Illinois Digital Archives includes a collection of Algonquin and Lake in the Hills photos and documents. See also - Illinois Archives and Libraries. Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) The Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD), managed by the Illinois State Archives, houses 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 Northern Illinois University (IRAD-NIU) holds the records for McHenry County. Learn more about finding and using their records.

Illinois Regional Archives Depository c/o Regional History Center Founders Memorial Library, Room 400 Northern Illinois University DeKalb, IL 60115 Phone: 815-753-1807

FamilySearch Centers

 * Beloit Wisconsin FamilySearch Center
 * Buffalo Grove Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Crystal Lake Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Rockford Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Schaumburg Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Algonquin Area Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Barrington Area Library - an affiliate library
 * Cary Area Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Huntley Area Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Lake County IL Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * McHenry Public Library District - an affiliate library
 * Schaumburg Township District Library - Central - an affiliate library
 * Wauconda Area Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Algonquin Area Public Library 2600 Harnish Dr. Algonquin, IL 60102 Phone: 847-458-6060 Website Crystal Lake Public Library 126 Paddock Street Crystal Lake, IL 60014 Phone: 815-459-1687 Fax: 815-459-9581 Website Harvard Diggins Library 900 East McKinley Street Harvard, IL 60033 Phone: 815-943-4671 Website Local history collection includes Harvard and Hebron newspapers on microfilm from 1860 through 1986 (some early issues are not included.) McHenry Public Library 809 N. Front St. (Route 31) McHenry, IL 60050 Phone: 815-385-0036 Website Marengo-Union Library 200 S. State St. Marengo, Illinois 60152 Phone: 815-568-8236 Website Woodstock Public Library 414 W. Judd Street Woodstock, IL 60098 Phone: 815-338-0542 Website Online searchable Woodstock Name Index.

Societies
Cary–Grove Historical Society PO Box 483 335 Wooded Knoll Dr Cary, IL 60013 Phone: 847-639-3790 Email: [mailto:cghistorical@aol.com cghistorical@aol.com] Crystal Lake Historical Society PO Box 1151 660 Terra Cotta Avenue Crystal Lake, IL 60039-1151 Phone: 815-455-1151 Email: [mailto:info@cl-hs.org info@cl-hs.org] Website The Research/Archives Room resources include newspapers from 1875, published county and local histories, atlases, maps and family files. Online resources include the Index to Death Notices/Obituaries in the Nunda/Crystal Lake Herald, which provides details of name, age, date of death and date of burial for more than 33,000 people, dating back to 1875. Fox Lake–Grant Township Historical Society PO Box 224 411 Washington St. Ingleside, IL 60041 Phone: 847-587-0544 Email: [mailto:FLGrantHall@yahoo.com FLGrantHall@yahoo.com] Website Greater Harvard Area Historical Society PO Box 505 308 North Hart Street Harvard, IL 60033-0505 Phone: 815-943-6141 Email: [mailto:harvardhistoricalsociety@gmail.com harvardhistoricalsociety@gmail.com] Lake County Genealogical Society Vernon Hills Village Hall 290 Evergreen Dr Vernon Hills, IL 60060 Phone: 847-918-3584 Email: [mailto:lcigs1170@gmail.com lcigs1170@gmail.com] Website McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society PO Box 184 Crystal Lake, IL 60039-0184 Phone: 815-687-0436 Website McHenry County Historical Society and Museum PO Box 434 6422 Main Street Union, IL 60180-0434 Phone: 815-923-2267 Email: [mailto:soinfo@mchnline.org soinfo@mchnline.org] Website

Websites

 * McHenry County ILGenWeb
 * McHenry County IL Genealogy
 * McHenry County IL Family History & Genealogy at Linkpendium
 * – 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.