Putnam County, Illinois Genealogy

Guide to Putnam County, Illinois ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records. Illinois Online Genealogy Records

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

Historical Facts
The county is named after Revolutionary War Major General Israel Putnam (1718-1790).

Parent County

 * 1825--Putnam County was created 13 January 1825 from Fulton County. County seat: Hennepin

Description
The county was named for Israel Putnam, who was a general in the American Revolution. The county seat is Hennepin and the county was organized on 1825. The County is located in the Central area 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.

Places / Localities

 * Putnam County Gazetteer (by Home Town Locator)

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:

Neighboring Counties

 * LaSalle
 * Marshall

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Church records may give birth, death and marriage information. It is usually best to locate church records with a search at a local level such as the city, town, or village.

Society of Friends (Quakers)


 * Franklin, Lucretia Smith, et al. 150 Years in Review of Clear Creek Families and Friends, Putnam County, Illinois. [Illinois]: Clear Creek Monthly Meeting, 1991. Includes minutes of the Society of Friends' (Quakers) Clear Creek Monthly Meeting beginning in 1841 and burials at Friends Cemetery. ;

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.

Putnam County Government courtesy Genealogytrails.com. Includes Township election results from 1872-1889, juror selection for 1858, delegates to the 1866 State Republican Convention, County officers for 1873 and more.

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 or through the Family History Library.

Online Resources


 * 1800s-Present - Use the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Land Patent Index to obtain original federal land transfer records including homestead, military warrants, and cash entry patents. These records help a research establish location and lead to National Archives' records which may include genealogical information. Earlier land transfer records are housed at the National Archives.


 * 1800s-Present - Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales from Illinois State Archives also provides an index to federal land sales.


 * 1796–1907 U.S. General Land Office Records found at Ancestry ($)


 * 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 ($)


 * Putnam County Federal Township Plats

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Putnam 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)
 * Township map of Putnam County
 * Outline of Putnam County Over Google Map --  by Home Town Locator
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Civil War
Civil War service men from Putnam 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 Putnam County.


 * - 4th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company E.
 * - 20th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.
 * - 77th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.
 * - 123rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
 * - 139th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company B.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Records


 * 1800-1998 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1856-1991 Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 at Ancestry.com - index and images, ($)

Newspapers and Obituaries

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)

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

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

Family History Center
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.

You may search your address for a center near you on the FamilySearch site. The following center serves Putnam County:


 * Ottawa Illinois Family History Center 1377 Adams Street Ottawa, Illinois Telephone: (815) 431-0186

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 Putnam 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 Telephone: (815) 753-1807

Public Libraries

 * Putnam County Public Library District 214 North Fourth St. Box 199 Hennepin, IL 61327 Telephone: (815) 925-7020

Societies

 * Putnam County Historical Society 327 Old Highway 26 Hennepin, IL 61327-0074 Phone 815-303-5107 or 815-925-7560 E-mail:[mailto:pchs61327@yahoo.com pchs61327@yahoo.com] Facebook Website

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 until the year 1916 are kept by the Putnam County Clerkwhile 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 Northern Illinois University (NIU) - search for Putnam County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

Marriage Records

 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHertitage($)
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1810-1934 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1831-1844 Early Marriages in Putnam County from ILGenWeb

Death Records

 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — index, some images


 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1850,1860,1870,1880 U. S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 at Ancestry ($) These include the deaths occurring twelve months before the census was taken.


 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHertitage($)


 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950 at Illinois State Archives - index

Online Resources
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index, ($)

Websites

 * Putnam County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Putnam County IL Genealogy
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Putnam County Links, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * IL Gen Web Putnam County Site
 * Illinois Genealogy Trails Putnam County Site
 * USGenWeb Archives Putnam County Site
 * Rootsweb Putnam County Site
 * Rootsweb Putnam County Site