McLean County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  McLean County 

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

McLean County Organization
McLean 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 McLean County are kept, see the McLean County Courthouse page.

Historical Facts
The county was named for John McLean, a pioneer lawyer, Territorial judge, first Representative in Congress from Illinois (1818), and United States Senator (1824-1825).

Parent County

 * 1830--McLean County was created 25 December 1830 from Tazewell County and unorganized territory.

County seat:Bloomington

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.

Eastern Part


 * 1827-1830 Shelby


 * 1821-1827 Fayette


 * 1819-1821 Clark


 * 1816-1819 Crawford


 * 1815-1816 Edwards

Western Part


 * 1827-1831 Tazewell


 * 1825-1827 Peoria


 * 1821-1825 Sangamon


 * 1817 - 1821 Bond


 * 1812-1821 Madison


 * 1801-1812 St. Clair


 * 1790-1801 Knox, Northwest Territory

Record Loss
For a list of record loss in Illinois counties see: Illinois Counties with Burned Courthouses

The Bloomington Fire

A Loss of $2,000,000, Covering Five Blocks of Houses and Including the Courthouse.

Bloomington, Ill., June 19.-Fire early this morning swept the business section of the city, burning between forty and fifty business houses and entailing a loss of $2,000,000. Word was sent to Peoria and Springfield to send fire engines. As every effort to check progress of the flames proved futile, the blowing up of buildings with dynamite was resorted to after the fire had been raging for three hours and a half. A strong east wind prevailed, which made the work of the firemen extremely difficult.

Among the buildings destroyed and some of the losses are the following:

..., and the courthouse.

Two firemen are missing and are probably in the ruins. The burned district covers an area of five blocks.

The insurance is approximately $800,000.

Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX 20 Jun 1900

A Terrible Fire

Half the Business Portion of Bloomington, Ills., Wiped Out by Fire

Courthouse Hotels and Dozens on the City's Finest Buildings Destroyed.

Total Loss Variously Estimated at Between $1,500,000 and $2,000,000

Bloomington, Ills., June 20.-A fire which broke out at 12:30 a.m. wiped out nearly one-half of the business portion of Bloomington, .... Two sides of the courthouse square are in ruins. The north and the east and the other two blocks cornering on the square and one-half of the block west of the square are also destroyed. The courthouse, which is standing, is gutted from dome to basement. As far as known no lives were lost or anyone seriously injured.

The fire broke out in the Model laundry on Monroe Street, in the block northeast of the courthouse. The flames soon got beyond control and spread to the 4-story brick structure belonging to the B.S. Green company.

Government Building Escapes

In an hour the entire block was destroyed excepting the government building in which is located the post office and which escaped unharmed.

... . .with the entire block lying east of the courthouse was destroyed. The courthouse caught from Griesheim building and burned slowly, the clock in the dome running until it struck 4.

The Bloomington, Peoria and Springfield fire departments arrived about 6 a.m., and aided the local firemen in getting the fire burning in a westerly direction under control. In all 40 to 50 business houses were destroyed.

Aberdeen Daily News, Aberdeen, SD 20 Jun 1900

source:gendisasters.com

Biography

 * The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a McLean County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of McLean County residents. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.
 * Family Biographies from The History of McLean County, Illinois (1879) published by Wm. LeBaron, Jr. Co. are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.
 * McLean County Biography Bibliography  WorldCat

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

Evergreen Cemetery (Bloomington) is a 80 plus acre cemetery from the 1820's. It is the final resting place of some prominent MCLean County individuals, including Adlai Stevenson I, baseball player Charles "Ol Hoss" Radbourne, David Davis, Supreme Court Judge and friend of Abe Lincoln, and Dorothy Gage, the inspiration for the Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

The cemetery caretakers have done a wonderful job with their website, and have over 26,000 burials recorded for online searching. Each year, it is the host of the Evergreen Cemetery Walk, where actors in period clothing portray the life of some of the individuals in the cemetery, while standing at their grave site. This cemetery has won awards for its dedication to preserving history.

BillionGraves has some data from this cemetery, which include headstone photos along with indexed data.


 * 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 McLean County and links to the information for the individuals buried there.


 * McLean 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 FamilySearch Catalog lists . Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of McLean 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.

BillionGraves is a site where people take photos using a smartphone and upload them using the app the site provides, and others transcribe them. Some McLean County area cemeteries have been visited and had photos taken for the BillionGraves site.


 * Evergreen Cemetery, Bloomington

1840 Pensioners

 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C., 1841. ; ; digital version at Google Books. [See Illinois, McLean County on page 187.]

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records

Cemetery, Church and Family Records of Illinois. by Daughters of the American Revolution. item 5

West Twin Grove Christian Church, Bloominton, Illinois: membership and board meetings, 1847-1908. transcribed by Gerald W. Kattke. item 12. FHL Book 977.359 K2k

Bloomington Methodist Church. by McLean County Historical Society WorldCat

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.

McLean County Circuit Court, 104 West Front Street, Bloomington, IL 61701

website: Mclean Countyil Government Circuit Court

This website gives information regarding vital records, court records, immigration and property records.

The Circuit Clerk's office has an on line database of immigration records which was done with the assistance of the McLean County Genealogical Society.

The court has one of the more extensive collections of original court records in the state.

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

History
E. Duis, The Good Old Times in McLean County

The History of McLean County, Illinois: containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &amp;c., portraits of early settlers and prominent men, general statistics, map of McLean County, history of Illinois, illustrated, history of the Northwest, illustrated, constitution of the United States, miscellaneous matters, &amp;c., &amp;c. Chicago: Wm. LeBaron, Jr., &amp; Co., 1879.

Portrait and Biographical Album of McLean County, Ill.: containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, together with Portraits and Biographies of all the Governors of Illinois and of the Presidents of the United States. Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887.

The Biographical Record of McLean County, Illinois. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1899.

Hasbrouck, Jacob Louis. History of McLean County, Illinois. 2 vols. Topeka: Historical Publishing Co., 1924. Volume 1. Volume 2.

A variety of early McLean County genealogical records are transcribed in:


 * McLean County, White County, Will County Genealogical Records. Evanston, Ill.?: Illinois Society, D.A.R.?, 1945?. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

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.

1909-1926 Coal Mine Maps - IRAD-ISU

Maps

 * Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)
 * Township Map of 1870 McLean County, Illinois with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)

Military Records
For information about using Military records see Illinois Military Records

Revolutionary War
1835 Revolutionary War Pensioners

War of 1812
Custer, Milo Soldiers of the Revolution and the War of 1812 buried in McLean County, Illinois (bloomington, Illinois Bloomington Norman Genealogical Society, 1969) pages 25 FHL Book 977.359 V22

Military Land Grants McLean CountyIllinois for Soldiers of the War of 1812 - USGenWeb

Blackhawk War
Captain M.L.Covell's Company- USGenWeb

Captain Robert McClure's Company- USGenWeb

Civil War
Civil War service men from McLean 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 McLean County.

Cavalry


 * - 1st Regiment, Illinois Cavalry - Company A
 * - 3rd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company I
 * - 4th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company G, and Company L
 * - 5th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company C

Infantry


 * - 8th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (3 months, 1861), Company K.
 * - 20th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C
 * - 24th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B
 * - 8th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (3 months), Company K
 * - 8th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (3 years), Company K
 * - 20th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C
 * - 24th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B
 * - 26th Regiment, Illinois Infantry,  Company K
 * - 33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A, Company C, and Company G
 * - 37th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G
 * - 39th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B, and  Company K.
 * - 58th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G
 * - 62nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, (part of Kentucky Brigade) Company H
 * - 63rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D
 * - 68th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F, and Company G
 * - 70th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H
 * - 82nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E
 * - 94th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A, Company B, Company C, Company D, Company E, Company F, Company G, Company H, Company I, and Company K.
 * - 116th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F
 * - 117th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A
 * - 145th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B, Company I, and Company K
 * - 146th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G
 * - 150th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A, and Company B
 * - 152nd regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B, and Company C
 * - 8th Regiment, Missouri Infantry (Union), Company E

Soldiers of the Revolution and the War 1812 Buried in McLean County, Illinois. by Milo Custer item 4 FHL book: 977.359 V22c   Also Online at Internet Archives

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)

A list of GAR Post in Illinoisadditional site for post in Illinois; Library of Congress

[http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/mclean/military/civilwar/rosters/garchase611nmt.txt Chas. E. Hovey Post,] Normal 1913 - USGenWeb

Chenoa Post, Cheona1913 - USGenWeb

H.W. Wood Post, McLean 1913 - USGenWeb

Thomas Riddle Post, Le Roy 1913 - USGenWeb

W. T. Sherman Post, Bloomington 1913 - USGenWeb

Indian Wars
Military Land Grantsin McLean County, Illinois for Soldiers of the Indian Wars - USGenWeb

World War I
McLean County, Illinois in the World War, 1917-1918

World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918

World War II
Army Casualties  Part 1  U.S. Natiional Archives and Records Administration

Army Casualties Part 2  U.S. National Archives and records Administration

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 or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Illinois State University (ISU) - search for McLean County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the ISU IRAD Wiki page.

The website of the McLean County Circuit Clerk includes a free online naturalization index (produced with the help of the McLean County Genealogical Society).

1853-1965 Naturalization Abstracts. by Phyllis Abner and McLean County Genealogical Society items 4-6 FHL book: 977.359 P4n

Newspapers and Obituaries
Newspapers Published in McLean County

Chronicling America Library of Congress

1850-1870  Central Illinois Obituaries,

1871-1880  Central Illinois Obituaries

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 Illinois State University (ISU) - search for McLean County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the ISU IRAD Wiki page.

1834-1934 Probate Record -IRAD-ISU

1838-1940 Probate Will Record -IRAD-ISU

1850-1928 Probate Inventory Record - IRAD-ISU

1862-1939 Probate Dockets - IRAD-ISU

1866-1944 Probate Executor's Record IRAD-ISU

1881-1965 Probate Guardian's and Conservator's Account Record - IRAD-ISU


 * 1831-1946 Index to Probate Records, McLean County, Illinois. by Nola G. Marquardt


 * McLean County Probate Record Index (1834–1934)

Repositories
See also a List of Illinois Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

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. Illinois State University houses the records for McLean County.

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

Family History Centers
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. Currently there are no Family History Centers located directly in McLean County.

You may search your address for a center near you on the FamilySearch site. The following centers are located in surrounding counties. Their wiki pages may supply hours and other information.


 * Introduction to LDS Family History Centers
 * Normal Illinois 1st & 2nd Family History Center

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
Illinois State Universtiy 2016 Warehouse Road Campus Box 1520 Normal, Illinois 61802 Phone: 1-309-452-6027

Illinois Regional Archives Depository System - Local Governmental Records Listings Arranged by County

Public Libraries
McLean County Public Libraries

McLean County Libraries

Societies
Central Illinois Historical Society

Incorporated 27 Feb 1917, "to discover, collect and preserve essential material concerning the general history of Central Illinois" by Milo Custer, cusodian of the McLean County Historical Society, after a falling out between Custer and the McLean County Historical Society. It still existed in 1930.

McLean County Genealogical Society

McLean County Historical Society

Founded in 1892. The first museum opened in 1904. Currently, the McLean County Museum of History is located in the Old Courthouse, 200 North Main Street, Bloomington, Illinois, 309-827-0428.

The Lexington Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc. (a.k.a. "The Fort") at Lexington, Illinois is a small building crammed with genalogical materials that cover McLean, Livingston, Woodford and Ford Counties.

Their records exist in either paper or microfilm form, the collection is a gold mine. They have saved obituaries from newspapers, extensive cemetery records and have some microfilm of marriage records, etc. from official sources. The staff is friendly and knowledgable.

Taxation
1898-2001 Inheritance Tax Record IRAD-ISU

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.

The website of the McLean County Clerk's Office explains how to order copies of birth, marriage, and death records.

Birth
1860-1900 Birth Index - IRAD-ISU. Available at the Family History Library items 3-9. FHL book: 977.359 V21b

1877-1902 Birth Record - IRAD-ISU. Available at the Family History Library

The website of the McLean County Clerk's Office includes a Birth Index Search from 1860 through 1915.

Marriage

 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900

Death
1877-1900 Death Record - IRAD-ISU. Available at the Family History Library

1878-1899 Death Index Cards. McLean County Clerk.


 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916


 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950

Web Sites

 * McLean County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook

Databases Pertinent to McLean County Local Governmental Records Database Name Index to Illinois Local Governments Illinois Statewide Marriage Index Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916–1950 Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database Federal Township Plats of Illinois McLean County Probate Record Index (1834–1934)


 * McLean County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)
 * McLean County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)

Townships
Allin Anchor Arrowsmith Bellflower Bloomington Blue Mound Cheney's Grove Chenoa Cropsey Dale

Danvers Dawson Downs Dry Grove Empire Funk's Grove Gridley Hudson Lawndale Lexington

Martin Money Creek Mount Hope Normal Old Town Randolph Towanda West White Oak Yates

Populated Places
Anchor Arrowsmith Bellflower Bloomington Carlock Chenoa Colfax Cooksville

Danvers Downs Ellsworth Gridley Heyworth Hudson Le Roy Lexington

Merna McLean Normal Saybrook Shirley Stanford Towanda

Neighboring Counties

 * Champaign
 * DeWitt
 * Ford
 * Livingston
 * Logan
 * Piatt
 * Tazewell
 * Woodford