Greene County, Illinois Genealogy

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

Description
Greene County was named for General Nathanael Greene, a hero of the Revolutionary War. The county seat is Carrollton and the county was organized on 1821. The county is located in the west-central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Greene County Courthouse 519 N. Main St Carrollton, IL 62016-1033 Phone: 217-942-6731 Greene County Courthouse County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Greene County are kept, see the Greene 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:

Biographies
All of the family biographies from The History of Greene County, Illinois (1879) published by Donnelley, Gassette &amp; Loyd are available free on the My Genealogy Hound website.

Census Records
For tips on accessing census records online, see Illinois Census.

 1840 Pensioners
 * 1850 Sheffer, Mabel T. 1850 Greene County, Illinois Census, Mortality Schedule. Carrollton, Ill.(P.O. Box 137, Carrollton): The Society, [198-].
 * 1850-1880 U.S. Census Mortality Schedules Ancestry ($)
 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshals of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C., 1841. ; . Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive, Ancestry ($). See Illinois, Greene County on page 187.

Church Records
Churches of many denominations abound in Greene County. The leading denominations in order of membership are currently Evangelical denominations, Catholic, American Baptist churches, Assemblies of God, Christian (Disciples of Christ), Presbyterian, and Methodist.

United Baptist
 * 1823-1837 Minutes of the Sangamon United (later Regular) Baptist Association

 List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

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. The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through the FamilySearch Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Search for Greene County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the Wiki article IRAD (UIS).

Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1821-1840 Circuit Court execution dockets 1821 to 1840
 * 1836-1972 Jail registers

 Abstracts
 * Maire, Jean M. Early records of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois (Springfield, Illinois:Allers and Gochanour, 1986) ;

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
 African Americans
 * 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

Land and Property Records
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, through the FamilySearch Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the University of Illinois at Springfield - search for Greene County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the Wiki article IRAD (UIS). Online Land Indexes and Records
 * Deed records 1824 to 1887 IRAD-UIS
 * Entry books 1821 to 1853 IRAD-UIS
 * Estray papers 1831 to 1971 IRAD-UIS
 * Estray records 1866 to 1904 IRAD-UIS
 * School land sale records 1834 to 1859 IRAD-UIS
 * 1821-1853 Land records
 * 1821-1929 Deeds records and indexes
 * 1822-1839 Land records
 * 1831-1877 School land records
 * 1866-1915 Estray record
 * BLM GLO Records. Search original land patents for Greene County from the Government Land Office (GLO) or Eastern States Office. Some searches include images of the original warrants. All search results include the patent details needed for requesting copies of the land entry files at the National Archives. The GLO is the custodian of millions of land title documents. The General Land Office Automated Records Project is responsible for making these important documents available to the public.
 * Illinois Public Land Purchase Records at Ancestry ($). This record extract includes over 538,000 land sales from the 19th Century. Each entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, and in some cases the purchaser's sex and residence.
 * U.S. General Land Office Records, 1776-2015 at Ancestry ($). Includes images of the land patents which contain the information necessary for ordering the complete case files from the National Archives. This appears to be the same information that is online at the Federal Land Office site Bureau of Land Management.
 * 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.
 * Sheldon, Theodore. Land registration in Illinois. Chicago: Callaghan Co., 1901. Explains the laws regarding land and the land systems used in Illinois. Includes court cases involving land issues. Online at: Internet Archive, Ancestry ($).

 Abstracts
 * Greene County Deeds/Land at USGenWeb Archives.

Local Histories

 * History of Greene County...Its Past and Present. By Clement L. Capp. Evansville, Indiana : Unigraphic, 1978. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Internet Archive.
 * History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois. Ann Arbor, Michigan : University Microfilms International - Books on Demand, 1989. Online at: Part 1 - FamilySearch Digital Library, Part 2 - FamilySearch Digital Library.
 * All of the Biographies from The History of Greene County, Illinois (1879) published by Donnelley, Gassette & Loyd at My Genealogy Hound.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)
 * Township Map of 1870 Greene County, Illinois with numerous small settlements. (My Genealogy Hound)
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Military Records

 * 1860s-1960s at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * Militia roll records 1861 to 1862
 * Military Discharge records index 1862 to 1981
 * Military Discharge records 1863 to 1801
 * Military Discharge records, Civil War 1865 to 1891

 Civil War Regiments. Civil War service men from Greene 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 Greene County.
 * - 12th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company F.
 * - 14th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
 * - 59th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G.
 * - 61st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, E, and G.
 * - 91st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies G, H, I, and K.
 * - 122nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C.
 * - 133rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Companies C and G.
 * - 144th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
 * 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

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

Probate Records
Original probate records are held by the Greene. Probate records include wills, inventories, settlements, and guardianship records. No probate records are held at IRAD. Explore how to search IRAD (UIS). The following copies are available in the FamilySearch Catalog:

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
 * 1836-1848 Probate Index Online images. Browse for Greene records.
 * 1836-1917 Probate Records Online images. Browse for Greene records.
 * 1836-1921 Will Records
 * 1836-1923 Index to Probate Files Online images. Browse for Greene records.
 * 1836-1981 Estate Index
 * 1836-1981 Probate Records Includes indexes to all records.
 * 1845-1915 Will Record Online images. Browse for Greene records.
 * 1864-1927 Inventory Records
 * 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

Vital Records
Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded since 1877 are kept by the Greene 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 1877 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 the University of Illinois–Springfield(UIS). Search Greene County records in the Local Governmental Records Holdings Database. For information on how to use IRAD see the Wiki article IRAD (UIS). found in the FamilySearch Catalog.

Birth

 * 1877-1981 Birth Record Index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Greene County records.
 * 1877-1981 Birth records Index 1877 to 1981
 * 1877-1901 Birth Record IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Greene County records.
 * 1877-1901 Birth records
 * 1860 to 1972 Index to delayed births
 * 1862-1972 Delayed Birth Record Index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Greene County records.

Marriage

 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($) — index
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1810-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1821-1860 Greene County marriages in Illinois Marriages 1790 to 1860. Ancestry ($)
 * 1821-1900 Statewide Marriage Index search for Greene County records.
 * 1821-1901 Marriage Record IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Greene County records.
 * 1821-1981 Marriage Record Index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Greene County records.
 * 1821-1981 Marriages with index
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1851-1900 Greene County marriages in Illinois Marriages 1851 to 1900 at Ancestry ($)

Death

 * Pre-1916 Death Index
 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1877-1901 Death Record IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Greene County records.
 * 1877-1901Death records with indexes
 * 1877-1981 Death Record Index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Greene County records.
 * 1909-1911 Deaths 1909-1911
 * 1916-1947 Deaths and Stillbirths Online index.
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Statewide Death Index. Search for Greene records.
 * 1951-1971 Illinois Death Certificates, 1951–1971 at Illinois State Archives - index
 * Greene County death links at ILGenWeb
 * Greene County Patient Deaths at the Illinois State Hospital at ILGenWeb
 * Index to Greene County Illinois Inquest Files at ILGenWeb
 * Simpson Funeral Home Records at ILGenWeb

Archives
Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) The Archives hold many records for Greene County. For information on how to use IRAD see the Wiki article IRAD (UIS).

Illinois Regional Archives Depository LIB144 University of Illinois at Springfield Region One University Plaza, MS BRK 140 Springfield, Illinois 62703-5407 217-206-6520

FamilySearch Centers

 * Alton Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Decatur Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Jacksonville Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Litchfield Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Quincy Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Springfield Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Athens Municipal Library - an affiliate library
 * Chatham Area Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Carrollton Public Library  509 South Main Street Carrollton, IL 62016-1251 Phone: 217-942-6715 Email: cte@lcls.org Facebook Greenfield Public Library 515 Chestnut Street Greenfield, IL 62044 Phone: 217-368-2613 Website Roodhouse Public Library 220 West Franklin Street Roodhouse, IL 62082 Phone: 217-589-5123 White Hall Township Public Library 119 East Sherman Street White Hall, IL 62092 Phone: 217-374-6014 Fax: 217-374-6554 Email: [mailto:whtlibrary1922@gmail.com whtlibrary1922@gmail.com] Website Holdings include a genealogy file, containing dates of birth, death, and marriages which have appeared in the local newspaper, dating 1869 to present time. The newspapers themselves are on microfilm.

Societies
Greene County Historical and Genealogical Society PO Box 137 Carrollton, Illinois 62016 Phone: 217-942-6013 Email: [mailto:greenecohistsoc@irtc.net greenecohistsoc@irtc.net] Website

Websites

 * Greene County ILGenWeb
 * Greene County IL Genealogy
 * Greene County, IL 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.