Grundy County, Illinois Genealogy

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

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

Historical Facts


The county is named after U.S. Attorney General Felix Grundy (1777-1840).

Description
The county was named for U.S. Attorney General Felix Grundy. The county seat is Morris and the county was organized on February 17, 1841. The County is located in the Northeastern part of the state.

Parent County
1841--Grundy County was created 17 February 1841 from La Salle County. County seat: Morris

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.


 * 1831-1841 LaSalle

Southeastern Part


 * 1826-1831 Vermilion


 * 1823-1826 Edgar


 * 1819-1823 Clark

Southwestern part


 * 1827-1831 Tazewell


 * 1821-1826 Fayette

North of Illinois River


 * 1825-1831 Putnam


 * 1823-1825 Fulton


 * 1821-1823 Pike


 * 1819-1823 Clark


 * 1816-1819 Crawford


 * 1915-1816 Edwards


 * 1812-1815 Madison


 * 1801-1812 St. Clair


 * 1790-1801 Knox, Northwest territory

Records Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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

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

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Presbyterian Church Records, Morris Illinois. by Patricia Dewey Sanders WorldCat

Communion Roll, Members, Baptisms and Marriages for the Records of Morris Presbyerian Church. by Patricia Dewey Sanders WorldCat

St. Mary's Catholic Church Records 1869-1919. by Betty Steffes Kinsella WorldCat


 * The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Grundy County edition. This includes several sections on Grundy County churches. Explore both the township sections for local churches, and beginning on page 730 an overview of many churches found in Grundy County. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.

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.

1846-1963 Circuit Court Case Files IRAD-ISU Search for Grundy County. How to use IRAD

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
 * African American Coal Miner(Source: Information Center)

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.


 * 1832-1902 Mixed Land Records, original records in the Grundy County Courthouse. 43 films. first film

Online Resources


 * Beginning 1820 Land Patent Search See Illinois Land and Property for more information about this database.
 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
 * 1796–1907 U.S. General Land Office Records found at Ancestry ($)
 * Illinois Public Land Purchase Records This record extract includes over 538,000 land sales from the 19th Century. Each entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, and in some cases the purchaser's sex and residence. Available at www.ancestry.com ($)
 * Grundy County Federal Township Plats

Maps

 * Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

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

Revolutionary War
Veterans Burials (Source: Genealogy Trails History Group)

War of 1812
Military Land Grantsin Grudy County Illinois for Soldiers of the War of 1812 - (Source: USGenWeb)

Indian Wars
Military Land Grantsin Grundy County Illinois for Soldiers of the Indian Wars - (Source: USGenWeb)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Grundy 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 Grundy County.


 * -1st Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company H. (Also Known as Centralia Cavalry)
 * - 11th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (3months) Company F.
 * - 36th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company G.
 * - 53rd_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company B.
 * - 55th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company I.
 * - 69th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I.
 * - 76th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company C.
 * - 91st_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company D.
 * -127th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
 * -128th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I.
 * -138th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.

Civil War Companies Organized in Grundy County, Illinois

Illinois Military Units in the Civil War, Published by Civil War Centennial Commission of Illinois, Springfield, 1962.

Confederate Soldiers Buried in Grundy County. (Source: Genealogy Trails History Group)

World War I
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Source: FamilySearch and Ancestry)

World War II
Army Enlistees names Adams - Lynes (Source: USGenWeb )

Army Enlistees names Mack - Zingre (Source: USGenWeb )

Casualties (Source: Genealogy Trails History Group)

Casualties, Army and Army Air Corps(Source: AccessGenealogy)

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

Online Records
 * 1800-1998 at FamilySearch — 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 ($)


 * Newspapers Published in Grundy County (Source: Illinois Newspaper Project)


 * Chronicling AmericaGrundy County (Source: The Library of Congress)


 * Grundy, Will, La Salle and Kendall Counties: 1840-1879 Deaths, Marriages, Births as Extracted from Area Newspapers. by Becki Leucht. FS Library Film 795992 item 2 or Book 977.32 V2L

Obituaries and Funeral Home Records
Illinois Obiturary Project (Source: USGenWeb IllinoisArchives)

Morris Daily Herald March 2006-Current (Source: Genealogy Bankand Ancestry) both ($)

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:

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

Neighboring Counties

 * Kankakee
 * Kendall
 * LaSalle
 * Livingston
 * Will

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

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.

Repositories
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 Grundy 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 Grundy County are kept, see the Grundy County Courthouse page.

Family History Centers

 * Bourbonnais Illinois Family History Center
 * Chicago Heights Illinois Family History Center
 * Joliet Illinois Family History Center
 * Morris Illinois Family History Center
 * Ottawa Illinois Family History Center


 * Frankfort Public Library District - an affiliate library
 * Joliet Public Library - Black Road Branch - an affiliate library
 * Joliet Public Library - Ottawa Branch - an affiliate library
 * LaSalle County Genealogy Guild - an affiliate library
 * Matteson Area Public Library District - an affiliate library
 * New Lenox Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Shorewood-Troy Public Library - an affiliate library
 * Wilmington Public Library District - an affiliate library

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
Illinois State Universtiy (ISU) 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

Societies

 * Carbon Hill Historical Society' 875 North 2nd Street Carbon Hill, IL 60416 Phone 815-347-0810 Facebook
 * Grundy County Historical Society 510 W. Illinois Ave. Morris, IL 60450 Phone 815-942-4880 Email:[mailto:grundyhistory@att.net grundyhistory@att.net] Website
 * Seneca Historical Guild 431 North Main Seneca, Illinois 61360 Phone 815-769-5077 Email:[mailto:senecahistory@gmail.com senecahistory@gmail.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.

Birth
The original Grundy County birth records 1877-1905 are housed at the County Clerk office. The following copies are available:

1877-1893 Birth Record Index IRAD-ISU Search for Grundy County Records. How to use IRAD. Availabel through the Family History Library Item 2

1877-1905 Birth Records IRAD-ISU Available throught the Family History Library  Items 3-4.

Marriage
1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $

The original Grundy County marriage records 1841- 1923 are housed at the County courthouse. The following copies are available:

1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index

1810–1934 at FamilySearch — index and images

1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index

1841-1903 Marriage Records Index IRAD-ISU Search for Grundy County Records. How to use IRAD. Available through the Family History Library Item 4

1841-1923 Marriage Records IRAD-ISU Items 1-6.

1763-1900 Statewide Marriage Index

Death
The original Grundy County death records 1847-1901 are housed at the County Courthouse. The following copies are available:


 * 1878-1904 Death Record Index IRAD-ISU Search for Grundy County Records. How to use IRAD. Available through Family History Library Item 1
 * 1878-1901 Death Record IRAD-ISU. Available through Family History Library Items 2-3

Online Resources
 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * Pre-1916 Death Index
 * 1916-1950 Statewide Death Index
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index, ($)

Websites
Databases Pertinent to Grundy 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
 * Grundy County ILGenWeb Official county website for the USGenWeb Project. Extensive genealogical listings and data, organized and explained for the researcher.
 * Grundy County Illinois USGenWeb Archives. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Grundy County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Grundy County, IL - Genealogy.inc - Contains a directory of Grundy County listings, both for free genealogy and paid genealogy.
 * Grundy County IL - LDS Genealogy
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook