Lee County, Illinois Genealogy

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

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

Historical Facts


Lee County is named for Richard Henry Lee who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Parent County

 * 1839--Lee County was created 27 February 1839 from Ogle County. County seat:  Dixon

Description
The county was named for Lighthorse Harry Lee, officer in the Revolutionary War, or Richard Henry Lee, member of the Continental Congress. The county seat is Dixon and the county was organized on February 27, 1839. The County is located in the North central part 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.

Neighboring Counties

 * Bureau
 * DeKalb
 * LaSalle
 * Ogle
 * Whiteside

Biography

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

Cemeteries

 * ePodunk list of Lee 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.

Church History and Records
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.

Lutheran


 * Saylor, E. C., et al. Church Records Greenville, Friedens, Wellersburg, Miscellaneous Years, Somerset, Pennsylvania. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1957. Microfilm of a transcript in a day book of a variety of Lutheran records, including some localities in Will County, Illinois.


 * Wagner, Carl Louis. Records Kept by Carl Louis Wagner, Lutheran Minister, 1920-1965. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1978. Contains baptisms, confirmations, funerals and weddings in several locations, including Dixon and Amboy in Lee County.

Methodist


 * Harmon Methodist Church - Includes photos, history, and a list of ministers.

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.


 * 1840-1940 Circuit Court Case Files IRAD-NIU; search for Lee County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1840-1934 Index to Circuit Court Case Files (Common Law) IRAD-NIU; search for Lee County Records. (Learn more about 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

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, through the Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at Northern Illinois University - search for Lee County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD - Northern Illinois University NIU IRAD Wiki page.

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.com ($)


 * 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 ($)


 * Lee County Federal Township Plats

Copies of Original Records


 * 1856-1881 Chattel Mortgage Record IRAD-NIU

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Lee 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)

Civil War
Civil War service men from Lee 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 Lee County.


 * - 7th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company C (Also known as Morgan's Escort, Palmer's Escort, Smith's Escort).
 * - 10th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G.
 * - 13th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A and C.
 * - 34th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies C and D.
 * - 89th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I.
 * - 140th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company E.

Probate Records
Online Probate 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 Lee County are kept, see the Lee 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 Lee County:


 * Sterling Illinois Family History Center 2709 N 16th Avenue Sterling, Illinois 61081 Telephone: (815) 625-1229

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 Lee 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

 * Dixon Public Library 221 S. Hennepin Avenue Dixon, IL 61021 Telephone: (815) 284-7261


 * Winifred Knox Memorial Library 112 South Elm St. Franklin Grove, IL 61031 Telephone: (815) 456-2823


 * Mills and Petrie Memorial Library and Gymnasium 704 North First Street Ashton, IL 61006 Telephone: (815) 453-2213


 * Pankhurst Memorial Library 3 South Jefferson Avenue Amboy, IL 61310 Telephone: (815) 857-3925


 * Paw Paw Public Library District 362 Chicago Road P.O. Box 60 Paw Paw, IL 61353 Telephone: (815) 627-9396

Research Center
Lee County Historical Society's Research Center holdings include burial records for all cemeteries in Lee County, census records, microfilm of the Dixon Telegraph from 1851 to the present, land records, local histories, church records, and more.Their hours are limited so call ahead for availability.


 * Lee County Historical Society Stella Grobe Research Center 113 Madison Avenue PO Box 58 Dixon, Illinois Telephone: (815) 284-1134

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 Lee 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 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.

Marriage Records
Online Resources


 * 1587-1959 - Illinois, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900
 * 1790–1860 Illinois Marriage index found at Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1810–1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1839-1858 Lee County, Illinois Marriages Courtesy Genealogytrails.com
 * 1839-1865 Lee County, Illinois Marriages Courtesy I Dream of Genealogy

Death Records
Online Resources


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


 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images


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


 * 1850-1885 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885 found at Ancestry.com ($)

Copies of original Death Records


 * 1840-1939 Coroners records

Additional Resources
Additional resources for Lee County births, marriages and deaths may be found in the, topic page of the FamilySearch Catalog. 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.

Websites

 * Lee County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Lee County IL Genealogy
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Lee County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Lee County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)