Jersey County, Illinois Genealogy

Guide to Jersey County, Illinois ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military 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 Jersey County are kept, see the Jersey County Courthouse page.

Historical Facts
Jersey County is named for the state of New Jersey.

Parent County

 * 1839--Jersey County was created 28 February 1839 from Greene County. County seat: Jerseyville

Description
The county was named for the state of New Jersey, from which many of the early settlers emigrated - which was itself named for the Channel Island of Jersey in Great Britain. The county seat is Jerseyville and the county was organized on February 28, 1839. The County is located in the West 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.

Church Records
Jersey County has many religious denominations represented.Major denominations include Evangelical Denominations, Catholic Church, American Baptist Churches, Assemblies of God, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, Church of the Nazarene, Presbyterian Church, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church. To find more about these denominations and their resources by county, Click here. Few records of churches have been found in print or online.

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 Family History Library.


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

Directories

 * Illinois state gazetteer and business directory
 * 1893Historical Directory
 * 1918 Directory of Farmers and Breeders for Jersey and Greene Counties
 * 1928Huber's Directory
 * 1947Farm Directory"

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 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 Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the University of Illinois at Springfield - search for Jersey County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the UIS IRAD Wiki page.

Online Resources


 * BLM GLO Records. Search original land patents for Jersey County from the Govenment Land Office (GLO) or Eastern States Office. Some searches include images of the original warrants. All search results include the patant 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 Domain Land Tract Sales Database


 * 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 ($)


 * Jersey County Federal Township Plats


 * Sheldon, Theodore. Land registration in Illinois. Chicago: Callaghan Co., 1901. Digital book. Expains the laws regarding land and the land systems used in Illinois. Includes court cases involving land issues. In addition to being on Ancestry, this book is available online at no cost at Internet Archives and Google Books.

Copies of original records


 * Deed Index 1832 to 1855 IRAD-UIS
 * Entry books 1821 to 1875 IRAD-UIS
 * 1822–1924 Land records and indexes

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Jersey 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)
 * FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Civil War
Civil War service men from Jersey 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 Jersey County.


 * - 14th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.
 * - 27th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
 * - 61st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies C and D.
 * - 97th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies H and K.
 * - 122nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C.
 * - 124th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C.
 * - 133rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company H.
 * - 144th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (1 year, 1864-65), Companies F, G and H.
 * - 154th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.

World War I
IRAD holdings:


 * Military discharge records 1918 to 1965
 * Military discharge records index 1918 to 1967

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Records
 * 1800-1998 - at FamilySearch — index and images

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

 * Calhoun
 * Greene
 * Macoupin
 * Madison
 * St. Charles County, Missouri

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 probate records are held by the circuit court clerk. Probate records include wills, inventories, settlements, and guardianship records. Some probate records are held at IRAD. Explore how to search IRAD–UIS. The following copies are available in the FamilySearch Catalog:


 * 1839–1888Index to Estate Papers Online images. Browse for Jersey records.
 * 1839–1933Probate Records Online images. Browse for Jersey records.
 * 1839–1964 Probate Will RecordIRAD–UIS
 * 1839–1940 Probate Records
 * 1839–1847Wills,Bonds,Inventories Online images. Browse for Jersey records.
 * 1852–1931Will Record Online images. Browse for Jersey records.
 * 1873–1898Guardian Records Online images. Browse for Jersey records.
 * 1874–1966 Probate Inventory RecordIRAD–UIS
 * 1875–1879Inventory Record Online images. Browse for Jersey records.
 * 1879–1922 Probate Inventory Record, GuardiansIRAD–UIS
 * 1882–1914Estate Inventory and Appraisement Online images. Browse for Jersey records.
 * 1882–1914 Probate Inventory and Appraisement RecordIRAD–UIS
 * 1894–1933Order Book Online images. Browse for Jersey records.
 * 1898–1940Administrators' Record Online images. Browse for Jersey records.

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

Family History Center
Jersey County has no family history centers. The nearest center seems to be:

Alton Illinois Family History Center 6500 Humbert Rd Godfrey, Illinois Contact: (618) 466-4352 Hours: The center has limited hours in Tuesdays, Thursdays, the first Saturday of the month, and on Wednesdays by appointment.

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
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.

The University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) houses the records for Cass County. The link will help you find and use the records. There address is:

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

Public Libraries
Jerseyville Public Library 105 North Liberty Street Jerseyville, IL 62052 Phone: (618) 498-9514 Website

The Jerseyville Library has a genealogical collection, some of whichincludes microfilmed copies of censuses for Jersey County and local newspapers. Their Genealogy links contain several links specific to Jersey County.

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 (1878) and death (1878) records are kept by the Jersey 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 kept by the County Clerk from 1839 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 Family History Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Universtiy of Illinois–Springfield(UIS). Search Jersey County records in the Local Governmental Records Holdings Database. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD–UIS Wiki page.

found in the FamilySearch Catalog. Other libraries(at WorldCat) also hold copies of abstracted Jersey County vital records. (How to explore WorldCat).

Birth

 * 1838–1910 Early Birth Index. Courtesy of USGenWeb.
 * 1857–1967 Birth Records index available at UIS IRAD Region search for Jersey County.
 * 1867–1956 Birth Records index
 * 1878–1932 Birth Records available at UIS IRAD Region search for Jersey County.
 * 1878–1900 Birth Register
 * 1845–1866 Birth Record, Proof of available at UIS IRAD Region search for Jersey County.
 * 1905–1932 Stillbirths available at UIS IRAD Region search for Jersey County.

For help with using the above IRAD links, click here for how to Use IRAD

Marriage

 * 1587-1959 - Illinois, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1810–1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1839–1967 Marriage Record Index at UIS IRAD Regionsearch for Jersey records.
 * Marriages. Courtesy of USGenWeb.
 * 1839–1876, 1878–1901 Marriage register
 * 1837–1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index. Search for Jersey records.
 * 1835–1850 Illinois Marriages at Ancestry ($)

For help with using the above IRAD links, click here for how to Use IRAD

Death

 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — index, some images
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1878–1983 Death Records Index. Available at UIS IRAD Region Search for Jersey county.
 * 1916–1950 Illinois Statewide Death Index Search for Jersey County.
 * Pre-1916 Death Index
 * 1878–1900 Death Record. Available at UIS IRAD Region Search for Jersey county.
 * 1905–1932 Death Record,Stillbirths. Available at UIS IRAD Region Search for Jersey county.

Jersey County deaths are not in the statewide pre-1916 death index. For help with using the above IRAD links, click here forhow to use IRAD

Websites

 * Jersey County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Jersey County IL Genealogy
 * 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.
 * Jersey County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Illinois Genealogy Trails. Jersey County Website. This site contains transcriptions of a number of records of genealogical value grouped by category. Not all categories are populated.
 * Illinois Genealogy Trails. Jersey County Website. This site contains transcriptions of a number of records of genealogical value grouped by category. Not all categories are populated.