Talk:Illinois, United States Genealogy

I would like the Illinois Wiki page to look more like the pages for sister states, including a left-hand topics bar. See the proposed reorganization below. Unless I hear strong objections, I will replace the current page with this version sometime after 17 June 2011. Please add your approval or disapproval notes before the dotted line on this discussion page. DiltsGD 21:31, 2 June 2011 (UTC)


 * "Thanks for posting to my talk page! Because the list of Illinois counties is so lengthy, I would prefer to see it more compressed. I'm not a big fan of the left-hand topics list, but don't have strong preferences. The skyline photo doesn't have quite the feel I'd like for the page. Can you look at the draft of what I've been working on? (It's still got some problems, which is why it's in the sandbox still.  So look at it for a broad comparison, not for the annoying details - like the oversized seal image.)  I'd also like to see the wonderful Historical Records Collections for Illinois featured prominently in some way. Lise 13:46, 3 June 2011 (UTC)"


 * At the request of the moderator I moved this to the main page 7 June. DiltsGD 20:55, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Yeas or Nays (and why)
David - I really like that you put the Illinois topics on the left and how you have restructured the page to make it more uniform. I looked at Lise's version and I really like the idea of putting the map of the US and the Illinois flag in that top left corner. It makes it look really clean and not lost on the page. I also like having the county links right byside the state map. That way the first time user doesn't miss that you can also use the clickable map to get to the county you want instead of just the alpha list. I really like it Lise! BatsonDL 16:51, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

David - NAY on one item - the county listing. You're forcing us to read through in order to click on specific county. Easy to miss when looking for specific county. Dsammy 19:32, 9 June 2011 (UTC) ________________________________________________________________________________________________  ''This page is about a Midwest state of the United States. For other uses, see Illinois (disambiguation)''. United States Illinois

Unique genealogical features:


 * 7 IRAD (Illinois Regional Archives Depositories) have good records
 * Also, Newberry Library, Chicago
 * Learn Chicago big city research: history, places, and resources
 * FamilySearch Record Search has 10 large IL databases; 7 indexed.

Illinois Counties
Adams • Alexander •  Bond •  Boone •  Brown •  Bureau •  Calhoun •  Carroll •  Cass •  Champaign •  Christian •  Clark •  Clay •  Clinton •  Coles •  Cook •  Crawford •  Cumberland •  DeKalb •  DeWitt •  Douglas •  DuPage •  Edgar •  Edwards •  Effingham •  Fayette •  Ford •  Franklin •  Fulton •  Gallatin •  Greene •  Grundy •  Hamilton •  Hancock •  Hardin •  Henderson •  Henry •  Iroquois •  Jackson •  Jasper •  Jefferson •  Jersey •  Jo Daviess •  Johnson •  Kane •  Kankakee •  Kendall •  Knox •  Lake •  LaSalle •  Lawrence •  Lee •  Livingston •  Logan •  Macon •  Macoupin •  Madison •  Marion •  Marshall •  Mason •  Massac •  McDonough •  McHenry •  McLean •  Menard •  Mercer •  Monroe •  Montgomery •  Morgan •  Moultrie •  Ogle •  Peoria •  Perry •  Piatt •  Pike •  Pope •  Pulaski •  Putnam •  Randolph •  Richland •  Rock Island •  Saline •  Sangamon •  Schuyler •  Scott •  Shelby •  St. Clair •  Stark •  Stephenson •  Tazewell •  Union •  Vermilion •  Wabash •  Warren •  Washington •  Wayne •  White •  Whiteside •  Will •  Williamson •  Winnebago •  Woodford •  Extinct or Renamed Counties:  Dane •  Illinois Country •  Knox (1790-1809)

See also Illinois County Creation Dates and Parent Counties.

Click on the map below to go to a county page. Hover over a county to see its name. To see a larger version of the map, click here.



Major Repositories
Newberry Library· Illinois State Archives· Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)· Illinois State Library· Illinois State Historical Library (ISHL)· National Archives Great Lakes Region (Chicago)· Allen County Public Library

Migration Routes
Illinois River· Mississippi River· Ohio River· Wabash River· Lake Michigan· Buffalo Trace· Chicago-Dubuque Highway· Chicago-Kaskaskia Road· Detroit-Chicago Road· Kellog Trail· Mihoaukee Trail· Nashville-Saline River Trail· National Road (or Cumberland Road)· Old Chicago Road· Pecatonica Trail· Russellville-Shawneetown Trail· Illinois and Michigan Canal· Santa Fe Railway· Great Northern Railway (U.S.)

Research Tools

 * Cook County Genealogy Online is a free (requires registration) index of births 1871-1936, marriages 1856-1961, and deaths 1871-1991.
 * Cook County Birth Registers, 1871-1915 Index and 55,233 images. Search fields: first name, last name, place, year, parents' names.
 * Cook County Birth Certificates, 1878-1922 Index and 1,434,175 images. Search fields: first name, last name, place, year, parents' names.
 * Illinois County Marriages, 1810-1934 Index 9 percent complete; no images. Counties: Adams, Alexander, Bond, Boone, Brown, Champaign, Christian, Clark and Clay.
 * Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 Free statewide or countywide searches by groom's name, bride's name or both.
 * Cook County Marriages, 1871-1920 Index and images. Search fields: first name, last name, place, year, spouse's names.
 * Illinois Statewide Death Index 1878-1916 Free statewide or countywide name searches; no images. This is an on-going project.
 * Cook County Deaths, 1878-1922 Index and 1,429,365 images. Search fields: first name, last name, place, year, spouse's name, parents' names.
 * Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1945 Index only. Search fields: first name, last name, place, year, spouse's and parents' names.
 * Illinois State Census, 1855 Index and images. Search fields: first name, last name, place, spouse's and parents' names.
 * Illinois, Diocese of Belleville, Catholic Parish Records, 1729-1956 34,135 images of baptisms, communions, confirmations to 1907; marriages to 1930; deaths to 1956. Includes images of indexes in some volumes.
 * Northern District Naturalization Index, 1840-1950 1,493,775 petition index card images in Soundex number order for parts of IL, IN, WI, &amp; IA.
 * Illinois Probate Records, 1819-1970 427,770 images of wills, indexes and other estate documents.