Ford County, Illinois Genealogy

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



Description
The county was named for Thomas Ford, who served as Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846. The county seat is Paxton and the county was organized on 1859. The County is located in the East-central part of the state.

County Courthouse
Ford County Courthouse 200 W State St Paxton, IL 60957 Phone: 217-379-9420 Ford County Courthouse County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Edwards County are kept, see the Ford 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:

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

Biographies

 * Portrait and Biographical Record of Ford County1892.
 * History of Ford County, by E.A. Gardner.

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

Church Records
The Farmersville Settlement, by Shirley Hildman Johnson. ''A County History: Ford County History: Ford County, Illinois. ''by Ford County Historical Society, c. 1984 has a section on church records.

 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.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
 African American
 * 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. Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1885-1890 Deed Record. IRAD-ISU
 * 1888-1897 Chattel Mortgage Extensions. IRAD-ISU
 * 1938-1952 Chattel Mortgage Record. IRAD-ISU
 * 1860-1941 Chattel Mortgage Index. IRAD-ISU
 * 1837-1901 Grantor and Grantee Indexes, and Deed Records 1859-1904.  first film of eighteen
 * 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 ($)
 * Illinois Public Land Purchase Records Available at www.ancestry.com ($). 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.
 * Ford County Federal Township Plats

Local Histories

 * History of Ford County, Illinois:From it's Earliest Settlement to 1908(Ancestry)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 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

 Civil War Regiments. Civil War service men from Ford 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 Ford County.
 * 76th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K.
 * List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883 at Internet Archives

 World War I
 * World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at Ancestry.com

World War II
 * World War II Casualities, Army and Army Air Corps at Access Genealogy

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 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 ($)
 * 1859-1906 Naturalization Records.

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
 * Newspapers Published in Ford County (Source: Illinois Newspaper Project)
 * Chronicling AmericaFord County (Source: The Library of Congress)
 * Cataloged Titles (Source: Illinois Newspaper Project)

Probate Records
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.

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
 * 1860-1942 Will Record, 1859-1929 Administrator's Record, and 1859-1953 Guardian Record. Ford County Courthouse.

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

Tax Records
1833-1876 Taxable Lands Lists. IRAD-ISU

Vital Records
IDPH Registrar of Vital Records Order Birth and Death Certificates Online

Birth

 * 1878-1909 Birth Record Index
 * 1878-1901 Birth Records. IRAD-ISU
 * 1870-1909 (*) at FamilySearch Catalog

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
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1859-1983 Marriage Record Index. IRAD-ISU. Available throught the FamilySearch Library
 * 1859-1927 Marriage Record. IRAD-ISU. Available through the FamilySearch Library FS Library|23833|itme|disp=FS Library films 1401877 - 1401878

Death

 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1878-1915 Death Record Index. IRAD-ISU
 * 1878-1901 Death Record. IRAD-ISU
 * 1878-1901 Index to Deaths, Register of Deaths, 1878-1901
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index ($)
 * 1951-1971 Illinois Death Certificates, 1951–1971 at Illinois State Archives - index

Archives
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 Ford County. County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Ford County are kept, see the Ford County Courthouse page. Illinois State Universtiy (ISU) 2016 Warehouse Road Campus Box 1520 Normal, Illinois 61802 Phone: 309-452-6027 Illinois Regional Archives Depository System Illinois State University Region
 * County Courthouse
 * Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Bourbonnais Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Champaign Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Danville Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Normal Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Peoria Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * West Lafayette Indiana FamilySearch Center
 * Champaign County Historical Archives - an affiliate library
 * Danville Public Library (Illinois) - an affiliate library
 * El Paso District Library - an affiliate library
 * McLean County Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * Iroquois County Genealogical Society - an affiliate library
 * Vespasian Warner Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Paxton Carnegie Library 254 S. Market St Paxton, IL Phone: 217-379-3431 Melvin Public Library 102 S. Center St. Melvin, IL Phone: 217-388-2421 Moyer Library 618 S. Sangamon Ave Gibson City, IL Phone: 217-784-5343 Website Loda Township Library 105 E. Adams St Loda, IL Phone: 217-386-2783 Piper City Public Library 39 W. Main St Piper City, IL Phone: 815-686-9234 Cullom Memorial Library Inc. 103 Hack St Cullom, IL Phone: 815-689-2720 Rankin Public Library 121 S. Main St Rankin, IL Phone: 217-397-2133

Societies

 * Lexington Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc. 318 West Main Street Lexington, Illinois 61753 Phone 309-365-4591 E-mail:[mailto:thefortoflex@aol.com thefortoflex@aol.com] Website

Websites

 * Ford County IL Genealogy
 * Ford ILGenWeb
 * – 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.