Hardin County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  Hardin County

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

Historical Facts
Large numbers of Kentuckians settled in frontier Hardin County, Illinois. Names of the county (Hardin) and the county seat (Elizabethtown) are reminiscent of Hardin County, Kentucky - the previous residence of many pioneer settlers.

Parent County

 * 1839--Hardin County was created 2 March 1839from Pope County. County seat:Elizabethtown

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Hardin County boundary changes.

Record Loss
May 19, 1884 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged.

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:


 * Burned Counties Research
 * http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=2424

Cemeteries
The Illinois Cemeteries page provides general explanations of the following online Hardin County resources:

Catholic
FamilySearch has made parish records from a Belleville Diocese Catholic church in Hardin County available online. The records include first communions, confirmations, marriages, and deaths:


 * , browsable online (no index); courtesy: FamilySearch.

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 copies of original records may be accessed through the Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Hardin County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.


 * 1821-1839 Circuit Court record, Volumes A-B
 * 1892-1955 Police Magistrate Dockets IRAD (SIU)
 * 1915-1963 Justice of the Peace Dockets IRAD (SIU)

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 copies of original records may be accessed through the Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Hardin County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.


 * 1814-1879 Land book
 * 1814-1885 Entry Books IRAD (SIU)
 * 1863-1904 Deed Index IRAD (SIU)
 * 1863-1942 Deed Record IRAD (SIU)
 * 1865–1885 Entry book
 * 1878–1942 Deeds, 1878-1942; index 1880-1904
 * 1878, 1890 Collector's book - lists of taxable real estate and town lots.
 * 1987 Pope-Hardin County (Illinois), land atlas and plat book, 1987 Other Libraries (WorldCat);

Online Resources


 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales See Illinois Land and Property for more information about this database. Also available at Ancestry ($)
 * Hardin County Federal Township Plats
 * Beginning 1820 Land Patent Search
 * 1796–1907 U.S. General Land Office Records found at Ancestry.com ($)

Naturalization
Original naturalization records are held in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk. See Illinois Court Records for more information about using court records.

The following copies of original records may be accessed through the Family History Library


 * 1824-1883 Naturalization records, intentions and final papers
 * 1880-1900 Naturalization record, Volume A

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.

The following copies of original records may be accessed through the Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Hardin County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.


 * 1884–1888; 1888–1926 Probate court records and minutes; Will records. IRAD (SIU) and

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

Vital Records
See Illinois Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Illinois.

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded until the year 1916 are kept by the Hardin 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.

The following copies of original records may be accessed through online databases, the Family History Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Hardin County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

Online Resources

 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900
 * 1790–1860 Illinois Marriage indexfound at Ancestry.com ($)
 * 1850–1885 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885found at Ancestry.com ($)
 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916
 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950

Births

 * 1879–1889 Ferrell, Ed. Revised births as recorded in Hardin County newspapers, 1879-1889.
 * 1884-1915 Birth Record Index IRAD (SIU)
 * 1884–1918 Births, register and record IRAD (SIU);
 * 1884–1942 Index of births

Marriages

 * 1873–1914 Ferrell, Ed. Abstracts from Hardin County newspapers, 1873–1914: to reconstruct records lost in fire of 1884: Illinois State Historical Library microfilms. Juneau, AK: E. Ferrell, 1988. ;
 * 1884–1891 Lee, Judy Foreman and Carolyn Cromeenes Foss. Hardin County, Illinois marriage register 1 May 1884–December 1891, volume I with annotations plus earlier marriage dates gleaned from other sources. Evansville, Indiana: Evansville Bindery, 1996.
 * 1884-1920 Marriage Record IRAD (SIU)
 * 1884–1929 Marriage Register
 * 1884-1969 Index of Marriages IRAD (SIU);

Deaths

 * 1884-1946 Index of deaths


 * 1884–1919 Death register and record IRAD (SIU);


 * 1884–1919 Reynolds, Marion Lavender. Hardin County, Illinois deaths, 1884–1919, and notes from the Pleasant Hill church register. Harrisburg, Illinois: M.L. Reynolds, c1995.
 * 1884-1946 Death Record Index IRAD (SIU)

Newspapers with vital record information:


 * 1850s–1930s Reynolds, Marion Lavender. Early newspaper clippings of Hardin County, Illinois from Uncle George Lavender's scrapbook. Harrisburg, Illinois: M.L. Reynolds, 1994, c1994. Other libraries (WorldCat)
 * 1871–1908 Reynolds, Marion Lavender. Hardin County, Illinois newspaper abstracts. Harrisburg, Illinois: M.L. Reynolds, c1992. Other libraries (WorldCat);
 * Ferrell, Ed. Abstracts from Hardin County newspapers: Illinois State Historical Library microfilms. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988.

Places / Localities
To see a list of places in Hardin County, click on [Show], in the bar above. The preceding list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have web sites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names.

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Hardin County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Hardin County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)