Christian County, Illinois Genealogy

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

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

Historical Facts
Large numbers of Kentuckians settled in frontier Christian County, Illinois. The name of the county (Christian) is reminiscent of Christian County, Kentucky - the previous residence of many pioneer settlers.

Description
The county was named for Christian County, Kentucky. The County Seat is Taylorville and was founded 1839. It is located in the Central area of the state.

Boundary Changes

 * 15 February 1839: -- Christian County was created fromSangamon and Shelby Counties. It was formerly Dane County, until the name was changed to Christian County 1 February 1840.

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.

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

Cemeteries

 * Linkpendium links to a number of cemetery and tombstone projects in Christian County.
 * E-podunk list of Christian County cemeteries.

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

Church History and Records
Illinois' GenWeb for Christian County has a list of churches in the county as they appear in the telephone directory. They are listed by denomination with addresses and telephone numbers.

The Family History Library has very few church records, and they represent different denomination. The Library's church records are found on the town, not the county, level.

Timeline of major denominations in Christian County:


 * 1842 Christian Church. The first preacher may have been W.P. Bowles who was invited to preach by a Baptist minister.
 * 1846 Roman Catholic Church organized in Taylorsville, the first town organized in the County
 * 1848 Baptist Church
 * 1852 United Presbyterian Church began with meetings of the Associate Reform Church
 * 1855 Methodist Episcopal Church
 * 1856 Presbyterian Church first organized in Pana
 * 1856 Congregational Church

Methodist

 * 1887-1895 - Methodist Episcopal Church, Stonington, Marriage Index 1887-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch.

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


 * 1868-1979 Jail Registers IRAD-UIS

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 the University of Illinois at Springfield - search for Christian 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 Christian County from the Government Land Office (GLO) or Eastern States Office. Some searches include images of the original warrants. All search results include the patent details needed for requesting copies of the land entry files at the National Archives. The GLOis 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. The Illinois State Archives has an online index to the records of Public land sales held by the State Archives. The indexes are by purchasers name and by legal description. This is a statewide collection with nearly 550,000 land sales fro 54740 square miles.


 * "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 ancestry.com ($)


 * "U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796 to 1907" Available at ancestry.com ($) Records of Illinois are among the 13 states included in this set. It includes images of the land patents which contain the information necessary for ordering the complete case files from the National Archives. This appears to be the same information that is online at the Federal Land Office site http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/.


 * Sheldon, Theodore. Land registration in Illinois. Chicago: Callaghan Co., 1901. Digital book. Explains 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


 * 1828–1847 Land patent record
 * 1839–1886 Grantor and grantee indexes
 * 1839–1914 Deeds
 * 1852–1866 Swamp land records
 * 1868–1890 Quit claim deed

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Christian County land and property may be found online in the and. 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 Christian 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 Christian County.


 * - 3rd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company M.
 * - 10th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company L.
 * - 14th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.
 * - 33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
 * - 35th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.
 * - 41st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies G and I.
 * - 54th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.
 * - 115th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A and E.
 * - 116th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies G and H.
 * - 130th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
 * - 143rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company C.
 * - 145th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.

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

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

Original probate records are held by the circuit court clerk. Probate records include wills, inventories, settlements, and guardianship records. For more information see the wiki page Illinois Probate Records. No probate records are held at IRAD for Christian County. Explore how to search IRAD–UIS. The following copies are available in the FamilySearch Catalog:


 * 1839–1919 Probate Records
 * 1839–1886 Probate 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 Christian County are kept, see the Christian County Courthouse page.

Family History Center
There are no family history centers in Christian County. It appears that the nearest centers are:


 * Springfield Illinois Family History Center 3601 Buckeye Dr. Springfield, Illinois 62707 Contact: 217-529-7930 Open selected hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday
 * Litchfield Illinois Family History Center 12367 Robertson Rd Litchfield, Illinois 62056 Contact: 217-324-2396 Open selected hours on Tuesday, Thursday

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
The Archives hold many records for Greene County. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page

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
Assumption Public Library District 205 North Oak Street Assumption, IL 62510 Phone: (217) 226-3915 Website

Kitchell Memorial Library 300 Se 5th Street Morrisonville, IL 62546 Phone: (217) 526-4553

Carnegie-Schuyler Library 303 East Second Street Pana, IL 62557 Phone: (217) 562-2326

Taylorville Public Library 121 West Vine Street Taylorville, IL 62568 Phone: (217) 824-4736 Website Taylorsville Library has a small genealogy room with materials that are not cataloged.

Societies
Christian County Genealogy Society Near IL Routes 29 and 48 on Morrison Drive PO Box 28 Taylorville, Illinois 62568-0028 Telephone Number: 217-824-6922 E-mail:[mailto:ccgs28@gmail.com ccgs28@gmail.com] Facebook

Christian County Historical Society and Museum PO Box 254 Taylorville, IL 62568-0028 Telephone Number: 217-824-6922 E-mail:[mailto:cchs254@gmail.com cchs254@gmail.com] Website

Christian County Genealogical Society PO Box 174 Taylorville 62568

The Christian County Historical Society and Museum is dedicated to preserving the ancestry and the history of Christian County Illinois. They have extensive genealogical resources as well as an impressive collection of material culture.

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 since 1877 are kept by the Christian 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 1877 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 Christian 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 Christian County vital records. (How to explore WorldCat).

Births

 * 1877–1925 Birth records index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Christian County records.
 * 1878–1915 Birth certificates IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Christian County records.
 * 1877–1916 Birth records IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Christian County records.

Marriages

 * 1587-1959 - Illinois, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * 1763–1900 Marriages Courtesy of Genealogy Trails.
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1810–1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1831–1902 Statewide Marriage Index search for Christian County records.
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1839–1921 Marriage Records IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Christian County records.
 * 1839–1850 Illinois Marriages 1790 to 1860. Search for Christian county records.Ancestry ($). The source of this collection is films in the Family History Library's collection
 * 1840–1908 Marriage Index. Dates are approximate.{[RecordSearch|1803970}}
 * 1851–1900 Illinois Marriages 1851 to 1900. Search for Christian county records.Ancestry ($)The source of this collection is films in the Family History Library's collection
 * 1855–1866 Miscellaneous Marriages Courtesy of USGenWeb.
 * 1866–1924 Marriage records index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Christian County records.

Deaths

 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1877–1915Statewide Death Index Search for Christian County records.
 * 1877–1931 Death record index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Christian County records.
 * 1878–1927 Death Records Index
 * 1877–1915 Death Records IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Christian County records.
 * 1878–1917 Death Records
 * 1916–1950 Statewide Death Index
 * 1916–1950 Death Records Courtesy of Genealogy Trails.
 * 1913–1915 Death records, coroners IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for ChristianCounty records.

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

Websites

 * Christian County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Christian County IL Genealogy
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project for Christian County, Illinois
 * Christian County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)