Livingston County, Illinois Genealogy

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

Historical Facts


The county was named for Edward Livingston, a lawyer and statesman. He was the Mayor of New York City, a representive in Congress from New York and Louisiana, United States Senator from Louisiana, Secretary of State under President Jackson and United States Minister to France.

Parent County

 * 1837--Livingston County was created 27 February 1837 from LaSalle and McLean Counties.

County seat: Pontiac

Description
The county was named for Edward Livingston, Secretary of State in the cabinet of President Andrew Jackson. He was the mayor of New York City, represented New York in the United States House of Representatives, then represented Louisiana in both houses of Congress and the United States Minister to France. The county seat is Pontiac and the county was organized on February 27, 1837. The County is located in the North 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.


 * 1831-1837 LaSalle


 * 1831-1837 McLean


 * 1826-1837 Vermilion


 * 1827-1831 Tazewell


 * 1821-1827 Fayette


 * 1823-1826 Edgar


 * 1819-1823 Clark


 * 1816-1819 Crawford


 * 1815-1816 Edwards


 * 1812-1815 Madison


 * 1801-1812 St. Clair


 * 1790-1801 Knox, Northwest Territory

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Neighboring Counties

 * Ford
 * Grundy
 * Kankakee
 * LaSalle
 * McLean
 * Woodford

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

The Biographical Record of Livingston County, Illinois1900

Portrait and Boigraphical Album of Livingston Coutny, Illinois1888

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

A History of Livingston County, Illinois by Livingston Coutny History Project. Dallas, Texas: Curtis Media, c 1991. Has a section on Church and Cemetries of Livingston County.

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.

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

History
The History of Livingston Coutny, 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.

1857-1865 Swamp Land Records - IRAD-ISU. Available through the Family History Library

1859-1946 Chattel Morgage Record - IRAD-ISU

Land records available through the Family History Library:

1853-1889 General index to deeds  Item 3.

1853-1921 Deed Records  first film

Maps

 * 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
 * 1860s - 1960s at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images

Roll of HonorLivingston County - "all wars" This site list name of soldiers alphabetically, service in which war, where buried, rank, branch of service, unit, date of death

War of 1812

 * Military Land Grants Livingston County Illinois- USGenWeb

1862-1919 Military Discharge Record -IRAD-ISU

Indian Wars
Military Land Grants in Livingston County, Illinois For Soldiers of the Indian Wars

Civil War
Civil War service men from Livingston 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 Livingston County.

Artillery


 * -(William) Cogswell's Battery, Illinois Light ArtilleryRoster

Cavalry


 * -3rd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry Company K.

Infantry


 * - 20th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company D.
 * - 39th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C.
 * - 44th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company C.
 * - 52nd_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company D.
 * - 53rd_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company G.
 * -69th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G.
 * -129th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A, Company B, Company C, Company E, and Company G.
 * -138th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.

129th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E, the company was raised in Fairbury, Livingston County - USGenWeb

Military Record available at the Family History Library

Patriotic Roster of Livingston County, Illinois. by J.B. Parsons.

1865-1945 Soldier's Discharge Records from Livingston County, Illinois. Recorder Item 3. First film of 3

Grand Army of the Republic  Union_Veterans'_and_Lineage_Society_Records (GAR)'

A list of GAR Post in Illinoisadditional site for post list Library of Congress


 * Aaron Weider Post, Fairbury1913 - USGenWeb
 * Forrest Post, Forrest1913 - USGenWeb
 * T. Lyle Dickey Post, Pontiac 1913 - USGenWeb

List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883

World War I
Livingston County, Illinois in the World War  (Source: Internet Archives)

World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Source: Ancestry)

World War II
Army Casualties (Source: U.S. National Archives and Record Administration)

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.

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

1854-1906 Naturalization Records, Illinois. Livingston County Court. Indexed.

Online Records
 * 1800-1998 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1856-1991 Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 at Ancestry.com - index and images, ($)

Newspapers

 * 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)


 * Chronicling America Livingston County (Library of Congress)


 * Newspapers Published in Livingston County Illinois Newspaper Project )

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

1837-1958 Probate Case Files - IRAD-ISU

1917-1926 Probate Docket Index - IRAD-ISU

Probate records available through the Family History Library

1837-1905 Probate Records

1845-1891 Probate Records

Repositories
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 Livingston County.

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

Family History Center
Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah (United States) and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources to assist you in the research and study of your genealogy. Currently there are no Family History Centers located directly in Livingston County.

You may search your address for a center near you on the FamilySearch site. The following centers are located in surrounding counties. Their wiki pages may supply hours and other information.

Find a Family History Center

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
Illinois State Universtiy 2016 Warehouse Road Campus Box 1520 Normal, Illinois 61802 Phone: 1-309-452-6027

Illinois Regional Archives Depository System - Local Governmental Records Listings Arranged by County

Public Libraries
Livingston County Public Libraries

School Records
1898-1995 School Pupil Diploma Record - IRAD-ISU

1898-1921 School Student Permanent Record, High School - IRAD-ISU

1935-1972 School Pupil Diploma Record, Prison - IRAD-ISU

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] Facebook Website
 * Livingston County Historical Society 115 W. Howard Street Pontiac, IL 61764 Phone 815-692-6633 Email:[mailto:livcountyhistoricalsociety@gmail.com livcountyhistoricalsociety@gmail.com] Facebook Website
 * Streatorland Historical Society Museum 306 S. Vermillion St Streator, IL 61364 Phone 815-672-2443 Email:[mailto:strh1@frontier.com strh1@frontier.com] Facebook Website

Taxation
1872-1876 Tax Lists, Delinquent - IRAD-ISU

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.

Order Birth and Death Certificates Online

Livingston County Vital Records Office

Livingston County Clerk

County Courthouse

112 W. Madison St.

Pontiac, IL 61764

1-815-844-2006

Birth
1856-1900 Birth Certificates - IRAD-ISU

1856-1903 Birth Records - IRAD-ISU

1866-1950 Birth Record Index, Delayed - IRAD-ISU

Birth records available through the Family History Library

1878-1900 Register of births and birth certificates, Birth index, 1948-1983  First film of 12.

Marriage

 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHertitage($)
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1810–1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1837-1900 Marriage Licenses - IRAD-ISU
 * 1837-1943 Marriage Record - IRAD-ISU
 * 1915-1975 Marriage Record Index - IRAD-ISU

Marriage records available through the Family History Library
 * 1837-1922 Marriage Registers and Certificates, first film of 33 films.
 * 1876-1923 Applications from Marriage Licenses. first film of 11

Death

 * 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — index, some images


 * 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images


 * 1877-1900 Death Record - IRAD-ISU. Available through the Family History Library item 2-3

at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHertitage($)
 * Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916


 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950

Online Resources
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index, ($)

Places / Localities
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:

Websites
Databases Pertinent to Livingston County Local Governmental Records Database Name Index to Illinois Local Governments Illinois Statewide Marriage Index Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916–1950 Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database Federal Township Plats of Illinois Livingston County Probate Case Files Index (1837–1958)


 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Livingston County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Livingston County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Livingston County IL Genealogy
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook