Jefferson County, Illinois Genealogy

Guide to Jefferson 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 Jefferson. The county seat is Mount Vernon and the county was organized on 1819. The County is located in the South central part of the state.

County Courthouse
Jefferson County Courthouse 100 S 10th St Mt Vernon, IL 62864 Phone: 618-244-8007 Jefferson County Courthouse

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

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

 1840 Pensioners
 * A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C., 1841. ; ; digital version at Google Books. [See Illinois, Jefferson County on page 187.]

Church Records
Online Records
 * 1842-1881 Barbee, Bessie. Sugar Camp Creek United Baptist Church of Jefferson County, Illinois. Effingham, Illinois: Effingham County Genealogical Society, 1984. Online at:FamilySearch Digital Library, also at
 * 1866-1950 Panther Fork Baptist Church minutes

 Catholic FamilySearch has made parish records from two Belleville Diocese Catholic churches in Jefferson County available online (free registration is required). The records include first communions, confirmations, marriages, and deaths:  List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * 1729-1956 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Images only
 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
 * Jefferson County, Illinois Circuit Court Records, and World Cat

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

Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1796-1907U.S General Land Office Records at Ancestry–($)
 * 1822-1904 Deeds First of 32 films.
 * Illinois Public Land Purchase Recordsat Ancestry–($)
 * Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales See Illinois Land and Property for more information about this database.
 * Cindy Ford compiled an extensive list of Jefferson County Illinois Early Land Sales, which is available online, courtesy: Genealogy Trails.
 * Jefferson County, Illinois Early Land Sales and Land Grants available through USGENWEB
 * Federal Township Plats of Illinois
 * 1822-1927 Deed Index IRAD (SIU)
 * 1822-1922 Deed Records IRAD (SIU)
 * 1857-1861 Mortgage Record IRAD (SIU)
 * 1874-1905 Mortgage Index IRAD (SIU)

Local Histories

 * Continental Historical Bureau. History of Jefferson County, Illinois, 1810-1962. Mt. Vernon, Ill.: Continental Historical Bureau, 1962. Online at:FamilySearch Digital Library, also at Ancestry ($).
 * Perrin, William Henry. History of Jefferson County, Illinois. Chicago: Globe Pub. Co., 1883. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive.
 * Wall, John A. Wall's History of Jefferson County, Illinois. Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen &amp; Co., 1909. Online at:FamilySearch Digital Library; also at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive.

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
 Civil War Regiments. Civil War service men from Jefferson 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 Jefferson County.
 * - 18th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.
 * - 44th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company I.
 * - 60th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies C, D, G, and I.
 * - 70th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
 * - 110th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B and G.

Naturalization and Citizenship
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 ($)

Newspapers

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

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 abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through, the FamilySearch Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Jefferson County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the SIU IRAD Wiki page. 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
 * 1866-1927 Will record book indexes as found in Jefferson County, Illinois circuit court records Available through the FamilySearch Library This book is also available through Other Libraries (WorldCat)
 * Flannigan, Misty. Will Book Index Jefferson County Illinois Record Book Index - A 1886-1898, courtesy: ILGenWeb

Vital Records
Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded until the year 1916 are kept by the Jefferson 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 abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through online databases, the FamilySearch Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Jefferson County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

Birth

 * 1877-1902 Index IRAD (SIU)
 * 1877-1915 IRAD (SIU)
 * 1870-1920 Index Delayed Birth certificates- IRAD (SIU)
 * 1870-1920 Delayed Birth certificates- IRAD (SIU)
 * 1867-1915 Birth certificates- IRAD (SIU)
 * 1877-1915 Births - First of 6 films; Index at ILGenWeb
 * 1877-1902 Birth index
 * 1867-1915 Birth certificates - First of 15 films
 * 1870-1920 Delayed birth certificates - First of 10 films
 * 1870-1920 Delayed birth certificate index -

Marriage

 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1810-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1819-1850 Jefferson County, Illinois marriages
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1891-1916 Index IRAD (SIU)
 * 1819-1916 IRAD (SIU)
 * 1819-1916 Marriages - First of two films
 * 1891-1916 Marriage index -
 * To-1850 Illinois Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry–($);Index, INCOMPLETE
 * 1851-1900 Illinois Marriages, 1851-1900 at Ancestry–($);Index, INCOMPLETE
 * 1790-1860 Illinois Marriages, 1790-1860 at Ancestry–($);Index, INCOMPLETE
 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 at Illinois State Archives - index; Also at: MyHertitage($)

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
 * 1877-1902 Index IRAD (SIU)
 * 1877-1915 IRAD (SIU)
 * 7 December 1877-1915 Death register Two Volumes;
 * 1877-1915 Death records
 * Pre-1916 Illinios Statewide Death index
 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index, ($)
 * 1951-1971 Illinois Death Certificates, 1951–1971 at Illinois State Archives - index

Archives
 Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) 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. Southern Illinois University houses the records for Jefferson County.

FamilySearch Centers

 * Carbondale Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Centralia Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Eldorado Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Foxcroft Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * O'Fallon Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Vincennes Indiana FamilySearch Center
 * C.E. Brehm Memorial Public Library District - an affiliate library
 * Knox County Public Library - Indiana - an affiliate library
 * O'Fallon Public Library - an affiliate library
 * St. Louis Public Library - Barr Library - an affiliate library
 * St. Louis Public Library - Buder Library - an affiliate library
 * St. Louis Public Library - Carondelet Library - an affiliate library
 * St. Louis Public Library - Carpenter Library - an affiliate library
 * The State Historical Society of Missouri - Saint Louis - an affiliate library

Libraries

 * C. E. Brehm Memorial Public Library District 101 South 7th Street Mt. Vernon, IL 62864 Phone 618-242-6322 Website

Societies

 * Jefferson County Genealogical Society PO Box 1131 c/o C.E. Brehm Memorial Library 101 S. 7th Street Mt. Vernon, IL 62864 Website
 * Jefferson County Historical Society 1411 N 27th St. Mt. Vernon, IL 62864 Phone 618-246-0033 E-mail:[mailto:jchsvip14@gmail.com jchsvip14@gmail.com] Website

Websites

 * Jefferson County IL Genealogy
 * Jefferson ILGenWeb
 * Jefferson County, IL Linkpendium
 * – 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.