Mason County, Illinois Genealogy

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

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

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

Parent County

 * 1841--Mason County was created 20 January 1841 from Tazewell and Menard Counties. County seat: Havana

Description
The county was named for George Mason, a member of the Virginia legislature who campaigned for the adoption of the United States Bill of Rights. The county seat is Havana and the county was organized on 1841. The County is located in the 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.

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Cass
 * Fulton
 * Logan
 * Menard
 * Schuyler
 * Tazewell

Cemeteries
The following web sites have additional information on Mason county cemeteries.
 * Cemeteries of Mason County. Courtesy of Genealogy Trails.


 * Confederate Soldiers buried in Mason County. Courtesy of Genealogy Trails.


 * Illinois Ancestors Tombstone Project.


 * ePodunk list of Mason County cemeteries gives the names of the cemeteries in the county with a link to more information such as address, phone number, and web site.


 * Cemetery Location Project. Courtesy of the Illinois State Genealogical Society.

Church Records
Church records may give birth, death and marriage information as well as indictate family relationships. See Illinois state wiki article Church Records for more ideas about how to use church records in your research. Many libraries( WorldCat) and the hold abstracts of church records for Mason County. Learn more about how to search WorldCat and the FamilySearch Catalog.

The first preachers in Mason were the circuit riders: The Methodist and Baptists came early in the 1820s. Permanent churches in the area trace their origins to congregations orgnozed in the mid- 1800s.

A list of churches and a brief history of the churches in Mason County is at the Genealogy Trails website.

Baptist


 * 1829 New Salem
 * 1830–1831 Clary's Grove

Methodist


 * United Methodist Record Search

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

Copies of Original Records


 * 1830-1853 Circuit Court Dockets IRAD-UIS
 * 1839-1860 Circuit Court Execution Dockets IRAD-UIS
 * 1839-1860 Circuit Court Judgment Dockets IRAD-UIS
 * 1961-1963 Justice of the Peace Dockets IRAD-UIS

Abstracts


 * 1839-1963 Weaver, Jeanne Crain, Betty Gronewald, Susan Gronewald County Court records [Menard County, Illinois] (Petersburg, Illinois:Weaver Genealogical Publications, 1989) ;
 * 1839-1971 Weaver, Jeanne Crain and Menard County (Illinois) Clerk of the Circuit Court Chancery court records, 1839-1971, Menard County, an index [Illinois] (Petersburg, Illinois:Weaver Genealogical Publications, 1991) ;

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 Mason 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 Mason County from the Govenment Land Office (GLO) or Eastern States Office. Some searches include images of the original warrants. All search results include the patant details needed for requesting copies of the land entry files at the National Archives. The GLO is 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.
 * 1796–1907 U.S. General Land Office Records found at Ancestry.com ($)

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 www.ancestry.com ($)


 * Mason County Federal Township Plats
 * Sheldon, Theodore. Land registration in Illinois. Chicago: Callaghan Co., 1901. Digital book. Expains 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


 * 1841–1887 Deed records index
 * 1841–1920 Deeds records
 * 1852–1872, 1887,1897 Swampland records
 * 1852-1897 Swamp Land Record IRAD-UIS

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Mason County land and property may be found online in the. Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. 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 Mason 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 Mason County.


 * - 2nd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Companies C and M.
 * - 11th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company L.
 * - 17th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K.
 * - 27th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E
 * - 28th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A
 * - 38th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G.
 * - 51st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.
 * - 53rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
 * - 85th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, B, C, D, and K.
 * -108th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.
 * - 139th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company I.

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. No copies of probate records are held at IRAD. Explore how to search IRAD–UIS. The following copies are available online and in the FamilySearch Catalog:


 * 1841–1973 Online Probate Records Index Courtesy of USGenWeb.
 * 1841–1973 Online Probate Records Index Courtesy of Genealogy Trails.
 * 1841–1973 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mason County, Ill. Mason County Illinois Probate Index. Havana, IL: Published by Mason County members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1988.
 * 1866–1886 Index to Estate Papers Online images. Browse for Mason records.
 * 1866–1898 Guardian Records Online images. Browse for Mason records.
 * 1866–1934 Will Record Online images. Browse for Mason 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 Mason County are kept, see the Mason 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 Mason 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.

Peoria Illinois Family History Center 3700 W. Reservoir Blvd. Peoria, Illinois 61615 309-682-4073

Macomb Illinois Family History Center 2000 W. Adams Macomb, Illinois Phone: 309-836-3201

Springfield Illinois Family History Center 3601 Buckeye Dr. Springfield, Illinois 62707 217-529-7930

Jacksonville Illinois Family History Center 1053 E. Vandalia Rd, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650 217-245-8113

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.

The University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) houses the records for Mason County. This link will help you find and use the records. There address is:

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
Havana Public Library District 201 West Adams Street Havana, IL 62644 Phone: (309) 543-4701 Website

Forman Valley Public Library 404 1/2 South Harrison Street Manito, IL 61546 Phone: (309) 968-6093

Mason City Public Library District 820 West Chestnut Street Mason City, IL 62664 Phone: (217) 482-3799

Societies
Mason County Genealogical and Historical Society In the Havana Public Library 201 West Adams Street Havana, IL 62644-1321 Website

Mason County Genealogical and Historical Society PO Box 446 Havana, IL 62644

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 (1877) and death (1877) records are kept by the Mason 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 1829 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 University of Illinois–Springfield(UIS). Search Mason County records in the Local Governmental Records Holdings Database. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD–UIS Wiki page.

and found in the FamilySearch Catalog. Other libraries(at WorldCat) also hold copies of abstracted Mason County vital records. (How to explore WorldCat).

Birth

 * 1877–1982 Birth Record Index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Mason County records.
 * 1877–1906 Birth Record IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Mason County records.
 * 1877–1906 Birth Record, Delayed IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Mason County records.

Marriage

 * 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 search for Mason County records.
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1810–1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1878–1946 Marriage records index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Mason County records.
 * 1841–1918 Marriage Record IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Mason County records.
 * 1841–1850 Illinois Marriages 1790 to 1860. Search for Mason county records.Ancestry ($). The source of this collection is films in the Family History Library's collection

Death

 * 1877–1903 Death Records Index. Available at UIS IRAD Region Search for Mason county.
 * 1877–1910 Death Record. Available at UIS IRAD Region Search for Mason county.
 * 1910–1917 Death and Burial Permit Record,Havana CityIRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Mason County records.

Mason County records are not included in th Pre–1916 Statewide Death Index at IRAD.


 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates, 1916-1950 Search for Mason County.
 * 1916–1950 Death Index. Courtesy of Genealogy Trails.
 * 1850–1870 US Census Mortality Schedules. Courtesy of Genealogy Trails.

Websites

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