Will County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  Will County

Will County Organization
Will County's civil records start the following years:

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

Historical Facts
Will County is named for Dr. Conrad Will who was a active politician in the early days of Illinois statehood.

Parent County

 * 1836--Will County was created 12 January 1836 from Cook and DuPage Counties. County seat:  Joliet

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

Neighboring Counties

 * Cook
 * DuPage
 * Grundy
 * Kane
 * Kankakee
 * Kendall
 * Lake County, Indiana

Cemeteries
Illinois cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.


 * Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried. Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone.  May give obituaries, names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.


 * Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Will County and links to the information for the individuals buried there.


 * Will Co. IL USGenWeb Tombstone Project usually gives the names of the deceased in alphabetical order by last name with birth and death dates plus any remarks.


 * Illinois Cemeteries by county.


 * The Family History Library Catalog lists . Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


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

In 1946, the Aaron Miner Chapter D.A.R. (Chicago) prepared a List of Cemeteries in Cook - Lake - Will Counties Containing Graves of the Military Dead Who Served in the Wars of the United States. Ancestry ($) digitized this publication.

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, Will County on page 188.]

Church Records
Church records may give birth, death and marriage information. It is usually best to locate church records with a search at a local level such as the city, town, or village.


 * IL GenWeb list of Will County churches provides addresses with some links to histories, photos, and church websites.


 * Linkpendium offers links to several Will County church records.

Catholic


 * St. John the Baptist Catholic Church was founded in 1852. The church served many of the early German immigrants. In the 1870's Franciscan friars of the St. Louis province arrived and served the community for nearly 135 years. Today the church serves newer immigrants of Mexican-Americans descent.
 * [1838–1856] Bale, D. Andrew and Jane P. Campbell, editors. The Combined Parish Register of Christ Episcopal Church, Joliet, Ill. &amp; St. John's Episcop. Church, Lockport, Ill., 1838-1856. Wilmington, Illinois: Will/Grundy Counties Genealogical Society, 1990. This indexed book includes a map.
 * [1838–1851] Werling, Norman G. The First Catholic Church in Joliet, Illinois, Including Baptism, Marriage and Death Records for Parts of Northeastern Illinois, 1838-1851. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1987. This book is indexed.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * [1908–1910] Joliet Branch membership records and minutes of meetings.

Court Records
Copies of original records


 * 1836-1938 Circuit Court Records IRAD-NIU; search for Will County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)
 * 1848, 1860, 1862 Court dockets
 * 1866–1894 Circuit court in chancery records [includes divorces]
 * 1872-1894 County Court Case Files IRAD-NIU; search for Will County Records. (Learn more about IRAD.)

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

Local Histories
A variety of early Will County genealogical records are transcribed in:


 * McLean County, White County, Will County Genealogical Records. Evanston, Ill.?: Illinois Society, D.A.R.?, 1945?. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

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 or copies of original records may be accessed online or through the Family History Library.

Online Resources


 * 1800s-Present - Use the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Land Patent Index to obtain original federal land transfer records including homestead, military warrants, and cash entry patents. These records help a research establish location and lead to National Archives' records which may include genealogical information. Earlier land transfer records are housed at the National Archives.


 * 1800s-Present - Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales from Illinois State Archives also provides an index to federal land sales.


 * 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 ($)


 * Will County Federal Township Plats

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Will County land and property may be found in the and. Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Will 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 Will County.


 * - 4th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company D (Also known as Quinby's Escort).
 * - 8th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Companies F and K.
 * - 20th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, New Company A and Companies B, F, and K.
 * - 39th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, E, and G.
 * - 64th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (Yates’ Sharpshooters), Companies E, F, G, and I.
 * - 90th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies C and D.
 * - 100th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, all Companies.

Newspapers
The Herald News is a subsidiary of the Chicago Sun Times and writes about events in the Joliet area.

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 Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Northern Illinois University (NIU) - search for Will County records. For information on how to use IRAD see theNIU IRAD Wiki page.


 * 1837-1905 Probate Records IRAD-NIU
 * 1837-1900 Probate Case Files IRAD-NIU
 * 1837–1905 Will records
 * 1837–1900 Probate Records
 * 1847–1889 Probate case files

Additional Resources
Additional resources for Will County probates may be found in the topic page of the Family History Library catalog (FHLC). Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

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

Family History Center
Family History Library is located in Salt Lake City, Utah (United States) and there are Family History Centers located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources to assist you in the research and study of your genealogy. See Introduction to LDS Family History Centers

You may search your address for a center near you on the FamilySearch site. The following center serves Will County:


 * Joliet Illinois Family History Center 655 Springfield Joliet, Illinois 60435 Telephone: (815) 725-8621
 * Naperville Illinois Family History Center

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
The Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD), managed by the Illinois State Archives, houses 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 Northern Illinois University (IRAD-NIU) holds the records for Will County. Learn more about finding and using their records.


 * Illinois Regional Archives Depository c/o Regional History Center Founders Memorial Library, Room 400 Northern Illinois University DeKalb, IL 60115 Telephone: (815) 753-1807

Public Libraries
Joliet Public Library 150 N. Ottawa St. Joliet, IL 60432 Phone: 815-740-2660 Hours: M-F 9am – 9pm, S 9am – 4pm Closed Sundays during the summer Sunday Hours (other than summer): 1:00pm – 5:00pm


 * The Joliet Public Library Main Branch holds microfilm of local Joliet newspapers from the 1840s through current. Among them are the Joliet Signal (1846), Joliet True Democrat (1861), Joliet Daily Sun (1874), Joliet Weekly Press (1883) and Joliet Daily News, Joliet Weekly News, and Joliet Republican from the 1860s until the Joliet News was first published in 1877. The Joliet Herald was instituted in 1904. It later became The Herald-News, its present day name.

The Joliet Public Library Main Branch also houses a local history section containing information about the history of Joliet and Will County, including Joliet city directories dating back to the 1870s.

Joliet Junior College Library 1215 Houbolt Rd. Joliet, IL 60431-8938 Phone: 815-280-2665 (Circulation Desk) 815-280-2344 (Reference Desk)


 * The Joliet Junior College Library holds several searchable databases, including Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970, listed under their “Magazine and Journal Search” heading.


 * Coal City Public Library 85 N. Garfield St. Coal City, IL 60416 Phone: 815-634-4552 Hours: M–Th 9am – 8pm F 9am – 6pm, S 9am – 4pm Genealogy Collection

Societies
Will/Grundy Counties (IL) Genealogical Society P.O. Box 24 Wilmington, IL 60481-0024 The Will/Grundy Counties (IL) Genealogical Society’s collection is located at the Coal City Public Library.

Will County Historical Society 803 S State St Lockport, IL Phone: 815-838-5080 Hours: W-Su 12pm - 4pm

The Will County Historical Society holds more than 70,000 documents including plat maps, obituary files, and anniversary files.

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 Will 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. Information on obtaining Vital Records can also be obtained from the County Clerk's Office.

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

Birth Records
Copies of Original Birth Records


 * 1858–1959,1862–1902 Birth Certificates, original and delayed
 * 1858-1922 Birth Records and Certificates IRAD-NIU
 * 1877–1915 Registers of birth

Marriage Records
Copies of original Marriage Records


 * 1836–1928 Marriage records
 * 1836-1928 Marriage Licenses and Applications IRAD-NIU
 * 1916–1928 Marriage license applications, licenses and register


 * 1836-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index at Illinois State Archives; Index

Death Records
Copies of original Death Records


 * 1877–1916 Death certificates [also has 7 certificates from 1960 –1980]


 * 1877–1937Death registers


 * 1877-1938 Death Records IRAD-NIU


 * 1910-1915 Coroner's Death Records IRAD-NIU


 * 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates at Illinois State Archives; Index

Divorce

 * 1866–1894 Circuit court in chancery records [includes divorces]

Additional Resources
Additional resources for Will County births, marriages and deaths may be found in the, and the topic pages of the Family History Library catalog (FHLC). Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FHLC may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the Family History Library Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Web Sites

 * Will County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Will County: Preserving History's Heritage includes indexes to deeds (1836-1885), the 1873 &amp; 1909 Combination Atlas Maps, the Shorewood Sentinel Newspaper (1961-1963), Plainfield Enterprise Obituaries (1893-present), Plainfield Township cemetery Burials (1837-2000), and more, all of which was compiled by the Plainfield Public Library and the Plainfield Historical Society.
 * U.S. GenWeb Archives
 * U.S. GenWeb Archives