Illinois Census

Additional Information may be found on the United States Census Portal page.

Census records can show the following information for each member of a household: name, age, state or country of birth, marital status, occupation, race, citizenship, and immigration information. They can also give clues to marriage dates, death dates, migration patterns, previous residence, adoptions, and divorces. Parents or other relatives may also have been living with a family when a census was taken. People listed in the census with the same surname may be related. Statewide census indexes can help you locate families when you have only their state of residence.

Federal Censuses
Population Schedules. Many federal census records are at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives. The United States Research Outline provides detailed information about these records.

U.S. federal censuses of Illinois were taken every ten years from 1800 to 1990. The 1800 census is lost, and only Randolph County remains from the 1810 census. The 1890 census was destroyed, except for a few names from Mound Township, McDonough County. All other Illinois federal censuses from 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 are available to the public.

Statewide surname indexes list every household in the Illinois censuses. For most families, they index only the first person listed in each household, who was usually the father or head of the household. Many families, however, had relatives or friends with a different surname living with them when the census was taken. In those cases, the first person of each surname in the household is included in the index.

Statewide surname indexes for the 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, and 1860 censuses have been published. Indexes for the 1870 census for Chicago and Cook County are also available in book form. There is a SOUNDEX (phonetic) index on microfilm for part of the 1880 census (households with children born between the last half of 1879 and census day in 1880) and all of the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses.

Countywide indexes to federal censuses often contain the names of every person in the household and may also include heads of households that were overlooked or whose names were misspelled in statewide indexes. Countywide indexes can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY]- CENSUS- [YEAR]- INDEXES

Multistate census indexes usually contain the same information gathered in preparing statewide indexes. These records often index censuses (federal, state, and territorial), tax lists, and other records that identify where people lived in the area. Multistate indexes containing Illinois records include:

Jackson, Ronald Vern. AIS Microfiche Indexes of U.S. Census and Other Records. Bountiful, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems International, 1984. (Not cataloged, but it is available on microfiche at many Family History Centers.) Census indexes for 1790, 1800, and 1810 are combined together on Search 1. There is a composite index for the mortality schedules of 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 on Search 8. Separate Illinois 1830, 1840, and 1850 indexes are on other searches.

Census records for selected counties of many states have been combined in an index on compact disc:

Census Index : U.S. Selected States/Counties Version 3.0. Brøderbund Software, Novato, California, 1995–96. (FHL compact disc no.9, pts. 116, 310–320, 335.) The compact discs identified as parts 311–320 include Illinois and index portions of the 1790–1880 censuses. (Not available at Family History Centers.)

A master name index to the census on compact discs and to other compact disc indexes produced by Brøderbund is contained in the following record:

FamilyFinder™ Index and Viewer Version 4.0. Brøderbund Software, Orem, Utah, 1997. FamilyTreeMaker and FamilyFinder are trademarks of Brøderbund Software, Inc. (FHL compact disc no.9 1997 index.) This index can be searched by name but not by locality or record type. (Not available at Family History Centers.) This is part of Family Tree Maker’s Family Archives series.

To locate other multistate census indexes in the Family History Library Catalog, use a Place Search under:

UNITED STATES- CENSUS- [YEAR]- INDEXES

When census indexes are not available or omit or incorrectly index a name, you can still look for the name in the original census schedules. For large cities, it helps to first learn a person’s address by searching city directories created near the time of the census. Information for a directory was gathered long before publication, so a directory from the year after the census may match the census better than the one published during the census year. (See the "Directories" section for more information.) Once you learn a person’s address, search the original census schedules for that address.

The following reference tool will help determine which census schedule and enumeration district to search for a specific address:

Kirkham, E. Kay. A Handy Guide to Record- searching in the Larger Cities of the United States: Including a Guide to Their Vital Records and Some Maps with Street Indexes with Other Information of Genealogical Value. Logan, Utah: Everton, 1974. (FHL book 973 D27kc; fiche 6010059–60.) This includes ward maps and street maps for Chicago, 1850 to 1855 and 1878.

Census Descriptions and Geographical Subdivisions and Enumeration Districts
National Archives Microfilm Publications T1224 and T1210. These describe the boundaries of the area covered by each census taker:

United States. Bureau of the Census. Cross Index to Selected City Streets and Enumeration Districts, 1910 Census. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1283. Washington D.C.: National Archives, 1984. (FHL fiche 6331481 [set of 51 fiche].) Commonly referred to as the 39 Cities Index, this is arranged by street addresses and gives the corresponding 1910 census enumeration districts. Chicago is on parts 6–12 of the fiche, and Peoria is on part 37.

Maps are helpful tools to use with censuses because of the many boundary changes over the years. Two publications are especially helpful to use with censuses in Illinois: Long’s Illinois, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, cited in the "Maps" section of this outline; and Thorndale and Dollarhide’s Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790–1920, cited in the "Maps" section of the United States Research Outline under the subheading "Locating Township and County Boundaries."

Mortality Schedules
The Illinois State Archives has mortality schedules, which list persons who died during the twelve months before the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 federal censuses were taken. (Only Kendall through Woodford counties exist for the 1870 mortality schedules.) In addition to providing the same information about the deceased person that the regular census schedules provided for the living, mortality schedules also state the month and cause of death and the number of days ill prior to death. The Family History Library has copies of the schedules:

Mortality Schedules of Illinois, 1850–1880. Illinois: Record Management Division, Secretary of State Office, 1967. (FHL films 1421024–030.)

Territorial and State Censuses
Territorial and state censuses were taken in 1810, 1818, 1820, 1825, 1830, 1835, 1840, 1845, 1855, and 1865. The 1810, 1818, and 1820 state censuses have been indexed and published. Some earlier Illinois residents were also listed in the 1807 Indiana territorial census:

Census of Indiana Territory for 1807. Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana Historical Society, 1980. (FHL book 977.2 X2c 1807; film 1033927, item4, or 1428705, item 5.) This includes a surname index.

Jackson, Ronald Vern, et al. Indiana 1807 Census Index. North Salt Lake, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems International, 1986. (FHL book 977.2 X22j 1807.)

The 1810–1855 territorial, state, and federal censuses have been indexed in one alphabetical sequence along with county election returns and other records. Bear in mind, however, that records for the 1825, 1835, and 1845 state censuses of many counties are missing or incomplete. The Illinois State Archives has the original card index complete through 1855. A microfilm copy made before the index was completed is:

Name Index to Early Illinois Records. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Archives, 1975. (On 248 FHL microfilms beginning with 1001592.) At the time the index was microfilmed, most of the indexing of the 1855 census had not been completed.

Though not complete as of 1998, a separate card index to the 1865 state census is at the Illinois State Archives.

A comprehensive list of state and territorial censuses for Illinois and other states is Ann S. Lainhart’s State Census Records, cited in the "Census" section of the United States Research Outline under the subheading "Colonial, State, and Local Censuses."

The microfilm numbers of most of the Illinois state census records available and listed in the Family History Library Catalog are in:

Buckway, G. Eileen, and Fred Adams, comps. U.S. State and Special Census Register: A Listing of Family History Library Microfilm Numbers. Two Volumes. Salt Lake City, Utah: Family History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1992. (FHL book 973 X2be; fiche 6104851–52.)

All state census records at the library, including those received since the above book was published, can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

ILLINOIS - CENSUS- [YEAR]

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY] - CENSUS

Census Substitutes
Records that identify a person’s place of residence are often used as substitutes for censuses, especially during colonial times when censuses were not required or when censuses are missing. Some census substitutes include tax lists, oaths of allegiance, and lists of petitioners. These records may be published as statewide census indexes that often provide only vague references to the source of the information indexed.

Some early Illinois censuses, tax lists, or lists of petitioners are embedded in larger collections and may require page-by-page searching to locate them. Examples include the Kaskaskia Manuscripts, 1714–1816 and the Territorial Papers of the United States (volumes 16 and 17), both of which are described in the "History" section.

Voting records, another excellent substitute for census records, are discussed in the "Voting Registers" section. City directories and tax lists are described in the "Directories" and "Taxation" sections.

Web Sites
http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/archives.html