Cass County, Illinois Genealogy

Guide to Cass 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 Lewis Cass, a general in the War of 1812, Governor of the Michigan Territory, and United States Secretary of State in 1860. Cass was serving as Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War just before the County was named. The county seat is Virginia and was founded 1837. It is located in the West-Central area of the state.

County Courthouse
Cass County Courthouse 100 E. Springfield St Virginia, IL 62691 Phone: 217-452-7722 Cass County Courthouse County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Cass County are kept, see the Cass 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:

Biographies

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

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes

Linkpendium has membership lists and other church-related records from various churches in Cass County, Illinois.

The Family History Library has selected records from a few churches in Cass County. To locate them, search the Library's catalog by "Place names" for the name of the a town, then select the topic "Church records."

Timeline of some churches in Cass County. History of Cass County, Illinois, ed. William Henry Perrin. Chicago, Illinois : O.L. Baskin, 1882. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library


 * There were no church buildings built during the first few years of settlement in an area.
 * 1830 Richmond Precinct. First religious assemblies held.
 * 1830 Princeton. Zion Presbyterian Society
 * 1832 Clear Creek Church in Monroe Precinct. This church had ceased regular meetings by 1880.
 * 1832 Virginia City. Methodist Episcopal. Began as part of the Petersburg Circuit.
 * 1835 Prinston. Missionary Baptist Church which had passed away by 1880.
 * 1838 Princeton. Christian Church which had passed away by 1880.
 * 1838 Hickory precinct. Baptists
 * 1840 Virginia City. Catholics. They have had an organization in the city since 1840.
 * pre 1842 Virginia City. Protestant Methodists  was the first Christian Church in City of Virginia, but it was extinct before 1880.
 * 1842 Virginia City. Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Formed from members of the Shiloh church.
 * 1848 Hickory Precinct. First Christian services held in the open.
 * 1848 Oregon Precinct. Methodist Episcopal, known as the Oregon Chapel.
 * pre 1852 Virginia Precinct. Bethlehem Methodistt Church.
 * 1857 Virginia Precinct. Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church which grew out of a congregation formed first in Morgan County in 1827 and later in Sangamon County. Early records were either lost or mislaid.
 * 1857 Ashland. Methodist Episcopal Church.
 * 1863 Virginia City. Presbyterian Church organized, though they built a building in 1857.
 * 1871 Ashland. Catholic Church.
 * 1875 Virginia City. Church of Christ.

Lutheran

 * 1893-1895 Mt. Zion Congregation, Newmansville, Marriage Index 1893-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch


 * FamilySearch Places

Court Records
Original Court records are held in both offices of the Cass and Cass. The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed online or through the University of Illinois at Springfield - search for Cass County records. For information on how to use: IRAD :see the UIS IRAD Wiki page.

Online Court Indexes and Records
 * 1872-1955 Jail Registers IRAD-UIS
 * 1850-1857 Swampland records
 * 1837-1986 Cass County, Illinois Sheriffs 1837-1986 Courtesy Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society
 * 1873 Court CasesCourtesy of the Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society.
 * 1878-1910 Court Adoption and Foster CareCourtesy of the Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society.
 * 1893-1898 Circuit Court CasesCourtesy of the Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society.

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
 African Americans
 * 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
Online Land Indexes and Records
 * 1808-1922 Grantor and Grantee index
 * 1823-1907 Original land tract sales
 * 1837-1940 Deed records
 * 1850-1857 Swampland records
 * Federal Township Plats
 * BLM GLO Records. Search original land patents for Cass County from the Government Land Office (GLO) or Eastern States Office. Some searches include images of the original warrants. All search results include the patent 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.
 * "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 Ancestry ($)
 * "U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796 to 1907" Available at Ancestry ($) Records of Illinois are among the 13 states included in this set. It includes images of the land patents which contain the information necessary for ordering the complete case files from the National Archives. This appears to be the same information that is online at the Federal Land Office site http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/.
 * Sheldon, Theodore. Land registration in Illinois. Chicago: Callaghan Co., 1901. Digital book. Explains 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.

Local Histories

 * Biographical Review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing Biographical Sketches of Pioneers and Leading Citizens. Chicago: Biographical Review Pub. Co., 1892. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Genealogy Trails; Internet Archive; USGenWeb (partial).
 * The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Cass County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Cass County residents.  See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.

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

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

Civil War Regiments. Civil War service men from Cass 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 Cass County.
 * - 3rd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company C
 * - 6th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company C
 * - 14th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A
 * - 19th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F
 * - 33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K
 * - 61st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
 * - 114th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, C, D, E, G, H, and I
 * - 145th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company 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 & images ($)

Circuit Court: County Court: For help with using the above links, click here for how to use IRAD.
 * 1837-1892 Naturalization papers available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county
 * 1859-1929 Declarations of Intent available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county
 * 1859-1894 Naturalization final available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county
 * 1871-1899 Naturalization dockets available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county
 * 1865-1896 Naturalizations, soldiers and minors available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county
 * 1860-1906 Declarations of Intent available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county
 * 1860-1906 Naturalization Final available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county
 * 1860-1905 Naruralizations, minors (under 21) available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county
 * 1865-1886 Naturalizations soldiers available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county

Newspapers

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

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

 * 1887-1945 Almshouse Registers available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county.
 * 1887-1945 Almshouse registers also available through

Probate Records
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 only
 * 1837-1848 Probate Book A Courtesy of Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society
 * 1848-1849 Probate Book B Courtesy of Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society
 * 1849-1852 Probate Book C Courtesy of Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society
 * 1853-1858 Probate Book D Courtesy of Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society
 * 1858-1861 Probate Book E Courtesy of Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society
 * 1861-1864 Probate Book F Courtesy of Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society
 * Guardianship Book A–1 Courtesy of Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society

Vital Records
Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth (1860) and death (1878) certificates are kept by the Cass 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 1877 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 FamilySearch Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Universtiy of Illinois–Springfield(UIS). Search Cass County records in the Local Governmental Records Holdings Database. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD–UIS Wiki page.

Birth

 * 1860-1915 Birth Records available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass county
 * 1860-1915 Birth Records index available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass County
 * 1917-1950 Birth Certificates (Ashland Twp) available at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass County

Marriage

 * 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($) — index
 * 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
 * 1810-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
 * 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1837-1915 Marriage Record Index at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass records
 * 1837-1915 Marriage Licenses at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass records
 * 1837-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index. Search for Cass records.
 * 1837-1850 Illinois Marriages at Ancestry ($)
 * 1834-1870 First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Beardstown, Marriages
 * 1880-1902 Marriage License Applications at UIS RAD Region search for Cass records
 * 1882-1890 Marriage Records at UIS IRAD Region search for Cass records

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
 * 1850-1880 U.S. Federal Mortality Schedules. Search for Cass County. Ancestry ($)
 * 1850U.S. Federal Mortality Schedule. Courtesy of the Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society.
 * 1860U.S. Federal Mortality Schedule. Courtesy of the Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society.
 * 1878-1915 Cass County Death Records indexed and made available courtesy of Researching Your Roots in Central Illinoishosted by RootsWeb
 * 1878-1917 Death records index Available at UIS IRAD Region
 * 1878-1915 Death records Available at UIS IRAD Region
 * 1878-1898 Death records stillbirths Available at UIS IRAD Region
 * 1880 U.S. Federal Mortality Schedule. Courtesy of the Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society.
 * 1910s-1930s Illinois State Hospital in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois listing those Cass County patient deaths available by RootsWeb
 * Pre-1916 Statewide death index. Illinois State Archives. Search for Cass records.
 * 1916-1925 Death certificates stillbirth (Ashland twp) Available at UIS IRAD Region
 * 1916-1950 Death Index Courtesy of Genealogy Trails.
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Statewide Death Index Search for Cass County.
 * 1917-1933 Death certificates (Ashland twp) Available at UIS IRAD Region
 * 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index, ($)
 * post 1941 The site also provides a list of WWII Deaths
 * 1951-1971 Illinois Death Certificates, 1951–1971 at Illinois State Archives - index

Divorce

 * 1875-1912 Miscellaneous Divorces, Granted Courtesy of the Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society.

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. The University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) houses the records for Cass County. The 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

FamilySearch Centers

 * Jacksonville Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Macomb Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Quincy Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Springfield Illinois FamilySearch Center
 * Athens Municipal Library - an affiliate library
 * Chatham Area Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Prairie Skies Public Library District 125 West Editor Street Ashland, IL 62612 Phone: 217-476-3417 Website Beardstown Houston Memorial Library 13 Boulevard Road Beardstown, IL 62618 Phone: 217-323-4204 Website Virginia Memorial Public Library 100 North Main St Virginia, IL 62691 Phone: 217-452-3846 Email: vmpl@casscomm.com Website

Societies
The Society has a museum and holdings open to the public. You may find your family in their holdings.

Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society 109 S. Front St. Virginia, Illinois 62691 217-452-7977 Email: cchgs@casscomm.com Website

Websites

 * Cass County IL ldsgenealogy
 * Cass GenWeb
 * Cass County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (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.