Illinois Census

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Microfilm images
Federal Census Microfilms Available from the Family History Library


 * 1840

Indexes: fiche, film, or book
For a list of microform and book indexes for the population schedules of Illinois, click here

Microfilm images

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

Indexes: fiche, film, or book
For a list of microform and book indexes for the non-population schedules of Illinois, click here.

State, territorial, and colonial censuses
For 1840, 1830, and 1820 Illinois has both a federal and a state census.

1810-1855 Index Territorial, state, and federal censuses have been indexed in one alphabetical sequence along with county election returns and other records. 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, Ill.: Illinois State Archives, 1975). On 248 [FHL Films 1001592+]. At the time the index was microfilmed, most of the indexing of the 1855 census had not been completed.

Existing and lost censuses
For a list of available and missing Illinois censuses, click here.

Why use a census?
A well-indexed census is one of the easiest ways to locate where an ancestor's family lived and when they lived there. You can also use censuses to follow the changes in a family over time, and identify neighbors. These and other clues provided by censuses are important because they help find additional kinds of records about the family.

More about censuses
Click here for additional details about how to use censuses, such as:


 * index searching tips
 * analyzing and using what you find
 * census accuracy
 * historical background
 * contents of various census years and types