Start with these
- Illinois State Archives
The official state archives: original state and county records, finding aids and research help.
- FamilySearch Wiki: Illinoisfree
County-by-county guide to what records exist, the years they cover, and where they're held.
- Vital records office (CDC directory)
Where to order Illinois birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates, with fees.
Key record dates
- Statewide birth & death registration
- 1916
- State-level marriage records
- 1962
Births and deaths: the year Illinois began requiring them to be registered with the state. Compliance often took years, and earlier records may be in county, town or church records.
Marriages: the year marriages began to be recorded or indexed at the state level, or in a few states, the year a state law began requiring county marriage licenses. Either way, the original marriage records are usually kept by the county (or town) that issued the license, and most begin well before this date. Start your search there.
Dates are from Family Tree Magazine's vital records chart, with corrections. Laws, compliance and the years a particular office holds can differ, so confirm with the state vital records office. See Finding Ancestors Before Statewide Vital Records.
Illinois highlights
- Illinois Digital Archives
Digitized collections from Illinois libraries and historical societies.
Newspapers
- Chronicling America: Illinois newspapersfree
Free digitized historic newspapers from the Library of Congress.
Land records
Illinois is a federal-land (public-land) state. The first transfer from the government is a federal land patent, searchable free at the BLM. Later sales are in county deed books.
- BLM General Land Office Recordsfree
Search Illinois land patents by name, county or legal description.
New to land records? Read Land Records: The Paper Trail of Property.
Link directories
- Cyndi's List: Illinoisfree
Categorized links for statewide and county resources.
- Linkpendium: Illinoisfree
Links organized by county, including cemetery, church and family pages.
- USGenWeb Projectfree
Volunteer-run Illinois state and county sites with transcribed records.
Research tip
Most pre-1900 records were kept at the county level. Before searching, confirm which county your ancestor's home was in at the time; boundaries changed often. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows every change.