Genealogy

Collected links to genealogical resources in Illinois, organized by county.

The State Archives administers a system of Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD) to manage the archival records of local governments.

Illinois State Archives’ resources for genealogical research, including information on the Archives’ many online databases (Public Domain land sales, statewide marriage index, statewide death index, military records, etc.).

The Illinois Department of Public Health’s Office of Vital Records preserves the state's records on births, deaths, marriages and divorces. Since birth and death records first began to be collected by the Department in 1916, 27 million have been placed on file, including some delayed records dating back to the mid 1800s. These records are not available online; copies may be ordered from the Office of Vital Records for a fee.

A guide to the National Archives’ vast holdings of U.S. Federal records useful for genealogical research. While the majority of these records are not available online, some useful collections are, including selected military records, prisoner of war records, records related to WWII Japanese internment and Chinese exclusion, fugitive slave records, and Native American enrollments.