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Earliest Records in IL County Courthouses

The following table provides the list of counties and the year in which the first records became available.

Compiled by the Staff of the Illinois Regional Archives

In 1877 Illinois required all births and deaths to be reported to the County Clerk. However, not everyone complied. The statewide registration began in 1916 but all counties were not on board until 1922.

County	Marriage	Birth	Death	Probate	Deeds	Court	County Board	Organized	County Seat
Adams	1825	1877	1877	1826	1817	1825	1825	1825*	Quincy
Alexander	1819	1877	1878	1819	1818	1821	1819	1819	Cairo
Bond	1817	1877	1877	1821	1817	1817	1817	1817	Greenville
Boone	1838	1877	1877	1840	1838	1838	1836	1837	Belvidere
Brown	1839	1878	1878	1839	1817	1837	1839	1839*	Mt Sterling
Bureau	1837	1878	1878	1837	1817	1837	1837	1837	Princeton
Calhoun	1825	1878	1878	1833	1825	1825	1825	1825	Hardin
Carroll	1839	1877	1877	1839	1837	1837	1839	1839	Mt Carroll
Cass	1837	1878	1874	1837	1826	1837	1837	1837	Virginia
Champaign	1833	1878	1878	1833	1833	1836	1833	1833	Urbana
Christian	1839	1877	1877	1839	1828	1839	1839	1839	Taylorville
Clark	1819	1865	1865	1820	1816	1821	1833	1819*	Marshall
Clay	1825	1877	1877	1827	1825	1825	1825	1824	Louisville
Clinton	1825	1877	1877	1825	1818	1825	1825	1824	Carlyle
Coles	1831	1878	1877	1830	1830	1831	1832	1830	Charleston
Cook	1856	1871	1871	1850	1871	1871	1871	1831*	Chicago
Crawford	1817	1877	1877	1818	1816	1817	1817	1816	Robinson
Cumberland	1880	1885	1844	1884	1885	1885	1885	1841*	Greenup
DeKalb	1837	1877	1878	1837	1838	1838	1837	1837	Sycamore
DeWitt	1839	1877	1878	1839	1828	1839	1839	1839	Clinton
Douglas	1859	1877	1877	1859	1830	1859	1859	1859	Tuscola
DuPage	1839	1877	1877	1839	1835	1839	1839	1839	Wheaton
Edgar	1823	1877	1877	1823	1823	1823	1823	1823	Paris
Edwards	1815	1877	1877	1815	1815	1815	1815	1814	Albion
Effingham	1833	1877	1877	1838	1833	1833	1833	1832	Effingham
Fayette	1821	1860	1877	1821	1816	1821	1821	1821	Vandalia
Ford	1859	1878	1878	1859	1834	1859	1859	1859	Paxton
Franklin	1835	1877	1877	1837	1835	1836	1846	1818*	Benton
Fulton	1824	1878	1878	1827	1817	1824	1829	1823	Lewistown
Gallatin	1813	1878	1878	1814	1813	1813	1807	1812*	Shawneetown
Greene	1821	1877	1877	1821	1821	1821	1821	1821	Carrollton
Grundy	1841	1876	1878	1841	1832	1837	1841	1841	Morris
Hamilton	1821	1878	1878	1821	1823	1821	1821	1821	McLeansboro
Hancock	1829	1877	1878	1830	1817	1829	1829	1829	Carthage
Hardin	1884	1884	1884	1884	1814	1878	1884	1839*	Elizabethtown
Henderson	1841	1877	1878	1839	1818	1841	1841	1841	Oquawka
Henry	1837	1877	1877	1839	1836	1837	1837	1837	Cambridge
Iroquois	1866	1878	1878	1834	1834	1834	1867	1833*	Watseka
Jackson	1843	1877	1877	1840	1814	1843	1823	1816*	Murphysboro
Jasper	1835	1877	1877	1835	1835	1835	1835	1834	Newton
Jefferson	1819	1877	1877	1820	1816	1819	1819	1819	Mt Vernon
Jersey	1839	1878	1877	1839	1822	1839	1839	1839	Jerseyville
JoDaviess	1830	1877	1877	1828	1828	1827	1827	1827	Galena
Johnson	1835	1878	1878	1821	1809	1812	1813	1812	Vienna
Kane	1836	1877	1877	1836	1836	1836	1836	1836*	Geneva
Kankakee	1853	1877	1877	1853	1832	1853	1853	1853	Kankakee
Kendall	1835	1877	1877	1847	1839	1841	1842	1841	Yorkville
Knox	1837	1877	1877	1830	1818	1836	1830	1830	Galesburg
Lake	1839	1877	1877	1839	1839	1840	1839	1839	Waukegan
LaSalle	1831	1868	1870	1831	1831	1831	1831	1831	Ottawa
Lawrence	1821	1878	1878	1821	1818	1820	1821	1821	Lawrenceville
Lee	1839	1877	1877	1839	1838	1840	1839	1839	Dixon
Livingston	1837	1877	1878	1837	1835	1839	1837	1837	Pontiac
Logan	1857	1878	1878	1855	1829	1857	1867	1839*	Lincoln
Macon	1829	1877	1877	1831	1827	1829	1829	1829	Decatur
Macoupin	1829	1877	1877	1829	1829	1829	1829	1829	Carlinville
Madison	1813	1858	1877	1813	1802	1803	1813	1812	Edwardsville
Marion	1823	1877	1877	1823	1819	1823	1823	1823	Salem
Marshall	1839	1870	1877	1839	1839	1840	1839	1839	Lacon
Mason	1841	1878	1877	1841	1827	1841	1841	1841	Havana
Massac	1843	1877	1877	1843	1843	1843	1843	1843	Metropolis
McDonough	1830	1870	1870	1833	1817	1830	1831	1830	Macomb
McHenry	1837	1877	1877	1840	1838	1838	1837	1836	Woodstock
McLean	1831	1877	1877	1831	1831	1831	1831	1830*	Bloomington
Menard	1839	1877	1877	1839	1821	1839	1833	1839	Petersburg
Mercer	1835	1877	1877	1837	1834	1836	1835	1835	Aledo
Monroe	1816	1877	1878	1820	1816	1816	1816	1816	Waterloo
Montgomery	1821	1862	1877	1821	1819	1821	1821	1821	Hillsboro
Morgan	1827	1851	1851	1824	1824	1828	1827	1823*	Jacksonville
Moultrie	1843	1877	1877	1845	1831	1849	1843	1843*	Sullivan
Ogle	1837	1878	1878	1836	1836	1837	1837	1837	Oregon
Peoria	1825	1878	1877	1825	1818	1825	1825	1825	Peoria
Perry	1827	1845	1878	1828	1817	1827	1827	1827	Pinckneyville
Piatt	1841	1877	1877	1843	1840	1841	1843	1841	Monticello
Pike	1827	1876	1877	1821	1818	1819	1821	1821*	Pittsfield
Pope	1813	1877	1877	1816	1816	1817	1816	1816	Golconda
Pulaski	1861	1882	1882	1862	1843	1857	1873	1843*	Mound City
Putnam	1831	1877	1877	1831	1831	1831	1831	1831	Hennepin
Randolph	1724	1877	1877	1722	1724	1722	1795	1795	Chester
Richland	1841	1877	1877	1841	1836	1842	1841	1841	Olney
Rock Island	1833	1861	1877	1835	1835	1834	1833	1833	Rock Island
Saline	1845	1877	1878	1847	1817	1848	1847	1847	Harrisburg
Sangamon	1821	1877	1877	1821	1822	1821	1821	1821	Springfield
Schuyler	1825	1877	1877	1825	1817	1825	1825	1825	Rushville
Scott	1839	1877	1877	1839	1823	1839	1839	1839	Winchester
Shelby	1827	1877	1877	1831	1827	1827	1860	1827*	Shelbyville
Stark	1839	1877	1877	1839	1817	1839	1839	1839	Toulon
St. Clair	1763	1830	1843	1772	1786	1778	1790	1790	Belleville
Stephenson	1837	1878	1878	1837	1837	1837	1837	1837	Freeport
Tazewell	1827	1878	1878	1827	1824	1827	1827	1827	Pekin
Union	1818	1867	1877	1818	1818	1818	1818	1818	Jonesboro
Vermilion	1826	1877	1877	1826	1826	1826	1826	1826	Danville
Wabash	1857	1877	1877	1851	1857	1857	1825	1824*	Mt Carmel
Warren	1831	1877	1875	1830	1800	1832	1830	1830	Monmouth
Washington	1831	1877	1877	1818	1815	1818	1818	1818	Nashville
Wayne	1859	1870	1886	1886	1865	1819	1886	1819*	Fairfield
White	1816	1877	1877	1816	1816	1816	1816	1815	Carmi
Whiteside	1857	1877	1877	1839	1838	1838	1839	1839	Morrison
Will	1836	1877	1877	1837	1835	1836	1836	1836	Joliet
Williamson	1839	1877	1877	1839	1818	1840	1839	1839	Marion
Winnebago	1838	1877	1877	1837	1836	1836	1836	1836	Rockford
Woodford	1841	1877	1877	1841	1831	1841	1841	1841	Eureka
*Counties with records losses by fire, flood, or other disasters.
	IL State Archives Genealogical Research IL Death Certificates, 1916-1950 IL Death Index, Pre-1916 IL Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900 IRAD County Fact Sheets & Regional Map Family History Center Locations Family History Center Catalog Genealogical Societies in IL

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