CENSUS RECORDS

Federal censuses for the state of Illinois began in 1820. They were taken every ten years and are available through 1920, except for 1890. All are indexed in one form or another, except for 1870. The mostly destroyed 1890 census exists only for Mound Township, McDonough County.
The following enumerations were taken by the state and remain extant.
• 1820—Eighteen counties which included all of Illinois except Edwards County
• 1825—Edwards, Fulton, Montgomery and Randolph counties only
• 1830—Morgan County only (includes present counties of Cass, Morgan, and Scott)
• 1835—Fayette, Fulton, Jasper, Union and Morgan counties (includes present counties of Cass, Morgan, and Scott)
• 1840—Thirty-five counties included. Consult Descriptive Inventory of the Archives of the State of Illinois (see Archives, Libraries, and Societies) for list of counties.
• 1845—Cass, Adams, Putnam, and Tazewell counties only
• 1855—For all counties except Carroll, Champaign, Franklin, Gallatin, Henry, Jefferson, Lake, Stark, Will, and Woodford
• 1865—For all counties except Gallatin, Mason, Monroe, and Tazewell (Elm Township in Tazewell County has survived)
Territorial censuses include inhabitants of Randolph County in 1810. An 1818 census for the Illinois Territory also exists, though is not complete.

Illinois Research Sources

Howard, Robert P. Illinois: A History of the Prairie State. (Grand Rapids, Michigan.: W.B. Eerdman Publishing, 1972).
Szucs, Loretto Dennis. Chicago and Cook County Sources: A Genealogical and Historical Guide. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry, 1986).
The Bicentennial Project sponsored by the Illinois Genealogical Society endeavored to index at least one history for each of the 102 Illinois counties. It was completed in 1976 by the Genealogy Projects Committee of the Winnetka Public Library. This index can be used at the Winnetka Public Library or at the Illinois State Archives
Archives, Libraries and Societies.
Newberry Library
60 West Walton Street
Chicago, IL 60610-3305

Illinois State Archives
Margaret Cross Norton Building
Capitol Complex
Springfield, IL 62756
http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/serv_sta.html

Illinois State Historical Library
Old State Capitol
210 South 6th Street
Springfield, IL 62701-1507

Illinois State Vital Records Office
Division of Vital Records
605 West Jefferson Street
Springfield, IL 62702-5097
Tel: 217-782-6554
800-547-0466
Fax: 217-523-2648
Email: mailus@idph.state.il.us (for questions or comments)

Illinois State Archives
Reference Unit
Margaret Cross Norton Building
Capitol Complex
Springfield, IL 62756
Tel: 217-782-3556
Fax: 217-524-3930
http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/serv_sta.html
List of Illinois Regional Archive Depositories (IRAD) http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/iradaddr.html
Genealogical Research in the Illinois State Archives http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/services.html

Illinois State Library
300 South Second Street
Springfield, IL 62701-1796
Tel: 217-785-5600
800-665-5576 (in Illinois only)
TDD: 217-524-1137 (Circulation desk)
http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/library/isl_home.html
Includes link to ILLINET (Illinois Library and Information Network) Web Server.

Illinois State Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 10195
Springfield, IL 62791-0195
Tel: 217-789-1968 (Office - No genealogical requests please)

Chicago Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 1160
Chicago, IL 60690-1160
Tel: 773-725-1306

Illinois State Historical Society
210 South Sixth Street, Suite 210
Springfield, IL
Mail/Library:
1 Old State Capitol Plaza
Springfield, IL 62701-1507
Tel: 217-782-2635
217-782-4286
Fax: 217-524-8042
Email: ishs@eosinc.com

Chicago Historical Society
Clark Street at North Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614-6099
Tel: 312-642-5035 ext. 356
Fax: 312-266-2077
http://www.chicagohs.org/

Illinois USGenWeb Page http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilgenweb/

Illinois Gateway http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/arc_home.html

Illinois Public Domain Land Sales http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/data_lan.html

Database of Illinois Civil War Veterans http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/datcivil.html

Database of Illinois Spanish-American War Veterans http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/spanam.html