Illinois Fast Facts and Key Resources

• US territory status: 1809

• First available federal census: 1820

• State censuses: 1820,1825, 1830, 1835, 1840, 1845, 1855, 1865

• Statewide birth and death records begin: 1916

• Statewide marriage records: none

• Public-land state

• Counties: 102

Contact for vital records: Illinois Department of Public Health Division of vital Records 605 W. Jefferson St. Springfield, IL 62702 (217) 782-6553 <www.idph.state.il.us/vitalrecords>

Web Sites

• Cemetery Location Project <rootsweb.com/~ilsgs/ilcemetery.html>

• Cyndi’s List: Illinois <cyndislist.com/il.htm>

• Federal Township Land Plats of Illinois, 1804-1891 <landplats.ilsos.net/flash/welcome.html>

• Genealogy in the Illinois State Archives <sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/services.html>

• Illinois Cemeteries <freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~xander/illinois.htm>

• Illinois GenWeb Project <ilgenweb.rootsweb.com>

• Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales <sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/data_lan.html>

• Illinois State Archives’ Online Databases <sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/databases.html>

• Illinois Trails <www.iltrails.org>

• IllinoisAtlas.com <www.illinoisatlas.com>

• Resources

• Chicago and Cook County: A Guide to Research by Loretto Dennis Szucs (Ancestry)

• The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists edited by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack and Erin Nevius (Family Tree Books)

• Finding Your Chicago Ancestors by Grace DuMelle (Lake Claremont Press)

• Illinois Genealogical Research by George K. Schweitzer (Genealogical Sources, Frontier Press Bookstore <www.frontierpress.com>)

• A Reference Guide for Genealogical and Historical Research in Illinois by Joseph C. Wolf (Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, out of print)

• A Summary Guide to Local Governmental Records in the Illinois Regional Archives edited by Robert E. Bailey (Illinois State Archives, Frontier Press Bookstore<www.frontierpress.com>)

• Organizations and Archives

• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

112 N. Sixth St., Springfield, IL 62701, (217) 558-8844, <www.alincoln-library.com>

• Bureau of Land Management

Eastern States Office, 7450 Boston Blvd., Springfield, VA 22153, (703) 440-1600, <www.blm.gov>

• Illinois State Archives

Reference Unit, Norton Building, Capitol Complex, Springfield, IL 62756, (217) 782-3556, <sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/archives.html>

• Illinois State Genealogical Society Box 10195, Springfield, IL 62791, (217) 789-1968, <rootsweb.com/~ilsgs>

• Illinois State Historical Society 2101/2 S. Sixth St., Springfield, IL 62701, (217) 525-2781, <www.historyillinois.com>

• Illinois State Library Gwendolyn Brooks Building, 300 S. Second St., Springfield, IL 62701, (217) 785-5600, <sos.state.il.us/departments/library>

• NARA Great Lakes Region 7358 S. Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL 60629, (773) 581-7816, <archives.gov/great-lakes/chicago>

• Newberry Library 60 W. Walton St., Chicago, IL 60610, (312) 943-9090, <www.newberry.org>