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Free Illinois genealogy records
Where to find free birth, death, marriage, census, probate, land and newspaper records for Illinois, and which offices hold what. Last checked Oct 2026.
Birth, death and marriage records
When statewide registration began: Statewide birth and death registration began in January 1916.
- Births and deaths: the state office has them from January 1916; earlier ones are with the county clerk.
- Marriages: the county clerk; the state only keeps an index from 1962.
Current office addresses, fees and eligibility rules are on the CDC "Where to Write for Vital Records" page for Illinois. Records that are too recent are usually restricted to close family. Older ones are often free to view as indexes or images on the free databases below.
Before statewide registration, some counties and larger cities kept their own registers. Church baptism and burial registers, family Bibles, obituaries and cemetery records fill the gaps.
Census records
- Federal censuses from 1790 to 1950 are free to search on several sites. The 1950 census is free from the National Archives' 1950 Census site, and NARA's census research pages explain each year.
- Almost all of the 1890 federal census was destroyed after a 1921 fire, so families can "disappear" between 1880 and 1900.
- Ask the state archives whether any state or territorial census schedules survive for Illinois.
- Census records only exist for years after statehood or territorial organization.
Probate and land records
- Probate: County circuit courts handle probate. Deeds are at the county recorder. Older probate files are often transferred to the state archives.
- First land transfers: Illinois is a federal public-land state. The original federal land patents (homesteads, cash sales, military warrants) are free to search on the BLM General Land Office Records site. Homestead case files themselves are at the National Archives.
- Later deeds: once land was in private hands, every sale was recorded locally by the county.
Historic newspapers
- Chronicling America: Illinois newspapers is the Library of Congress's free archive of digitized historic newspapers, filtered to this state.
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is Illinois's partner in the National Digital Newspaper Program, which digitizes the state's papers for Chronicling America.
- Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections: a free state digital newspaper site.
- Obituaries are the best newspaper find for genealogy. If your family's paper isn't digitized, the local public library or historical society may have it on microfilm.
Archives, libraries and societies
- Illinois State Archives: the state's official archives, with older government records such as court, land, military and often vital records.
- Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library (Illinois history and genealogy collections): historical society or research library with manuscripts, photographs and local histories.
Tips for the local level
- Find which county your ancestor's town was in at the time. County lines moved as new counties were created, and records stay with the county that created them.
- Call or email before visiting. Many courthouses have moved older books to the state archives or a county records center.
- Look for the local genealogical society and the county page of the free, volunteer-run USGenWeb Project, which often have transcriptions and cemetery lists.
Big free (and freemium) databases
- FamilySearch Research Wiki: Illinois: a free, volunteer-edited guide to Illinois record types, useful for double-checking anything on this page.
- FamilySearch: a free nonprofit genealogy site with indexed records and digitized microfilm. You need a free account to search.
- Find a Grave: free, volunteer-built cemetery listings, often with headstone photos.
- BillionGraves: free headstone photos tagged with GPS locations.
- National Archives genealogy pages: guides to federal census, military, immigration and land records.
- Ancestry: a large subscription site. Some indexes are free with a free account, and many public libraries offer free in-library access.
Sources
- CDC/NCHS, Where to Write for Vital Records: Illinois
- National Archives, State Archives list
- Library of Congress, National Digital Newspaper Program awardees
- Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records
- National Archives, Census Records
Last checked Oct 2026. Offices, fees and web addresses change. If something here is wrong, the official office is always right.
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