Kankakee County, Illinois Genealogy
Guide to Kankakee County, Illinois ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Kankakee County, Illinois | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Illinois | |
 Location of Illinois in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded: | January 4, 1817 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Kankakee |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | Kankakee County Courthouse 189 East Court Street Kankakee, IL 60901 815-937-2990 Kankakee County Website |
Contents
- 1 County Organization
- 2 History
- 3 Parent County
- 4 Boundary Changes
- 5 Record Loss
- 6 Populated Places
- 7 Neighboring Counties
- 8 Records and Resources
- 9 Biography
- 10 Cemeteries
- 11 Census
- 12 Church Records
- 13 Court Records
- 14 Ethnic Research
- 15 Land and Property
- 16 Local Histories
- 17 Maps
- 18 Military Records
- 19 Naturalization
- 20 Newspapers
- 21 Probate Records
- 22 Repositories
- 23 Social Groups Online
- 24 Societies
- 25 Taxation
- 26 Vital Records
- 27 Places / Localities
- 28 Websites
- 29 References
County Organization[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1878 | 1853 | 1878 | 1853 | 1832 | 1853 | 1810 |
County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Kankakee County are kept, see the Kankakee County Courthouse page.
History[edit | edit source]
Kankakee is an Indian name given to a river which joins the Des Plaines river and forms the Illinois river.
Description[edit | edit source]
The county was named for the Kankakee River. The county seat is Kankakee and the county was organized on February 11, 1853. The County is located in the Northeast part of the state.[2]
Parent County[edit | edit source]
- 1853--Kankakee County was created 11 February 1853, from Iroquois and Will Counties. County seat:Kankakee [3]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
For animated maps illustrating Illinois county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Illinois County Boundary Maps" (1790-1869) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
- 1836-1853 Will
- 1833-1853 Iroquois
- 1826-1835 Vermilion
- 1823-1825 Edgar
- 1823-1825 Fulton
- 1819-1823 Clark
- 1816-1819 Crawford
- 1815-1816 Edwards
- 1812-1815 Madison
- 1801-1812 St. Clair
- 1790-1801 Knox, Northwest Territory
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[4]
| Cities | ||
| Villages | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
|
|
|
| Townships | ||
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
Records and Resources[edit | edit source]
Biography[edit | edit source]
The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Kankakee County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Kankakee County residents. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1860 | 15,412 | — |
| 1870 | 24,352 | 58.0% |
| 1880 | 25,047 | 2.9% |
| 1890 | 28,732 | 14.7% |
| 1900 | 37,154 | 29.3% |
| 1910 | 40,752 | 9.7% |
| 1920 | 44,940 | 10.3% |
| 1930 | 50,095 | 11.5% |
| 1940 | 60,877 | 21.5% |
| 1950 | 73,524 | 20.8% |
| 1960 | 92,063 | 25.2% |
| 1970 | 97,250 | 5.6% |
| 1980 | 102,926 | 5.8% |
| 1990 | 96,255 | −6.5% |
| 2000 | 103,833 | 7.9% |
| 2010 | 113,449 | 9.3% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Church Records[edit | edit source]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
St George Catholic Church Records 1868-1957. by Bill Korstick WorldCat
The Kankakee Valley Genealogical Society has published many church records some are available. WorldCat
Court Records[edit | edit source]
Original court records are held in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk. See Illinois Court Records for more information about using court records.
Ethnic Research[edit | edit source]
Bourbonnais; or the Early French Settlements in Kankakee County, Illinois
African American[edit | edit source]
The following have information concerning African American research.
- African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records
- Illinois State Archives pamphlet on African American Research describes what records are at the State Archives with an online method for ordering records.
- African-American Resources for Illinois
French Canadian[edit | edit source]
The French Canadian Interview Project (Kankakee Community College) Photos, oral histories, and family tree information for 16 French Canadian Kanakakee County citizens.
Land and Property[edit | edit source]
Original land records are held in the office of the County Clerk . See Illinois Land and Property for more information about using land records.
Online Resources
- Beginning 1820 Land Patent Search See Illinois Land and Property for more information about this database.
- Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
- 1796–1907 U.S. General Land Office Records found at Ancestry.com ($)
- Illinois Public Land Purchase Records This record extract includes over 538,000 land sales from the 19th Century. Each entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, and in some cases the purchaser's sex and residence. Available at www.ancestry.com ($)
- Kankakee County Federal Township Plats
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Maps[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
Military Records[edit | edit source]
For information about using Military records see Illinois Military Records
Revolutionary War[edit | edit source]
Veteran Burials (Source: Genealogy Trails History Group)
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Civil War service men from Kankakee County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies or regiments that were formed from men of Kankakee County.
Artillery
Cavalry
Infantry
- - 20th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company G .
- - 42nd_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company D, and Company H.
- - 53rd_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company E.
- - 76th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company D, Company F, Company H, and Company I.
- - 88th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company F.
- - 113th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B, Company H, and Company K.
- - 138th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G.
- - 147th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K.
- - 156th_Regiment,_Illinois_Infantry, Company F.
- A list of GAR post in Illinois, additional site for post list Library of Congress
- Civil War Veterans of Kankakee County, Illinois: Department of Illinois, Grand Army of the Republic. by Mary Ann Schatz.FHL Film 982173 item 5 Book 977.363 M2
- 1883 Kankakee County Pensioner List - USGenWeb
Naturalization[edit | edit source]
Original naturalization records are held in the office of the County Clerk. See Illinois Naturalization Records for more information about using naturalization records.
Online Records
- 1800-1998 - Illinois, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1998 at FamilySearch — index and images
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
Chronicling America ( Library of Congress )
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Online Probate Records
- 1772 - 1999 Illinois Wills and Probate Records 1772-1999 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
- 1819 - 1988 Illinois Probate Records 1819-1988 at FamilySearch.org — images
Original estates and wills are held in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk. Digital copies of original Kankakee County probate and will books are available online as part of the Illinois Probate Records, 1819-1970 (FamilySearch.org)
See Illinois Probate Records for more information about using probate records.
The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through the Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Illinois State University (ISU) - search for Kankakee County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the ISU IRAD Wiki page.
1853-1900 County Court and Probate case files IRAD-ISU
1866-1869 Probate Dockets IRAD-ISU
FHL Collection
1853-1928 Kankakee County Illinois probate and will records on 21 films FHL film 2259223
Repositories[edit | edit source]
IRAD is a system of Illinois Regional Archives Depositories managed by the Illinois State Archives, housing the archival records of local Illinois counties, townships, municipalities and school districts. The seven Regional Depositories are housed on state university campuses scattered throughout Illinois. Illinois State University houses the records for Kankakee County.
County Courthouse[edit | edit source]
County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Kankakee County are kept, see the Kankakee County Courthouse page.
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.
- For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map
Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah (United States) and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources to assist you in the research and study of your genealogy. Currently there are no Family History Centers located directly in Kankakee County.
You may search your address for a center near you on the FamilySearch site. The following centers are located in surrounding counties. Their wiki pages may supply hours and other information.
Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)[edit | edit source]
Illinois State University (ISU)
2016 Warehouse Road Campus
Box 1520
Normal, Illinois 61802
Phone: 1-309-452-6027
Illinois Regional Archives Depository System - Local Governmental Records Listings Arranged by County
Public Libraries[edit | edit source]
Social Groups Online[edit | edit source]
Societies[edit | edit source]
Taxation[edit | edit source]
1858-1858 Tax Sale record IRAD-ISU
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
See Illinois Vital Records for more information about Vital records in Illinois. See also How to order Illinois Vital Records or order electronically online.
The website of the Kankakee County Clerk explains how to order original birth, marriage, and death records.
Birth[edit | edit source]
Original birth records at County Clerk. The following copies are available:
1863-1905 Birth Record Index IRAD-ISU
1877-1918 Birth Record IRAD-ISU Also availalble at the FHL film 1839989 first of 7 films
1864-1910 Birth Certificates, Delayed Also available at the FHL film 1839996 and 1839997 for years 1863-1915.
1864-1926 Birth Certificates, City of Manteno IRAD-ISU
Marriage[edit | edit source]
Original marriage records at County Clerk. The following copies are available:
- 1587-1959 - Illinois, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
- 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900
- 1805-1985 Illinois, Church Marriages, 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
- 1810-1934 Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1833-1889 Illinois, Civil Marriages, 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
- 1877-1967 Marriage Record Index IRAD-ISU
- 1853-1926 Marriage Record IRAD-ISU Also available at the FHL film 1839991 first of 24
- 1889-1925 Marriage Licenses IRAD-ISU
- 1899-1905 Marriage License Applications IRAD-ISU Also available at the FHL film 1839993
- Miscellaneous Marriages, Kanka Kee County Illinois (GenealogyBuff)
Death[edit | edit source]
Original death records at County Clerk. The following copies are available:
Online Resources
- 1749-1999 Illinois Deaths and Burials, 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — index, some images
- 1850-1880 Illinois Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1877-1916 Death Record Index IRAD-ISU Also available at the FHL film 1839989 item 6; first film of 3
- 1916-1958 Death Certificate Index IRAD - ISU Also available at the FHL film 2260092 first film of 23
- 1877-1915 Death Record IRAD-ISU
- 1915-1951 Death Certificates IRAD-ISU Also available at the FHL film 2260093
Places / Localities[edit | edit source]
- Kankakee State Hospital was legitimate residence place between January 1, 1910 and May 10, 1974 when it was renamed the Samuel H. Shapiro Developmental Center.
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Kankakee County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Kankakee County IL Genealogy
- Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
Databases pertinent to Kankakee County
Local Governmental Records Database
Name Index to Illinois Local Governments
Illinois Statewide Marriage Index
Illinois Statewide Death Index, 1916–1950
Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales Database
Federal Township Plats of Illinois
- USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Kankakee County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Kankakee County, Illinois. Page 192-199 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 194-197.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Jersey County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kankakee_County,_Illinois 04/17/2017.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), 195. (FHL Collection Ref Book 973 D27e 2002). WorldCat entry.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Kankakee County, Illinois," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kankakee_County%2C_Illinois, accessed 19 March 2020.
