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Kankakee County, Illinois
Map
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

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United States Illinois Kankakee County

County Organization

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

Kankakee is an Indian name given to a river which joins the Des Plaines river and forms the Illinois river.

Parent County

• 1853--Kankakee County was created 11 February 1853 from Iroquois and Will Counties.  County seat:Kankakee ^[1]

Boundary Changes

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

See an interactive map of Kankakee County boundary changes.

Record Loss

Populated Places

Aroma Park, Aroma Park Northwest, Bourbonnaias, Bradley, Grant Park, Herscher, Kankakee, Manteno, Momence, and St. Anne,

Neighboring Counties

• Ford
• Grundy
• Iroquois
• Lake County, Indiana
• Livingston
• Newton County, Indiana
• Will

Records and Resources

Biography

Cemeteries

Illinois cemetery records often identify birth, death, relationship, and military information, as well as religious affiliation.

• Find A Grave can be searched by the name of a person or family to find where a person is buried.  Usually gives birth and death dates often with a picture of the tombstone. May give obituaries,names of family members and links to their information in Find A Grave.

• Find A Grave also gives a list of cemeteries in Kankakee County and links to the  information for the individuals buried there.

• Kankakee Co. IL USGenWeb Tombstone Project usually gives the names of the deceased in alphabetical order by last name with birth and death dates plus any remarks. 

• Illinois Cemeteries by county.

• The Family History Library Catalog lists some records of cemeteries in Kankakee County.  Some of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.

• ePodunk list of Kankakee County cemeteries gives the names of the cemeteries in the county with a link to more information such as address, phone number, and web site.

Census

Church Records

Court Records

Ethnic Research

African American

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

Land and Property

Local Histories

Maps

Military Records

• Civil War
  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.
  

- 42nd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies D and H.

- 53rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.

- 76th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies D, F, H and I.

- 88th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.

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

Newspapers

Probate Records

Original probate records at County Court. The following copies available:

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

Repositories

County Courthouse

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 Library

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)

Illinois State University (ISU)
2016 Warehouse Road Campus
Box 1520
Normal, Illinois 61802
Phone: 309-452-6027

Illinois Regional Archives Depository System - Local Governmental Records Listings Arranged by County

Public Libraries

Social Groups Online

Societies

Taxation

1858-1858 Tax Sale record IRAD-ISU

Vital Records

The website of the Kankakee County Clerk explains how to order original birth, marriage, and death records.

Illinois Vital Records for more information 

Birth

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

Original marriage records at County Clerk. The following copies are available:

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|594234|item|disp=FHL film 1839993

Death

Original death records at County Clerk. The following copies are available:

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

Web Sites

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.
• Family History Library Catalog
• Kankakee County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

References

1. ↑ 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.