Ford County, Illinois Genealogy
Guide to Ford County, Illinois ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth, marriage, death, census, military records and family histories.
| Ford County, Illinois | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Illinois, United States Genealogy | |
 Location of Illinois in the U.S. | |
| Facts | |
| Founded: | February 17, 1859 |
|---|---|
| County Seat | Paxton |
| Courthouse | |
 | |
| Address | Ford County, Illinois Courthouse 200 West State Street Paxton, Illinois 60957 (217) 379-9400 [1] |
County Organization[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1878 | 1859 | 1878 | 1859 | 1859 | 1850 | 1810 |
County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Ford County are kept, see the Ford County Courthouse page.
Historical Records[edit | edit source]
This county is named for Governor Thomas Ford, its eighth governor.
Description[edit | edit source]
The county was named for Thomas Ford, who served as Governor of Illinois from 1842 to 1846. The county seat is Paxton and the county was organized on 1859. The County is located in the East-central part of the state.[2]
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.
- 17 February 1859: Ford County was created from Clark County. [3]
Note: An earlier attempt to create Holmes County (proposed), on 31 January 1857 in the same general area, was unsuccessful. (Ill. Laws 1859, pub., pp. 29-33) (source:Newberry Library}
Record Loss[edit | edit source]
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Records and Resources[edit | edit source]
Biography[edit | edit source]
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
Census[edit | edit source]
For information and tips on using and accessing online census records, see Illinois Census.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1860 | 1,979 | — |
| 1870 | 9,103 | 360.0% |
| 1880 | 15,099 | 65.9% |
| 1890 | 17,035 | 12.8% |
| 1900 | 18,359 | 7.8% |
| 1910 | 17,096 | −6.9% |
| 1920 | 16,466 | −3.7% |
| 1930 | 15,489 | −5.9% |
| 1940 | 15,007 | −3.1% |
| 1950 | 15,901 | 6.0% |
| 1960 | 16,606 | 4.4% |
| 1970 | 16,382 | −1.3% |
| 1980 | 15,265 | −6.8% |
| 1990 | 14,275 | −6.5% |
| 2000 | 14,241 | −0.2% |
| 2010 | 14,081 | −1.1% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Church Records[edit | edit source]
The Farmersville Settlement, by Shirley Hildman Johnson. FHL Book 977.362 Kej
A County History: Ford County History: Ford County, Illinois. by Ford County Historical Society, c. 1984 has a section on church records. FHL book 977.362 D2f
List of Churches and Church Parishes
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.
Directories[edit | edit source]
Ethnic Research[edit | edit source]
African American[edit | edit source]
The following have information concerning African American research.
- African American Genealogy (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.
Genealogy[edit | edit source]
History[edit | edit source]
- History of Ford County, Illinois:From it's Earliest Settlement to 1908 :(Ancestry)
Mailing Lists[edit | edit source]
Message Boards[edit | edit source]
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
- 1885-1890 Deed Record. IRAD-ISU
- 1888-1897 Chattel Mortgage Extensions. IRAD-ISU
- 1938-1952 Chattel Morgage Record. IRAD-ISU
Index[edit | edit source]
1860-1941 Chattel Mortgage Index. IRAD-ISU
Available through the Family History Library
1837-1901 Grantor and Grantee Indexes, and Deed Records 1859-1904. FHL film 1401811 first film of eighteen
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 ($)
- Illinois Public Land Purchase Records Available at www.ancestry.com ($). 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.
- Ford County Federal Township Plats
Library[edit | edit source]
- Paxton Carnegie Library 254 S. Market St. |Paxton, Illinois (217)379-3431
- Melvin Public Library 102 S. Center St. Melvin, Illinois (217)388-2421
- Moyer Library 618 S. Sangamon Ave. Gibson City, Illinois (217)784-5343
- Loda Township Library 105 E. Adams St. Loda, Illinois (217)386-2783
- Piper City Public Library 39 W. Main Street Piper City, Illinois (815)686-9234
- Cullom Memorial Library Inc. 103 Hack Street Cullom, Illinois (815)689-2720
- Rankin Public Library 121 S. Main St. Rankin, Illinois (217)397-2133
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries
- Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
- FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
Introduction to Family History Centers
There are no Family History Centers in Ford County.
The nearest facitlity is:
Champaign Illinois Family History Center
604 Windsor Road
Champaign, Illinois
(217)352-8063
Maps[edit | edit source]
Neighboring Counties[edit | edit source]
for more resources
- FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
Military[edit | edit source]
For information about using Military records see Illinois Military Records
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Civil War service men from Ford 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 Ford County.
- [76th Regiment, Illinois Infantry|76th Regiment, Illinois Infantry]], Company K.
- List of Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883 (Source: Internet Archives)
World War I[edit | edit source]
- World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Source: Ancestry.com $ )
World War II[edit | edit source]
- World War II Casualities, Army and Army Air Corps (Source: Access Genealogy)
Naturalization and Citizenship[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.
The following copies of original records may be accessed through the Family History Library
Online Records
- 1800-1998 - Illinois, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1998 at FamilySearch — index and images
- 1856-1991 - Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 at Ancestry.com - index and images, ($)
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
- 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
- Newspapers Published in Ford County (Source: Illinois Newspaper Project)
- Chronicling America Ford County (Source: The Library of Congress)
- Cataloged Titles (Source: Illinois Newspaper Project)
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
Places and Localities[edit | edit source]
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 | ||
|
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| Villages | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Townships | ||
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Probate Records[edit | edit source]
Online Probate Indexes and 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. See Illinois Probate Records for more information about using probate records.
1860-1942 Will Record, 1859-1929 Administrator's Record, and 1859-1953 Guardian Record. Ford County Courthouse. FHL film 1401890-1401895
Guardianships[edit | edit source]
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 Ford County.
- County Courthouse
County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Ford County are kept, see the Ford County Courthouse page.
- Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
Illinois State Universtiy (ISU)
2016 Warehouse Road Campus
Box 1520
Normal, Illinois 61802
Phone: 309-452-6027
Illinois Regional Archives Depository System
Illinois State University Region
Schools[edit | edit source]
Social Groups Online[edit | edit source]
Societies[edit | edit source]
- Ford County Historical Society
PO Box 157
Paxton, IL 60957
Facebook
Website - Lexington Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc.
318 West Main Street
Lexington, Illinois 61753
Phone 309-365-4591
E-mail:thefortoflex@aol.com
Facebook
Website
Taxation[edit | edit source]
1833-1876 Taxable Lands Lists. 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.
IDPH Registrar of Vital Records
Room 101 Courthouse
200 West State Street
Paxton, IL 60957
1-217-379-2721
Order Birth and Death Certificates Online
Births[edit | edit source]
- 1878-1909 Birth Record Index
- 1878-1901 Birth Records. IRAD-ISU
Available through the Family History Library
1870-1909 Index to Birth Records, Birth Records, 1878-1909 FHL film 1401878 items 2-3
Marriages[edit | edit source]
- 1587-1959 - Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
- 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
- 1859-1983 Marriage Record Index. IRAD-ISU. Available throught the Family History Library FHL film 1401876 item3
- 1859-1927 Marriage Record. IRAD-ISU. Available through the Family History Library FHL|23833|itme|disp=FHL films 1401877 - 1401878
Deaths[edit | edit source]
- 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
- 1878-1915 Death Record Index. IRAD-ISU
- 1878-1901 Death Record. IRAD-ISU
Available through the Family History Library
- 1878-1901 Index to Deaths, Register of Deaths, 1878-1901 FHL film 1401878 items 4-5
Online Resources
- 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index, ($)
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Ford County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Ford County IL Genealogy
- Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- Ford County ILGenWeb Part of the USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
- Databases Pertinent to Ford County
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Ford 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, "Ford County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_County,_Illinois 04/013/2017.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed.; Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002 WorldCat 50140092, FHL Book 973 D27e 2002
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Ford County, Illinois," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_County,_Illinois, Last accessed 3 January 2020.
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