Cass County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois Cass County

Cass County Organization
Cass County's civil records start the following years:

County Courthouse
County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Cass County are kept, see the Cass County Courthouse page.

Historical Facts
Cass County is named for who was the 22nd United States Secretary of State.

Parent County

 * 3 March 1837: -- Cass County was created from Morgan County.

Places/Localities
To see a list of places in Cass County, click on [Show], in the bar above. The preceding list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have web sites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names.

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

Cemeteries
Find A Grave, list of cemeteries. Additional information can be found at local level (city, township, etc.)


 * Cass 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.

Federal
For tips on accessing census records online, see Illinois Census.

Court Records
Illinois Court Records for more information

Court records are held in both offices of the Circuit Court Clerk and County Clerk

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) Collection

The following records may be accessed through: IRAD–University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) and search for Cass County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page

History

 * Biographical Review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing Biographical Sketches of Pioneers and Leading Citizens. Chicago: Biographical Review Pub. Co., 1892. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Genealogy Trails; Internet Archive; USGenWeb (partial).

Land and Property
BLM GLO Records. Search original land patents for Cass County from the Govenment Land Office (GLO) or Eastern States Office. Some searches include images of the original warrants. All search results include the patant details needed for requesting copies of the land entry files at the National Archives. The GLO is the custodian of millions of land title documents. The General Land Office Automated Records Project is responsible for making these important documents available to the public.

Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales. The Illinois State Archives has an online index to the records of Public land sales held by the State Archives. The indexes are by purchasers name and by legal description. This is a statewide collection with nearly 550,000 land sales fro 54740 square miles.

Land records that include Bond County 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. *"U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796 to 1907:" Records of Illinois are among the 13 states included in this set. It includes images of the land patents which contain the information necessary for ordering the complete case files from the National Archives. This appears to be the same information that is online at the Federal Land Office site http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/. *Sheldon, Theodore. Land registration in Illinois. Chicago: Callaghan Co., 1901. Digital book. Expains the laws regarding land and the land systems used in Illinois. Includes court cases involving land issues. In addition to being on Ancestry, this book is available online at no cost at Internet Archives and Google Books.

Civil War
Civil War service men from Cass 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 Cass County.


 * - 33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K.
 * - 61st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.

Naturalization and Citizenship
Available at IRAD


 * Declarations of Intent, Circuit Court 1859 to 1929
 * Declarations of Intent, County Court 1860 to 1906
 * Naturalization dockets Circuit Court 1871-1899
 * Naruralization papers Circuit Court 1837 to 1892
 * Naruralizations, minors County Court 1860 to 1905
 * Naturalizations,soldiers and minors 1865 to 1896
 * Naturalizations soldier, County Court 1865 to 1886
 * Naturalization final, Circuit Court 1859 to 1894
 * Naturalization Final, County Court 1860 to 1906

Probate records
Probate records 1839 to 1962 at IRAD

Will records 1865 to 1967 at IRAD

County Courthouse
County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Cass County are kept, see the Cass County Courthouse page.

Births
Available at IRAD


 * 1917–1950 Birth Certificates (Ashland Twp) available at UIS IRAD
 * 1860–1915 Birth Records
 * 1860–1915 Birth Records index

Marriages
Available at IRAD


 * Marriage license applications 1860 to 1802
 * Marriage licenses 1437 to 1915
 * Marriage records 1882 to 1890
 * Marriage record index 1837 to 1915

Available through Ancestry.com $:


 * Cass County marriages in "Illinois Marriages 1851 to 1900." The source of this collection is films in the Family History Library's collection

Deaths
Cass County Death Records 1878 - 1915 are available online, courtesy: Researching Your Roots in Central Illinois. The site also provides a list of WWII Deaths and Cass County Patient Deaths in the Illinois State Hospital (1910s-1930s).

Available at IRAD


 * Death certificates (Ashland twp) 1917 to 1933
 * Death certificates stilbirth (Ashland twp) 1916 to 1925
 * Death records 1878 to 1915
 * Death records index 1878 to 1917
 * Death records stillbirths 1878 to 1898

Websites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Cass County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Cass County, Illinois (Researching Your Roots in Central Illinois) Cemetery, Census, Church Records, Deeds, Funeral Home Records, Local Histories, Naturalizations, Tax Lists, Vital Records