Henderson County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  Henderson County

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

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

Historical Facts
Large numbers of Kentuckians settled in frontier Henderson County, Illinois. The name of the county (Henderson) is reminiscent of Henderson County, Kentucky - the previous residence of many pioneer settlers.

Parent County

 * 1841--Henderson County was created 20 January 1841 from Warren County. County seat: Oquawka

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Henderson County boundary changes.

Record Loss

 * Lost census: 1890

Neighboring Counties

 * Des Moines County, Iowa
 * Hancock
 * Lee County, Iowa
 * Louisa County, Iowa
 * McDonough
 * Mercer
 * Warren

Biography

 * The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Henderson County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Henderson County residents. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.

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 Henderson County and links to the information for the individuals buried there.


 * Henderson 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 of the books or others may be on Google Books or available at public libraries.


 * ePodunk list of Henderson 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.

Church Records

 * 1834–1861 Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of South Henderson minutes
 * 1846–1884 Marriages performed by Rev. W.S. Campbell
 * 1865–1900 Parsons, Mary Lou and Ethel Ketchum Trego. Smith Creek United Presbyterian Church, Henderson County, Illinois, 17 June 1865-1900. [S.l. : s.n., 1996?].

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

Local Histories

 * History of Mercer and Henderson Counties Together with Biographical Matter, Statistics, Etc. Chicago, Illinois: H.H. Hill and Company, 1882. ; digital versions at Ancestry ($), and Internet Archive (free)

Military

 * Civil War Civil War service men from Henderson 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 Henderson County.


 * - 65th Reigment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.
 * - 84th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies G and K.
 * - 91st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B and C.

Newspapers and Obituaries

 * NewspaperArchive.com ($) has historical newspapers online including Burlington, Iowa newspapers dating back to the mid 1800's that may have included Henderson County residents. This database is free at some libraries.

Probate Records
An unspecified number of Henderson County probate records are available in.

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

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
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. Western Illinois University houses the records for Henderson County.

Web Sites

 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Henderson County, IllinoisGenealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)
 * Henderson County, IllinoisGenealogy and Family History(Linkpendium)