Rock Island County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  Rock Island County

Rock Island County Organization
Rock Island 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 Rock Island County are kept, see the Rock Island County Courthouse page.

Historical Facts
Rock Island is named for the largest island in the Mississippi River formerly known as Rock Island, but now is called Arsenal Island.

Parent County

 * 1831--Rock Island County was created 9 February 1831 from Jo Daviess County. County seat: Rock Island

Boundary Changes
See an interactive map of Rock Island County boundary changes.

Neighboring Counties

 * Clinton County, Iowa
 * Henry
 * Mercer
 * Muscatine County, Iowa
 * Scott County, Iowa
 * Whiteside

Biography

 * The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Rock Island County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Rock Island 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 Rock Island County and links to the information for the individuals buried there.


 * Rock Island 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 Rock Island 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.

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

 * The Past and Present of Rock Island County, Ill. : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &amp;c., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, general and local statistics, map of Rock Island County, history of Illinois, Constitution of the United States, miscellaneous matters, etc., etc.. Chicago: H.F. Kett &amp; Co., 1877. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Portrait and Biographical Album of Rock Island County, Illinois: containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county : together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of Illinois, and of the presidents of the United States : also containing a history of the county, from its earliest settlement to the present time. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1885. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * The Biographical record of Rock Island County, Illinois. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1897. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Meese, William A. Early Rock Island. Moline, Ill.: Press of Desaulniers &amp; Co., 1905. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Historic Rock Island County : history of the settlement of Rock Island County from the earliest known period to the present time : embracing references of importance, and including a biography of Rock Island County's well-known citizens. Rock Island, Ill.: Kramer &amp; Co., 1908. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Rock Island County. Chicago: Munsell Pub. Co., 1914. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * The Early Day of Rock Island and Davenport: The Narratives of J.W. Spencer and J.M.D. Burrows. Chicago: Lakeside Press, R.R. Donnelley &amp; Sons Co., 1942. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Civil War
Civil War service men from Rock Island 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 Rock Island County.


 * - 17th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company L.
 * - 19th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.
 * - 37th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A and H.
 * - 43rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
 * - 45th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.
 * - 51st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.
 * - 58th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K.
 * - 65th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (Scotch Regiment), Company B.
 * - 66th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C.
 * - 71st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
 * - 89th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.
 * - 93rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.

Probate Records
Online Resources

Rock Island County Probate Case Files Index, 1834-1899, courtesy: Illinois State Archives.


 * 1837–1923The guardianship records, probate index, and wills for Rock Island County probate records are also available in . Click on the browse through images link, select Rock Island County, and select the record type you are interested 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 Rock Island County are kept, see the Rock Island County Courthouse page.

Societies
Rock Island County Historical Society – Research Library and Museum is located at 822 11th Ave. Moline, IL 61265-1221. Phone: 309-764-8590 for hours of operation as they are open (in 2010) 9 -4 on Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat. They have a very good research library containing almost all the local newspapers both in bound volumes and some on microfilm. They also have a large selection of books and surname index cards cross referenced to newspaper articles. Many filing cabinets contain local genealogies, histories, government records, military records, historical documents, church records, etc.

Vital Records
The website of the Rock Island County Clerk's Office explains how to order birth, marriage, civil union, and death records.

Web Sites

 * Rock Island County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Rock Island County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)