Lake County, Illinois Genealogy

United States Illinois  Lake County

Parent County

 * 1839--Lake County was created 1 March 1839 from McHenry County. County seat:  Waukegan

Neighboring Counties

 * Cook
 * Kenosha County, Wisconsin
 * McHenry

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


 * Lake 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 Lake 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
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Chain-O-Lakes (Libertyville)

Military

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


 * - 39th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.
 * - 51st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G.
 * - 64th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (Yates’ Sharpshooters), Company K.
 * - 65th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (Scotch Regiment), Company F.
 * - 96th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B, C, D, and G.

Probate
Lake County Court Probates from 1840-1900 are available at Founders Library IRAD, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, or on microfilm at the Family History Library SLC film #2366882 thru 2366882.

There are almost 4000 probate folders in the boxes. You have to have a Box Number or you are dead in the water. The boxes have aprox 2 years of probate in them until you hit 1882. Some of the file folders are not in numeric order. Lake County Genealogical Society Quarterly. Libertyville IL: Mar 1987. Vol. 7 Iss. 3 index #1-200. Further Persi search has failed to locate an index to these files as of Mar2010.

Societies and Libraries
Lake County (Illinois) Genealogical Society PO Box 998 Mundelein, IL 60060-4534

The LCIGS has an extensive list of genealogical resources including:


 * Index to Births (1866-1915)
 * Index to Cemetery transcirption books by township
 * Index to Church records
 * Index to Marriages, 1839-1916
 * Index to Naturalizations,1854-1920
 * Index to Obituaries (Index to Waukegan News-Sun, 1950s - present)
 * Index to Deaths, 1877-1901
 * Index to Burials, Peterson Funeral Home, 1865-1945
 * Index to Probates, 1848-1963
 * Probate records on microfilm, to about 1900
 * Wills
 * Index to Surnames in the LCIGS Quarterly Journal

See the LCIGS web site for more information, including the costs associated with a lookup request, and the form to request a looks-up.

Web Sites

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