Cumberland County, Illinois Genealogy

United States

Illinois

Cumberland County

Guide to Cumberland County, Illinois ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Cumberland County, Illinois
Map
Location in the state of Illinois
Location of Illinois in the U.S.
Facts
Founded:	March 2, 1843
County Seat	Toledo
Courthouse
Photo courtesy Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Illinois State Archives
Address	Cumberland County Courthouse 140 Courthouse Square Toledo, Illinois 62468 (217) 849-2631 Cumberland County Website

County Organization

Cumberland County's civil records start the following years:

Beginning Dates for Cumberland County Records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Census	Land	Probate
1885	1880	1844	1850	1885	1884

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

Historical Facts

Cumberland County is named for the Cumberland Road, which was named for the town of Cumberland, Maryland.

Description

The county was named for the National Road (Cumberland Road), which was projected to run through it. The County Seat is Toledo and was founded 1843. It is located in the East Central area of the state.

Boundary Changes

• 2 March 1843: - Cumberland County was created from Coles County.

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.

Record Loss

1885 All records were lost in a fire on 5 November.

For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:

• Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.
• Arlene Eakle, When the Records are Gone in the Tennessee Genealogy Blog.
• Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle.

Records and Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Cumberland, Illinois online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com ILGenWeb ILGenWeb Archives Tombstone Project Billion Graves
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Graveyards of Illinois
See Illinois Cemeteries for more information

• ePodunk

Census

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

Federal

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	16,124		—
1910	14,281		−11.4%
1920	12,858		−10.0%
1930	10,419		−19.0%
1940	11,698		12.3%
1950	10,496		−10.3%
1960	9,936		−5.3%
1970	9,772		−1.7%
1980	11,062		13.2%
1990	10,670		−3.5%
2000	11,253		5.5%
IL Counties 1900-1990

Church History and Records

Abstracts

• 1843–1972 Lacey, Ruth and Walter. History of Long Point Circuit and Long Point Chapel, Cumberland County, 1843-1972: Long Point Chapel of Union Township NW1/4, Section 24, T1ON, Range 10E; Long Point Cemetery of Union Township. Greenup, Illinois : Cumberland County Genealogical Society (Illinois), 1972. At other Libraries(WorldCat) FHL book 977.373 K2L

Ethnic Research

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

Land and Property

[1] for more information.

• [No land and property record holdings noted in IRAD-EIU Cumberland County Listing.] Search for Cumberland County records. Information about how to use IRAD
• Family Maps.  Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Cumberland County, Illinois.  Norman, Oklahoma: Arphax Pub. Co., c2006. WorldCat 70998883FHL Book 977.373 E7b

Online Resources

• 1796-1907 - U.S General Land Office Records at Ancestry–($)
• Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales See Illinois Land and Property for more information about this database. Also available at Ancestry ($)
• [lhttp://landplats.ilsos.net/Cumberland.html Cumberland County Federal Township Plats]
• Federal Township Plats of Illinois
• 1800s – Present - Use the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Land Patent Index to obtain original federal land transfer records, including homestead, military warrants, and cash entry patents. These records help a researcher establish location and lead to National Archives’ records which may include genealogical information. Earlier land transfer records are at the National Archives.

Maps

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)

• Cumberland County Federal Township Plats
• USGenWeb, Cumberland County, Illinois (ILGenWeb), plat map

Military History and Records

Civil War

Civil War service men from Cumberland 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 Cumberland County.

- 5th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Companies A and I.

- 21st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.

- 59th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F.

- 97th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B and D.

- 123rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.

- 135th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company I.

• Illinois Trails History and Genealogy. 1862-1863 military census of males aged 18 to 45 in various towns of Cumberland County, who were eligible for Civil War military duty (accessed 2 Jun 2011).

Naturalization

Online Records

• 1800-1998 - Illinois, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1998 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

Toledo Democrat
802 Court House Square
P.O. Box 7
Toledo, IL 62468
(217) 849-2000

Greenup Press
104 W. Cumberland St.
P.O. Box 127
Greenup, IL 62428
(217) 923-3704

Neoga News
577 Chestnut Ave.
P.O. Box 250
Neoga, IL 62447
(217) 895-2234

Probate Records

Online Probate 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

• See Illinois Probate Records for more information.

Repositories

County Courthouse

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

Family History Centers

Family history centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See family history center for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

There are over 4500 Family History Centers worldwide which serve as branch facilities of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Volunteers provide research assistance to help patrons identify their ancestors.  Microfilm and microfiche may be ordered from the FHL collection at a nominal cost.  Locate your nearest Family History Center at the FamilySearch website.  Call ahead to verify operating hours.  All are welcome.

The following centers are accessible to residents of Cumberland County, Illinois:

Champaign Illinois Family History Center
604 W Windsor Rd
Champaign, Champaign, Illinois
Phone: 217-352-8063
Hours: Thur-Sat 9:30-12:30pm; Thur 7pm-9pm; or by appt

'Danville Illinois Family History Center
1941 N Bowman Ave
Danville, Vermilion, Illinois
Phone: 217-446-5887
Hours: Sat 9:30am-2pm

Terre Haute Indiana Family History Center 
1845 N 6 1/2 St
Terre Haute, Vigo, Indiana
Phone: 812-234-0269
Hours: Tue 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Closed: Mondays after 6:00 p.m., all major holidays, inclement weather, whenever Vigo school are on delays or early dismissals.
Attention: The Center is also available by appointment.

Please note: Addresses posted are not mailing addresses. Due to limited staff, Family History Centers are unable to respond to mail inquiries.

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)

The Illinois State Archives administers a system of Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD) to manage the archival records of local governments.  Local governments which have transferred records to the regional depositories include counties, townships, municipalities, and school districts.  The records of Cumberland County come under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Illinois University (EIU) regional depository.

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)

Eastern Illinois University
Booth Library
600 Lincoln Avenue
Charleston, IL 61920
Telephone: (217) 581-6093

Hours: Monday – Friday, except state holidays
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Note: The depository is staffed by graduate student interns. Because of class scheduling conflicts, hours may vary somewhat from the published schedule. Researchers are urged to call before planning a visit.

Libraries

Sumpter Township Library
Court House Square
P.O. Box 67
Toledo, IL 62468
(217) 849-2072

Greenup Carnegie Library
101 N. Mill
P.O. Box 275
Greenup, IL 62428
(217) 923-3616

Neoga District Library
550 Chestnut Ave.
Neoga, IL 62447
(217) 895-3944

Societies

Cumberland County Historical and Genealogical Society
Box 58216 Cumberland St.2
Greenup, Illinois 62428
Telephone Number: 217-923-9306
E-mail:historic@rr1.net
Website

Vital Records

Illinois Vital Records for more information. See also How to order Illinois Vital Records or order electronically online.

Marriages

• 1587-1959 - Illinois, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
• 1763-1900 Illinois Statewide Marriage Index
• 1790-1860 Illinois Marriages, 1790-1860 at Ancestry–($);Index, INCOMPLETE
• 1805-1985 Illinois, Church Marriages, 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — index
• 1810–1934 Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1833-1889 Illinois, Civil Marriages, 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — index
• To-1850 Illinois Marriages to 1850 at Ancestry–($);Index, INCOMPLETE
• 1851-1900 Illinois Marriages, 1851-1900 at Ancestry–($);Index, INCOMPLETE
• 1878-1888 State Board of Health returns of marriages FHL Book 977.373 V2c

Deaths

• 1850-1880 Illinois Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — index and images
• Pre-1916 Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916 (No data for Cumberland County as of Aug 2011.  Check back again as records are being added.)
• 1916-1947 Deaths and Stillbirths
• 1916-1950 Database of Illinois Death Certificates

Websites

Databases pertinent to Cumberland County

• Cumberland County, IL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Cumberland County IL Genealogy
• Illinois Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Illinois Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Local Governmental Records Database IRAD
• Name Index to Illinois Local Governments IRAD
• USGenWeb Project, Cumberland County, Illinois 
• Cumberland County, Illinois Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
• Genealogy Trails, Cumberland County, Illiniois