Stark County, Illinois Genealogy

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United States
Illinois
Stark County

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

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Stark County, Illinois
Map
Boundary map of Stark County, Illinois
Map of the U.S. highlighting Illinois
Location of Illinois in the U.S.
Facts
Founded: January 4, 1817
County Seat Toulon
Courthouse
Stark county courthouse.gif
Photo courtesy Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Illinois State Archives
Address Stark County Courthouse
130 West Main Street
Toulon, Illinois 61483
(309) 286-5911
Stark County Website


Stark County Organization

                                     Beginning Dates for Stark County Records
Birth Marriage Death Census Land Probate
1877
 1839
 1877
 1840
 1817
 1839

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

Historical Facts

John Stark
Stark County was named for John Stark who was an officer during the American Revolution and was known as the "Hero of Bennington" because of his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington.[1]

Parent County

  • 1839--Stark County was created 2 March 1839 from Knox and Putnam Counties. County seat: Toulon [2]

Description

The county was named for General Colonel John Stark,(August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822) who served in the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He became widely known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777. The county seat is Toulon and the county was organized on 1839. The County is located in the Northwest Central area of the state.[3]

Boundary Changes

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.

Records Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Neighboring Counties

Records and Resources

Biography

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Stark, Illinois online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
TombstoneTranscriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Illinois Cemeteries for more information

The following web sites have additional information on Stark county cemeteries.

  • Epodunk has a list of Stark County Cemeteries. The website provides name of cemetery, address and telephone number when available, Google Map with cemetery marker, and other helpful Internet links.

Census

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
190010,186
—
191010,098−0.9%
19209,693−4.0%
19309,184−5.3%
19408,881−3.3%
19508,721−1.8%
19608,152−6.5%
19707,510−7.9%
19807,389−1.6%
19906,534−11.6%
20006,332−3.1%
20105,994−5.3%
IL Counties 1900-1990

Church Records

Court Records

Ethnic Research

African American

The following have information concerning African American research.

Genealogy

History

Local Histories

  • Leeson, M. A. Documents and biography pertaining to the settlement and progress of Stark County, Illinois: containing an authentic summary of records, documents, historical works and newspapers relating to Indian history, original settlement, organization and politics, courts and bar, citizen soldiers, military societies, marriages, churches, schools, secret, benevolent and literary societies, etc.: together with biography of representative men of the past and present. Chicago: M.A. Leeson & Co., 1887. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
  • Stark County, Illinois and its people : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement. Chicago: Pioneer Pub. Co., 1916. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
  • Shallenberger, E. H. Stark County and Its Pioneers. Cambridge, Ill.: B.W. Seaton, Prairie Chief Office, book and job printer, 1989. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Land and Property

Original land records are held in the office of the County Clerk . See Illinois Land and Property for more information about using land records.

The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through online sources, the Family History Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Western Illinois University (WIU) - search for Stark County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the WIU IRAD Wiki page.

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Stark County land and property may be found online in the FamilySearch Catalog. Online microfilm are indicated by the camera icon in the catalog entry. Copies of books found in the FamilySearch Catalog may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the FamilySearch Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.


Online Resources

Maps

Ilstark.jpg

Military Records

Civil War

Civil War service men from Stark 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 Stark County.

- 7th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C.
- 19th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.
- 37th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.
- 65th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (Scotch Regiment), Companies A and I.
- 112th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B, E and F.
- 139th Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company H.
- 151st Regiment, Illinois Infantry (1 year, 1865), Company I.

Naturalization

Newspapers and Obituaries

Poorhouse

Probate Records

Online Probate Records


Original estates and wills are held in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk. See Illinois Probate Records for more information about using probate records.

The following copies of original records may be accessed through, the Family History Library.

1840–1911 Probate records (and index) FHL film 1401887 and 1401888 Items 1-3

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Stark County probates may be found in the Illinois, Stark – Probate topic page of the FamilySearch Catalog . Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be available for viewing at Family History Centers. Copies of books found in the FamilySearch Catalog may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the FamilySearch Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

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 Stark County are kept, see the Stark County Courthouse page.

Family History Center

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 in more than 80 countries offering public access to genealogical records from all over the world. Family History Centers provide patrons with access to over a billion online records and approximately 2.5 million circulating microfilms. Centers are staffed by local volunteers who are eager to provide genealogical research assistance. Currently there are no Family History Centers located directly in Stark County. To find the nearest Family History Center, check out the Family Search Centers page on the FamilySearch.org website.

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 Stark County.

Public Libraries

Ira C. Reed Public Library
302 Commercial Street
Lafayette, IL 61449
Tel: 309-995-3042
Emai: irclibrary@winco.net
Facebook

Toulon Public Library District
306 W. Jefferson Street
Toulon, IL 61483
Tel: 309-286-5791
Fax: 309-286-4481
Email: toulon.library@gmail.com
Facebook

Wyoming Public Library District
119 N. Seventh St.
Wyoming, IL 61491
Tel: 309-695-2241
Fax: 309-695-2241
Facebook

Social Groups Online

Societies

Stark County Genealogical Society
207 W. Main Street
Toulon, IL 61483-0083
E-mail:starkcogene@yahoo.com
Website

Stark County Historical Society
318 W. Jefferson Street
Toulon, IL 61483
Telephone Number: 309-286-7079

Taxation

Vital Records

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


Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded until the year 1916 are kept by the Stark County Clerk while those recorded after 1916 are kept by theIllinois Department of Public Health. with a copy to the County Clerk. Original marriage records are usually kept by the County Clerk from the establishment of the county to the present. Original divorce records are generally in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk.

The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed through online databases, the Family History Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Western Illinois University (WIU) - search for Stark County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

Births

Marriages

Online Resources

Deaths

Online Resources

Additional Resources

Additional resources for Stark births, marriages and deaths may be found in the Illinois, Stark – Vital Records topic page and the Illinois, Stark – Vital Records - Newspapers topic page of the FamilySearch Catalog . Online microfilm are indicated by the camera icon in the catalog entry. Copies of books found in the FamilySearch Catalog may be found in WorldCat catalog and ordered from your local library through interlibrary loan. Explore how to search the FamilySearch Catalog and the Worldcat Online Catalog.

Websites

References

  1. ↑ John Stark www.wikipedia.org
  2. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
  3. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Stark County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stark_County,_Illinois 04/20/2017.
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