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Calhoun County, Illinois Genealogy

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

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Calhoun County, Illinois
Map
Map of Illinois highlighting Calhoun County
Location in the state of Illinois
Map of the U.S. highlighting Illinois
Location of Illinois in the U.S.
Facts
Founded: January 10, 1825
County Seat Hardin
Courthouse
Calhoun County Courthouse.gif
Photo courtesy Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Illinois State Archives
Address Calhoun County Courthouse
Main Street
Hardin, Illinois 62047
(618) 576-2351


Calhoun County Organization[edit | edit source]

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records[1]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1877 1825 1877 1825 1825 1833 1810
Statewide registration for births and deaths started 1916. General compliance by 1922.

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

Historical Facts[edit | edit source]

John C Calhoun.jpg

Calhoun County is named for John C. Calhoun who served in politics and became Vice-President of the United States.

Description[edit | edit source]

The county was named for Vice President John C. Calhoun. The County Seat is Hardin and was founded 1825. It is located in the West-Central area of the state.[2]

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

  • 10 January 1825: Calhoun County was created from Pike [3]

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[edit | edit source]

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

Places and Localities[edit | edit source]

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[4]

Villages
Unincorporated communities


Records and Resources[edit | edit source]

Biography[edit | edit source]


  • Portrait and Biographical Album of Pike and Calhoun Counties, Illinois: Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County, Together with Portraits and Biographies of All the Presidents of the United States, and Governors of the State. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1891. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Internet Archive FHL film 825598


  • Portrait Biographical Album of Pike and Calhoun Counties, Illinois. Chicago, IL, USA: Biographical Publishing, 1891. Digital version at Ancestry ($). Reprint 19823 with index FHL Book 977.3 D3p, fiche 6088665

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Bureau, 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
  • Epodunk has a list of Calhoun 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[edit | edit source]

Federal[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
19008,917
—
19108,610−3.4%
19208,245−4.2%
19308,034−2.6%
19408,2072.2%
19506,898−15.9%
19605,933−14.0%
19705,675−4.3%
19805,8673.4%
19905,322−9.3%
20005,084−4.5%
Est. 20075,1671.6%
IL Counties 1900-1990

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

State[edit | edit source]

1840 Pensioners[edit | edit source]

  • A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C., 1841. FHL 973 X2pc 1840; FHL 2321; digital version at Google Books. [See Illinois, Calhoun County on page 186.]

Church History and Records[edit | edit source]

Court Records[edit | edit source]

Original court records are held in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk. See Illinois Court Records for more information about using court records.

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

Directories[edit | edit source]

Ethnic Research[edit | edit source]

African American[edit | edit source]

The following have information concerning African American research.

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

Mailing Lists[edit | edit source]

Message Boards[edit | edit source]

Land and Property[edit | edit source]

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 Calhoun County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the WIU IRAD Wiki page.

Copies of original records

Online Resources

Maps[edit | edit source]

Pike CountyGreene CountyJersey CountySt. Charles CountyLincoln CountyPike CountyIL CALHOUN.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Military History and Records[edit | edit source]

Civil War[edit | edit source]

Civil War service men from Calhoun 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 Calhoun County.

- 97th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company C.
  • Genealogy Trails. (Civil War) Military Data for Calhoun County. (accessed 31 May 2011)

Names, Personal[edit | edit source]

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Original naturalization records are held in the office of the County Clerk. See Illinois Naturalization Records for more information about using naturalization records.

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

  • 1849–1897 Naturalization record, finalIRAD–WIU
  • 1859–1924 Naturalization declarations of intent IRAD–WIU
  • 1866–1902 Naturalization declarations of intent IRAD–WIU
  • 1867–1906 Naturalization record of minors IRAD–WIU
  • 1868–1902 Naturalization record, final IRAD–WIU
  • 1903–1926 Naturalization record IRAD–WIU
  • 1911–1926 Naturalization petition record IRAD–WIU

Online Records

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Postal and Shipping Guides[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

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.

Online Probate Records

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

Online Resources

  • 1829–1916 Some estate records, probate records, and wills for Calhoun County probate records are also available in Illinois, Probate Records, 1819-1970. Click on the browse through images link, select Calhoun County, and select the record type you are interested in.
  • SAMPUBCO - Index of testators of wills.
  • Calhoun County Wills found at USGenWeb Archives Illinois.

Copies of original records

Public Records[edit | edit source]

Repositories[edit | edit source]

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

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

Family History Center[edit | edit source]

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.

  • For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map 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 Calhoun 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-WIU)[edit | edit source]

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 Calhoun County.

Public Libraries[edit | edit source]

South County Public Library District
Main Street P.O. Box 93
Brussels, IL 62013
Tel: 618-883-2522

Schools[edit | edit source]

Social Groups Online[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

Calhoun County Historical Society
PO Box 46
204 North County Road
Hardin, IL 62047-0327
Telephone Number: 618-576-2660
E-mail:calhounhistoricalsociety@yahoo.com
Website

The Calhoun Historical Society is located on the second floor of the Farm Bureau building.

Pike-Calhoun County Genealogical Society
305 W. Quincy
PO Box 104
Pleasant Hill IL 62366-0104
Telephone Number: 217-734-2712

Taxation[edit | edit source]

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

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 Calhoun 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 Calhoun County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

Births[edit | edit source]

Copies of Original Birth Records

Marriages[edit | edit source]

Abstracts of Marriage Records

Copies of original Marriage Records

Online Resources

Deaths[edit | edit source]

Copies of original Death Records

Online Resources

Additional Resources[edit | edit source]

Additional resources for Calhoun births, marriages and deaths may be found in the Illinois, Calhoun – Vital Records topic page of the FamilySearch Catalog . Copies of records on FHL microfilm and microfiche can be ordered 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.

Websites[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Calhoun County, Illinois. Page 192-199 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 194-197.
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Calhoun County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calhoun_County,_Illinois 4/11/2017.
  3. ↑ WorldCat 50140092, FHL Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed.] (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002)
  4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Calhoun County, Illinois," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calhoun_County,_Illinois, Last accessed 21 October 2019.
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