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Hardin County, Illinois Genealogy

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

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Hardin County, Illinois
Map
Boundary map of Hardin County, Illinois
Map of the U.S. highlighting Illinois
Location of Illinois in the U.S.
Facts
Founded: March 2, 1839
County Seat Elizabethtown
Courthouse
Hardin County Courthouse.gif
Photo courtesy Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Illinois State Archives
Address P.O. Box 187
Elizabethtown, Illinois 62931
618-287-2251


Hardin County Organization[edit | edit source]

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records[1]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1884 1884 1884 1970 1884 1970 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 Hardin County are kept, see the Hardin County Courthouse page.

Historical Facts[edit | edit source]

Large numbers of Kentuckians settled in frontier Hardin County, Illinois. Names of the county (Hardin) and the county seat (Elizabethtown) are reminiscent of Hardin County, Kentucky - the previous residence of many pioneer settlers.[2]

Description[edit | edit source]

The county was named for Colonel John Hardin, an officer in the Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. Hardin was murdered by Shawnee Indians while he was on a peace mission in 1792 for President George Washington. The county seat is Elizabethtown and the county was organized on 1839. The County is located in the Southeast part of the state.[3]

Parent County[edit | edit source]

  • 1839--Hardin County was created 2 March 1839from Pope County. County seat:Elizabethtown [4]

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

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]

1884 A fire burned the courthouse on 19 May and most records were lost.

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


Records and Resources[edit | edit source]

Biography[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Hardin, 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 Hardin county cemeteries.

Census[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
19007,448
—
19107,015−5.8%
19207,5337.4%
19306,955−7.7%
19407,75911.6%
19507,530−3.0%
19605,879−21.9%
19704,914−16.4%
19805,3839.5%
19905,189−3.6%
20004,800−7.5%
IL Counties 1900-1990

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

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Catholic[edit | edit source]

FamilySearch has made parish records from a Belleville Diocese Catholic church in Hardin County available online. The records include first communions, confirmations, marriages, and deaths:

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

Ethic Research[edit | edit source]

African American[edit | edit source]

The following have information concerning African American research.

Genealogy[edit | edit source]

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

Online Resources

Maps[edit | edit source]

Saline CountyGallatin CountyPope CountyUnion CountyCrittenden CountyLivingston CountyKentuckyIL HARDIN.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Military Records[edit | edit source]

  • Civil War
    Civil War service men from Hardin 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 Hardin County.
- 29th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A and Company B.
- 131st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies B, D, and F.

Naturalization[edit | edit source]

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

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

Online Records

Newspapers and Obituaries[edit | edit source]

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:[5]

Cities
Villages
Unincorporated communities
Townships


Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

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 or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Hardin County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

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 Hardin County are kept, see the Hardin 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.

Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)[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. Southern Illinois University houses the records for Hardin County.

Public Libraries[edit | edit source]

Rosiclare Memorial Public Library
Main Street
Rosiclare, IL 62982
(618)285-6213

http://www.rosiclarelibrary.org/


Social Groups Online[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

Genealogical Society of Southern Illinois has a page with details about its' activities.

Taxation[edit | edit source]

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

See Gotoarrow.png 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 Hardin County Clerk while those recorded after 1916 are kept by the Illinois 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 Southern Illinois University (SIU) - search for Hardin County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page.

General[edit | edit source]

Births[edit | edit source]

Abstracts of Birth Records

Copies of Birth Records

Marriages[edit | edit source]

Online Resources

Abstracts of Marriage Records

  • 1873–1914 Ferrell, Ed. Abstracts from Hardin County newspapers, 1873–1914: to reconstruct records lost in fire of 1884: Illinois State Historical Library microfilms. Juneau, AK: E. Ferrell, 1988. WorldCat 27668273; FHL film 1320702 Item 11
  • 1884–1891 Lee, Judy Foreman and Carolyn Cromeenes Foss. Hardin County, Illinois marriage register 1 May 1884–December 1891, volume I with annotations plus earlier marriage dates gleaned from other sources. Evansville, Indiana: Evansville Bindery, 1996. WorldCat 35451894FHL book 977.398 V2L

Copies of Marriage Records

Deaths[edit | edit source]

Online Resources

Abstracts of Death Records

  • 1884–1919 Reynolds, Marion Lavender. Hardin County, Illinois deaths, 1884–1919, and notes from the Pleasant Hill church register. Harrisburg, Illinois: M.L. Reynolds, c1995. WorldCat 34435115 FHL book 977.398 V2r

Copies of Death Records

Websites[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Hardin 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. ↑ Hardin County Fact Sheet, Illinois State Archives, accessed May 28, 2011.
  3. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Hardin County," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardin_County,_Illinois 04/013/2017.
  4. ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, UT: Everton Publishers, 2002), 194. (FHL Collection Ref Book 973 D27e 2002). WorldCat entry.
  5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Hardin County, Illinois," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardin_County,_Illinois, Last accessed 7 January 2020.
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