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Cass County, Illinois Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Virginia
Organized: 17 Apr 1837
Parent County(s): Morgan
Neighboring Counties
Brown • Mason • Menard • Morgan • Sangamon • Schuyler
See County Maps
Courthouse
Illinois, Cass County Courthouse.png
Location Map
Il-cass.png

Lewis Cass.jpg

County Information

Description

Cass County was named for Lewis Cass, a general in the War of 1812, Governor of the Michigan Territory, and United States Secretary of State in 1860. Cass was serving as Andrew Jackson's Secretary of War just before the county was named. The county was founded 1837 and its seat is Virginia.[1] It is located in the west-central area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse

Cass County Courthouse
100 E. Springfield St
Virginia, IL 62691
Phone: 217-452-7722
Cass County Courthouse

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

Cass County, Illinois Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[3]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1860 1837 1878 1837 1826 1837 1810
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started 1916. General compliance by 1922.

Record Loss

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

Boundary Changes

Populated Places

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]

Cities
Villages
Unincorporated communities
Townships
Ghost towns


History Timeline

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

  • The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Cass County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Cass County residents. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

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

Census Records

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1840 2,981 —
1850 7,253 143.3%
1860 11,325 56.1%
1870 11,580 2.3%
1880 14,493 25.2%
1890 15,963 10.1%
1900 17,222 7.9%
1910 17,372 0.9%
1920 17,896 3.0%
1930 16,537 −7.6%
1940 16,425 −0.7%
1950 15,097 −8.1%
1960 14,539 −3.7%
1970 14,219 −2.2%
1980 15,084 6.1%
1990 13,437 −10.9%
2000 13,695 1.9%
2010 13,642 −0.4%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Church Records

List of Churches and Church Parishes

Linkpendium has membership lists and other church-related records from various churches in Cass County, Illinois.

The Family History Library has selected records from a few churches in Cass County. To locate them, search the Library's catalog by "Place names" for the name of the a town, then select the topic "Church records."

Timeline of some churches in Cass County. History of Cass County, Illinois, ed. William Henry Perrin. Chicago, Illinois : O.L. Baskin, 1882. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

  • There were no church buildings built during the first few years of settlement in an area.
  • 1830 Richmond Precinct. First religious assemblies held.
  • 1830 Princeton. Zion Presbyterian Society
  • 1832 Clear Creek Church in Monroe Precinct. This church had ceased regular meetings by 1880.
  • 1832 Virginia City. Methodist Episcopal. Began as part of the Petersburg Circuit.
  • 1835 Prinston. Missionary Baptist Church which had passed away by 1880.
  • 1838 Princeton. Christian Church which had passed away by 1880.
  • 1838 Hickory precinct. Baptists
  • 1840 Virginia City. Catholics. They have had an organization in the city since 1840.
  • pre 1842 Virginia City. Protestant Methodists was the first Christian Church in City of Virginia, but it was extinct before 1880.
  • 1842 Virginia City. Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Formed from members of the Shiloh church.
  • 1848 Hickory Precinct. First Christian services held in the open.
  • 1848 Oregon Precinct. Methodist Episcopal, known as the Oregon Chapel.
  • pre 1852 Virginia Precinct. Bethlehem Methodistt Church.
  • 1857 Virginia Precinct. Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church which grew out of a congregation formed first in Morgan County in 1827 and later in Sangamon County. Early records were either lost or mislaid.
  • 1857 Ashland. Methodist Episcopal Church.
  • 1863 Virginia City. Presbyterian Church organized, though they built a building in 1857.
  • 1871 Ashland. Catholic Church.
  • 1875 Virginia City. Church of Christ.
Lutheran

Court Records

Original Court records are held in both offices of the Cass and Cass. The following abstracts and copies of original records may be accessed online or through the University of Illinois at Springfield - search for Cass County records. For information on how to use: IRAD :see the UIS IRAD Wiki page.


Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

African Americans

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

  • 1796 to 1907 "U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796 to 1907" Available at Ancestry ($) Records of Illinois are among the 13 states included in this set. It includes images of the land patents which contain the information necessary for ordering the complete case files from the National Archives. This appears to be the same information that is online at the Federal Land Office site https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx.
  • 1808-1922 Grantor and Grantee index FS Library film 1313132 Items 3-4 (first of 3 films)
  • 1823-1907 Original land tract sales FS Library film 1317758 Item 2
  • 1837-1940 Deed records FS Library film 1313135 (first of 32 films)
  • 1842-1842 Assessor's Books at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
  • 1850-1857 Swampland records FS Library film 1688526 Item 3
  • 1850-1868 Swamp Land Records at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
  • Federal Township Plats
  • BLM GLO Records. Search original land patents for Cass County from the Government Land Office (GLO) or Eastern States Office. Some searches include images of the original warrants. All search results include the patent details needed for requesting copies of the land entry files at the National Archives. The GLO is the custodian of millions of land title documents. The General Land Office Automated Records Project is responsible for making these important documents available to the public.
  • Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales. The Illinois State Archives has an online index to the records of Public land sales held by the State Archives. The indexes are by purchasers name and by legal description. This is a statewide collection with nearly 550,000 land sales fro 54740 square miles.
  • "Illinois Public Land Purchase Records" This record extract includes over 538,000 land sales from the 19th Century. Each entry includes the purchaser's name, purchase date, number of acres, price per acre, and in some cases the purchaser's sex and residence. Available at Ancestry ($)
  • Sheldon, Theodore. Land registration in Illinois. Chicago: Callaghan Co., 1901. Digital book. Explains the laws regarding land and the land systems used in Illinois. Includes court cases involving land issues. In addition to being on Ancestry, this book is available online at no cost at Internet Archives and Google Books.
  • Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

  • Biographical Review of Cass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois: Containing Biographical Sketches of Pioneers and Leading Citizens. Chicago: Biographical Review Pub. Co., 1892. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); Genealogy Trails; Internet Archive; USGenWeb (partial).
  • The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Cass County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Cass County residents. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.

Maps and Gazetteers

Schuyler CountyMason CountyMenard CountySangamon CountyMorgan CountyBrown CountyIL CASS.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

Civil War

Regiments. Civil War service men from Cass 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 Cass County.

- 3rd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company C
- 6th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company C
- 14th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A
- 19th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company F
- 33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company K
- 61st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company E.
- 114th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A, C, D, E, G, H, and I
- 145th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company G

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Obituaries

Other Records

Almshouse Records

Criminal and Punishments

Public Records

Periodicals

Probate Records

Online Probate Indexes and Records

School Records

Social Security Records

Tax Records

Vital Records

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth (1860) and death (1878) certificates are kept by the Cass 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 kept by the County Clerk from 1877 to the present. Original divorce records are generally in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk.

Copies of original records may be accessed through the FamilySearch Library and the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the Universtiy of Illinois–Springfield(UIS). Search Cass County records in the Local Governmental Records Holdings Database . For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD–UIS Wiki page.

Birth

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Cass County. For state-wide facilities, see Illinois Archives and Libraries.

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.

The University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) houses the records for Cass County. The link will help you find and use the records. There address is:

Illinois Regional Archives Depository
LIB144
University of Illinois at Springfield Region
One University Plaza, MS BRK 140
Springfield, Illinois 62703-5407
217-206-6520

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Cass County. For state-wide library facilities, see Illinois Archives and Libraries.

Prairie Skies Public Library District
125 West Editor Street
Ashland, IL 62612
Phone: 217-476-3417
Website
Beardstown Houston Memorial Library
13 Boulevard Road
Beardstown, IL 62618
Phone: 217-323-4204
Website
Virginia Memorial Public Library
100 North Main St
Virginia, IL 62691
Phone: 217-452-3846
Email: vmpl@casscomm.com
Website

Museums

Societies

Listed below are societies in Cass County. For state-wide genealogical and historical societies, see Illinois Societies.

The Society has a museum and holdings open to the public. You may find your family in their holdings.

Cass County Historical and Genealogical Society
109 S. Front St.
Virginia, Illinois 62691
217-452-7977
Email: cchgs@casscomm.com
Website

Websites

Research Guides

References

  1. ↑ Genealogy Trails History Group, “Cass County, Illinois Genealogy and History”, http://genealogytrails.com/ill/cass/ 4/11/2017.
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Cass County, Illinois" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_County,_Illinois 4/11/2017.
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Cass County, Illinois. Page 192-199 At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library 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.
  4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Cass County, Illinois," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_County,_Illinois, Last accessed 6 November 2019.
  5. ↑ Genealogical Society of Utah, Parish and Vital Records List (July 1998). Microfiche. Digital version at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/images/1/10/Igiillinoisac.pdf.
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