Christian County, Illinois Genealogy
Guide to Christian County, Illinois ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
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County Information
Description
Christian County was named for Christian County, Kentucky and is located in the central area of the state. It was founded 1839 and its county seat is Taylorville.[1]
County Courthouse
Christian County Courthouse
101 S Main St
Taylorville, IL 62568
Phone: 217-824-4966
Christian County Website
County records are most often kept at the County Courthouse or another local repository. For further information about where the records for Christian County are kept, see the Christian County Courthouse page.
Christian 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.
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1878 | 1840 | 1878 | 1875 | 1828 | 1875 | 1810 |
Record Loss
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There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county. |
Boundary Changes
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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:[3]
| Cities | ||
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| Villages | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
| Townships | ||
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
History Timeline
Resources
Bible Records
Biographies
The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois has a Christian County edition. This includes a state history section along with a county history and biographies of Christian County residents. See the wiki article for links to available copies and indexes.
Business, Commerce, and Occupations
- 1881-1896 Agricultural Statistic Schedules at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
Cemeteries
Census Records
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1840 | 1,878 | — |
| 1850 | 3,203 | 70.6% |
| 1860 | 10,492 | 227.6% |
| 1870 | 20,363 | 94.1% |
| 1880 | 28,227 | 38.6% |
| 1890 | 30,531 | 8.2% |
| 1900 | 32,790 | 7.4% |
| 1910 | 34,594 | 5.5% |
| 1920 | 38,458 | 11.2% |
| 1930 | 37,538 | −2.4% |
| 1940 | 38,564 | 2.7% |
| 1950 | 38,816 | 0.7% |
| 1960 | 37,207 | −4.1% |
| 1970 | 35,948 | −3.4% |
| 1980 | 36,446 | 1.4% |
| 1990 | 34,418 | −5.6% |
| 2000 | 35,372 | 2.8% |
| 2010 | 34,800 | −1.6% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
Church Records
Illinois' GenWeb for Christian County has a list of churches in the county as they appear in the telephone directory. They are listed by denomination with addresses and telephone numbers.
The FamilySearch Library has very few church records, and they represent different denomination. The Library's church records are found on the town, not the county, level.
Timeline of major denominations in Christian County:[4]
- 1842 Christian Church. The first preacher may have been W.P. Bowles who was invited to preach by a Baptist minister.
- 1846 Roman Catholic Church organized in Taylorsville, the first town organized in the County
- 1848 Baptist Church
- 1852 United Presbyterian Church began with meetings of the Associate Reform Church
- 1855 Methodist Episcopal Church
- 1856 Presbyterian Church first organized in Pana
- 1856 Congregational Church
Methodist
- 1887-1895 Methodist Episcopal Church, Stonington, Marriage Index 1887-1895 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch M730571 .[5]
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court Records
Online Court Indexes and Records
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 Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the University of Illinois at Springfield - search for Christian County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the UIS IRAD Wiki page.
- 1868-1979 Jail Registers IRAD-UIS
Directories
- 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary
Emigration and Immigration
Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups
African Americans
- African American Research (US) has more information about the kinds of records
- Illinois African-American Resource Guide by the Illinois State Archives describes what records are at the State Archives with an online method for ordering records.
- African-American Resources for Illinois
Funeral Homes
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Genealogies
Guardianship
Land and Property Records
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 online, through the FamilySearch Library or the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) located at the University of Illinois at Springfield - search for Christian County records. For information on how to use IRAD see the UIS IRAD Wiki page.
Land Indexes and Records
- 1828-1847 Quit claim deed, 1868-1890, and land patent record, 1828-1847 at FamilySearch Catalog
- 1839-1886 Deeds, 1839-1914; index, 1839-1886 Grantor and grantee indexes first 5 listings, Deeds are the rest, at FamilySearch Catalog
- 1839-1968 Deed and Plat Records and Index at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
- 1852-1866 Swamp land records, 1852-1866 at FamilySearch Catalog
- BLM GLO Records. Search original land patents for Christian 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 GLOis 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.com ($)
- "U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796 to 1907" Available at ancestry.com ($) 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 BLM GLO Records.
- 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
Maps and Gazetteers
for more resources
- Maps of Illinois (1788-1940)
- FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
Migration
Military Records
- 1919-1965 Military Discharge Records at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
Civil War
Regiments. Civil War service men from Christian 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 Christian County.
- - 3rd Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company M.
- - 10th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry, Company L.
- - 14th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.
- - 33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
- - 35th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company B.
- - 41st Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies G and I.
- - 54th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company A.
- - 115th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies A and E.
- - 116th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Companies G and H.
- - 130th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company D.
- - 143rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry (100 days, 1864), Company C.
- - 145th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, Company H.
Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records
- 1800-1998 Illinois, County Naturalization Records, 1800-1998 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
- 1856-1991 Illinois, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
Newspapers
- 1800s-Current Illinois, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and EventsIndex, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- 1800s-1999 U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-1999 at Ancestry - index ($)
Obituaries
- 1831-Onward Illinois Obituaries at MyHeritage — index ($)
Other Records
Criminal and Punishments
- 1868-1979 Jail Registers at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
Public Records
- 1853-1962 Surveyor's Records at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
- 1861-1983 City Records at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
- 1896-1966 Election Papers at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
Periodicals
Probate Records
Original probate records are held by the Christian. Probate records include wills, inventories, settlements, and guardianship records. For more information see the wiki page Illinois Probate Records. No probate records are held at IRAD for Christian County. Explore how to search IRAD–UIS.
Online Probate Indexes and Records
- 1772-1999 Illinois Wills and Probate Records 1772-1999 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
- 1819-1988 Illinois Probate Records 1819-1988 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; images
- 1839-1919 Probate records, 1839-1919 at FamilySearch Catalog
- 1839-1886 Probate journal, 1839-1886 at FamilySearch Catalog
- Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search
School Records
- 1910-1970 School Annual and Financial Reports at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
Social Security Records
- 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
- 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
- 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
Tax Records
Vital Records
Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Original birth and death certificates recorded since 1877 are kept by the Christian 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 Christian County records in the Local Governmental Records Holdings Database . For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD–UIS Wiki page.
Explore Christian County vital records found in the FamilySearch Catalog.
Birth
- 1877-1925 Birth Records and Index at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
Marriage
- 1587-1959 Illinois, United States Marriages at Findmypast ($) — index
- 1763-1900 Marriages Courtesy of Genealogy Trails.
- 1805-1985 Illinois, Church Marriages, 1805-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index
- 1810-1940 Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
- 1831-1902 Statewide Marriage Index search for Christian County records.
- 1833-1889 Illinois, Civil Marriages, 1833-1889 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
- 1839-1850 Illinois Marriages 1790 to 1860. Search for Christian county records.Ancestry ($). The source of this collection is films in the FamilySearch Library's collection
- 1839-1921 Marriage Records IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Christian County records. FS Library Film 987611 (first of 4 films)
- 1839-1924 Marriage Records and Index at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
- 1840-1908 Marriage Index. Dates are approximate.Record Collection 1803970
- 1851-1900 Illinois Marriages 1851 to 1900. Search for Christian county records.Ancestry ($)The source of this collection is films in the FamilySearch Library's collection
- 1855-1866 Miscellaneous Marriages at USGenWeb.
- 1866-1924 Marriage records index IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Christian County records. FS Library Film 987610
Death
- 1749-1999 Illinois Deaths and Burials, 1749-1999 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
- 1850-1880 Illinois Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; Index and images
- 1870-1934 Coroner's Inquest Records at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
- 1878-1917 Death records, 1878-1917; index, 1878-1927 at FamilySearch Catalog
- 1877-1931 Death Records and Index at IRAD-UIS - images; physical holdings not online, copies can be requested, List of records available
- 1878-1927 Death Records Index Death records, 1878-1917; index, 1878-1927 at FamilySearch Catalog
- 1913-1915 Death records, coroners IRAD-UIS. How to Use IRAD search for Christian County records. FS Library Film 987609 Item 3
- 1916-1950 Death Records at Genealogy Trails.
- 1916-1950 Illinois Deaths, 1916-1950 at MyHeritage - index ($)
- 1916-1972 Statewide Death Index
Divorce
Research Facilities
Archives
Listed below are archives in Christian County. For state-wide facilities, see Illinois Archives and Libraries.
Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD)
The Archives hold many records for Greene County. For information on how to use IRAD see the IRAD Wiki page
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
- Decatur Illinois FamilySearch Center
- Litchfield Illinois FamilySearch Center
- Springfield Illinois FamilySearch Center
- Chatham Area Public Library - an affiliate library
Libraries
Listed below are libraries in Christian County. For state-wide library facilities, see Illinois Archives and Libraries.
Assumption Public Library District
205 North Oak Street
Assumption, IL 62510
Phone: (217) 226-3915
Website
Kitchell Memorial Library
300 Se 5th Street
Morrisonville, IL 62546
Phone: (217) 526-4553
Carnegie-Schuyler Library
303 East Second Street
Pana, IL 62557
Phone: (217) 562-2326
Taylorville Public Library
121 West Vine Street
Taylorville, IL 62568
Phone: (217) 824-4736
Website
Taylorsville Library has a small genealogy room with materials that are not cataloged.
Museums
Societies
Listed below are societies in Christian County. For state-wide genealogical and historical societies, see Illinois Societies.
Christian County Genealogy Society
PO Box 28
325 Abe's Way
Taylorville, Illinois 62568-0028
Phone 217-824-6922
Email:ccgs28@gmail.com
Website
Christian County Historical Society and Museum
PO Box 254
325 Abe's Way
Taylorville, IL 62568-0028
Phone 217-824-6922
Email:cchs254@gmail.com
Website
Websites
- Christian County IL ldsgenealogy
- USGenWeb Christian County, IL
- Christian County, IL Linkpendium
- FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection. Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.
Research Guides
References
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Christian County, Illinois" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_County,_Illinois 4/11/2017.
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Christian 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.
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Christian County, Illinois," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_County,_Illinois, Last accessed 20 November 2019.
- ↑ Illinois Sesquicentennial Edition of Christian County History; ed. Dorthy D. Drennan et.al. Jacksonville, Illinois: Production Press, 1968 FS Catalog book 977.381 H2i
- ↑ 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.