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Cook County History and Information |
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County History |
Court Records |
Vital Records |
CENSUS Records |
TAX Records |
Military Records |
Church & Cemetery | Maps & Atlases | Genealogy Addresses | Genealogy Related Sites | |
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Cook County was created on January 15, 1831 (Laws, 1831, p. 54) and was formed from Putnam County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Putnam County (1825–1831), Fulton County (1823–1825), Pike County (1821–1823), Clark County (1819–1821), Crawford County (1816–1819), Edwards County (1815–1816), Madison County (1812–1815), St. Clair County (1801–1812) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1795–1801). The County was named for Daniel Pope Cook. In 1819, Cook was elected to Congress as the sole representative from Illinois. In Congress, Cook served on the committee on Public Lands and later on the Ways and Means Committee. He secured a grant of government lands to aid in the construction of the Illinois-Michigan Canal. In 1824, he had as sole congressman from Illinois cast the vote of the state for Adams, thus practically deciding the decision. Daniel Cook always suffered from poor health and died October 16, 1827, at the age of 33. Four years after his death, a county in Illinois was named in his honor. He probably never visited the area we call Cook County. The County Seat is Chicago (1831-Present). See also County History for more historical details. Counties adjacent to Cook County are Lake County (north), Berrien County, Michigan (east), Porter County, Indiana (southeast), Lake County, Indiana (southeast), Will County (south), DuPage County (west), Kane County (west), McHenry County (northwest). Cook County Townships include Barrington, Berwyn, Bloom, Bremen , Calumet (Formed as Hope on June 2, 1862; name changed on June 17, 1862), Cicero (Formed on June 4, 1860), Elk Grove, Evanston, Hanover, Lemont (Name changed from Palmyra in April, 1850), Leyden (Name changed from Monroe in April, 1850), Lyons, Maine, New Trier, Niles, Northfield, Norwood Park (Formed on February 3, 1873), Oak Park, Orland, Palatine, Palos (Name changed from Trenton in April, 1850), Proviso (Name changed from Taylor in April, 1850), Rich, River Forest, Riverside (Formed on September 24, 1870), Schaumburg, Stickney (Formed from Lyons on May 3, 1901), Thornton, Wheeling, Worth Townships Cities, Towns and Communities include Alsip, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Bedford Park, Bellwood, Berwyn, Blue Island, Bridgeview, Broadview, Brookfield, Burbank, Burnham, Burr Ridge, Calumet City, Calumet Park, Chicago, Chicago Heights, Cicero, Countryside, Crestwood, Des Plaines, Evanston, Flossmoor, Franklin Park, Glencoe, Glenview, Hanover Park, Harvey, Harwood Heights, Hazel Crest, Hickory Hills, Hillside, Hinsdale, Hoffman Estates, Homewood, Kenilworth, Lansing,
Lemont, Lincolnwood, Lyons, Markham, Matteson, Maywood, Melrose Park, Midlothian, Morton Grove, Mt. Prospect, Niles,
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The Official County website is located at http://www.co.cook.il.us . All departments below at located at the Cook County Courthouse, County Building, 118 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60602 , unless a different address is listed below. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time. Cook County Circuit Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1871 and Court Records from 1871 and is located at Archives Department,
Rm 1113,
Richard J. Daley Center,
Chicago, IL 60602; (312) 603-6601 or (312)
603-6628 Cook County Recorder has Land Records from 1871 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (312)
603-5050 Cook County Clerk has Birth / Death Records from 1871 and Marriage Records from 1856 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (312) 603-5656
Below is a list of online resources for Cook County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Cook County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Vital Records, 605 W. Jefferson St., Springfield, IL 62702-5097. It can take up to 6 weeks to get a vital record from Illinois. A number of resources are available for individuals doing genealogical research using vital records filed in the state of Illinois. Births and deaths before January 1, 1916 and marriages before January 1, 1962 are recorded only in the office of the county clerk where the event occurred. Most county clerks have indexes to the records that are prior to 1916 that are available for the purpose of genealogical research. These indexes generally provide the name, date and place of occurrence and are located in county courthouses located throughout the state. Although self-service access to the indexes is generally permitted, the law limits physical access to the individual records to the clerk's staff. When you locate a record from the index, it will be necessary for the clerk to pull the record for you once you have paid the appropriate search fee. Please check with the county clerk for fees and policies on reviewing indexes.
Below is a list of online resources for Cook County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Cook County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Cook County, Illinois are 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your Family Tree in Cook County, Illinois are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms. See Also Statewide Records that exist for Illinois Below is a list of online resources for Cook County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Cook County Census Records by clicking the link below: |
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Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states. You can view rotating animated maps for Illinois showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps Below is a list of online resources for Cook County Maps. Email us with websites containing Cook County Maps by clicking the link below: |
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The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design. Below is a list of online resources for Cook County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Cook County Military Records by clicking the link below:
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The first known tax authorization in Illinois fell under the jurisdiction of the Territory of the United States North West of the River Ohio. The tax was based on every hundred acres of unimproved uncleared prairie or wood land, divided into three classes based on quality of earth surface and soil. The rates were thirty, twenty, and ten cents, to be paid annually. Property with delinquent taxes was sold at public auction. There do not appear to be any surviving tax records from this territorial period. Beginning with statehood, tax records form a large part of county archival material. The 1819 laws provided the first taxation process, imposing taxes on land, bank stock owned, slaves and indentured negroes or mulattoes, plus a poor tax. The tax was collected by the county with income divided between the county and state. Taxpayers lists were eliminated in 1824, and in 1825 a county road tax and school taxes were enacted. Original and microfilmed tax records at Illinois Regional Archives Depositories include taxable land lists, assessors books, railroad tax books, road tax records, and collectors books, the earliest record dated 1817. Other county tax records are located in county seats. Below is a list of online resources for Cook County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Cook County Tax Records by clicking the link below: |
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The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over. Below is a list of online resources for Cook County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Cook County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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There are many churches and cemeteries in Cook County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Cook County Tombstone Transcription Project. Despite the early Catholic missionaries in Illinois, their church had almost totally disappeared from the state by the time of the American Revolution. Later migration of English-speaking Catholics reestablished the church in the state. In 1850 the largest religious denomination in Illinois was the Methodists. Baptists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Congregationalists followed. Episcopalians had organized in the state in 1835, the Disciples of Christ were in Illinois prior to 1830, and the Lutherans grew in numbers with the German and Scandinavian emigration of the 1840s. The Genealogical Society of Utah and the Daughters of the American Revolution have compiled cemetery records for the state of Illinois. Soldiers' Burial Places in State of Illinois for Wars 1774-1898 is available on thirty-one reels of microfilm from the FHL. Local genealogical societies may have information and possible printed records of cemeteries in their locale. Below is a list of online resources for Cook County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Cook County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
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When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Cook County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Cook County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
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When Cook County was organized in 1831 with approximately 100 residents in 2,464 square miles, it encompassed much of what is today Lake, DuPage, Will, McHenry, and Cookcounties. Because of population growth in northeastern Illinois in the 1830s, Cook County lost over half its territory, but continued to increase in population. By 1839, it comprised 954 square miles and followed its current irregular boundaries. It had expanded to a population of over four thousand. Although Daniel Pope Cook is the namesake of the county, there is no evidence that he ever visited the area. Cook served as the first Illinois attorney general and the second U.S. congressman from Illinois.
During the 1830s and 1840s, farmers purchased most of the available land in the county and began raising crops and livestock. Without railroads, some farmers hauled their harvest to Chicago, but others went to closer, smaller settlements. By 1840, Wheeling, Gross Point (now Wilmette), Lyons, Summit, Brighton, Willow Springs, Calumet, Blue Island, and Thornton were thriving settlements. Most were agricultural centers, serving the farmers in their vicinity with small stores, churches, and schools.
Between 1860 and 1890, the area of contiguous urban settlement grew substantially. By 1870, the Cook County Board was an unwieldy group of more than 50 town supervisors. Although over 85 percent of the population of the county resided within the city of Chicago, fewer than half of the board representatives were from the city. To remedy this problem, the state changed the organization of the board. The new 15-member board had 10 representatives elected from Chicago. After the 1889 annexation, which shifted more than 225,000 county residents to within the city and expanded the city's physical size from 43 to 169 square miles, over 90 percent of the county's population lived within the city. The railroad (and increasingly street railways) allowed Chicagoans to live and work in noncontiguous suburban areas. While farming in Cook County did not disappear, outlying growth by 1900 was decidedly suburban. The initial development and extension of the Elevated fostered the rise of population centers at Oak Park, Evanston, Uptown, and Hyde Park.
Many of the farms on Chicago's Far Northwest and Southwest Sides disappeared in the face of the speculative building boom of the 1920s. Industrial and residential developers began to work on suburban farmland convenient to bus, truck, and automobile traffic. By 1940, the proportion of the county's population living within Chicago had dropped to 83 percent. After 1945, with the availability of FHA and VA insured loans, new expressways, and the move of many businesses to suburban locations, suburban population in the county burgeoned. Skokie and Oak Lawn were among the most quickly growing suburbs during the 1950s and 1960s, with thousands of single-family houses built in each. The 1970s and 1980s saw the development of most of the remaining farmland in the county. By then, contiguous urban growth had engulfed both the remaining farms and the suburban residential and industrial areas that had once been distinct from the city center. No further annexation by the city took place, however, and by 1990 the city comprised only 55 percent of the county's population. |
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