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Randolph 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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Randolph County was created on October 5, 1795 (By proclamation of Arthur St. Clair, St. Clair Papers, Vol. 2, p. 345.) and was formed from St. Clair County and Northwest Territory. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: St. Clair County —Northern section of Randolph County (1790–1803) and St. Clair County (1790–1795). The County was named for Edmund Randolph, a soldier of the Revolution, a lawyer and statesman, member of the Continental Congress, Attorney General and Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State of the United States and Attorney General under Washington. The County Seat is Chester . Prior County Seats was Kaskaskia (1795–1847) and Chester (1847-Present). See also County History for more historical details. Counties adjacent to Randolph County are St. Clair County (north), Washington County (northeast), Perry County (east), Jackson County (southeast), Perry County, Missouri (south), Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri (southwest), Monroe County (northwest). Randolph County has never adopted township form of government. The county has been divided into precincts. Randolph County Precincts include Baldwin, Blair, Bremen, Brewerville, Central, Chester, Coulterville, Ellis Grove, Evansville, Kaskaskia, Palestine, Percy, Prairie du Rocher, Red Bud, Rockwood, Ruma, Sparta, Steeleville, Tilden, Walsh, Wine Hill Precincts Cities, Towns and Communities include Baldwin, Chester, Coulterville, Ellis Grove, Evansville, Kaskaskia, Percy, Prairie du Rocher, Red Bud, Rockwood, Ruma, Sparta, Steeleville, Tilden
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The Official County website is located at http://www.randolphco.org/. All departments below at located at the Randolph County Courthouse, #1 Taylor Street, Chester, IL 62233 , unless a different address is listed below. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time. Randolph County Circuit Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1722 and Court Records from 1722 and is located at the address above. Phone Number: (618) 826-5000, ext. 194 Randolph County Recorder has Land Records from 1724 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (618)826-5000 Ext 191,
Fax: (618)826-3750,
Email: countyclerk@randolphco.org Randolph County Clerk has Birth / Death Records from 1877 and Marriage Records from 1724 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (618)826-5000 Ext 191,
Fax: (618)826-3750,
Email: countyclerk@randolphco.org
Below is a list of online resources for Randolph County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Randolph 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 Randolph County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Randolph County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
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Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Randolph 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 Randolph 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 Randolph County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Randolph 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 Randolph County Maps. Email us with websites containing Randolph 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 Randolph County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Randolph 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 Randolph County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Randolph 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 Randolph County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Randolph County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
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There are many churches and cemeteries in Randolph County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Randolph 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 Randolph County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Randolph 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 Randolph County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Randolph County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
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Randolph County's motto "Where Illinois Began" is symbolic of the role this area played in the settlement of our State. Historians often begin their discussions about early Illinois with brief mention of French Jesuit missionary Father (Pere) Jacques Marquette and his 1673 expedition down the Mississippi River with French-Canadian explorer Louis Jolliet. In fact, however, Randolph County's history begins around 8000 B.C. with prehistoric hunters seeking refuge under a rock formation now called the Modoc Rock Shelter. Early Indian tribes were still using this limestone bluff overhang for shelter as late as 1200 A.D. The Marquette & Jolliet expedition likely only set foot briefly on Randolph County soil; but, in 1686, Robert de LaSalle's Lieutenant Henri de Tonti scouted the Illinois Country for possible French trading post locations and visited the area where the Village of Kaskaskia eventually developed following its founding as a Jesuit mission in 1703 by Father Pierre-Gabriel Marest. The French fleur-de-lis flew over the area from the late 1600's until the British accepted control of "New France" at Fort de Chartres following the end of the French & Indian War in 1763. The British Union Jack then flew over the area until the Revolutionary War when Colonel George Rogers Clark and his "Long Knives" captured Kaskaskia and Fort Gage on July 4, 1778. (Prairie du Rocher and Cahokia surrendered soon thereafter) and proclaimed the Illinois Country to be part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Governor Patrick Henry appointed Colonel John Todd as County Lieutenant & Civil Commandant and named Kaskaskia as the seat of civil government. Virginia eventually ceded its frontier holdings to the Continental Congress which, in 1787, established the Northwest Territory with General Arthur St. Clair presiding as Governor at Marietta, Ohio. In 1790, Governor St. Clair proclaimed what is now downstate Illinois to be called St. Clair County with Cahokia sharing a role in civil government with Kaskaskia. On October 5, 1795, roughly the southern half of then St. Clair County became Randolph County with Kaskaskia remaining as the local seat of civil government. Randolph County took its name from noted Revolutionary War soldier and statesman, U.S. Attorney General Edmund Randolph, a former Governor of Virginia. In 1800 the area became part of the newly-created Indiana Territory with Governor Wm. Henry Harrison presiding at Vincennes. Then, in 1809, the Illinois Territory came into being with Governor Ninian Edwards presiding at Kaskaskia. Illinois was finally admitted to the Union as a sovereign State in 1818 with Shadrach Bond named as Governor and beloved Pierre Menard as Lieutenant Governor. Kaskaskia served as Illinois' first State Capital until 1820 when it was moved to Vandalia on the Kaskaskia River some 90 miles upstream. Kaskaskia continued as the Randolph County seat of government until the Flood of 1844 forced the County Seat to be relocated to Chester (Sparta also sought this designation!). In 1881 the Mississippi River broke through the "Narrows" and took over the Kaskaskia River channel leaving Kaskaskia as an "island" on the Missouri side of the River. By 1901 the last surviving vestiges of Illinois' first State Capital, including the State House Building, had collapsed into the mighty Mississippi. The former Randolph County Courthouse met a kinder fate as it was later dismantled "brick by brick" and rebuilt as a schoolhouse in "new" Kaskaskia near the Church of The Immaculate Conception. But the Indian curse supposedly placed on "old" Kaskaskia followed the relocated Village as it too was all but destroyed by more recent floods. Today, however, through diehard local efforts following the infamous Flood of 1993, visitors to Kaskaskia Island can see a restored Kaskaskia Bell Shrine ("The Liberty Bell of the West") and Church of The Immaculate Conception; and, off in the distance…that old brick schoolhouse! Randolph County is justly proud of its many historic sites associated with the French Colonial era, the Revolutionary War, early Illinois statehood, the German immigration movement, Mississippi River steamboat days, the coming of the railroads, the Underground Slave Railroad/Civil War era, coal mining in southern Illinois, and such historical "tidbits" as Chester native Elzie Segar creating Popeye in 1929 and Sparta serving as the film location for the 1967 Hollywood movie "In The Heat Of The Night". Combined with numerous scenic and outdoor recreation attractions and amenities,(World Shooting & Recreation Complex Arrived in 2006), these historic sites contribute much toward residents' overall quality of life and provide unlimited small business opportunities for entrepreneurs focused on tourism. Key industries in Randolph County include agriculture & agribusiness, including grain elevator & milling operations; coal mining & stone quarrying; food processing & packaging; foundry castings & fabricated metal products; industrial equipment & process systems; rubber & plastic parts; construction & building material products; transportation & distribution; communications & utilities; retail & wholesale trade; healthcare & related support services; professional & technical services; education & human services; and, governmental units & institutions, including state prison & mental health facilities. The manufacture of "hvac" equipment has disappeared from the local industrial scene, while commercial printing & related graphic services and wearable goods still maintain a limited presence though pale in comparison to past decades. Though much smaller in area (583 sq. mi.) than when created over 200 years ago, Randolph County's population has grown from 1,225 in 1800 to 33,893 in 2000 with occasional setbacks along the way. The County is represented by a 3-member Commission form of government and has 14 municipalities including Baldwin (village pop. 434); Chester (city pop. 8,378); Coulterville (village pop. 1,230): Ellis Grove (village pop. 381); Evansville (village pop. 724); Kaskaskia (village pop. 9); Percy (village pop. 942); Prairie du Rocher (village pop. 613); Red Bud (city pop. 3,422); Rockwood (village pop. 41); Ruma (village pop. 260); Sparta (city pop. 4,486); Steeleville (village pop. 2,077); and Tilden (village pop. 922). Randolph County is served by seven (7) schools districts (Chester, Coulterville, Prairie du Rocher, Red Bud, Sparta, Steeleville, and Trico), two (2) community college districts (SW IL College and John A. Logan College), three (3) local hospitals (Chester Memorial, Red Bud Regional, and Sparta Community Hospital) and a county wide ambulance and 9-1-1 system. Transportation elements include two (2) community airports (Sparta's "Hunter Field" and Perryville MO), two (2) railroads (Union Pacific and Canadian National/Illinois Central), two (2) navigable rivers with docking facilities (Mississippi and Kaskaskia Rivers), eight (8) two-lane State highways (Rts 3, 4, 13, 150, 153, 154, 155, and 159), and two (2) Mississippi River crossings (Chester Bridge and Ste. Genevieve-Modoc Ferry). Key utility providers include Ameren-IP, Egyptian Electric Co-op, Verizon Communications, Egyptian Telephone Co-op, Harrisonville Telephone Co., Egyptian Water Co. and several municipal operations. Economic development efforts focused on business and industry retention, expansion, attraction, creation and transition ("REACT") are spearheaded by the Randolph County Dept. of Economic Development under the direction of the Randolph County Progress Committee Inc. This countywide organization works in concert with the Kaskaskia Regional Port District (KRPD), Lower Kaskaskia Stakeholders Inc., Mid America Workforce Investment Board, Western Egyptian EOC, SW IL RC&D, (Mississippi) Delta Advisory Council/Delta Regional Authority, SW IL Planning Commission & Economic Development District, the Tourism Bureau of SW IL, Randolph County Tourism Committee, five (5) local Chambers of Commerce (Chester, Coulterville, Red Bud, Sparta, and Steeleville), and local communities interested in promoting their industrial parks and building space, tax increment financing "TIF" districts (Chester, Sparta and Steeleville), and ongoing downtown revitalization efforts. |
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