Menard County was created on February 15, 1839 (Laws, 1839, p. 104) and was formed from Sangamon County . Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: County Sangamon County (1821–1839), Bond County (1817–1821), Madison County (1812–1821) and St. Clair County (1790–1812).
The County was named for Pierre Menard, a pioneer Indian trader, Colonel of the Territorial militia, and first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. The County Seat is Petersburg (1839-Present). See also County History for more historical details.
Menard County has never adopted township form of government. The county has been divided into precincts. Menard County Precincts include Athens North No. 2, Athens South No. 1, Atterberry No. 10, Fancy Prairie No. 3, Greenview No. 6, Indian Creek No. 7, Irish Grove No. 4, Oakford No. 9, Petersburg East No. 13, Petersburg North No. 14, Petersburg South No. 15, Petersburg West No. 16, Rock Creek No. 12, Sandridge No. 8, Sugar Grove No. 5, Tallula No. 11 Precinct
Cities, Towns and Communities include Athens, Greenview, Oakford, Petersburg, Tallula
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
The Official County website is located at N/A . All departments below at located at the Menard County Courthouse, P.O. Box 465, Petersburg, IL 62675 , unless a different address is listed below. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Menard County Circuit Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1839 and Court Records from 1839 and is located at the address above. Phone Number: (217)
632-2615 The Clerk of the Circuit Court, commonly known as the Circuit Clerk, is the keeper of the files and records of the Circuit Court. The Circuit Clerk works at the direction of Circuit Court, Appellate Court and Supreme Court of Illinois and is mandated to follow and enforce the laws of the State of Illinois. The Circuit Clerk's Office processes all documents in criminal law, chancery, support, probate, adoption, juvenile, drainage, local improvement, mental, small claims, traffic, ordinance violations, prepares appeals to the higher court, issues passports, summons jurors, tax deeds and handles approximately ten million dollars in costs, fines, restitution, investments and support each year. The Office also issues summonses, writs, attachments, subpoenas and all other tasks as mandated by the courts.
Menard County Recorder has Land Records from 1821 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (217)
632-3201 The County Recorder of Deeds serves the people of County by receiving, filing and maintaining all records related to real property in our county. These documents range from all types of conveyance deeds, mortgages, releases and assignments, property liens, as well as, assorted federal, state and local liens. The Recorder’s office is responsible for the recordation and storage of plats of subdivision, land surveys and monument records. Many other types of miscellaneous documents are recorded, such as; foreign birth certificates, foreign marriage licenses, and military discharge paperwork to name a few.
Menard County Clerk has Birth / Death Records from 1877 and Marriage Records from 1839 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (217) 632-3201
or 632-2415 The County Clerk maintains records and issues certificates of vital statistics (birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage certificates) for the entire County.
Below is a list of online resources for Menard County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Menard County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Illinois Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Illinois Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
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.
Birth, Death Certificates:
The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains birth, death and marriage records that occur in Illinois from 1916 to the present.
Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $17.00 (long) or
$10.00 (uncertified) per certificate by mail.
Make your check or money order payable to "Illinois Department of Public Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. The cost of each record includes a ten-year search if the exact date or place of event is not known. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
In Person:
In-person orders can be dropped off for mail out within two business days at the Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Vital Records office, 605 W. Jefferson St., Springfield, on Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays. (Large volume orders may take longer.) PLEASE NOTE: the person requesting the record will be asked to show a valid picture identification card.
Marriage & Divorce Certificates: The Division of Vital Records also maintains an index of marriages & divorces from 1962 to the present. Copies of the marriage & divorce records are available from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the marriage license was obtained or divorce was granted. Fees vary.
Cost: $5.00. Make your check or money order payable to "Illinois Department of Public Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. The cost of each record includes a ten-year search if the exact date or place of event is not known. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $5.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Below is a list of online resources for Menard County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Menard County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Illinois newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Click Here to Search Illinois Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Below is a list of online resources for Menard County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Menard County Census Records by clicking the link below:
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
You can view rotating animated maps for Illinois showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries.
Below is a list of online resources for Menard County Maps. Email us with websites containing Menard County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Illinois Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
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 Menard County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Menard County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Illinois (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
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 Menard County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Menard County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
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 Menard County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Menard County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Illinois Regional Archives Depository, University of Illinois at Springfield, LIB 144, One University Plaza, MS BRK 140, Springfield IL 62703-5407; Telephone: (217) 206-6520. Map and Directions. Covers the following counties: Bond, Cass, Christian, Fayette, Greene, Jersey, Macon, Macoupin, Mason, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Sangamon and Scott. Hours: Monday – Friday, except state holidays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Illinois State Library, 300 South 2nd Street, Springfield, IL 62701-1796; Phone: (217) 785-5600
Illinois
State Historical Library, Old State Capitol, Springfield, IL 62701 County histories, plat books, census indexes, cemetery indexes, city material,
family and association files, microfilmed newspapers, manuscripts, and photographs
are located beneath the restored old state capitol between 5th and 6th streets
and Washington and Adams streets.
Illinois Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Illinois Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
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.
Below is a list of online resources for Menard County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Menard County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Illinois obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Illinois newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Illinois.
Click Here to Search Illinois Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
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 Menard County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Menard County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Illinois Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Menard County has a vast, diverse, and rich history, more so than can be recreated or presented here. For more information on Menard County history, please contact the organizations and town officials listed below. Some of the more unique and perhaps well-known facets of local history have been captured and encapsulated below.
Abraham Lincoln, before moving to Springfield, lived in the village of New Salem, currently Lincoln’s New Salem Historic site, from 1831-1837. Abraham Lincoln stopped in Athens during his trips to Springfield, this route was the shortest. Going through Athens was the shortest route for him to travel. While in the legislature, Mr. Lincoln worked to establish the boundary lines that have separated Menard and Sangamon counties since 1839.
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site: This site is located 2 miles south of Petersburg on Route 97. The park is open all year round except for major winter holidays. The site offers an 1830's style reconstructed log village. Abraham Lincoln lived here for 6 years. There are a wide variety of special programs. These range for a Quilt Show, candlelight tour, Summer Fest and lecture series and workshops. All events are open to the public. From mid-June to late August, there is an outdoor theater.
Lincoln's New Salem State Park is located 2 miles south of Petersburg on route 97. For additional information call area code 217-632-4000.
ATHENS: The area was settled in 1819 and by 1822 Athens had a store, blacksmith shop, and a tavern. It became a city in 1831 and is the oldest city in Menard County. The Abraham Lincoln Long Nine Museum is located at 200 S. Main Street in Athens, Illinois.
Abraham Lincoln’s Long Nine Museum: In 1832, only 14 years after Illinois won statehood, Colonel Matthew Rogers built a general store in Athens and moved the town post office from his home, to the northeast corner of the ground floor. The upstairs was used as a community room for meetings and banquets.
Abraham Lincoln and eight other Illinois legislators had won the General Assembly’s approval to move the state capitol from Vandalia to Springfield. These nine men were called the “Long Nine” because they averaged six feet in height. On August 3, 1837 the “Long Nine” members were honored at a banquet held upstairs.
Upstairs, dioramas show Lincoln’s ties to Athens, Illinois. Scenes depict Abe, the rail-splitter, the self-taught scholar, the story teller, the lawyer, and the politician. Each diorama tells a story of Lincoln in Athens with the touch of a button that activates a digital sound chip.
FANCY PRAIRIE: This town is located in the very south east corner of Menard County. Old Fancy Prairie, the original Fancy Prairie was laid out around 1850 and had a Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 1898, when the railroad came through, the village was relocated one half to the east.
GREENVIEW: This town was incorporated on May 6, 1869. The town was named for William “Slicky Bill” Greene, who played an instrumental part in bringing the railroad through town. A.H. Bogardus was a champion marksman. He shot 500 clay pigeons in one day. He used two shotguns; Bogardus fired so fast he had to cool one gun in a tub of ice water while he fired the other.
Historic Marbold Farmstead: This home is located on route 29 just south of Greenview. This once elegant home was built in 1850 by John Marbold and named “Elmwood.” The home was later enlarged and remodeled by John’s son, H.H. Marbold. At one time the Marbold family owned 6,000 acres of farmland.
PETERSBURG: In 1836, Peter Lukins and George Warburton played a card game for the right to name their newly established town. Lukins won and Petersburg was born. The town is noted for its classic architecture and scenic, rolling hills.
Edgar Lee Masters’ Home & Museum: This home is located on the corner of 8th and Jackson. Masters, who immortalized this whole area in his work, “Spoon River Anthology,” lived here several years as a boy. The museum showcases many editions of Masters’ books and artifacts relating to the Masters family.
SWEETWATER: This town was laid out by the William Engle and the Alkire families on March 11, 1853. The first Postmaster was William Engel while Jacob Probst Jr. was the first blacksmith. Dr. John Hughes later became the village's first physician. The first mill was constructed and operated by the firm of Deal and Hughes.
TALLULA: This town was founded in 1857 by William G. Greene; an associate of Abraham Lincoln. Greene named this town “trickling water” for the abundant springs in the area. Today the railroad is gone, but Tallula retains it’s place in the county history.
Greenwood Cemetery: The cemetery is located in Tallula, proceed west on Main Street to the end of the business district. Turn right onto Yates and go one block to the stop sign. Turn left and follow the blacktop to Judy Road. Turn left, cemetery is approximately one-half mile on the right. Buried here are two of the county’s most interesting characters. William Greene, known locally as “Slicky Bill” due to his shrewd business sense and Mary Neely “Granny” Spears. Spears was captured by Indians as a girl and lived with them for several years before being rescued. In later life, she practiced as a midwife using herbs as a primary cure-all.
Tice: This town is located five miles west of Athens. In 1874, it was referred to as Tice's Station because of the railroad. By 1899 it was being called Tice and around the turn of the century there was a church and school here.
1879 "History of Menard & Mason Counties"
-Currently the Menard Co history portion of this book is hosted at the MAGA site, you will need to use your "Back" button to return here
--The Every Name Index is also available and covers the entire book
1902 "Old Settlers Reunion"
-A brief article that lists the names of the "old settlers" who have died since the last reunion
"History of Petersburg"
-A previously unpublished account, narrated by J. Colby Beekman, tells many interesting details about the birth of Petersburg and it's residents
