Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of an index to county marriages from the state of Illinois for the years 1810 to 1940. By the mid-1800s the counties had pre-printed register books. Starting in 1877, marriage register books provided columns for ages, residences, birth places, and sometimes the names of the parents or guardians of the bride and groom.

Marriage returns were reported by the minister or Justice of the Peace who performed the marriage. County histories can be checked to learn which religion and congregation a minister served. Ministers’ returns may reveal that the marriage took place in a private residence, often the home of a parent or relative.

The county clerk usually kept marriage records from the time the county was organized. The counties continue to record marriages to the present day and only county clerks can issue certified copies of the marriage certificate. A statewide register of marriages began in 1962 as county clerks forwarded marriage information to the Illinois Department of Health. If you do not know the county where a couple married after 1962, the Division of Vital Records may provide the marriage date and county.

Counties in Illinois recorded marriages to legalize marital relationships and to safeguard the interests of wives. The marriage date, residence, and other facts that were current at the time the marriage occurred are quite reliable, though there is still a chance of misinformation. Other data such as age or birth place have more chance of error due to the lapse of time between marriage and birth.

Illinois marriage records included marriage registers and marriage licenses. Sometimes only one type of marriage record was preserved. Early county marriage records were handwritten into bound books with multiple entries to a page. These records provided little more than the date of marriage, names of the bride and groom, and the person who performed the marriage.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  Marriage Register, Champaign County, 1892

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  Marriage License, Champaign County, 1889

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  Marriage License, Alexander County, 1904

Coverage Table

A coverage table showing the year ranges for each county this collection is available in the wiki article Illinois, County Marriages Coverage Table - FamilySearch Historical Records.

Digital Folder Number List

This collection was published as a DGS browse collection. The list does not contain any description of the DGS folder's content. A table listing each DGS number and its contents can be found at Illinois, County Marriages Digital Folder Number List.