Guide to Genealogical Research 
in McHenry County, IL

McHenry County "Courthouse"

The McHenry County Government Center is located at 2200 N. Seminary Ave. (Hwy. 47) on the north side of the city of Woodstock. The hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number is (815) 334-4000.

 County Clerk's Office
Marriage Record Index: Vol. I, 1837-1893; Vol. II 1893-1908; ask clerk to see index created by MCIGS which is more complete than original.

Death Record Index: Vol. I, 1878-1905; Vol. II 1905-1916; alphabetical by first letter of surname.  These records are incomplete, as not all deaths were reported.  After 1915, you must know the death date in order to obtain the record.

Birth Record Index: Vol. 1, 1877-1905; Vol. II 1905-1916.   Alphabetical by first letter of surname.  These records are incomplete, as not all births were reported. 

Early Vital Record (i.e., birth, marriage, death) Indexes may be searched by the general public at the office of the County Clerk.  

There are four volumes of the Final Naturalization Records in the County Clerk's Office.  They are dated from October 1859 to September 1906.  (See the notes under Circuit Clerk's Office, also.)

Circuit Court Clerk's Office
Probate Index: 1836 to the present. Ask to see the indexes to the probate records and the wills filed. Find the file number in the index and give the number to the clerk when requesting to see the file.

Note: The old probate files are being stored in another location, away from the Government Center. They may be ordered and will then be available to you after noon the next day.

Naturalization Records: The earliest Declaration of Intent Record is dated in 1851.  There were earlier naturalizations, but it is not known what has become of these early records.

The Declaration of Intent Records have been published by MCIGS. (See Publications)

County Recorder
Tell the deputy recorder you wish to see the index for the GRANTOR (seller) or GRANTEE (buyer) INDEX specifying what year you are interested in.  These indexes are for the DEED RECORD BOOKS.  Make note of the Deed Book or Mortgage Book letter or number and page number.  Ask a deputy recorder to obtain the microfiche for you to view.

Current cost of photocopies of land records is $2.00 for the first two pages and $ .50 for each additional page of the same document.

Treasurer's Office
TAX RECORDS from 1850 to the present are available on microfilm. There are a few before 1850 on the first reel of film.

The arrangement of townships on the film is: Riley Twp., north to Chemung Twp.; Alden Twp. south to Coral Twp., Grafton Twp. north to Hebron Twp.; Richmond Twp., south to Algonquin Twp.

Each township has the REAL ESTATE LIST first. This is by tract description, not alphabetical by owner of the property. The PERSONAL PROPERTY LIST follows each Real Estate List and is alphabetical by the first letter only of the surname.

CEMETERIES

MCIGS has published four (4) volumes of cemetery records, covering every known cemetery, both extant and abandoned, in the county. See Publications for additional information.

NEWSPAPERS

Microfilmed newspapers of the county are available at the following locations:

The microfilm of the newspapers of the Crystal Lake area, dating from 1875, are at the Crystal Lake Public Library, 126 W. Paddock St., Crystal Lake.

The McHenry newspaper dates from 1875, and is available on microfilm at the McHenry District Library, 809 N. Front St., (Hwy. 31), McHenry.

The Woodstock and a few other early newspapers are at the Woodstock Public Library, 414 Judd St., Woodstock. Woodstock being the county seat, this newspaper should be checked for columns written about the other towns.

The Harvard newspapers are from 1867, but not all issues are available, until after 1898. Harvard Diggins Library, 900 E. McKinley Street, Harvard, IL 60033
(815) 943-4671 PHONE, (815) 943-2312 FAX, hdiggins@harvard-diggins.org
www.harvard-diggins.org

The Marengo newspapers from 1865 (some years and issues missing) are at the Marengo Public Library, 200 S. State St.

The early Richmond newspapers are not available, but most issues from 1947 thru 1985 are on microfilm at the Nippersink District Library, 5416 Hill Rd., Richmond.  The McHenry County Historical Society has some old issues as early as 1880.  Check other county newspapers for columns about Richmond.

MCIGS volunteers have created many indices to some of these newspapers concerning marriages and deaths.  See Indices.

LIBRARIES

Crystal Lake Public Library
The library is open Monday-Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. and September through May it is open on Sundays, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Phone: (815) 459-1687.

From the Illinois State Archives, there is microfiche of the Public Domain Land Sales for the State of Illinois; and a record of the early marriages performed in about half of the state's counties.

The MCIGS SURNAME FILE is here as well as the collection from MCIGS MEMBER CHARTS for McHenry County ancestors. This library has MCIGS's collection of books pertaining to New England, New York and the British Isles.

The McHenry District Library
Located at 809 N. Front St. (Hwy. 31) in the city of McHenry. The hours are 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday; 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.  Sundays from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m., year-round. Phone: (815) 385-0036.

In the LOCAL HISTORY and GENEALOGY area located towards the back and center of the library, there is an excellent collection of Illinois and McHenry county materials as well as a variety of other genealogical sources. Included in the collection are county histories, 1850 and other printed censuses as well as many other Illinois county records.

Items of particular interest to McHenry county researchers includes the PUBLIC DOMAIN LAND SALES (the first land purchases from the U.S. Government) for the area that is now McHenry County. As this listing is by tract description, a SEPARATE INDEX has been prepared and is on the shelf with the very large, blue computer print-out of land sales book.

The extant FEDERAL CENSUS of 1840-1920 and STATE CENSUS for 1855 and 1865 for McHenry County is on microfilm. The 1840-1870 Federal Censuses are also available in printed form.

A listing of VETERANS who are buried in McHenry County has been compiled and is in printed form.

With the exception of the New England, New York and the British Isles, at the Crystal Lake Public Library, the remainder of MCIGS's collection is at the McHenry Library.

Woodstock Public Library
Located at 414 Judd Street, its hours are 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Friday; 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, all year. Phone: (815) 338-0542.

Of interest: LOCAL SURNAME INDEX CARD FILE to persons in the unindexed county history books, as well as special editions of the Woodstock Sentinel newspaper. The library has a complete collection of the county's history books and atlas/plat books.

Family History Center  Located at 5209 Walkup Rd., Crystal Lake, IL, within the church building.  Present hours are Tuesday-Thursday 7:00p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:30 to 5:00, plus the above evening hours; Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Call ahead to confirm the times they are open.  It is also necessary to call for an appointment to use the computer.  Their phone number is: (815) 459-7475.

Other Area Libraries, Not Previously Mentioned:

Algonquin Area Public Library

Cary Area Public Library

(Fox River) Grove Memorial Library

Huntley Public Library

Gail Borden Public Library (Elgin)

Johnsburg Public Library

McHenry-Nunda Public Library District

Nippersink District Public Library (Richmond)

HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM AND LIBRARY

Many documents and records of genealogical interest can be found in the library of the McHenry County Historical Society Museum, located at 6422 Main St. in the village of Union. The mailing address of the society is: P.O. Box 434, Union IL 60180. Phone: (815) 923-2267.

Museum hours are: week days 9:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sundays 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. May through October. Admission to the museum for non-members is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for Senior Citizens and students. Family rate is $8.00. Society members are admitted free. Individual membership is $12.50 per year.

Library Research facilities are open year around, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. by appointment only. Appointments should be made at least 24 hours in advance. It may be used free by members. Cost for non-members, non-profit, is $10.00 per hour, $5.00 for each additional hour. Photocopies are 25 cents each; 11 x 17 are 50 cents each.

Some items that are unique to the museum library are files containing newspaper articles pertaining to McHenry County towns; a biographical file of some of the county's past and present citizens; some published family histories; an obituary file; property owner maps; scrapbooks, diaries, Bible records, and many more items of general interest to anyone doing research in McHenry County. Please be aware that absolutely no computer/scanning of any items is allowed, no exceptions !