Record Atlas
9 eras · 1675–2026 · 116 places

Illinois

Chicago, Springfield, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Peoria, Rock Island, East St. Louis. Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.

Whose archive this ground was

YearsWho held itWhose archive that means
1675–1717 New France - the Illinois Country, a French district of Canada no registers survive

The Illinois Country became a French district in 1675, when Marquette founded a Jesuit mission at the Grand Village of the Illinois. La Salle built Fort St. Louis on Starved Rock in 1682; settlers abandoned it in 1691.
1717–1763 French Louisiana - Upper Louisiana, the Illinois Country no registers survive

In 1717 the region passed from Canada to Louisiana. The first Fort de Chartres was built in 1718-1720, a second in 1725 and a stone fort completed about 1760.
1763–1778 Britain - east bank of the Mississippi no registers survive

The Treaty of Paris of 1763 gave the east bank to Britain and the west bank to Spain; the British took Fort de Chartres in 1765. St. Louis, founded in 1764 on the Spanish west bank, became capital of Upper Louisiana.
1778–1787 Virginia - Illinois County, seat Kaskaskia National Archives Catalog (NARA)

George Rogers Clark took the east bank for Virginia in 1778, and Virginia created Illinois County with Kaskaskia as its seat. The county was abolished and Virginia ceded its claims to the United States between 1782 and 1784 depending on the step.
1787–1809 Northwest Territory, then Indiana Territory from 1800 FamilySearch · National Archives Catalog (NARA)

Illinois ground was in the Northwest Territory from 1787 and in Indiana Territory from 1800 until Illinois Territory was created on 1 March 1809. Records of the 1800-1809 years belong to Indiana Territory, whose capital was Vincennes.
1809–1818 Illinois Territory FamilySearch · National Archives Catalog (NARA)

Illinois Territory existed from 1809 until statehood in 1818. In 1818 remnants of the territory were added to Michigan Territory.
1818–1877 State of Illinois FamilySearch · National Archives Catalog (NARA) · Chronicling America

Illinois became a state in 1818.
1877–1916 Illinois - county records of births and deaths FamilySearch · National Archives Catalog (NARA) · Chronicling America

Counties generally began recording births and deaths around 1877 (Will County, for example, from December 1877), with a few earlier records, and coverage varies by county.
1916–2026 Illinois - statewide registration FamilySearch · National Archives Catalog (NARA) · Chronicling America

A 1915 statute set up the first effective statewide registration, which began in 1916; not every county took part until 1922. The Illinois State Archives publishes a statewide death index for 1916-1950 and an ongoing pre-1916 death index, and copies of pre-1916 county records may come from the Illinois Regional Archives Depository where it holds that county.

The rings are approximate — deliberately. They exist to shade which filing system a place fell under, not to adjudicate a border. A place near a ring's edge should be checked against both neighbours.

See the whole span, 1675–2026, on the map →

The map takes a range, and a range that crosses one of the rows above is where records get lost: the family never moved, and the archive on the far side of the handover will tell you it holds nothing.

116 places on this ground

1742 FamilySearch collections reach this ground

Ranked with the regional ones first — a collection for a province is usually a better lead than a national index, though the national index is often where a name is actually written down. A free account opens the images.

…and 1682 more.

All record regions · The map