ILLINOIS COURTHOUSES COUNTY
COMMENTS
Courthouse Location
General Attitude of Courthouse Personnel
Access to Records Original Records Available or typed transcriptions?
Cost of record Other Comments
Submitter name & ADAMS GREAT!
Access to Records, not Vitals
Original
2003: They are good about letting you in the basement to look
over documents and those are .50 cents each for copies. Vital Statistics WON'T let you look for yourself, you need
them to look. They will be more than happy to help as long as they are not busy and if you catch them on the right
day, they won't moan about you buying it if they pull it. Their marriage copies are like $4.00 for a certified
copy (all they do is certified) and birth and death are $9.00 each
Mindy (host of IL Trails Adams County website)
is researching the following surnames: Meyer, Gibson, Taylor, Shaffer, Shear, Brandt, Brendel
CARROLL
COUNTY Friendly and helpful
Yes, looked at the Death Index
Original
2004: Chuck Hersey COLES Business-like, helpful.
Able to view records
Original Available
$14 (Yikes!) Very security-conscious. You empty your pockets at the
courthouse entrance and walk through a metal detector. They took both the cell phone and a golf tee(!) I had in
my pocket and did not return them till I left the courthouse.
Kim is researching COOK RULES Library folks were very helpful.
Kim is researching De Witt
County Friendly - Helpful
Allowed us in the area and showed us what books we needed
Original available
2006
These people were a great help! Lacinda Boulware is researching: Tucker, Geer, Cornett,
Leek, Beckham, Kohlbecker
Edwards
County County Clerk - friendly Able to view records
original available
copies 50 cents If possible, look it up yourself. Office employees will
not do a THOROUGH search, even if you pay them. Or contact Edwards Co. Historical Society.
My experience was by mail, Effingham County always
responded within 2 weeks time, and I was very happy with their service.
JASPER Not helpful, bordering on rude.
View indexes only. Not allowed to view whole record before
paying for it.
Typed transcriptions
$7.00 in 1998
Newton Public Library personnel were both friendly and
helpful.
Kim is researching JEFFERSON
COUNTY Friendly, Helpful.
Able to view records. After 1916, they look up.
Original record
$ in 2004/05 Mentioned C.E. Brehm library, They were really Friendly,
Helpful too!
Catherine Wiggins is researching Wiggins, Birkhimer, Oliver,
Youngblood, Wilson
Not overly friendly, but efficient.
Stand behind the counter and ask for the record you want.
Original
$7.00 in 1999 I *think* you can browse an index. I needed only 1 record
and I already had the date. I had to sign a form giving my relation to the deceased for a death record from 1966
("Cousin" sufficed)
Kim is researching Livingston
County Logan County Friendly, Helpful
There were indexes but records were Limited
Original
2005: $5.00
Becky Hebert researching: Hall, Dengler, Purlee,
James
Mason County All were very friendly and helpful
Able to view records
Original
8/26/2004 Marriage $3.00, general records $.25 if
you made copy, $.50 if they made copy
Someone is usually available just to help researchers
and they are very knowledgeable!
MENARD Friendly and helpful Able to view records
Original
2003: $1.00
Have names and dates - it makes things go a lot faster.
Betty Albert PEORIA
COUNTY Helpful, Business-like
I could not believe the easy access to the computers.
There was no wait for computer time. I spent three days working and found it was easy and everyone was very helpful
Anyone familiar with doing research will find this is
probably one of the most user friendly counties in the area. The personnel are friendly and helpful.
Bette Clarke
PIKE COUNTY
VERY FRIENDLY & HELPFUL
Able to view records
ORIGINAL
2002: The people in Pike Co are wonderful, the records in good
order. You will have a pleasant experience
Christine is researching the KESTERSON surname
PULASKI friendly, helpful
limited access
transcription only
July 2003
As of July 2003, their vault containing old documents
including probate records was closed off to the public due to disarray of records. According to clerk, clean-up
is in progress.
SCHUYLER
COUNTY phone 2006
ORIGINAL
$3.00
received records by mail in under a week
ST. CLAIR
COUNTY By phone - Very Helpful, Kind, Friendly, Organized, Timely
experience was by phone....
ORIGINAL
Death Cert. $13.85 (money order) - 2004/05
They only take Money Orders, no checks or cash, I have
used many County courthouses, here in Illinois and Indiana. They are the BEST.
C. Wiggins
Very helpful, willing to answer all questions asked
online access
ORIGINAL
$4.00 - 2005
Very friendly. Current Court records also available
at www.judici.com
UNION COUNTY Very, very helpful and friendly
Able to view records
ORIGINAL
2001
Casper, Owen, Harris, Land
VERMILION
COUNTY Friendly & helpful.
Full access. ?? ?? They were kind of surprised anyone wanted to view their
records & didn't quite know what to do with me. They ended up opening their vault and leaving me alone to hunt
around in whatever books I wanted. Genealogist's paradise!
Kim WILLIAMSON Very Friendly and helpful
Indexes only, they would read you the information off
the original document so you don't end up with a copy you don't need
Original record available
$2.00 - Oct 2003
Only 4 lookups allowed per day
Thanks to Terry R who is researching
Share your Research Trip Experiences!
What to expect once you get there (wherever "there" may be!). These
are the true experiences of researchers who have actually visited the courthouses and tried to obtain copies of
their ancestors' records. This webpage is meant to be helpful to prepare you for your research trip. Bear in mind
these are the experiences of individuals on individual days -- everyone has a bad day, including county clerks.
There is always the chance that something the researcher said or did struck a wrong chord with the county clerk
employee that caused an unpleasant response - or the flip side is something they said got them some extra special
attention.
Your actual experience may differ :-)
Want to contribute your experiences - good or bad? Click here to fill out
the questionnaire
Note: Illinois Genealogy Trails is not responsible for the opinions
of researchers posted here :-)
(able to go through them yourself or is access restricted
to courthouse personnel?)
(date of visit)
Surnames being researched in that county
Courthouse located in Quincy
Marriage - $4.00
Birth/Death - $9.00
Courthouse located in Mount Carroll
$12.00
researching: Hersey, Hammerstein, Hobart
Courthouse located in Charleston, IL
April 2003
View my website for all the rules:
RULES
HICKS
Chicago
The fee for a genealogical record is $7 for the first copy. The
fee for geneal. death records is $10
HICKS
Courthouse located in Clinton
Courthouse located in Albion
Circuit Clerk- indifferent
(certified copies up to $5.00)
original available
Courthouse located in Newton
HICKS, PRINTZ, STROLE, THOMPSON
100 S. 10th St.
Mt. Vernon, Illinois
They accept checks
NEW FEES, 2004: The base fee increased to $9. People getting those copies also pay $2 into the county's
automation fund, which collects money to pay for future technology updates, so the actual cost of a getting a copy
of a marriage license, birth and death certificate will be $11.
PRINTZ
Courthouse is located in Pontiac
friendly with a little bit of attitude
Able to view records
transcription only
2000: $7.00
Courthouse is located in Lincoln
Courthouse is located in Havana
Nash, Bowen
Menard County Courthouse is in Petersburg, IL
"Very Friendly"
This is the only courthouse that I was able
to videotape on the inside, it seems that many staff frown on pictures in the courthouse
Doug
Courthouse located in Peoria
June 2004
50 ¢ for copies
Courthouse located in Pittsfield
25 ¢ to $10.00
Courthouse is located in Mounds City
Rushville, Illinois
super friendly on the phone,
# 10 Public Square, Belleville, Illinois
Jonesboro
Courthouse is located in Danville, Vermilion County
Indexes available
I transcribed.
I transcribed
HINTON, HICKS
Courthouse is located in Marion
Fly, Chew, Jarvis
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©2003, Kim Torp