champaign.illinoisgenweb.orgIllinois Genealogy, Champaign County, ILGenWeb, The US GenWeb Project

Welcome to Champaign County, Illinois Champaign County was created February 20, 1833 by an act of the Illinois legislature. Prior to that date, the area was part of Vermilion County. The 1833 act also provided that the county seat would be called "Urbana." Senator John W. Vance, for his efforts in getting the act passed, was given the honor of naming the new county. He named it "Champaign" after his former home county in Ohio, the county-seat of which is also Urbana. It is hoped that this web site will be informative and helpful to those seeking ancestors in Champaign County, Illinois. This is an ongoing project and there will be frequent updates—check back often! If you have any documents you would like to share—cemetery transcriptions (even if only a few names), obituaries, wills, biographies, family histories, etc., please contact Celia Snyder . County Facts: The present area, or parts of it, were formerly included in: 1826-1833 — Vermilion 1823-1826 — Edgar 1819-1823 — Clark 1816-1819 — Crawford 1815-1816 — Edwards 1812-1813 — Madison 1801-1812 — St. Clair 1790-1801 — Knox, Northwest Territory History of county governing board: 1833-1849 — County Commissioners' Court 1849-1860 — County Court 1860-Date — County Board of Supervisors Township form of Government was adopted November 8, 1859 Announcements: [If you have any genealogy-related announcements you'd like posted, please let me know - [email protected] ] History: Early History First White Settlers Sadorus Family Sadorus House - first frame house in Champaign County Letter from Abraham Lincoln to Mark Carley Photo Album - early photos of churches, schools, hotels, public buildings, streets, parks, etc. Timeline History of the Barr/Cowley Subdivision - now University and Park Avenues in Urbana Historic Champaign County Neighborhoods and Homes - more than 800 pictures, title abstractss and maps showing the history of homes and neighborhoods in Champaign County Lost and Found - found documents and orphan photos Maps: Updated! - Corray Map of Big Grove 1913 Township Map Historical Maps of Illinois and the Northwest Territory - from the U of I's Map and Geography Library Census and County Formation Maps Federal Township Plat Maps 1804-1891 Illinois County Boundaries 1790-Present Town/Township Information: History of Penfield, Illinois History of Homer, Illinois Township Histories Listing of cities, towns, and villages in Champaign County with links, if available Ogden Centennial, 1870-1970 St. Joseph, Illinois, 1982 A History of the Schools of Mahomet and A Historical Calendar 1833-1952 History of Mahomet Methodist Church Centennial 1955 Homer: Past and Present The Centennial Book—Gifford, Illinois 1875-1975 Philo Area Centennial 1875-1975 Thomasboro, Illinois Centennial 1864-1964 Churches: Church Listings Churches - donated by Fonda Baselt, a listing with addresses and notes History of the First Baptist Church, Urbana, Illinois The Passing of a Country Church (In Memory of Alice Chapel) The Tale of Two Streams - St. Paul's United Church of Christ Gifford Baptist Church - Prayer Meeting Leaders Urbana First United Methodist Church - containing a digital archives with historical information, photos, and a special section on genealogy, including a 1895 directory of members The Primitive Baptist Library Federation of East European Family History Societies - includes vital records of Hensley Township Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church (1800's), St. John's Lutheran Church, Champaign, IL (1860-1875), and Evangelical St. Peters Church, Champaign, IL (1856-1900). Data on Early Residents: 1840 Champaign County Census 1850 Census for Champaign County NEW! - 1860 Mortality Schedule - working on transcribing, but until then here are the originals 1878 Listing of Champaign County Residents - name, P.O., residence, occupation, where they were a native of, and what year they came to Champaign County. First Taxpayers in Champaign County Families and History - links to other websites Lineages - histories, photos, and tidbits related to Champaign County families submitted by researchers Biographies - ongoing project Obituaries - please send any obits you may have! Automobile Owners, 1917 Tractor Owners, 1917 Probate Records Associations, Clubs, and Fraternal Organizations History of Kansas - transcription of the History of Kansas , 1883 - some biographies of settlers from Champaign Co. Online Data/Help: Search the Champaign County USGenWeb site: powered by FreeFind 1885 Champaign County Directory and Gazetteer , D. McKenzie & Co., Urbana, Illinois - searchable PDF Champaign County Marriages 1833-1861 Urbana Daily Courier digitization project - a project to digitize several decades of the defunct Urbana Daily Courier, searchable Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection Illinois Newspaper Project The USGenWeb Project Champaign County Archives - for storage and online viewing/downloading of public-domain records. Search all of the archives holdings by surname, location, any keyword. Champaign County Holdings in the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) system. This is a much overlooked source for primary documents. The research policy is very reasonable and there is no charge. You are only charged for photocopies. Check it out! Directory of Archival Repositories for Champaign County AncestorDocs - actual documents arranged by locality. Lookup Volunteers - folks who have generously volunteered to do lookups in the references they have Professional Services - researchers, photo restoration, etc. Military Records: Revolutionary War Revolutionary War Veterans Sons of the Revolution in the State of Illinois Illinois Veterans of the War of 1812 Illinois Veterans of the Winnebago War Illinois Veterans of the Mexican War Civil War ILGenWeb's Civil War Site Companies Organized in Champaign County Illinois' Searchable Database Illinois Civil War Veterans Serving in the U.S. Navy Illinois Civil War Veterans of Missouri Units Department of Illinois - Sons of Union Veterans Champaign County, Illinois in the Civil War Illinois Veterans of the Black Hawk War Illinois Veterans of the Spanish-American War Illinois Veterans History Project Pensioners on the Roll January 1, 1883 - mostly Civil War veterans, but some War of 1812 veterans as well Residents of the Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, 1887-1916 - listing with links to PDF copies of individual files. Military Brats Online - registry, alumni organizations, etc. The Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall Page - searchable database The Virtual Wall - Vietnam Veterans Memorial - listings by name, state, etc. with details on each veteran, including in some cases, photos Illini who were killed while serving their country (photos, hometown, etc.) Bibliographic Resources: Index to the biographies in History of Champaign County, Illinois , 1878 searchable, printable PDF version from Brigham Young University Index to the biographies in Early History and Pioneers of Champaign County, 1886 searchable, printable PDF version from the University of Illinois at U-C Library Index to the biographies in Portrait and Biographical Album of Champaign County, Ill. , 1887 se archable, printable PDF version from the University of Illinois at U-C Library Index to the biographies in Biographical Record of Champaign County, Illinois , 1900 - contributed by Ruth Ryan searchable, printable PDF version from the University of Illinois at U-C Library Index to the biographies in History of Champaign County Illinois, 1905 searchable, printable PDF version from the University of Illinois at U-C Library - Volume 1 searchable, printable PDF version from the University of Illinois at U-C Library - Volume 2 Index to the biographies in Standard History of Champaign County , Illinois, 1918 searchable, printable PDF version from the University of Illinois at U-C Library - Volume 1 searchable, printable PDF version from the University of Illinois at U-C Library - Volume 2 Bibliography - reference materials which...