The Illinois State Archives has seven Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD) to manage archives and records of local governments. One of these is the Illinois State University (ISU) Regional Depository.

The IRAD facility at Illinois State University is located at the Milner Library on the main campus at 201 North School Street, Normal, Illinois 61790. Hours: Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-12 p.m.; 1-4 p.m. (except state holidays). Holdings can be searched on the IRAD Search system but need to be viewed onsite at the appropriate regional depository.

Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763-1900  “The IRAD holdings include marriage records for over seventy of the 102 counties in Illinois. …Illinois marriages were not required to be performed in the county of the bride’s or groom’s residence. If your search does not find a marriage in the county you expected it to occur, try selecting STATEWIDE in the location option box.”

Search the Name Index to Illinois Local Governments

• basic info on name, form of government, county, date established, date incorporated, certified, previous names

Search the IRAD Inventories (list of possible inventories below)

Depositories house local government records that have been deemed significant enough to archive including:

• county board proceedings files and meeting minutes
• records of births, deaths and marriages
• land deeds, mortgage and tax sale records
• assessors’ and collectors’ tax books
• poll books and voter registers
• naturalization records, including declarations of intent
• probate records, including wills and will records, case files, administrators’ and executors’ records, guardianship records, and inventory and appraisement records
• civil and criminal court case files, chancery court case files (including divorces), docket books and court proceedings, and insanity proceedings and records
• coroner’s inquest records and inquest files
• miscellaneous county records, including almshouse/county home records and jail registers
• school records, including school trustees’ minutes, pupil registers and school land sale records
• township records, including township meeting minutes and highway commissioners’ minutes
• municipal records, including city council proceedings files and meeting minutes, ordinance records, and city election records.

DeWitt County Coroner’s Inquest Files Index (1924–1977)

• Inquest papers include the verdicts of the coroner’s jury on the cause of death, transcripts of testimony given at the inquest, correspondence relating to the case, and copies of subpoenas, accident reports, death certificates and photographs.

Livingston County Probate Case Files Index (1837–1958)

• Probate case files show the court term; the names of the estate, judge and court clerk; the petitions, bonds, oaths, and letters of estate administrators, executors, guardians and conservators; the court’s approval of estate inventories, appraisement bills, petitions to sell property, reports of sales, accounts, reports of receipts and expenditures, and final reports; and the orders and decrees of the court. The record may also show the names of heirs, claims against the estate, and recordation of wills.

Logan County Circuit Court Criminal Case Files Index (1857–1945)

• The Logan County Circuit Court Criminal Case Files show the names of the plaintiff (i.e., People), defendant, judge and clerk of the court; the court dates; and usually the charge or cause of action.

McLean County Probate Record Index (1834–1934)

McLean County Will Record Index (1838–1940)

Vermilion County Coroner’s Inquest Files Index (1908–1956)

• Each entry found in the index contains the following categories of information: the name of the deceased; the inquest number; the sex (S), race (R), marital status (M) and age of the deceased; the date of birth; the date of death; the verdict of coroner’s jury; and a description of the cause of death. When information in a particular category was not given in the files, an “_” will appear in that category.

Woodford County Almshouse Registers Index (1868–1957)

• Registers show the admission number; the name, birthplace, occupation, age and former residence of the inmate; the dates of admission and discharge; the date of death (when the inmate died while staying at the almshouse); and remarks.

These are the counties within the ISU region boundaries: Champaign, DeWitt, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, Livingston, Logan, Marshall, McLean, Piatt, Tazewell, Vermilion, Woodford.

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