Clark County was created on March 23, 1819 (Laws, 1819, p. 166) and was formed from Crawford County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Crawford County (1816–1819), Edwards County (1815–1816), Madison County (1812–1815), St. Clair County (1809–1812), Randolph County (1809–1812) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1790–1809). The County was named for George Rogers Clark, a soldier of the Revolution, who, as a Colonel of the Virginia militia, established Colonial control in the Illinois country, by the capture of Kaskaskia and Fort Vincennes.
The County Seat is Marshall. Prior County Seats was Aurora (1818–1823), Darwin—Name changed from McClure’s Bluff (1823–1838) and Marshall (1838–Present). See also County History for more historical details.
Clark County Townships include Anderson, Auburn, Casey, Darwin, Dolson, Douglas, Johnson, Marshall, Martinsville, Melrose, Orange, Parker, Wabash, Westfield, York Township
Cities, Towns and Communities include Anderson, Auburn (Formed
from Dolson, Martinsville, Marshall and Anderson ), Casey (Name
changed from Cumberland on September (12?)22, 1876 ), Darwin, Dolson, Douglas (Formed
from Marshall ), Johnson, Marshall, Martinsville, Melrose
, Orange , Parker
, Wabash , Westfield, York
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information. Some records lost or damaged in a fire on December 30, 1902
The Official County website is located at http://www.clarkcountyil.org/. All departments below at located at the Clark County Courthouse, 501 Archer Ave, Marshall, IL 62441 , unless a different address is listed below. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Clark County Circuit Court Clerk has Probate Records from 1820 and Court Records from 1821 and is located at the address above. Phone Number: (217) 826-2811 The Clerk of the Circuit Court, commonly known as the Circuit Clerk, is the keeper of the files and records of the Circuit Court. The Circuit Clerk works at the direction of Circuit Court, Appellate Court and Supreme Court of Illinois and is mandated to follow and enforce the laws of the State of Illinois. The Circuit Clerk's Office processes all documents in criminal law, chancery, support, probate, adoption, juvenile, drainage, local improvement, mental, small claims, traffic, ordinance violations, prepares appeals to the higher court, issues passports, summons jurors, tax deeds and handles approximately ten million dollars in costs, fines, restitution, investments and support each year. The Office also issues summonses, writs, attachments, subpoenas and all other tasks as mandated by the courts.
Clark County Recorder has Land Records from 1816 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (217) 826-8311 The County Recorder of Deeds serves the people of County by receiving, filing and maintaining all records related to real property in our county. These documents range from all types of conveyance deeds, mortgages, releases and assignments, property liens, as well as, assorted federal, state and local liens. The Recorder’s office is responsible for the recordation and storage of plats of subdivision, land surveys and monument records. Many other types of miscellaneous documents are recorded, such as; foreign birth certificates, foreign marriage licenses, and military discharge paperwork to name a few.
Clark County Clerk has Birth / Death Records from 1877 and Marriage Records from 1819 and is located at the courthouse. Phone Number: (217) 826-8311 The County Clerk maintains records and issues certificates of vital statistics (birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage certificates) for the entire County.
Below is a list of online resources for Clark County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Clark County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Illinois Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Illinois Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Vital Records, 605 W. Jefferson St., Springfield, IL 62702-5097. It can take up to 6 weeks to get a vital record from Illinois.
A number of resources are available for individuals doing genealogical research using vital records filed in the state of Illinois. Births and deaths before January 1, 1916 and marriages before January 1, 1962 are recorded only in the office of the county clerk where the event occurred. Most county clerks have indexes to the records that are prior to 1916 that are available for the purpose of genealogical research. These indexes generally provide the name, date and place of occurrence and are located in county courthouses located throughout the state. Although self-service access to the indexes is generally permitted, the law limits physical access to the individual records to the clerk's staff. When you locate a record from the index, it will be necessary for the clerk to pull the record for you once you have paid the appropriate search fee. Please check with the county clerk for fees and policies on reviewing indexes.
Birth, Death Certificates:
The Division of Vital Records and Statistics maintains birth, death and marriage records that occur in Illinois from 1916 to the present.
Cost: Initial search and one certified copy or certification of the record or No Record Statement is $17.00 (long) or
$10.00 (uncertified) per certificate by mail.
Make your check or money order payable to "Illinois Department of Public Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. The cost of each record includes a ten-year search if the exact date or place of event is not known. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep check amount for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
In Person:
In-person orders can be dropped off for mail out within two business days at the Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Vital Records office, 605 W. Jefferson St., Springfield, on Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays. (Large volume orders may take longer.) PLEASE NOTE: the person requesting the record will be asked to show a valid picture identification card.
Marriage & Divorce Certificates: The Division of Vital Records also maintains an index of marriages & divorces from 1962 to the present. Copies of the marriage & divorce records are available from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the marriage license was obtained or divorce was granted. Fees vary.
Cost: $5.00. Make your check or money order payable to "Illinois Department of Public Health". Enclose a business-size self-addressed envelope. The cost of each record includes a ten-year search if the exact date or place of event is not known. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $5.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Below is a list of online resources for Clark County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Clark County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Illinois newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Click Here to Search Illinois Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Below is a list of online resources for Clark County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Clark County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Illinois showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Illinois showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries.
Below is a list of online resources for Clark County Maps. Email us with websites containing Clark County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Illinois Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Clark County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Clark County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Illinois (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
The first known tax authorization in Illinois fell under the jurisdiction of the Territory of the United States North West of the River Ohio. The tax was based on every hundred acres of unimproved uncleared prairie or wood land, divided into three classes based on quality of earth surface and soil. The rates were thirty, twenty, and ten cents, to be paid annually. Property with delinquent taxes was sold at public auction. There do not appear to be any surviving tax records from this territorial period.
Beginning with statehood, tax records form a large part of county archival material. The 1819 laws provided the first taxation process, imposing taxes on land, bank stock owned, slaves and indentured negroes or mulattoes, plus a poor tax. The tax was collected by the county with income divided between the county and state. Taxpayers lists were eliminated in 1824, and in 1825 a county road tax and school taxes were enacted.
Original and microfilmed tax records at Illinois Regional Archives Depositories include taxable land lists, assessors books, railroad tax books, road tax records, and collectors books, the earliest record dated 1817. Other county tax records are located in county seats.
Below is a list of online resources for Clark County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Clark County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Clark County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Clark County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Clark County Genealogical Society,
309 Maple Street, Box 153,
Marshall 62441
Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Eastern Illinois University, Booth Library, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL 61920; Telephone: (217) 581-6093. Map and Directions. Covers the following counties: Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Jasper, Lawrence, Moultrie, Richland, Shelby, Wabash, Wayne. Hours: Monday – Friday, except state holidays 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Illinois State Library, 300 South 2nd Street, Springfield, IL 62701-1796; Phone: (217) 785-5600
Illinois
State Historical Library, Old State Capitol, Springfield, IL 62701 County histories, plat books, census indexes, cemetery indexes, city material,
family and association files, microfilmed newspapers, manuscripts, and photographs
are located beneath the restored old state capitol between 5th and 6th streets
and Washington and Adams streets.
Illinois Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Illinois Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
Despite the early Catholic missionaries in Illinois, their church had almost totally disappeared from the state by the time of the American Revolution. Later migration of English-speaking Catholics reestablished the church in the state. In 1850 the largest religious denomination in Illinois was the Methodists. Baptists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Congregationalists followed. Episcopalians had organized in the state in 1835, the Disciples of Christ were in Illinois prior to 1830, and the Lutherans grew in numbers with the German and Scandinavian emigration of the 1840s.
Below is a list of online resources for Clark County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Clark County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Illinois obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Illinois newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Illinois.
Click Here to Search Illinois Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Clark County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Clark County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Illinois Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Clark County is located in Southeastern Illinois. It was originally part of the Northwest territory. The first pioneer settlement was York, on the Wabash (Ouabache) River, before 1816. The present county was formed out of Crawford County in 1819, just a short time after Illinois became a state. At that time, the northern border of Clark County ran all the way to what would become Wisconsin. The County was named for George Rogers Clark, whose fame came mainly from his exploits on the Illinois frontier during the Revolutionary War. The first settlers came from Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. Many were veteran soldiers of the War of 1812. Settlement increased after the construction of the National Road through the county. Clark County's first County Seat was at Aurora, on the Wabash River. The County Seat was moved to Darwin in 1823 when the good citizens of Aurora realized that the River could flood higher than they could build. In 1839, a county-wide election was held to decide on a new County Seat. The contenders were Marshall, and Auburn. The tempers were high as the voting day drew near and the tension grew. In spite of Auburn changing it's name to Clark Center, Marshall won the day and has been the County Seat of Clark County ever since.
The Clark County courthouse is a valuable asset to the city of Marshall as well as a precious piece of history. The courthouses of Clark County have taken many shapes and been located in several different locations. Through time they have evolved from one room log cabins into massive brick and stone icons. There is much we can learn and discover about our county and ourselves through the courthouse.
In 1819, when Clark County was founded its boundaries stretched north to Wisconsin. It was decided that the center of government would be located in the small village of Aurora along the Wabash River. A small town building was constructed that would serve as the first courthouse for the County of Clark. As time passed another town was erected only two miles south and was growing with great speed. This was the village of Darwin. As Aurora slowly increased in population, Darwin boomed. Its size and river trade rivaled with that of Terre Haute. Lots in Darwin town were more expensive at this time than those of Chicago. Therefore, it is no surprise that county officials elected to move the seat of government to Darwin. Colonel William B. Archer, who would later found Marshall, constructed the new courthouse. Darwin continued to thrive and prosper into the 1830's until the National Road, a new source of trade moved business north. Darwin was threatened with losing all of its trade business to Terre Haute. It was decided that the center of politics and business for Clark County should be re-located to the new community of Marshall. This was were the county seat has resided.
There have been three courthouses set on the same site in Marshall. The courthouse we will focus on is the current building which has served its citizens since the turn of the century. Construction on the newest courthouse in Clark County began in 1903 as a direct result of a disastrous fire which nearly leveled the previous courthouse. Built in only a year, the construction was very efficient for the times.
Used mainly, of course, as the location for trials and legal matters concerning county business and government, the courthouse encompasses several offices and a large amount of history. Contained inside the courthouse to this day are deeds and mortgages dating back to 1818 when Illinois first achieved statehood. There are also birth and death certificates on file dating back to around 1877. Among other contents are marriage licenses dating as far back as 1818. As with most courthouses, Clark County's courthouse has its share of court records dating from the 1850's. Within the last few years, research efforts located some very key documents that contained the name and signature of Abraham Lincoln. Those documents have now been relocated to a museum.
The Clark County courthouse has entertained its share of political guests. These guests have included in past years, the late Secretary of State, John Lewis, and more recently, the Governor of Illinois, Jim Edgar. The most recent has been candidate for Governor, Glen Poshard, and Representative Judy Myers.
As far as punishments for crimes, there have never been any public hangings or whippings at the current courthouse location. However, when the county seat was located in Aurora, a whipping post was located on the court lawn, which was used once to punish a man who was caught stealing pigs. Some more recent and famous trials in Clark County include the Fred Grabbe murder trial in the 1980's. Mr. Grabbe was convicted of murdering his wife and incinerating the body in a trash barrel and disposing of it in the Wabash River. In the 1990's two murder trials of significance come to mind. The first was a double murder at the Mariah Pork Palace in Casey, Illinois (town west of Marshall, also in Clark County). This trial gained coverage on news channels all around. Two employees of the farm and a female accomplice attempted the perfect crime. Instead, all were convicted and sent to prison. Also even more recent was an assisted-suicide case in which a Mr. Moreno killed his elderly wife to end her suffering. This crime actually took place directly east across Sixth Street from our high school. Mr. Moreno was also found guilty of his crime.
The courthouse of today is a far sight from the one located along the banks of the Wabash in Aurora, or even the one in Darwin. Although it is nearly a century old, it has been modernized greatly. Along with relics of the past like the coal burning boilers and the old clock tower are computers and modern office equipment. All of the six offices in the courthouse contain multiple computers and a staff of trained professionals. County employees are sent, courtesy of Clark County, to classes and seminars to help them better use these benefits of technology to their fullest potential.
Many renovations have also been made to the courthouse. As can be expected, there is the almost annual repainting process and near constant grounds grooming. In recent years a new roof has also been installed.
The clock tower which had been around since the building of the courthouse still serves as a time keeper for the community providing accurate readings at a cost of about five thousand dollars a year.
In the late eighties and early nineties it was required that all public properties be brought up to the standards outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act. This required that an elevator be installed which ran to the upstairs courtroom and a wheel chair ramp and lift be installed to make first floor access possible. The most recent and most significant change has been the relocation of the restroom facilities at the courthouse. Until recently, office employees had to use facilities located outside and down stairs to the old facilities. Now both men's and women's lavatories are located inside, a perk for all who visit or work in the courthouse. Currently new benches are being installed in the main courtroom, but in the past all offices have received new carpet, paint or wallpaper, wiring, and fixtures, all of which are standard improvements.
There is a very important and special blend of history and technology at work in the Clark County Courthouse. A far sight from the old log courthouse of Aurora, our current courthouse, with its towering clock face and computerized offices, is a superior facility. This courthouse has served its citizens well and will continue to do so well into the twenty-first century.
