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Winnebago County Research ResourcesClick on the links below to be directed to Winnebago County resources. If you know of more material that could be added here to help local researchers, or if you encounter any problems with a link, please send us an email at [email protected]. See separate tab for Cemetery Resources
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Local History Documents
1836-08-03 to 1845-12-02 Boone and Winnebago County IL Commissioners Reports
Contested one mile strip of land between Winnebago and Boone County, given to Boone County. Book consists of Winnebago County Commissioners reports up to December 2, 1845. Winnebago Co. courthouse has marriages, land and probate for the one-mile strip to December 2, 1845. Contributed by Martin Johnson
1836-1959 Index to Winnebago County Marriages by Bride's Name
1836-1959 Index to Winnebago County Marriages by Groom's Name
1844-1981 Index to Winnebago County Deaths
1855-1931 Index to Winnebago County Births
The microfilm of actual images for the above four indexes are at the Winnebago County Courthouse, Rockford Public Library, and the Rockford Family History Center at 324 University Dr., Rockford IL 61107. Although the birth and death indexes from the Illinois State Archives say that they start earlier, most births and deaths prior to 1877 were not recorded. Marriage records do begin in 1836, the year the county was formed.
1850-1874 Obituaries from the Rockford Newspapers
Abstracted and edited by John L. Molyneaux. Three volumes: 1850s, 1860s, and 1870-1874. Available in the Genealogy Room at the Hart Interim Library in downtown Rockford (R 929.377331 M731o)
1855-1856 The Northern Counties (IL) Gazetteer & Directory - includes Winnebago County
1857 Rockford City Directory
1860-1874 Veteran Deaths in Rockford, Illinois Newspapers - Martin W. Johnson
1869 Rockford City Directory and County Gazetteer
1877 "The History of Winnebago County, Illinois, Its Past and Present"
Pages 315-346 list the men and regiments in Winnebago County
1877 Name Index to "The History of Winnebago County, Illinois, Its Past and Present"
Created by the Genealogy Projects Committee of the Winnetka (Illinois) Public Library, now the North Suburban Genealogical Society.
1880 Rockford City Directory
1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Winnebago and Boone Counties, Illinois - archive.org
Index -1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Winnebago & Boone Counties IL
An all-name index compiled by Ernest H Jackson
1898 The History of Rockton, Winnebago, Illinois, 1820 to 1898 - archive.org
1900 History of Rockford and Winnebago County Illinois by Charles A Church - Google Books
1903 Rockford To-Day: Historical, Descriptive, Biographical
1905 Past & Present of the City of Rockford and Winnebago County by Charles A Church - archive.org
Includes many biographies and a biography index
Index - 1905 Past & Present of the City of Rockford and Winnebago County
An all-name index compiled by Ernest H. Jackson
1916 Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Winnebago County Vol II by Charles A Church
Includes many biographies of Winnebago County residents
Index - 1916 Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Winnebago County Vol II
An all-name index to Volume 2, compiled by Ernest H Jackson
1929 Winnebago County Name Index from "Biographies of the Rock River Valley" - Martin W. Johnson
2011 The Naming of Rockford, Illinois Schools - compiled by Kathy Kuroda
A collection of newspaper clippings and stories of how the schools of Rockford got their names
Contested one mile strip of land between Winnebago and Boone County, given to Boone County. Book consists of Winnebago County Commissioners reports up to December 2, 1845. Winnebago Co. courthouse has marriages, land and probate for the one-mile strip to December 2, 1845. Contributed by Martin Johnson
1836-1959 Index to Winnebago County Marriages by Bride's Name
1836-1959 Index to Winnebago County Marriages by Groom's Name
1844-1981 Index to Winnebago County Deaths
1855-1931 Index to Winnebago County Births
The microfilm of actual images for the above four indexes are at the Winnebago County Courthouse, Rockford Public Library, and the Rockford Family History Center at 324 University Dr., Rockford IL 61107. Although the birth and death indexes from the Illinois State Archives say that they start earlier, most births and deaths prior to 1877 were not recorded. Marriage records do begin in 1836, the year the county was formed.
1850-1874 Obituaries from the Rockford Newspapers
Abstracted and edited by John L. Molyneaux. Three volumes: 1850s, 1860s, and 1870-1874. Available in the Genealogy Room at the Hart Interim Library in downtown Rockford (R 929.377331 M731o)
1855-1856 The Northern Counties (IL) Gazetteer & Directory - includes Winnebago County
1857 Rockford City Directory
1860-1874 Veteran Deaths in Rockford, Illinois Newspapers - Martin W. Johnson
1869 Rockford City Directory and County Gazetteer
1877 "The History of Winnebago County, Illinois, Its Past and Present"
Pages 315-346 list the men and regiments in Winnebago County
1877 Name Index to "The History of Winnebago County, Illinois, Its Past and Present"
Created by the Genealogy Projects Committee of the Winnetka (Illinois) Public Library, now the North Suburban Genealogical Society.
1880 Rockford City Directory
1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Winnebago and Boone Counties, Illinois - archive.org
Index -1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Winnebago & Boone Counties IL
An all-name index compiled by Ernest H Jackson
1898 The History of Rockton, Winnebago, Illinois, 1820 to 1898 - archive.org
1900 History of Rockford and Winnebago County Illinois by Charles A Church - Google Books
1903 Rockford To-Day: Historical, Descriptive, Biographical
1905 Past & Present of the City of Rockford and Winnebago County by Charles A Church - archive.org
Includes many biographies and a biography index
Index - 1905 Past & Present of the City of Rockford and Winnebago County
An all-name index compiled by Ernest H. Jackson
1916 Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Winnebago County Vol II by Charles A Church
Includes many biographies of Winnebago County residents
Index - 1916 Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Winnebago County Vol II
An all-name index to Volume 2, compiled by Ernest H Jackson
1929 Winnebago County Name Index from "Biographies of the Rock River Valley" - Martin W. Johnson
2011 The Naming of Rockford, Illinois Schools - compiled by Kathy Kuroda
A collection of newspaper clippings and stories of how the schools of Rockford got their names
Winnebago County Naturalization Cards
Digitized images of 22,658 cards (front and back) from microfilm, provided by Martin W. Johnson. Most cards are blank on the back side, but some do have additional information. Images have been converted to scrollable PDF files, 500 cards (1000 images) per page. The list of names below are the first name in each PDF file. Click the name to open the PDF file. Note that Ancestry has a similar collection, but they are not identical. Naturalization information was sent to the US Federal District Office, which then made their own cards.
Applications after October 1906 have much more information included (village of birth, ship name, dates of departure and arrival, etc.). Starting Jul 1, 1929, applications required the applicant's signed picture. Some cards include Boone and Ogle County residents, as well as Camp Grant WWII soldiers' applications--many of whom were from other counties and states.
Applications after October 1906 have much more information included (village of birth, ship name, dates of departure and arrival, etc.). Starting Jul 1, 1929, applications required the applicant's signed picture. Some cards include Boone and Ogle County residents, as well as Camp Grant WWII soldiers' applications--many of whom were from other counties and states.
Maps
1858 City of Rockford IL
1859 City of Rockford IL
1859 Winnebago County IL
1859 Winnebago County IL Durand, Rockton, Roscoe, Pecatonica, Winnebago, Cherry Valley, Harrison
1902 Winnebago County IL
1859 City of Rockford IL
1859 Winnebago County IL
1859 Winnebago County IL Durand, Rockton, Roscoe, Pecatonica, Winnebago, Cherry Valley, Harrison
1902 Winnebago County IL
Local Research Resources
Cherry Valley Library
Ethnic Heritage Museum
FamilySearch Center - Two locations in Rockford: 324 University Drive and 620 N. Alpine Rd. They have access to Ancestry, MyHeritage, and FindMyPast. For more info and latest hours, click here.
Genealogybank.com ($) - Includes a large collection of Rockford-area digitized papers from 1850 forward
GenealogyTrails.com - Winnebago County indexes and transcribed records
Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) System - Winnebago County Fact Sheet
Linkpendium - A resource directory to both free and subscription sites, with a strong emphasis upon free resources provided by libraries, other government agencies, genealogical and historical societies, and individuals.
Midway Village
Midway Village Digital Collections
Newspapers.com($) - Outside of Durand, very little coverage of Winnebago County papers. However, it includes many papers from nearby cities (DeKalb, Freeport, Marengo, Oregon, Sycamore, Woodstock).
NewspaperArchive.com ($) - Local collections as of Feb 2025 include Rockton Herald (1877-1977, 3927 issues), Rockford Svenska Journalen (1912-1913 76 issue), Rockford Folkets Nyheter (1913-1914 15 issue), Rockford Svenska Posten (1911-1913 100 issue), and Rockford Posten (1901-1912 526 issues)
North Suburban Library District (Loves Park and Roscoe)
OldNews.com ($) - Local holdings not found on newspapers.com or genealogybank.com include Loves Park (The Post 1950-1963, Monday Morning Mail 1951-1963, Loves Park Post 1947-1950) and Rockton (The Rockton Herald 1900-1963 and Rockton Herald 1877-1884).
Pecatonica Library - History Room
Rockford Chapter DAR
Rockford Historical Society
Rockford Public Library
Talcott Library (Rockton)
Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens
Veterans Memorial Hall and Museum
Winnebago County - FamilySearch Wiki
Winnebago County - ILGenWeb Project (last updated 2012)
Winnebago Public Library
Ethnic Heritage Museum
FamilySearch Center - Two locations in Rockford: 324 University Drive and 620 N. Alpine Rd. They have access to Ancestry, MyHeritage, and FindMyPast. For more info and latest hours, click here.
Genealogybank.com ($) - Includes a large collection of Rockford-area digitized papers from 1850 forward
GenealogyTrails.com - Winnebago County indexes and transcribed records
Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) System - Winnebago County Fact Sheet
Linkpendium - A resource directory to both free and subscription sites, with a strong emphasis upon free resources provided by libraries, other government agencies, genealogical and historical societies, and individuals.
Midway Village
Midway Village Digital Collections
Newspapers.com($) - Outside of Durand, very little coverage of Winnebago County papers. However, it includes many papers from nearby cities (DeKalb, Freeport, Marengo, Oregon, Sycamore, Woodstock).
NewspaperArchive.com ($) - Local collections as of Feb 2025 include Rockton Herald (1877-1977, 3927 issues), Rockford Svenska Journalen (1912-1913 76 issue), Rockford Folkets Nyheter (1913-1914 15 issue), Rockford Svenska Posten (1911-1913 100 issue), and Rockford Posten (1901-1912 526 issues)
North Suburban Library District (Loves Park and Roscoe)
OldNews.com ($) - Local holdings not found on newspapers.com or genealogybank.com include Loves Park (The Post 1950-1963, Monday Morning Mail 1951-1963, Loves Park Post 1947-1950) and Rockton (The Rockton Herald 1900-1963 and Rockton Herald 1877-1884).
Pecatonica Library - History Room
Rockford Chapter DAR
Rockford Historical Society
Rockford Public Library
Talcott Library (Rockton)
Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens
Veterans Memorial Hall and Museum
Winnebago County - FamilySearch Wiki
Winnebago County - ILGenWeb Project (last updated 2012)
Winnebago Public Library