Court

Obtaining Court Records

You can search for court records by visiting the office of the Circuit Clerk at the Marshall County Courthouse, 122 N Prairie Street, Lacon. They have records since 1850. You can request a search by mailing $6 per person per year and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to
Circuit Clerk
Marshall County Courthouse
PO Box 328
Lacon, IL 61540

Courthouse photo courtesy of Illinois State Archives

Court Records often contain a treasure trove of family history. There are many types of court records, including

• Criminal proceedings
• Deeds
  * A deed is the written legal document transferring ownership of property, not just land, and it may contain a variety of pieces of genealogical information such as full names of parents, children, siblings, spouses, previous residences, etc.
• Divorces
• Guardianships
• Indenture bonds
• Naturalizations
  * An index for a naturalization record by the Circuit Court of Marshall County in Lacon for Peter CARRAHER states the Irishman was naturalized 07 May 1857. Witnesses were Thomas SLOWEY and James McKEON. Index card refers to "Law-Book B. P-507."
  * After talking to three different people, two at the courthouse and one at the historical society (who used to work at the courthouse), it appears that the circuit court clerk’s office only has the Declarations of Intent and no other naturalization records and they have no idea what happened to them. After several additional phone calls to various contacts, including the Central District court (just to make sure they didn’t have them), I have not been able to track down the other records. If I ever find them, I’ll let you know so you can add it to the site."  Julie Cahill Tarr  12 Feb 2013
• Probate / Wills
  * Will of Lemuel Gaylor

Obtaining Death Certificates

Copies of death certificates can be obtained from several sources, the most common being

• Contact the Marshall County Clerk and Recorder's Office. Although reporting deaths was not required by law until 1916, the County Clerk has death records dating back to 1877. The death must have occurred at least 20 years ago before the recorded information will be released.
• Contact Illinois Department of Public Health for a copy of death certificates if the death occurred between 1916 through 20 years ago.
• Contact the IRAD research department.

Obtaining Probate Records

You can search for various types of court records, including wills, by visiting the office of the Circuit Clerk at the Marshall County Courthouse, 122 N Prairie Street, Lacon. They have records since 1850. You can request a search by mailing $6 per person per year and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to
    Circuit Clerk
    Marshall County Courthouse
    PO Box 328
    Lacon, IL 61540

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