Illinois Family History Research

Illinois Family History Research

French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the Illinois River in 1673. In 1680, other French explorers constructed a fort at the site of present day Peoria, and in 1682, a fort atop Starved Rock in today's Starved Rock State Park. As a result of this French exploration, Illinois was part of the French empire until 1763, when it passed to the British with their conquest of New France. The small French settlements continued; a few British soldiers were posted in Illinois, but there were no British or American settlers. In 1778, George Rogers Clark claimed the Illinois Country for Virginia. The area was ceded by Virginia to the new United States in 1783 and became part of the Northwest Territory.

• Illinois Census & Voter Lists
• Illinois Birth, Marriage & Death
• Illinois Military
• Illinois Immigration & Travel
• Illinois Newspapers & Publications
• Illinois Pictures
• Illinois Schools, Directories & Church Histories
• Illinois Tax, Criminal, Land & Wills
• Illinois Reference, Dictionaries & Almanacs
• Illinois Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers
• Illinois Stories, Memories & Histories

Search for historical records for ancestors in Illinois.

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