Chicago Genealogy Records and Sources on the Internet

This webpage lists some places you can find Chicago genealogy records and sources online. Be aware that some records were lost in the Chicago fire of 1871. However, other resources, like the Sam Fink Index, can sometimes be helpful in the pre-1871 period for Chicago genealogy research.

Chicago Vital Records and Obituaries Indexes (Birth, Marriage and Death Records)

• Cook County (including Chicago) Death Indexes
  • Online Chicago and Cook County Death Records, Indexes, Obituaries and Cemetery Burials

Note: to access images of the records for the FamilySearch links listed below, you must be at a FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch Affiliate Library. Viewing the online FamilySearch indexes requires free registration.

• Cook County (including Chicago) Birth Indexes
  • Cook County, Birth Certificates Index, 1871-1949 at FamilySearch
  • Cook County Birth Registers Index, 1871-1915 at FamilySearch
  • Cook County, Illinois, Birth Certificates Index, 1871-1922 (at Ancestry/requires payment) includes names of parents for most entries; index only, no images
  • Cook County, Illinois Birth Index, 1916-1935 (at Ancestry/requires payment) index only, no images

• Cook County (including Chicago) Marriage Indexes
  • Sam Fink's Chicago Death Notices Index, 1856-1889; and Marriage Notices Index, 1833-1871 (at Ancestry/requires payment) extracted from 10 Chicago newspapers
  • Cook County Marriages Index, 1871-1968 at FamilySearch
  • Cook County Marriage Indexes, 1912-1942 (at Ancestry/requires payment) The majority of the records indexed here are for 1914-1923.
  • Cook County, Illinois Marriage Index, 1930-1960 (at Ancestry/requires payment)
  • Illinois Statewide Marriage Index (coverage varies by county) includes 1833-April 1901 for Cook County (the 1833-1871 period is from the Sam Fink index)

Chicago City Directories and Telephone Books

• Chicago City Directories: Assorted Years 1844-1947 (at Ancestry/requires payment) Coverage and type of directory varies; many of the 20th Century directories are Business Directories.
• Chicago City Directories Online at ChicagoAncestors.org includes Chicago Street Guides for 1866, 1870, 1875, 1880, 1885, 1892, 1900, 1910 and 1923; and Chicago City Directories for 1866, 1870, 1871, 1875, 1880, 1885, 1892, 1900, 1910 and 1923
• Chicago City Directories at FamilySearch digitized microfilm; for the years 1844, 1854-1855, 1859-1860, 1865, and 1869-1901
• Chicago Telephone Books Online from the Library of Congress; includes some from Chicago suburbs
• Lurie Index of People in Chicago in 1937 as well as All of the Voters' Registration for Chicago digitized microfilm from FamilySearch; you must be at a FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch affiliate library to access these records online
• 1928 Chicago Criss-Cross Directory listed by street and address (alphabetical PDF files) may not work with some browsers -- try Firefox
• Directory of the City of Chicago, Illinois for 1843 (at Ancestry/requires payment); Gives date of death and age for some of the entries. Published in 1896.
• Fergus' Directory of the City of Chicago, 1839 (at Ancestry/requires payment); Published in 1876.
  • Also available at the Internet Archive: Fergus' Directory of the City of Chicago, 1839

Chicago and Cook County Naturalization Records

• See the Chicago/Cook County Section at:
• Online Illinois Naturalization Records and Indexes

Note: Cook County Naturalization records prior to 1871 were destroyed in the Chicago fire.

Chicago Voter Registration Records

• Chicago, Illinois, Voter Registration, 1888 at Ancestry/requires payment; includes images of the registers; Ancestry also has these records for 1890 and 1892
• Chicago, Voter Registers, 1888-1892 at FamilySearch; includes the towns of Lake View, Hyde Park, and Lake; viewing images may be restricted
• Also see the Lurie Index in the City Directories section above

Chicago Church Records

• Chicago, Catholic Church Records, 1833-1925 at FamilySearch includes images of the records; indexing not yet complete

Chicago Jewish Genealogy Records

• Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois (JGSI) Jewish Chicago Database (JJCD) includes information from cemeteries, obituaries and other items

Chicago Newspapers (Historical)

• The Illinois section at: Historical USA Newspapers and Indexes on the Internet includes links for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Examiner, Chicago Sentinel (weekly Jewish publication), Hyde Park Herald (neighborhood on Chicago's South Side), and others
• For Obituaries see the first link in the Vital Records section above.

Chicago Property Records and Building Permits

• Cook County Clerk's Office Record of Deeds Search
• Cook County Property Tax Portal
• Chicago Building Permits Digital Collection, 1872-1954
• Index to the American Contractor's Chicago Building Permit Column, 1898-1912

More Chicago Genealogy Online

• ChicagoAncestors.org from the Newberry Library has research tools, tips and online records
• The Chicago Genealogist Volumes 1-39 (1969-2007) The Chicago Genealogical Society's quarterly available for online searching
• Chicago Irish Families, 1875-1925 (at Ancestry/requires payment) has over 5000 entries, mostly from newspapers, parish records, cemetery inscriptions and other genealogy sources.