Illinois Cemetery Records Research Guide
Illinois cemetery records can come in handy when you are trying to gather information for genealogy research.
Whether you are doing research for your own family tree, or helping someone else learn more about their family history, Illinois cemetery records can provide a lot of important pieces of information that is pertinent to this type of research.
You can easily access Illinois cemetery records. All you have to do is ask for them, and you will receive copies for a small administration cost.
Once you have these records, you can use them to start your research, or add to the work you have already done.
Illinois Cemetery and gravestone inscriptions are a rich source of information for family historians. For Definitions of all Cemetery Terms See Symbols on Gravestones and Their Interpretations
If You are Just Getting Started
If you are just starting your project, Illinois cemetery records can provide you with a lot of great information that will lead you to more ancestors to look up.
It is a good idea to do a little bit of work before you start looking for Illinois cemetery records.
You should get things set up, and have lists ready so you know what you want to look for in all of the documents you use, including Illinois cemetery records. Once you have your lists, you can go about getting all of the documents you will need.
In addition to Illinois cemetery records, you should also try to get the following documents:
- Birth Records
- Death Records
- Marriage/Divorce Records
- Census Records
Illinois cemetery records and the above-mentioned records can really help with your research. Another way to get a lot of great information is to talk to elderly relatives.
They can tell you things that happened many years ago, and provide you with information that you may not find in Illinois cemetery records, including fun stories and anecdotes you can add to make your completed family tree more fun and interesting for others to read.
They may also have documents hidden in the family bible that will help with your research.
Whether you are just starting your research, or you have already got some, or a lot of it done, you can get a lot of really great information out of Illinois cemetery records.
Research In Illinois Cemetery Records
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Genealogical Society of Utah have worked together to create a cemetery record collection covering Illinois cemeteries. The FHL also has a collection of records on file called ” Soldiers’ Burial Places in State of Illinois for Wars, 1774-1898.” It is compiled on 31 microfilm reels. Other cemetery records may be found in local genealogical and historical societies.
A statewide project to create an Illinois cemetery directory is currently being conducted by the Illinois State Genealogical Society. Researchers can contact their cemetery committee for more information on the project. The society’s website also lists information about the project.
Famous People Buried in Illinois Cemeteries
| County | Name / Date / Cemetery | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Adams | Hammond Jr. , Lester 3/25/1931 – 8/14/1952 Sunset Cemetery |
Korean War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. Hammond served as a Corporal, United States Army, Company A, 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. |
| Adams | Morgan, James Dada 8/1/1810 – 9/12/1896 Woodland Cemetery |
Civil War Union Brevet Major General. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, at the start of the Civil War, he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 10th Illinois Infantry Regiment on April 29, 1861. |
| Adams | Taylor, William G. 1/4/1905 – Sunset Cemetery |
Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. Served in the Union Navy during the Civil War as a Captain of the Forecastle on board the “USS Ticonderoga”. He was awarded the CMOH for his bravery in the failed first Union Army-Navy assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina on December 24 and 25, 1864. |
| Cook | Belushi, John 1/24/1949 – 3/5/1982 Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum |
Actor. Comedian. |
| Cook | Boggs, Francis 2/12/1905 – 10/27/1911 Graceland Cemetery |
Pioneer Motion Picture Director. Born in Santa Rosa, California, he made his acting debut in San Francisco and toured the southwest with stock companies before moving to Chicago in 1902. |
| Cook | Capone, Alphonse ‘Al’ 1/17/1899 – 1/25/1947 Mount Carmel Cemetery |
Organized Crime Figure, Chicago Gangster. Probably the best known of the 1920s gangsters, he controlled Chicago until brought down by FBI Agent Elliott Ness. |
| Cook | Capone, Alphonse ‘Al’ 1/17/1899 – 1/25/1947 Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery |
Organized Crime Figure, Chicago Gangster. Probably the best known of the 1920s gangsters, he controlled Chicago until brought down by FBI Agent Elliott Ness. |
| Cook | Chicago Volunteer Firefighter’s Memorial – Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum |
Erected in 1864, the monument honors all the volunteer fireman who served the City of Chicago. In October 1979, the monument was rededicated by the Firefighter’s Union of Chicago. |
| Cook | Fermi, Enrico 9/29/1901 – 11/28/1954 Oak Woods Cemetery |
PhysiciSt. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938. |
| Cook | Harris, Norman Wait 8/15/1846 – 7/15/1916 Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum |
Banker in Chicago, Harris Trust is named for him. |
| Cook | Harvey Sr. , Paul 9/4/1918 – 2/28/2009 Forest Home Cemetery |
News Commentator. Born Paul Harvey Aurandt, he was a radio legend who began his career in 1933 while still in high school. |
| Cook | Hennings, Ernest Martin 2/5/1886 – 5/19/1956 Memorial Park Cemetery and Crematorium |
ArtiSt. Painter of Western landscapes, Indian genre, figure compositions and portraits. |
| Cook | Krupa, Gene (Eugene Bertram) 1/15/1909 – 10/16/1973 Holy Cross Cemetery |
Band Leader, Drummer. He was considered to be the first drum “soloist” by his introduction of extended interludes into jazz renditions which brought the drum to the forefront in music. |
| Cook | Mac (McCullough), Bernie (Bernard Jeffrey) 10/5/1957 – 8/9/2008 Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery |
Comedian, Actor. Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, he began his career as a stand up comic in Chicago’s Cotton Pickin’ Club and in 1990, he won the Miller Lite Comedy Search at age 32. |
| Cook | Mayer, Oscar 3/29/1859 – 3/11/1955 Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum |
Business Magnate. Oscar F. Mayer was born in the Bavaria section of Germany. In 1873, at the age of 14, the family grocery business failed, and Oscar came to the United States with his cousin. |
| Cook | McCoy, Joe ‘Kansas’ 3/19/1905 – 5/3/1905 Restvale Cemetery |
Blues Musician. Born in Raymond, Mississippi, he was a guitar player best known as “Kansas Joe” on the music scene in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1920s. |
| Cook | Owens, Jesse (James Cleveland) ‘JC’ 9/12/1913 – 3/31/1980 Oak Woods Cemetery |
American Athlete. Jesse Owens first came to national prominence in 1933 when, as a senior at Cleveland East Technical High School, he tied the world record for the 100-yard dash. |
| Cook | Roebuck, Alvah Curtis 1/9/1864 – 6/18/1948 Acacia Park Cemetery and Mausoleum |
Businessman. Co-founder of Sears and Roebuck Company. |
| Cook | Rueckheim, Louis 9/1849 – 10/15/1927 Oak Woods Cemetery |
Inventor. He co-invented Crackerjack (caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts, sold with a small ‘prize’ in each box) with his brother Frederick, in 1871 at their Chicago Popcorn stand. |
| Cook | Sears, Richard Warren 12/7/1863 – 9/28/1914 Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum |
Businessman. He was the founder of Sears, Roebuck and Company, one of the the world’s most successful department store chains. |
| Cook | Ward, Aaron Montgomery 2/17/1843 – 12/7/1913 Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum |
Businessman. In 1872, he founded Montgomery Ward and Company, the world’s first mail order business. |
| Cook | Waters (Morganfield), Muddy (McKinley) 4/4/1915 – 4/30/1983 Restvale Cemetery |
Blues Musician. Born McKinley Morganfield, Muddy Waters received his more famous sobriquet as a child. |
| Cook | Williams, Daniel Hale 1/18/1856 – 8/4/1931 Graceland Cemetery |
Medical Pioneer. He is credited with performing the first open-heart surgery. |
| Crawford | Lagow, Clark Brading 11/7/1828 – 4/16/1867 Palestine Cemetery |
Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General. Served in the Civil War at first as a 1st Lieutenant in the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry. |
| Jasper | Ives (Ivanhoe), Burl Icle 6/14/1909 – 4/14/1995 Mound Cemetery |
Actor, Folk Singer, Author. Over the course of a long and diverse show business career, this imposing 300 pound singer appeared in some 30 movies, a dozen Broadway productions and recorded over 100 albums while making countless radio and television appearances. |
| Knox | Sandburg, Carl 1/6/1878 – 7/22/1967 Carl Sandburg Birthplace |
Author. Poet. |
| La Salle | Larrabee, James W. 1/12/1905 – 12/30/1907 Fourmile Grove Cemetery |
Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served as a First Sergeant in the Union Army. |
| Marion | Wilson, Robert Lee 5/24/1921 – 8/3/1944 Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery |
World War II Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. Served with Company D, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, 18th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. |
| Rock Island | Deere, John 2/7/1804 – 5/17/1886 Riverside Cemetery |
19th Century American inventor and industrialist, best known for founding the yard, farm and earthmoving equipment company that bears his name. John Deere was born in Rutland, Vermont, on February 7, 1804, the third son of William Rinold Deere, a merchant tailor. |
| Sangamon | Lincoln, Abraham 2/12/1809 – 4/15/1865 Oak Ridge Cemetery |
Sixteenth United States President. As newly elected Abraham Lincoln made his way by train to Washington to assume the Presidency, the Union was fast disintegrating with secession by South Carolina followed by seven other Southern States. |
| Sangamon | Lincoln, Mary Todd 12/13/1818 – 7/16/1882 Oak Ridge Cemetery |
Presidential First Lady. She was born to pioneer settlers in Kentucky. |
| Tazewell | Veterans Memorial – Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Park |
Memorial Site. Dedicated to all veterans of all wars by the VFW Post 2078. |
| Winnebago | Farnsworth, Elon John 7/30/1837 – 7/3/1863 Rockton Township Cemetery |
Civil War Union Brigadier General. Entered the service as 1st Lt in the 8th Illinios Cavalry and then served as captain. |
Illinois Cemeteries
Illinois Cemeteries & Graveyards Links
- Illinois Cemetery Records
- Web: Illinois, Find A Grave Index, 1809-2011
- Find a Grave – Illinois Cemeteries
- The Illinois Political Graveyard
- Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Illinois
- Illinois Revolutionary War Veteran Burials
- Illinois Cemetery Books
