For the Record: newsletter of the Illinois State Archives, & the Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board, Secretary of State & State Archivist

              The Sangamon County Probate Court Case Files Index
(1821-1885) is the latest online database addition to the
State Archives page on the Secretary of State’s Web
site. The case files themselves (record series
4/0274/01) are housed at the Illinois Regional Archives
Depository (IRAD) at the University of Illinois at
Springfield. IRAD interns compiled the index of some
3,485 entries.
Index entries provide the estate name, case file number,
date of death and various “remarks” on a particular file.
The death date is taken from the Affidavit of Deceased
whenever possible. If the word “missing” appears in
the remarks column, the case file in question is missing
and only its sleeve remains. The notation “disappeared”
indicates that the subject of the file has disappeared
and is presumed dead.
The actual case files are a rich source for historical and
genealogical information, including court term dates;
names of estates, probate judges and court clerks;
petitions, bonds, oaths and letters of estate
administrators, executors, guardians and conservators;
estate inventories; appraisement bills; petitions to sell
property; sale reports; accounts; receipts and
expenditure reports; final reports; and court orders and
decrees. Variously included are lists of heirs, claims
against the estate, and will records.
To access the database, go to
www.cyberdriveillinois.com (click Departments, then
State Archives, then Search Our Online Databases). A
name search can be initiated of the specific database
alone or by a broader global search of all the name
databases combined.
For the
Fall 2003
Newsletter
of the
Illinois
State
Archives
&
The Illinois
State Historical
Records
Advisory Board
Jesse White
Secretary of State
&
State Archivist
Volume 17
Number 3
www.cyberdriveillinois.com
Sangamon County Probate Court Case Files Index goes online
Recent budgetary constraints at the state and national levels have affected archives
repositories in both the public and private sectors. As Illinois State Archivist, I am
committed to finding ways that our State Archives can best perform its functions of
preserving and making accessible government and historically significant documents in the
most practical and cost-efficient ways. One method is to make information available on the
Internet. The Archives recently added the Sangamon County Probate Case File Index (1821-
1885) database to its page on my office’s Web site at www.cyberdriveillinois.com. This is the 52nd searchable
database made available online, and we plan to add more.
Along with providing information online, the State Archives continues to preserve local records and make them
available through our Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) system. There are seven IRADs in the state,
each containing records of interest from the region they serve. The Archives recently hired its 2003-2004
graduate intern class to help staff the regional depositories.
Illinois State Archives records date back to the 1700s. These records include everything from the original Illinois
Constitution of 1818 to correspondence from most of our presidents. The mission of the State Archives is to
preserve and protect these documents as well as make them available to researchers and the general public. I
encourage you to check out the various databases on the Web site or visit your local Illinois Regional Archives
Depository for your archival information needs.
Jesse White
Secretary of State & State Archivist
Secretary of State Jesse White