How to Find Chicago and Cook County Birth Records, 1871-1915
Step 1Check the Cook County Birth Index, 1871-1916. It's available at research facilities such as the Illinois State Archives, IRAD at NEIU, the Family History Library in Salt Lake, and the Wilmette Family History Center. If you don't have access to it, you can request digital copies of index pages through this site.
When you search the index there are a few important things to remember:
- A child who wasn't named when the report was made will appear in the index
under the father's initial and the mother's given name with "&" in the
initial column. A child born to James and Helen Bielby might appear as "J
Helen &."
- Juniors appear at the end of the surnames. Look for Adam Smith, Jr. after
Zachariah Smith.
- Children sometimes appear under unexpected given names. A child known as
"Mae Townsend," might actually have been registered as "Louisa Mae Townsend."
If you have a birth date, check the index for matching dates of any given
name.
- Surnames may not be spelled in the way that you expect. Lena Hanson might
be in the index under "Hansen" or even "Hauson."
- Many Chicago births weren't reported; there may be no civil birth record
to find.
- Just because one sibling's birth was reported doesn't mean they all were.
If you don't find a matching entry, proceed to Step 3a.
Step 2a
Note the birth date, the certificate number, and whether the birth was in "Chicago" or "Cook County" (meaning outside the city).
If it was a Chicago birth, proceed to Step 2b.
If it was a Cook County birth (outside the city), proceed to Step 2c.
Step 2b
Check the certificate number.
If it is preceded by "DS" or "ODS" it means that the record is a delayed birth certificate. In other words, the birth was reported much later than it took place, probably in the 1940s. Check with the Cook County Clerk's Office to see if they can provide a copy of the certificate.
If the birth is before 1879 and the certificate number is preceded by "A," "B," "C," "D," or "E," those letters refer to early birth register books. You can request a lookup through ChicagoGenealogy.com ($5), access the Chicago birth registers, 1871-1915 through your local Family History Center (about $5.50 to order a film; no cost if film is at FHC), or send in a request to the Cook County Clerk's Office ($15).
If the certificate number is not preceded by letters, then you can request a lookup through ChicagoGenealogy.com ($5), access the Chicago birth certificates, 1878-1922 through your local Family History Center (about $5.50 to order a film; no cost if film is at FHC), or send in a request to the Cook County Clerk's Office ($15).
Step 2c
If the certificate is a "Cook County" record before 1894, you can request a copy of the record from IRAD at NEIU (about $1) or access the Cook County Birth Certificates (outside Chicago), 1878-1894 through your local Family History Center (about $5.50 to order a film; no cost if film is at FHC).
It it's a birth after 1894, it may appear on the films for the Chicago birth certificates and you can request a lookup through ChicagoGenealogy.com ($5.00 if found; no charge if the record isn't on the Chicago film).
Step 3a
There are a number of reasons why a name might not appear in the birth index.
The birth might not have been reported when the child was born. A January 1912 article in the Chicago Tribune, for example, suggests that as few as 50% of infants born might have actually been registered at that time. If the individual lived into the 1940s, consider checking the Chicago Delayed Birth Index.
The surname might be spelled in an unexpected way in the index. If you have a birth month and year (from the 1900 census, for example) and you think the surname might be spelled incorrectly in the index, try searching entries in the Chicago Birth Registers, 1871-1915. These pages can serve as an alternate index.
Other sources of birth information include:
- Newspaper Notices (though very few births seem to have been mentioned in the Chicago papers)
Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003
Subscription database; available at Ancestry.com; includes the Chicago Tribune, 1850-1985 and the Chicago Defender, 1921-1975
- Baptismal records
- School records (check Chicago Board of Education proceedings)
- World War I draft registration cards (available at Ancestry.com)
- Later passenger lists for United States citizens returning from abroad (available at Ancestry.com)
- Passport applications (available on FHL microfilm)