How to Find Cook County Marriage Licenses, 1871-1900
Step 1
Search the Illinois
Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900.
If you find a matching entry,
note the license number and proceed to Step 2.
If you don't find a
matching entry, proceed to Step 3.
Step 2
Copies of marriage licenses up to 1900 can be
obtained from IRAD at NEIU (about $1) or you can request a
lookup through ChicagoGenealogy.com ($5). You can also access Cook County marriage
licenses, 1871-1916
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).
Please note
that Cook County marriage licenses and applications did not ask for parent
names.
Step 3
If you don't
find a match for the license you're looking for in the online index, try
one or more of the following:
Search the online index using only a few
letters of the surnames. It's not uncommon for names to be
misspelled.
Check the online Chicago Tribune. Some Chicago
newspapers published lists of marriage licenses issued during some, but not all,
years. If you find a name there, but can't find it in the index to get the
license number, check the index for a name just above or just below. The
newspaper lists appear to be in issue-order and the license number can be
deduced if can find one for another name on the list.
Check for the
marriage in Lake
County, Indiana (subscription index at Ancestry.com) and in St. Joseph, Michigan ( 1832-1887 at Michigan GenWeb; 1889-1925 at RootsWeb)