Kendall County, Illinois Genealogy

Source Notes

Some of the records were compiled from microfilm copies of Kendall County marriages filmed by the Latter Day Saints Church. Some records were compied from official Kendall County Marriage Registers, Book A-1, Book 1 and Book 2, covering the period from May 1841 to September 1915. These Marriage Registers were viewed at the County Clerk & Recorder Office of Kendall County in Yorkville, IL.

Marriage Register Book A-1 included the name of the groom, the name of the bride, date of license and license number, and generally the date of marriage. It also included the person by whom they were certified (minister, judge, Justice Of The Peace, etc.) and when the marriage certificate was returned to the County Clerk's office. The date the certificate was issued was always given but in some cases the date of marriage was not provided. In these cases, the date the license was issued was used as the date of marriage. These cases are indicated by an asterisk (*) after the date. Notations in the index of Marriage Register Book A-1 indicate that some of the original marriage certificates are missing even though the marriage is registered.

Marriage Registers Books 1 and 2, included space for a considerably larger amount of relevant information. The following information was supplied: the number of the license; the date of license; by whom affidavit, if any, was given; by whom consent to the marriage was given; where and when the marriage took place; a list of the witnesses; by whom the marriage was certified with their name and office (a minister, judge, Justice Of The Peace, etc.); the date the marriage license was returned to the county clerk's office; and the date the license was registered in the county clerk's office.
The following questions relating to the groom were asked: the full name of the groom; the groom's place of residence; the groom's occupation; the groom's age on his next birthday; the groom's race or color; the groom's place of birth; the groom's father's name; the groom's mother's name; and the number of the groom's marriage. The following questions relating to the bride were asked: the full name of the bride; the bride's maiden name if a widow; the bride's place of residence; the bride's age on her next birthday; the bride's race or color; the bride's place of birth; the bride's father's name; the bride's mother's name; and the number of the bride's marriage.

Unfortunately, many spaces in Marriage Registers, Books 1 and 2 were left blank and unanswered. The date a marriage certificate was issued was typically given. In some cases, the date of marriage was not provided. In these cases the date the license was returned or recorded, was used as the date of marriage, as the actual date is unknown.

Marriage records have been extended from the ending date in the official Marriage Registers of September 1915 until December 31, 1949. These marriage records were acquired from several sources. Early issues of the Kendall County Record and the Kendall County News read, and when a writeup of a marriage was found the information was added to the marriage record database. These entries are indicated by the Source code "Newspaper."

During some of the period between September, 1915 and December, 1949 a weekly list of the marriage licenses issued, was published in the local newspapers. These entries are indicated by the Source code "License." The dates indicated generally a short period before the actual wedding date.

A final significant source of marriage data was found in Lutheran Church records coded as follows:

Please see the Church Directory page for contact information for the above churches, if they still exist.