part of the Genealogy Trails Group Volunteers Dedicated to Free Genealogy This county is available for adoption! Our goal is to help you track your ancestors through time by transcribing genealogical and historical data for the free use of all researchers. If you would like to volunteer to help us add data to this website and/or become host of this county site, please view our Volunteer Information page and email Kim (A desire to transcribe data and the know-how to make a basic webpage is required This County website currently does not have a host. This means that there is no one available to help answer your questions about this county's history or to help you with your family's genealogy within this county. If you need help getting started with your research, please visit our Research Page where you will find links to the available online databases, as well as links to the most helpful researching sites.   Will County is located in northeastern Illinois, south of Cook County. The county seat is in Joliet, Illinois which is located approximately 40 miles southwest of Chicago on the Des Plaines River. The county received its name from Dr. Conrad Will, a member of the first Constitutional Convention and a member of the Illinois Legislature until his death in 1835. In the year 1836, January 12th, Will County was formed from Cook County, Illinois and Iroquois County, Illinois and included besides its present area, the part of Kankakee County, Illinois lying north of the Kankakee River. Will County lost a small area when Kankakee County, Illinois was organized in 1852, but since then its boundaries have been unchanged. LOOK-UP OFFER!!! Trica has a copy of the 1878 Will County History. Send your surname query to her at rbbtfarm@charter.net History Cities & Townships History of Will County, Illinois by Wm. LeBaron, Jr., & Co., 1878 Will County Early Settler and Other Historical Tales Will County Settlers Early Settlements of Will County and their Pioneers Vital Records The First 50 Recorded Marriages Marriages Baptisms Deaths Biographies 1867 and 1870 Diary of Conrad Bender Newspaper Data Index to Newspaper Stories Obituaries Court Records 1837 Index to Will County Probate Court Records in Joliet Wills Will County Residents listed in the Joliet Prison Convict Register Military Data Will Co Revolutionary War Soldiers (on our main website) Will Co in the Civil War. List of Regiments Will Co Spanish-American War Veterans WW2 Will County Soldiers WW2 Casualties (on our main website) Pensions Cemeteries List of Cemeteries Our Transcriptions: Bohemian National Cemetery Elmhurst Cemetery Burials Evergreen Hill Cemetery Burials Lincoln National Cemetery -Pictoral Presentation Lockport City Cemetery German Lutheran Cemetery Green Garden Methodist Cemetery Oakwood Cemetery Plainfield Cemetery Rose Hill Cemetery St Johns Catholic Cemetery St Patricks Catholic Cemetery Twining Cemetery Wilton Center Cemetery Zarley Cemetery Census and Tax Lists 1842 Tax List 1850 Mortality Schedule 1860 Mortality Schedule 1880 Census - Will County Residents in the Illinois Northern Hospital for the Insane in Elgin, IL 1880 Census - Supplemental Schedules for the Defective, Dependent and Delinquent Classes 1880 Federal Census Excerpts Churches and Schools Churches & Pastors from 1859 Directory Schools: New Lenox School Class Pictures     SEARCH OUR SITES Links To Illinois Genealogy Trails Neighboring Counties Websites (Hit the back button on your browser to return here!) Cook County ~~ Dupage County ~~ Kane County ~~ Grundy County Kendall County ~~ Kankakee County     Will County Links (Hit your 'back' button on your browser to return here!) "Fifteen Years Ago: or the Patriotism of Will County"  by George H. Woodruff Joliet Department of Corrections View Historic Photos or pull up the name of an inmate. Three Letters from Company H Soldiers  (Civil War) Cemeteries of Will County.....Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Barnet Cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery (Braidwood), Oakwood (Old) Cemetery (Willmington), Mt. Olivet Cemetery, North Providence Ridge Cemetery, Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery Index of Names for Trinity Lutheran (North & South) Cemetery and Zion Lutheran Cemeteries of Crete, Will County, Illinois The Joliet Public Library has an Index of Names for obituaries and death notices published in the Joliet Herald News, starting in 1996 - 2008 MANGUN Family Website - Farming in New Lenox in the early 1900's South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society - Serving south Cook and east Will counties. Check out their 1861-62 Military Census transcription and name index to WW2 letters sent to Harvey soldiers. Will County Clerk 302 N. Chicago Street Joliet IL 60432 (815) 740-4615 Join our mailing list! Visit the Genealogy Trails   Illinois State Site Visit our National Site This site was updated on 8 Jan 2010 © Genealogy Trails All materials contained on these pages are furnished for the free use of those engaged in researching their family origins. Any commercial use, without the consent of the host/author of these pages is prohibited.   All persons contributing material for posting on these pages does so in recognition of their free, non-commercial distribution, and further, is responsible to ensure that no copyright is violated by their submission. Submitters retain all Copyrights.