Arlington Heights Genealogy Records
Arlington Heights genealogy records connect researchers to family roots in one of the largest villages in Cook County. With a population near 76,000, this northwest suburb has deep ties to the Chicago area going back to the mid-1800s. Vital records for Arlington Heights go through the Cook County Clerk at 118 N. Clark Street in Chicago. The Arlington Heights Memorial Library also stands out as a top genealogy resource with its Kathrine Shackley Room, Swedish record databases, and FamilySearch Center. Whether you need a birth record from Cook County or help tracing Scandinavian roots, Arlington Heights has the tools to get you started.
Arlington Heights Genealogy Quick Facts
Arlington Heights Vital Records
Arlington Heights does not keep its own vital records. The Cook County Clerk at 118 N. Clark St., Room 120, Chicago, IL 60602 handles all birth, death, and marriage records for the village. Call (312) 603-5656 for questions. Cook County has birth records from 1871 and death records from 1872. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed most records before those dates. For Arlington Heights genealogy, your search at the county level starts in that 1871 range.
Birth and marriage copies cost $15 first and $4 for each extra copy. Death records are $17 first and $6 for each one after. The Cook County Clerk also has an award-winning online genealogy database where you can search birth, death, and marriage indexes. That can save you a trip to Chicago if you are just looking for basic information about an Arlington Heights ancestor.
Under the Vital Records Act (410 ILCS 535), genealogy copies become available on a set schedule. Birth records open after 75 years. Death records are accessible after 20 years. Marriage records can be searched after 50 years. These genealogy copies are uncertified and marked for genealogical use only. Mail requests to Cook County take about 20 business days, though genealogy orders sometimes run longer.
Arlington Heights Memorial Library
The Arlington Heights Memorial Library is one of the strongest genealogy libraries in the Chicago suburbs. The centerpiece is the Kathrine Shackley Room, a dedicated space built for genealogy and local history research. The room holds reference books, microfilm, and digital tools that cover Arlington Heights and the surrounding area. If you are serious about tracing family in this part of Cook County, the Shackley Room should be on your list.
What makes this library stand out is its database access. The library subscribes to ArkivDigital, which holds Swedish church records, court records, and census data from Sweden. If your Arlington Heights family came from Sweden, this is a rare find. Most public libraries in Illinois do not carry ArkivDigital. The library also has AmericanAncestors.com, which covers New England and the eastern United States. On top of that, the Arlington Heights Memorial Library serves as a FamilySearch Center. That gives you access to restricted digital records through FamilySearch that can only be viewed at an affiliate location.
Ancestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest, and other standard genealogy databases are free to use at the library. Staff in the Shackley Room can help guide your research if you are new to genealogy or stuck on a particular Arlington Heights family line. All of these resources are free with a library card.
Court Records for Arlington Heights Genealogy
The Circuit Court of Cook County holds records that go well beyond vital records. Their archives have more than 500,000 naturalization petitions from 1871 to 1929. If your ancestor came to the United States and settled near Arlington Heights, a naturalization petition may show their country of origin, arrival date, and a physical description. The archives are at 50 W. Washington, Room 1113, Chicago, IL 60602. Call (312) 603-6601 before visiting.
Probate files are in the court system too. Wills, estate inventories, and guardianship papers can all turn up details about Arlington Heights families. The Cook County court portal allows you to search some of these records online. For deeper research, the in-person archives provide the most complete access to Cook County court files.
Archival Records for Arlington Heights
The IRAD depository for Cook County is at Northeastern Illinois University, Ronald Williams Library, 5500 N. St. Louis Ave., Chicago, IL 60625. Call (773) 442-4506 for hours. This archive holds older local government records from Cook County. You will find vital records, land deeds, probate files, naturalization papers, and old court documents here. Research is free. If you cannot visit, you can submit up to two names per mail or phone request.
The Local Records Act (50 ILCS 205) protects these records from being discarded. For Arlington Heights genealogy, IRAD is a good backup when the Cook County Clerk or the court records do not have what you need. The archives sometimes hold records that did not make it into the main county system, especially from the mid to late 1800s.
State Genealogy Records
The Illinois Department of Public Health keeps statewide birth and death records from 1916 forward. Genealogy copies cost $10 and must be ordered by mail. You cannot order them online or through VitalChek. It takes about 12 weeks to process. The office is at 925 E. Ridgely Ave. in Springfield. Call (217) 782-6554 for details.
Free online databases through the Illinois State Archives cover marriage records from 1763 to 1900, death indexes from pre-1916 through 1972, and public domain land sales with about 550,000 entries statewide. These tools are free and can help you find Arlington Heights ancestors from your own computer without a trip or a fee.
Cook County Genealogy Records
Arlington Heights is in Cook County. All vital records go through the Cook County Clerk in Chicago. The county handles birth, death, marriage, land, and court records for Arlington Heights and more than 130 other municipalities. For full details on Cook County genealogy resources, fees, and contact info, visit the county page.
Nearby Cities
These villages near Arlington Heights also have genealogy resources and are served by Cook County or nearby county clerks.