Hardin County Genealogy

Hardin County genealogy records are maintained at the county clerk office in Elizabethtown, a village on the Ohio River in the far southern tip of Illinois. With a population around 3,000, Hardin County is the second smallest county in Illinois by population. The county formed in 1839 from Pope County. Despite its small size, the records here go back nearly 200 years. Families who settled along the Ohio River in southern Illinois left a trail of marriage licenses, land deeds, and court records that the clerk still holds. The IRAD depository at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale preserves older Hardin County government documents for genealogy research.

Hardin County Clerk Office

The Hardin County Clerk is at 103 E. Main St, Elizabethtown, IL 62931. The phone number is (618) 287-2735. This office holds birth, death, marriage, and land records for Hardin County. Birth and death records at the county level start in the late 1870s, following the Illinois statewide pattern. Marriage records go back to the 1839 founding of the county. Land records also date to the earliest years.

Hardin County is tiny and remote. The county seat, Elizabethtown, is not near any major highway, and the clerk office serves a small population. That can work in your favor for genealogy research. With fewer records to sort through, the staff can often find what you need quickly. The county has not had a major courthouse fire, so records from 1839 forward are mostly intact. That is a long, unbroken run for an Illinois county. The Counties Code (55 ILCS 5) designates the county clerk as the keeper of vital records in every Illinois county, no matter how small.

Walk-in visits work, but call ahead. Small county offices can have limited or irregular hours. Mail requests should include the full name, dates you know, the record type, a check for the fee, and a copy of your photo ID. Make checks to the Hardin County Clerk.

Hardin County and the Ohio River

Hardin County sits along the Ohio River, which forms the border with Kentucky. This is significant for genealogy because the Ohio River was a major travel and settlement route in the early 1800s. Many families who ended up in Hardin County came from Kentucky, Virginia, or the Carolinas. They crossed the Ohio River and settled in southern Illinois. If your Hardin County ancestors came from the south, checking Kentucky county records on the other side of the river can fill in gaps.

The river connection also means that some Hardin County families had ties to Kentucky towns just across the water. Marriages, church memberships, and business dealings sometimes happened on the Kentucky side even if the family lived in Illinois. The Illinois State Archives has free online databases with a marriage index from 1763 to 1900 and a death index from the early 1900s to about 1950. Hardin County entries may appear in both. Check those first since they cost nothing to search.

The state birth certificate ordering page above shows the process for getting copies from IDPH. For Hardin County births before 1916, the county clerk in Elizabethtown is the source. After 1916, IDPH has statewide copies.

Hardin County Records at IRAD

The IRAD depository for Hardin County is at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Call (618) 453-3040 to ask about Hardin County holdings. IRAD stores historical government records that counties transfer for long-term preservation. Court files, probate records, naturalization papers, and other county documents may be at the Carbondale location. For a county as old as Hardin, there could be interesting records in the IRAD collection from the mid-1800s.

Research at IRAD is free and open to everyone. You can take photos of documents during your visit at no charge. Staff accept mail and phone requests but limit them to two names per request. The IRAD holdings database lets you look up what Hardin County records are stored at SIU before you make the trip to Carbondale. The Local Records Act (50 ILCS 205) is the state law that created IRAD and governs the preservation of county records.

Searching Hardin County Genealogy

Start at the clerk office in Elizabethtown for Hardin County vital records and land files. The Illinois Department of Public Health keeps statewide birth and death records from 1916 forward. IDPH genealogy requests go by mail and take about 12 weeks to process. The state fee is $10 per copy. For Hardin County records between the 1870s and 1916, the county clerk is the only source.

The Vital Records Act (410 ILCS 535) controls when genealogy copies are available. Birth records open 75 years after the birth date. Death records open after 20 years. Marriage records become available after 50 years. For most Hardin County records from the 1800s, these time limits have passed, so genealogy copies are fully accessible. The Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140) covers other public records at the county level beyond vital records.

• Hardin County Clerk: vital records, marriage files, land deeds
• IRAD at SIU: historical government records from the county
• Illinois State Archives: free online marriage and death indexes
• IDPH: statewide birth and death from 1916 by mail
• Kentucky county clerks: for families who crossed the Ohio River

Note: Hardin County's small population means the clerk office handles a low volume of requests, which can sometimes speed up turnaround times for mail requests.

Nearby Counties

Hardin County is in the far southern tip of Illinois along the Ohio River. Only a few counties border it. Check these nearby areas if your Hardin County search needs broadening.