Cook County Birth Index, 1871-1916

About this index
The Cook County Birth Index, 1871-1916 is a microfiche index to some, but not all, births that occurred in Chicago and Cook County during those years. It doesn't include every birth that happened in Chicago or Cook County between those years because many births weren't reported.

Format
83 microfiche

Arrangement
Alphabetical

FHL Catalog
View Entry

Why search this index?
If you find an entry in the Cook County Birth Index, you can use the identification number to locate a birth register entry or a birth certificate.

Information included in the index

•  child's last name
  
•  child's first name and possibly middle initial OR first initial of father/given name of mother with "&" in the column for middle initial, if not when the report was made
  
•  date of birth
  
•  place of birth, Chicago or Cook County (outside Chicago)
  
•  identification number

Search tips

(1) Children who weren't named when the report was made appear in the index under their father's initial and their mother's given name with "&" in the initial column. A child born to James and Helen Bielby might appear as "J Helen &." This type of entry is very common for births from the 1870s.

(2) If you find an entry in the index and want to search for a birth register entry or a birth certificate, it is important to distinguish between "Chicago" and "Cook County" as the records were filmed separately.

(3) If the identification number is prefixed with "DS or ODS" it means that the record is a delayed birth certificate. In other words, the birth was reported much later than it took place, probably in the 1940s. Except for Birth corrections and delayed births, 1916-1918, delayed registration certificates are not available through the Family History Library system. Check with the Cook County Clerk's office to see if the delayed certificate that you need is available.

(4) Children sometimes appear under unexpected given names. A child known as "Mae Townsend," might actually have been registered as "Louisa Mae Townsend."

(5) Surnames may not be spelled in the way that you expect. Lena Hanson might be in the index under "Hansen" or even "Hauson."

(6) Juniors appear at the end of the surnames. Look for Adam Smith, Jr. after Zachariah Smith.

(7) If the certificate number is preceded by "A," "B," "C," "D," or "E," those letters refer to early birth register books and the numbers refer to a page and line number.

(8) If a name doesn't appear in the index, it doesn't mean that the individual wasn't born in Cook County; many early births weren't registered. (For more information on birth registration in Illinois visit the Illinois State Archives Website.)

(9) If you don't find a name in the birth index and you have a month and year of birth, check the birth registers. It's a good way to check for unexpected spellings because births beginning with the same first letter of surname are grouped together by month and year.

(10) Other options for finding evidence of a Chicago or Cook County birth include checking the Chicago Delayed Birth Index or searching church records for baptisms.

(9) Although the title of this index says "1916," it appears that very few births from 1916 are included and with a few exceptons, it may actually end with 1915.