Welcome to the Ogle County, Illinois Genealogy Site




Ogle County was formed in 1836


Neighboring Counties

Boone

Carroll

DeKalb

Lee

Stephenson

Whiteside

Winnebago

 Black Hawk Statue near Oregon, Illinois....In the Heart of the Rock River Valley

The Black Hawk Statue was created by Lorado Taft and John G. Prasuhn beginning in 1908. One of Lorado's daughters, Emily, married Illinois U.S. Senator Paul Douglas. Lorado and his family lived in Rockvale Twp. in 1900 where his 2 daughters were born. Click here for more information on Lorado Taft's photo, family and the statue.

Click here for picture from 1911.

Article written for "Scientific American" by sculptor, John G. Prasuhn, September 7, 1912 issue: "How the statue to the American Indian was built."

Lorado Taft's Indian statue "Black Hawk", an account of the unveiling ceremonies at Eagle's Nest Bluff, July 1, 1911, Frank O. Lowden, presiding.

    
Introduction to the Ogle County Genealogy Site

This site was created by Kathryn Arnold-Stauffer in 1997.  Kathyrn maintained it for four years until the current webmaster, Roger Cramer, took over on October 1, 2001.  A major revision was completed in January 2003. A search engine was added in October 2003.

This site is the result of the efforts of many people researching and documenting the history of Ogle County and its people.  Sharing genealogical information is the only way we can put all the pieces of the puzzle back together again for future generations. Please feel free to browse the site, donate information and pictures or offer suggestions for improvement. 

Anyone that has access to and is interested in transcribing biographies or obituaries for adding to this site, please contact me

If you would like one of our volunteers to assist you in Ogle Co. research, please look at our list of Research and Lookup Volunteers. If you have information pertaining to Ogle Co. families and would like to be a volunteer to help others, please contact me.

NOTE: THE OGLE CO. GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY MATERIALS HAVE BEEN MOVED TO THE OGLE CO. HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MUSEUM IN OREGON. Click on their site for information regarding location and hours:

Ogle Co. Historical Society and Museum, Oregon, IL

Ogle Co. Historical Society Newspaper Scanning Project

Doris Vogel 1922-2020 - Long time Ogle Co. researcher and founder of the Ogle Co. Historical Society-information and obituary

White Rock Township History Book by Dawn (Hayenga) Somers - 545 pages

Chana Sesquicentennial Book

Polo Digitized Historial Newspapers (1865-1919) Polo Public Library

Byron Digitized Historical Newspapers (1870-2013 Byron Public Library

Davis Junction Museum and Historical Society Buy-A-Brick Fundraiser

Henry Spencer Stinson and Blanche Violet Anderson Family History Book..includes many people who lived in the Lynnville Township area

175 Year History Book for Lindenwood and Lynnville Twp.

Leaf River Historical Society has published "Leaf River's Yesterday's" booklet and "It Happened in Leaf River" calendar

Byron Museum of History and Lucius Read House

Ogle Co. Weather

Searches for birth, marriage, and death records can be requested via e-mail from the Ogle Co. Clerk's Office. Birth records begin in 1860, marriages in 1837, and deaths in 1878, however Illinois law did not require these records to be kept until 1916 so many went unreported. If document is found, the following information is required: name of person, date of event, type of document and a self addressed stamped envelope for return of document. Click here for more information on requesting records.

Visit this site often as new information is continuously being added

What's Inside
Cemetery lists of all locations, many photos and inscriptions of those buried in Ogle Co. 
Census: Transcribed records: 1840  1850 1860 1870 1910 1930 - Mortality Index 1850 1860 - Illinois Census Record Site ***Actual census records-1840, 1860, 1880, 1900 and 1930
Obituaries of many early Ogle Co. settlers
Biographies of many early Ogle Co. settlers ***Ogle Co. 1859, 1878, 1899, 1900 and 1938 Biography and History Books *** Polo Centennial Book 1857-1957 *** Bicentennial History of Ogle County-1976
Canada Settlement in Ogle Co., IL story of the Lawrence, Poole, Slater, Sanborn and Johnson families coming to Ogle Co. in the 1830's
Genealogy, History and Facts of Ogle Co. *** Reasons for settling in early Ogle Co.
Resource links to genealogical research sites, libraries, maps, projects and more. Contact Look-up Volunteers
Photos of some early Ogle Co. settlers and area sites of interest *** Tombstone Photos
Family Site links to various Ogle Co. family web sites
Church historical photos and descriptions in Ogle Co.***Voice of the Prairie..brief history of Polo, IL 1857-1957
Township Maps current and from 1872 *** 1872 Twp. Resident Directory *** County Officers from 1837 through 1872 *** Family reunions from the past
Newspapers available on microfilm *** Various Byron newspapers 1874-1969 click on newspaper title*** Clamming on the Rock River c. 1900's-1930's
Ogle Co. Civil War Volunteers *** Ogle Co. "Old Guard" Documents***Civil War and WW I Veteran Photos
Biographies from "Brethren in Northern Illinois and Wisconsin"
Ogle Co. Veterans from "History of Ogle Co., IL" by H. F. Kett & Co., Chicago, IL, 1878

site search by freefind advanced

Due to spelling errors in original recording of census records and difficulty in transcribing these records for this site, you may not find who you are looking for in a search. It is recommended that you also read actual census and cemetery records for other possibilities. Cemetery records on this site include some links to FindAGrave.com - Occasionally some gravestones are missed when being recorded.

If you do not find who you are looking for: contact me: Roger Cramer I've been researching early Ogle Co. families for the past 20 years.

Roger and Sue Cramer's Genealogy Site