Reference Materials
I. Standard Printed Reference Material
Maps are the earliest resources. Between the late 1830’s when the surveyor maps were done and 1862 when the first plat map was compiled (showing land ownership), there is a 30 year period where map sources are scarce.
1837 – 1839. Original surveyor maps of each township. The McHenry County Historical Museum Library has photo static copies of each.
Earliest 1862 Plat Map of McHenry County. Published by M.H. Thompson & Brother, Map Publishers & Surveyors. This wall-size map shows land ownership and has county and cities platted as well as 27 structures depicted on border. Indexed.
New Combination Atlas of McHenry Co., 1872. Everts, Baskin & Stewart. Earliest published atlas of McHenry Co. Reprinted in 1985 by McHenry County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 184, Crystal Lake, IL 60039. Contains line drawings of various farmsteads and other buildings. Town and city maps included along with detailed township maps. Indexed but out of print.
1876 – Atlas of the State of Illinois. Union Atlas Co., Chicago. Besides the county map, also includes 1870 manufacturing statistics, population counts, a brief county history, business directory.
1877 – Directory of McHenry County, IL. Includes a brief history of each of the townships, a general history of the county, township directories and business directories for various communities. People were listed because of a paid subscription. Indexed.
1885 History of McHenry County. Chicago, Inter-State Publishing Co. First full history of the county with a biography of residents. Reprinted by The Woodstock Public Library. Indexed and out of print.
1892 – Plat Book of McHenry County. George A. Ogle & Co., Chicago. Also includes an Historical Directory of residents – listing business, township or village, post office, year of birth, nativity, when came to county. Village maps often identify businesses, good for the location of creameries.
1903 – Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois. Edited by Newton Bateman and Paul Selby. 2 volumes. The second volume contains 332 genealogy and biography records of McHenry County patrons as well as many portraits. Out of print.
1908 – Standard Atlas of McHenry County. By George A. Ogle & Co., Chicago. Also includes a patron’s reference directory and illustrations of patrons and buildings. Last of the atlases to identify county housing sites.
1915 – Rand McNally & Co.’s New Census Atlas of the World. Includes a landowners directory of northeast Illinois.
1917 – Prairie Farmer’s Reliable Directory of Farmers and Breeders, McHenry and Boone Counties. Includes arrival date into county, townships and sections of farm and family history in some cases. Out of Print.
1922 – History of McHenry County, 2 volumes. Chicago, Munsell Pub. Co. Volume 1 has local history and Volume 2 consists of 161 biographies and portraits. Out of print.
1968 – McHenry Co., Illinois 1832-1968. Lowell Albert Nye, Ed. McHenry Co. Board of Supervisors, publishers. There is a separate index to this publication. Out of print.
McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society four volume set of McHenry County cemeteries indexes. Vol. 1: Northwest Townships, 1990; Vol. 2: Southwest Townships, 1995; Vol. 3: Northeast Townships, 1997; Vol. 4: Southeast Townships, 2000.
1995 - McHenry County in the Twentieth Century. McHenry County Historical Society and Heart Publications, Inc. Every name index plus several hundred family histories. 1,256 pages.
Images of America – McHenry County, Illinois. By Maryan and Dan Pelland. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, North Carolina, 2002. This 128 page booklet contains mostly pictures with captions and provides a nice overview of 19th and 20th Century McHenry County. It is available through book stores.
Q. McHenry County: A Pictorial History, Vol. 1 published by the Northwest Herald, 2003, 128 pages. Excellent quality, all photo trip through county history.
A Collection of Memories by Don Peasley. 2005. Photos taken by author of area, especially Woodstock, between 1974 and 2005. Soft cover with pictures and captions. For purchase contact Don Peasley at 815-338-1533. Cost: $10.00 plus $3.00 for postage and shipping.
McHenry County, Illinois Marriages: Vol. IV: 1894-1899 published by the McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society. For purchase details see www.mcigs.org.
Microfilm census records for McHenry County: 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1920, 1930. Microfilm Agricultural Census for McHenry County: 1850 and 1865.
Family Maps of McHenry County, Illinois by Gregory A. Boyd, J.D. Arphax Publishing Company. Purchase at www.arphax.com.
Chicago—Lake Geneva, A 100 Year Road Trip published by The Chicago Map Society and the Newberry Library. Purchase at 773-702-7748 or sales@press.uchicago.edu.
* Historic Country Schools of McHenry County, Illinois by Crystal Lake author Robert Frenz and sponsored by the McHenry County Historical Society The indexed 232 page hard cover book documents each of the 140 plus one and two room rural schools in the county. Photos, maps, and recollections make this book special for anyone interested in area history. It is now available for purchase in Crystal Lake, McHenry, Union, and Woodstock. Call the McHenry County Historical Society for locations – 815-923-2267.
Notes on the Old Barber Cemetery in Riley Township in McHenry County, Illinois by Gary E. Swinson.
