Address Book For
  Hancock County Researchers 

They have an extensive card index and will do limited research in their collection. Their card index includes obituaries, cemetery inscriptions, newspaper clippings, county histories and scads of other materials. Volunteers do the work, so don't expect them to compile your entire family history. The society is a wonderful source of information--if you haven't used it you may wish to try. They have a significant newspaper collection for Carthage. The Historical Society also has the portion of the Illinois Marriage Index for Hancock County.

The Hancock County Historical Society (HCHS) has moved from the Carthage Courthouse (after thirty-one years there!, due to space crunch within the courthouse) to the Kibbe Hancock Heritage Museum, located at 306 Walnut St. in Carthage [mailing address is: HCHS, P. O. Box 68, Carthage, IL 62321-0068]. This location is located two blocks west of the only stop light in town which is on Rt 136, and one block south of the highway. Also - this is across the street south, of the Old Morman Jail.

Membership in the HCHS will [probably] be increased after the first of the year to $10 per year vice the current $8.

Shirley

IRAD has an extensive collection of Hancock County courthouse materials on microfilm and they will reply to specific lookups for more information. They don't charge for their time, just for their copies.

The courthouse generally will not do research, but IRAD will do lookups in their materials which includes MOST (but not all) pre-1900 materials in the courthouse.