General Questions
Search Questions
Account Questions
Where are vital records located?
- Typically, vital records—marriage, birth, and death—are filed in the county where the event occurred.
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What constitutes a vital record as a genealogy record in DeKalb County?
- Birth certificates that are 75 years or older (before today's date in 1949);
- Marriage licenses that are 50 years or older (before today's date in 1974);
- Death certificates that are 20 years or older (before today's date in 2004).
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What information appears on a DeKalb County genealogy record?
- Birth
- First Name
- Last Name
- Date of Birth
- Parental information
- Place of Birth
- Address at time of birth
- Marriage
- Groom’s Name
- Bride’s Name
- Officiant’s Name
- Date of Marriage
- Location of Marriage
- Date License was issued
- Date license was filed in county
- Death
- Decedent’s Name
- Date of Birth
- Place of Birth
- Parental Information
- Marital Status
- Last Address
- Occupation
- Location of Death
- Cause of Death
- Burial Location
Note: Depending on the year, some or all of the information listed above will be included in the record.
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What records does DeKalb County have available on Genealogy Online?
- Birth certificates: 1914 - 1936
- Marriage licenses: 1889 – 1961
- Death certificates: 1870 – 1991
Note: New records become available daily as they meet the genealogy criteria.
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Are adoption records available in DeKalb County?
- No, adoption records are sealed in DeKalb County.
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Are DeKalb County genealogical documents considered legal documents?
- No, DeKalb County genealogy documents are non-certified and are for historical research and information purposes only.
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Who can obtain a genealogy record?
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Why can't I get Birth Records 75 Years or Older?
- State law allows for the access of birth records 75 years and older. To safe guard our residents, we have instituted a policy that only 85 year and older birth records would be available online. If you wish to search or procure documents 75 years or older, please call our office at 815.895.7149 or visit us at 110 East Sycamore St., Sycamore, IL 60178.
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Try Using Alternate Spellings
If you are unable to locate a document by the full spelling of a last name, please try using alternate spellings. Because some records were handwritten in cursive, the spelling of a name sometimes could be interpreted several ways. Try switching around the vowels. For example, an "A" may be an "O" or "U". Consonants may also take a different appearances. An "L" could be an "F", "S" or "T". The letters "PH" could be an "F".
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How Soundex Works
The Soundex Code indexes names by sound as pronounced in English. Soundex can help genealogists by indentifying spelling variations for a given surname (last name). Surnames that sound the same but are spelled differently, such as REED/REID and SMITH/SMITHE, have the same code and are filed together.
Here’s how it works:
- Each code consists of a letter and three numbers, such as W235.
- The letter is always the first letter of the surname and the numbers encode the remaining consonants.
- Zeroes are added at the end if necessary to produce a four-character code. Additional letters are disregarded.
Here are a few examples:
- Weston is coded W235 (W, followed by 2 for the S, 3 for the T, and 5 for the N. The vowels are ignored.)
- Dever is coded D160 (D, followed by 1 for the V, 6 for the R, and 0 because there are no other consonants.)
| Number |
Represents the Letters |
| 1 | B F P V |
|---|
| 2 | C J G K Q S X Z |
|---|
| 3 | D T |
|---|
| 4 | L |
|---|
| 5 | M N |
|---|
| 6 | R |
|---|
Disregard the letters A, E, I, O, U, H, W, and Y.
There are a few exceptions to this code.
- If a surname has any double letters, such as WiLLiams, only the first should be counted.
- If a surname has at least two different letters side-by-side that are assigned the same code number, such as JaCKSon, they should be treated as one letter.
- Surnames with prefixes – Van, De, Con, for example – may be coded with or without the prefix. Try both ways.
- If a vowel separates two consonants that have the same code number, the consonant to the right of the vowel is coded.
Now that you've figured out your name's Soundex code, simply enter the code into the "Last Name" field on the search page.
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Where can additional records be found?
Check out our Community Links page to see more resources for your research!
- Generic Public Library
- Local Churches
If you can't find the records you are looking for try visiting the sites below for more information regarding genealogy records.
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My Account
My account allows you to change your password and retrieve previous orders within 30 days from the date of purchase. To access the My Account screen you will need to login using your email address and password. After successfully logging in, on the main navigational bar, will be a "My Account" hyperlink. The "My Account" hyperlink will take you to your account information in which you can change your password and view previous orders within 30 days from the date of purchase.
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I Forgot My Password
If you have forgotten your password to the DeKalb County Genealogy site, you can retrieve your password by clicking on the "Forgot Password" link on the main navigational bar or clicking here.
Once you have provided the email address associated with your dekalbgenealogy.com account and clicked the SUBMIT button, your password will be sent to your email address. If you do not receive an email, please check your Junk Folder and your email account filter settings.
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I Need More Information
For more information please complete our Contact form.
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