View or Order Marriage License from 1860s Illinois

Question

I recently found record of Joseph Wager's marriage to Louise Kleinknecht, but I'm hoping there's somewhere I can see the actual marriage license (on the off chance I can glean even a scrap of additional information from it).  They were married in 1868 and the license number was 340.  Where do I go to get the license?  I'd prefer a digital copy, like something I can see today, but I will buy a copy and have it sent to me.  Help.

Answer 1

You do not mention where you found the Marriage Record.  However the Illinois Digital Archives and Illinois State Archives may have your answer.

This webpage has a description of Marriage records and how to obtain them, if possible.  https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/databases/marriage.html

There is also a search page for the Marriage Index.

Comments

Groom	Bride	Date	Volume	Page	Lic No.	County
WEGER, JOSEPH	KLEINKNECHT, LOUISA	1868-09-24	4	18	340	PEORIA

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Also check this page for many other databases and where the records are housed: https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/databases/home.html

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Yes, I have the marriage license number but I want a copy of the actual marriage license.  I don't understand the instruction for how to see if they still have the original marriage license.  When I follow the link I can't find the title bar I'm supposed search "marriage" in.  I don't know why I can't follow these instruction they seem simple but I can't find where I'm actually supposed to be able to order this or even verify if they have the license.

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Under "Copies" of the Marriage record page you need to check the IRAD records to see if your county's Marriage documents are stored there.  I checked, Peoria county is NOT. (they do house other Peoria records though).  So you need to contact the Peoria County Clerk for the Marriage documents.

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Thank you!

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You can view information on requesting a genealogical copy of Peoria County vital records here. I've found them very helpful in the past.
https://www.peoriacounty.org/219/Genealogy-Requests

Answer 2

The Illinois regional centers have been helpful to me in the past, but they may not have everything.

I'd suggest looking for the county website for Peoria, and see what it tells you about marriage records specific to them.

I recently got a 1905 marriage record from Macoupin County, Illinois, and it appeared the only way to get this one was directly through them. I didn't have an exact date, but I did have a newspaper item of 3 lines that gave me a location. (The couple had apparently eloped from a few counties away.)

The record I got was well worth the $5 fee. It had everything I was looking for, including confirmation of both parents' names. And it is an image, not a transcript.

Hope this helps!