Proving a Birth in 1850s Illinois

One is not always this fortunate. This record is from the guardianship of Francis and Louise Bieger, daughters of Peter Bieger. This wonderful document gave me the dates of birth for Francis and her sister.

The only drawback for the family was that the father had to die for the record to be created. How he died is another story altogether.

Peter died in 1855 in Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois. He is my 3rd great-grandfather. This image came from a digital copy I made from the Family History’s microfilm of the county records.

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2 thoughts on “Proving a Birth in 1850s Illinois

  1. Vickie Sheridan says:

    Do I understand that you searched the microfilm records for the county in Illinois on Family Search? My great grandmother arrived in approx1854 from Switzerland. According to her obituary, both parents died a few months after her arrival and she was raised by another family. I have not been able to discover any guardianship records. Hopefully this might give me a new place to search. My relatives lived in either Bond County, Clinton County or Madison County in Illinois. I believe they were going to the Highland area since they were Swiss.

    • Yes. But FamilySearch does not have everything. It’s also worth noting that guardianships (such as the one referenced in the post) are usually only undertaken when the minor children have an estate of a value worth protecting. In this case, their father owned a home and a tavern and the guardianship was to protect their interest in that property.

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