Source Information

Ancestry.com. Will County, Illinois, U.S., Saint Dennis Catholic Church Vital Records, 1852-1951 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
Original data: Will County, Illinois, Saint Dennis Catholic Church Vital Records, 1852-1951. Vol. 1–9. Lockport, Will County, Illinois: Saint Dennis Catholic Church.

About Will County, Illinois, U.S., Saint Dennis Catholic Church Vital Records, 1852-1951

Contained in this database are birth, marriage, and death records for Saint Dennis Catholic Church. Church records rank among the very best genealogical records available worldwide, but they are one of the most under-used sources in American genealogy. Until the advent of vital statistics in the United States—a very late development in most states—church records were the primary source of birth, marriage, and death information.

The Saint Dennis Catholic Church, established in 1846, was a consolidation of the Haytown mission, a temporary settlement for canal workers, into the Saint Dennis parish at Lockport. The Irish-born Father Dennis Ryan who was assigned to the area was welcomed by the large concentration of Catholic Irish immigrants. From 1846 until 1880 the parish boundaries extended along the canal beginning at the city limits of Chicago and reaching to those of Joliet. During the 1860s an increasing number of German immigrants, merchants, and farmers began to arrive in the area. Due to cultural and language differences these immigrants chose to establish their own church, which became Saint Joseph Church. Saint Dennis was later considered the mother church for other churches and missions along the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

If your ancestor resided here during this time period, chances are they would have been a worker on the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which was the main draw to the area. This project allowed boat transportation from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, and many of its workers had previously helped construct the Erie Canal. The majority of the workforce was Irish and ill-treated, as the Irish were considered a sub class at the time both because of their nationality and their Catholicism. Canal work was also very dangerous and many workers died, although there are no records which show how many. When the canal was finished several workers turned to the land and became farmers.

Information in this index:

  • Surname
  • Birth, marriage, or death date
  • Age
  • Residence
  • Parents’ names