Place:Kankakee, Illinois, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Kankakee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 113,449, which is an increase of 9.3% from 103,833 in 2000. Its county seat is Kankakee.

The Kankakee-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Kankakee County. The county is also part of the larger Chicago–Naperville–Michigan City, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical Area.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Starting in the 1770s if not earlier the area that is now Kankakee County was dominated by the Pottawatami.

French Canadian Settlers came to Kankakee County in 1834, after the federal government signed the Treaty of Camp Tippecanoe in 1832. They were shortly later joined by migrants from New York and Vermont moved their way west, mostly locating in Momence, Illinois. In the 1840s most of the migrants were French Canadians or Metis and they settled in such places as Bourbonnais.

An act of the Illinois Legislature created Kankakee County out of the north part of Iroquois County and the south part of Will County on February 11, 1853. The six original townships were: Yellowhead, Rockville, Bourbonnais, Momence, Aroma Park, and Limestone. The population of the new county was about 8,000. It wasn’t until 1855 that the two western townships of Norton and Essex were taken from Vermilion County and added to Kankakee County. The County was named for the Kankakee River.

Timeline

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990

Research Tips

External links

• KanWiki Kankakee's Wiki - A great website for information and history of Kankakee.
• Outstanding guide to Kankakee County family history and genealogy resources (FamilySearch Research Wiki). Birth, marriage, and death records, censuses, wills, deeds, county histories, cemeteries, churches, naturalizations, newspapers, libraries, and genealogical societies.
• www.co.kankakee.il.us/