This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Yg.2ADE/898.1.1.1 Message Board Post: Unfortunately there are no records anywhere in the state of Illinois for that time frame. It was not a requirement to file a birth certificate until 1877. Regarding newspapers....in Mt. Carroll there are some newspapers that cover that time frame, however, they probably didn't record births in other towns unless they were very prominent people. THe Savanna papers on record do not go back beyond 1887. The only possibility for a birth record would potentially be a church record or some kind of biography (again generally only prominent people). Census records may indicate some kind of birth date, but little about the individual. Sincerely, Cathy Brunner