Illinois' Oldest Civil Record

Tucked away in the vault of the Illinois State Archives, is a book titled “Registre des Insinuations des Donations aux Siege des Illinois’ (Record of the Registrations of Donations in Illinois). Its cover is stained and worn, and the pages have been besieged by neglect, rodents, and time yet despite its tattered appearance the book represents a significant period in Illinois history.

Hon. J. Nick Perrin discovered the book in 1890 while searching through the St. Clair county archives. Written in French and bound in hog hide, the book is believed to be the oldest complete recording of civil records in Illinois, containing but not limited to records of gifts by will and marriage contracts. The first entry is a marriage contract between Louis Normand LaBryère and Catherine Clements on January 15, 1737 recorded at Fort Chartres by the French Royal Notary Jean Baptiste Barrois. The 146 pages cover thirty-two years but are sparsely filled, with only five other entries recorded during 1737. 

Notary Barrios was stationed in Kaskaskia by the French Government and charged with looking after the civil affairs of the Illinois country. His position was overseen by Marine officer Louis Auguste de la Loere Fleaucourt, stationed in New Orleans, who made the journey to the Illinois countries to add his signature of approval to the book.  

Records show the register was kept by the clerk at Kaskaskia from 1737-1754 then moved to Fort de Chartres after its construction was completed. It stayed at the fort until it was moved to St. Louis in 1768. By 1769 the Register was no longer in use. It is unclear what happened to the register after that point or how it was misplaced. According to Perrin, the register had been “buried for more than 100 years beneath a mass of documents." until he uncovered it while looking for historic documents for St. Clair’s centennial celebration.