Research in Wisconsin Genealogy, Facts and Records Resources

Welcome to the Wisconsin family history research page. Here you'll find record collection links, history, and genealogy resources to help you trace your Wisconsin ancestors.

Wisconsin is often viewed as an abundant place where agriculture and farming are the primary activities and interests. This is unfortunate because it is a very diverse place in which peoples of many cultures have settled. This is the reason that there is such an interest in methods for Wisconsin genealogy, and this article is going to serve as a primer in some of the best methods to use.

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Wisconsin Facts

The Wisconsin region was first explored for France by Jean Nicolet, who landed at Green Bay in 1634. In 1660 a French trading post and Roman Catholic mission were established near present-day Ashland.

Great Britain obtained the region in settlement of the French and Indian Wars in 1763; the U.S. acquired it in 1783 after the Revolutionary War. However, Great Britain retained actual control until after the War of 1812. The region was successively governed as part of the territories of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan between 1800 and 1836, when it became a separate territory.

It is one of the leading states in agriculture. Especially noted for its cheese production, the state is sometimes called the Cheese Capital of the Nation or America’s Dairyland. The greater part of the state is composed of rolling plains that yield productive crops and fodder for the dairy industry. Wisconsin also has substantial heavy industry, centered around Milwaukee and nearby cities along the shore of Lake Michigan. See also Wisconsin History Page for more Details

Wisconsin was organized as territory on July 4, 1836 and entered the union as the 30th state on May 29, 1848. It has 72 Counties. The capital is Madison and the official state website is www.wi.gov.

Wisconsin is bordered by Minnesota (west), Michigan (east), Iowa (southwest), Illinois (south). It has a land area of 65,503 square miles making it the 23rd largest state. The 2010 population was 5,686,986 and the largest cities (2010) are Milwaukee, 594,833; Madison (Capital), 233,209; Green Bay, 104,057; Kenosha, 99,218; Racine, 78,860; Appleton, 72,623; Waukesha, 70,718; Oshkosh, 66,083; Eau Claire, 65,883; Janesville, 63,575.

Wisconsin is from an Indian word, but the origin is uncertain. It is perhaps an Algonquian Indian word that means "long river," a Chippewa/Ojibwa/Anishinabe word, "Ouisconsin," that means "grassy place," or "gathering of the waters." Wisconsin's state nickname is " The Badger State ". The State Motto is " Forward "

Learning to Search for Wisconsin Genealogy Materials

Basic Methods for Wisconsin Genealogy Work - Genealogists today will have a lot of resources available for Wisconsin genealogy research, and many of their best resources are found with a computer. In fact, it is now possible to view state’s online resources as one of the best ways for gathering data or requesting copies of the materials needed for Wisconsin genealogy work.

Of course, not every resource is available in the electronic format. Many of the best archives, libraries and museums are just now beginning to go digital, and this means that those doing work for Wisconsin genealogy projects will have to also identify their real world or offline resources too. It is always going to be beneficial for a genealogist to be familiar with the different locations and online tools for Wisconsin genealogy, and to discover which are the best for their needs.

The First Steps for Wisconsin Genealogy - Some of the most comprehensive sets of data for Wisconsin genealogy researchers will be the groups of public records listed below:

  • Vital Records – these are comprised of the birth, marriage, divorce and death records from county, state, and national archives, and can also contain cemetery or obituary information, newspaper items, military records, census records, immigration and naturalization details, passenger lists and records as well. These are available as online and offline resources for Wisconsin genealogy.
  • State Records – from probate information to birth certificates, cemetery information, death records, deeds, estate information, genealogical folders, land records, maps, marriage details, military or veterans information, newspapers, private manuscripts, state census information, surname lists and more. These are available as online and offline resources for Wisconsin genealogy.
  • Local Records – those looking for Wisconsin genealogy will start in a county clerk’s office or website, and then head to the local genealogical societies, small local libraries, historical societies, and school or college libraries for Wisconsin genealogy data. These are things that are usually offline and viewable by appointment or special arrangement.

Best Tools for Wisconsin Genealogy - We already mentioned that the Internet is among the best of the new tools for Wisconsin genealogy projects. These provide some of the most vital information, and with the least amount of effort. We have indicated the best of these tools for Wisconsin genealogy below:

  • WI Vital Records Office, 1 West Wilson Street, P.O. Box 309, Madison, WI 53701-0309; Website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/wisconsin.htm . This is the site from which can request birth, death, marriage and divorce records via a written notice, or even online.

Additional state and local records can be found at the:

  • Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State Street, Madison, WI 5370; Website: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/genealogy/ . Their Genealogy pages are full of an amazing number of resources that includes everything from local histories and maps to images and newspapers.

Finally, these three websites provide many state-specific details to those in search of details for Wisconsin genealogy projects.

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