by Amber Genett-Smits
Welcome to Wisconsin, where the cheese curds are squeaky, the lakes are plentiful, and the genealogy resources are as good as they get! Located in the United States’ Upper Midwest, Wisconsin has a diverse and vibrant history. Read on for how to research your ancestors who lived there.
Part of the Northwest Territory, 1788; part of the Indiana Territory, 1800; part of the Illinois Territory, 1809; part of the Michigan Territory, 1818;
Wisconsin Territory, 1836
1848
1836–1842 (every two years); 1855–1905 (every 10 years)
1840 (heads of households only)
Public
1907
1907
Wisconsin borders Lake Michigan in the east and the Mississippi River in the west. Other lakes (including Lake Superior to the north) dot the landscape. The northern part of the state is covered with dense forests, while the south (including the “Driftless Area”) is characterized by rolling hills and deep river valleys.
The land known as Wisconsin was inhabited for several thousand years by various Native American tribes, including
the Menominee, Sauk, Fox (or Meskwaki), Ho-Chunk (formerly Winnebago), Ojibwe and Lakota. Today, there are several federally recognized tribes and reservations in the state, including the Menominee Indian Reservation (the largest east of the Mississippi). The French, interested in the fur trade, entered the region around 1634. Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette
explored the area on their journey down the Mississippi in 1673. Competition from British traders in the Ohio River Valley led to tensions between the two colonizing countries. What is now Wisconsin passed into British hands after the French and Indian War (1755–1763).
That war—and the Crown’s resulting insistence that colonists not expand into the newly British lands west of the Appalachians—led to the American Revolution. Wisconsin became part of the newly independent United States, though the British were still
active in the area. Wisconsin was first administered as part of the vast Northwest Territory, then became part of Indiana Territory in 1800, Illinois Territory in 1809 and Michigan Territory in 1818. Increasing immigration and migration led
to Wisconsin becoming its own territory in 1836, initially encompassing Iowa, Minnesota and parts of the Dakotas.
Encroachment by white settlers stirred conflict with Native groups in the area, as it had elsewhere throughout the United States. In 1832, warrior Black Hawk led a coalition of Sauk, Fox and Kickapoo into Illinois to reclaim land previously surrendered to the US government. The decisive battles of Wisconsin Heights and Bad Axe in southwestern Wisconsin largely ended the “Black Hawk War” and armed resistance to white settlement in the “Old Northwest” generally.
Wisconsin quickly surpassed the population for statehood, entering the Union as the 30th state in 1848. Its population
grew from 11,000 in 1836 to more than 300,000 in 1850, bolstered by an influx of European immigrants from Germany, Scandinavia and Ireland. Indeed, according to the 1850 census, more than 100,000 Wisconsinites (one-third of the state’s population) were foreign-born. The arrival of railroads in the 1850s made migration and trade even easier.
The new state offered economic opportunities through inexpensive fertile land and industrial jobs. Ethnicity often was a key factor in choosing a place to live, as immigrants of different ethnicities tended to form close-knit communities, frequently named for locations in their homelands. By 1890, one-half of all immigrants were born in Germany. The University of Wisconsin—Madison has a comprehensive guide to ethnic groups in the state.
Wisconsin was an important stop on the Underground Railroad, and 91,000 of its citizens served the Union during the Civil War. The “Iron Brigade,” made up of three regiments from Wisconsin and one each from Indiana and Michigan, suffered higher casualties than any other brigade in the Union and was known for its discipline and ferocity.
Today, Wisconsin is known for its dairy and brewing industries, though manufacturing and tourism to the state’s many lakes also make up large portions of the economy.
1634
A trading post
is established at
Green Bay
1673
Frenchmen Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette
explore the Upper
Mississippi River
1763
Great Britain gains
France’s land east
of the Mississippi
1783
The United States gains
independence and
British lands south
of the Great Lakes
1800
Indiana Territory is formed, including modern Wisconsin
1809
Wisconsin becomes part of Illinois Territory, then Michigan Territory
in 1818
1836
Congress creates Wisconsin Territory
1848
Wisconsin enters the Union as the 30th state
1961
Menominee County is created, the last major county
boundary change
1967
The Green Bay Packers
win the first Super
Bowl, then called
the AFL-NFL World
Championship Game
Wisconsin. By George Franklin Cram. Published By George Franklin Cram, Chicago. 1882. David Rumsey Map Collection)
Wisconsin required counties to register births, marriages, and deaths with state officials starting in 1852, but the law was not enforced until about 1880. The state itself didn’t begin keeping vital records until 1907. Birth, marriage, and death records through 1907 can be found at county courthouses and the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Area Research Centers (ARCs) throughout the state. The society also maintains a searchable online index of pre-1907 vital records; this is available on sites like FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, and MyHeritage.
Original vital records are stored at the society’s library, or you can buy copies through its online store or the county register of deeds. Some records might exist only at the county level, and not in these state-level collections. Some counties never forwarded records to state officials. Post-1907 records are generally held by the state department of health services. However, many counties also have copies, even for years after statewide registration. Note there’s no statewide index for vital records created after September 30, 1907. Ancestry.com has a collection of marriage register images from before 1907.
Residents of Wisconsin have been counted in every federal census from 1820 onward. In 1820 and 1830, they were listed as part of Michigan Territory. The 1950 census is the most recent count available to the public as of this writing. Note that most of the 1890 census (for the whole country) has been lost.
Wisconsin also took its own census, first as a territory, then as a state. The Wisconsin Historical Society has territorial census records (sporadically from 1836 to 1847) on microfilm. The society also has records of state-era censuses, taken every 10 years from 1855 to 1905. These are available on both FamilySearch and Ancestry.com. Note that most of the 1865 state census doesn’t survive, and only the 1905 census names each person in a household.
You can request copies of Wisconsin’s special non-population censuses, taken alongside the 1850 through 1880 federal censuses, through the historical society. Each request is limited to one schedule from one year.
As a public-land state, Wisconsin had most of its land distributed by the federal government. The Wisconsin Historical Society has copies of tract books, as does the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office. The BLM also has original land patents, which are searchable online; subsequent land transfers between individuals are documented in deeds at the county level held by ARCs.
Most immigrants to Wisconsin first arrived to the United States from East Coast ports, notably New York City. Milwaukee arrivals may first have come through Canada, then down the St. Lawrence River and across the Great Lakes. FamilySearch has Wisconsin naturalization records, with content that varies by county. ARCs also have naturalizations, some of which have been indexed online.
The Wisconsin Historical Society’s newspaper and periodical collection ranks second-largest in the country, behind only the Library of Congress’. Find a directory at the Wisconsin Historical Society, with links to partners such as BadgerLink (available to Wisconsin residents who have a library card), Newspapers.com, GenealogyBank, NewspaperArchive and the free Chronicling America.
Many Wisconsin city directories are online for free. Recollection Wisconsin has a robust city directory collection, and the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections has a vast collection that can be searched by keyword. Find more directories at Ancestry.
The Wisconsin Historical Society, which has been collecting histories since the 1850s, has made several publications available online. Recollection Wisconsin also has a digital collection of local and county histories.
Archival Resources in Wisconsin
FamilySearch Research Wiki: Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
People of Wisconsin, 12-book series by various authors (Wisconsin Historical Society Press)
When the White Pine Was King: A History of Lumberjacks, Log Drives, and Saw Dust Cities in Wisconsin by Jerry Apps (Wisconsin Historical Society Press)
Wisconsin Agriculture: A History by Jerry Apps (Wisconsin Historical Society Press)
Wisconsin in the Civil War: The Home Front and the Battle Front, 1861–1865 by Frank Klement (Wisconsin Historical Society Press)
Area Research Center (ARC) Network
Wisconsin State Genealogical Society
*FamilyTreeMagazine.com is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. It provides a means for this site to earn advertising fees, by advertising and linking to Amazon and affiliated websites.
