Door County, Wisconsin Genealogy

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Guide to Door County, Wisconsin ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

County Facts
County seat: Sturgeon Bay
Organized: February 11, 1851
Parent County(s): Brown[1]
Neighboring Counties
Kewaunee
See County Maps
Courthouse
Door County Wisconsin Courthouse.jpg
Location Map
WI Door.png

County Information

Description

The county was named for the Door Peninsula. The county is located in the northeast area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse

Door County Courthouse
421 Nebraska Street
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235-2204
Phone: 920-746-2200
Door County Website

Register of Deeds has birth, marriage, divorce, and land records from 1850.
Clerk of Court has divorce records from 1900 and court records from 1860.
Register in Probate has probate records from 1863.[3]

Door County, Wisconsin Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1850 1850 1850 1860 1850 1863 1820
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1907. General compliance year unknown.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

  • 1851--Door County was created 11 February 1851 from Brown County.
  • County seat: Sturgeon Bay[5]

Populated Places

For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[6]

Cities
Towns
Villages
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places

Places with their included locations

  • Washington Island includes Detroit Harbor.
  • Liberty Grove (Town of) includes Villages of Gills Rock, Ellison Bay, and Sister Bay; old towns/areas of Rowleys Bay, Appleport, Hedgehog Harbor, North Bay, and North Port.
  • Baileys Harbor includes Peninsula Center
  • Gibraltor (Town of) includes Villages: Ephraim, Juddville, Fish Creek, Horseshoe (Eagle), and Chamber Islands.
  • Jacksonport includes West Jacksonport.
  • Egg Harbor includes the Villages of Egg Harbor and Carlsville.
  • Sevastopol including Villages of Valmy, Institute, and Whitefish Bay.
  • Sturgeon Bay
  • Gardner includes Little Sturgeon Bay
  • Forestville includes Village of Forestville, Carnot, and Maplewood.
  • Nasawaupee, includes Idlewild.
  • Union includes Shoemaker Point and Namur.
  • Brussels includes Rosiere and Kohlberg.
  • Clay Banks includes Vignes and Salona.

History Timeline

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Door County, Wisconsin online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Wisconsin Cemeteries for more information

Census Records

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1860 2,948
1870 4,919 66.9%
1880 11,645 136.7%
1890 15,082 29.5%
1900 17,583 16.6%
1910 18,711 6.4%
1920 19,073 1.9%
1930 18,182 −4.7%
1940 19,095 5.0%
1950 20,870 9.3%
1960 20,685 −0.9%
1970 20,106 −2.8%
1980 25,029 24.5%
1990 25,690 2.6%
2000 27,961 8.8%
2010 27,785 −0.6%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Door census records online, see: Wisconsin Census.

State Census

Federal Census

Church Records

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Wisconsin denominations, view the Wisconsin Church Records wiki page.

Lutheran


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Norwegians

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Family Histories at Door County Library, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin-Surname Index (partial) - Peninsula Genealogical Society website

Guardianship

Land and Property Records

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Wisconsin Land and Property for additional information about early Wisconsin land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Maps and Gazetteers

Menominee CountyMarquette CountyOconto CountyBrown CountyKewaunee CountyWI DOOR.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Door County Civil Towns - Peninsula Genealogical Society Door County Plat Maps - University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries

Migration

Military Records

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Door served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Door:

World War I

World War II

Korean War

Vietnam War

Operation Iraqi Freedom

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Wisconsin Newspapers Online

Obituaries

Door County Obituary Index-1862 to 1899 - Peninsula Genealogical Society

Door County Obituaries - 2010 and before - no cemetery listed or out of town cemetery - Peninsula Genealogical Society

Other Records

Periodicals

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Door Clerk of Circuit Court and are housed at the Door Courthouse. See the wiki page Wisconsin Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

Content: Probate records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, and adoptions.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

School Records

Social Security Records

Tax Records

Wisconsin tax records complement land records and can be used to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned property or other items that could be taxed were listed, some residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records. For more information see the Wiki page, Wisconsin Taxation.

Vital Records

  • Pre-1907 Births, Marriages and Deaths at Archives and Area Research Center, Cofrin Library, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay - $, the research center will make a search

Birth

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Door County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Wisconsin Archives and Libraries.

  • Archives and Area Research Center
    Cofrin Library, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
    2420 Nicolet Dr.
    Green Bay, WI 54311-7001
    Phone: 920-465-2539
    Email: archives@uwgb.edu
    Website
    Facebook

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

  • FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
  • FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Door County. For state-wide library facilities, see Wisconsin Archives and Libraries.

  • Cofrin Library, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
    Archives and Area Research Center
    2420 Nicolet Dr.
    Green Bay, WI 54311-7001
    Phone: 920-465-2539
    Email: archives@uwgb.edu
    Website
    Facebook

Museums

Societies

Listed below are societies in Door County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Wisconsin Societies.

Websites

Research Guides

Peninsula Genealogical Society website

References

  1. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wisconsin.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. Wikipedia contributors, "Door County, Wisconsin " in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door_County,_Wisconsin."
  3. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wisconsin.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Door County, Wisconsin. Page 755-760, At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 757-759.
  5. Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wisconsin.At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. Wikipedia contributors, "Door County, Wisconsin," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door_County,_Wisconsin#Communities, accessed 6 September 2018.