FamilySearch Wiki

Forest County, Wisconsin Genealogy

(Redirected from Forest County, Wisconsin)



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

County Facts
County seat: Crandon
Organized: April 11, 1885
Parent County(s): Langlade[1]
Neighboring Counties
Florence • Iron • Langlade • Marinette • Oconto • Oneida • Vilas
See County Maps
Courthouse
Forest County Wisconsin Courthouse.jpg
Location Map
WI Forest.png

County Information

Description

The county was named for the forests contained within its limit. The county is located in the northeast area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse

Forest County Courthouse
200 E Madison Street
Crandon, WI 54520
Phone: 715-478-2422
Forest County Website

Register of Deeds has birth, marriage, death and land records from 1885.
Clerk of Circuit Court has divorce and court records.
Register in Probate has probate records.[3]

Forest 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
1885 1885 1885 1885 1865 1887 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

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
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places
Ghost towns


History Timeline

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Forest 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. %±
1890 1,012 —
1900 1,396 37.9%
1910 6,782 385.8%
1920 9,850 45.2%
1930 11,118 12.9%
1940 11,805 6.2%
1950 9,437 −20.1%
1960 7,542 −20.1%
1970 7,691 2.0%
1980 9,044 17.6%
1990 8,776 −3.0%
2000 10,024 14.2%
2010 9,304 −7.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

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

State 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.


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

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

Vilas CountyFlorence CountyOconto CountyMarinette CountyLanglade CountyOneida CountyIron CountyWI FOREST.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Courtesy of the Crandon Public Library:

Migration

Military Records

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Forest 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 Forest:

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Wisconsin Newspapers Online

Obituaries

The Crandon Public Library in the city of Crandon has made an obituary database on its website. This index was begun by local and library volunteers and converted to an online database by the library. The index currently covers the years from 1909 – 1923, 2001 – 2003, and 2005. This is an ongoing project. There are nearly 1,800 records in the index. The data fields include last name, first name, age, newspaper, and date of publication. Click on the column header to sort the records.

Enter a surname in the search box to bring up a list of individuals with that name. You may request a copy of the obituary from the library for a small fee. As noted on the website, you may also request a copy of an obituary for someone who died in years not included in the index, if you have an approximate date of death.

Copies of the obituaries are available from the library. ($)

Other Records

Periodicals

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Forest Clerk of Circuit Court and are housed at the Forest 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 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

Birth

Marriage

Death

Divorce

Research Facilities

Archives

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

  • History Center and Archives, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center
    Wisconsin Historical Society
    29270 County Highway G
    Ashland, WI 54806-9339
    Phone: 715-685-2647
    Email: whsnorthwoods@whs.wisc.edu
    Website

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 Forest County. For state-wide library facilities, see Wisconsin Archives and Libraries.

Museums

Societies

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

Websites

Research Guides

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, "Forest County, Wisconsin " in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_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), Forest 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, "Forest County, Wisconsin," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_County,_Wisconsin, accessed 10 September 2018.
v • d• e
Links to Wisconsin-related articles
Topics
Counties
Extinct Co.
Major
 Repositories
National Archives at Chicago · Wisconsin Historical Society · Wisconsin State Genealogical Society · Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society · Area Research Centers: 1. Wisconsin Historical Society, 2. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 3. University of Wisconsin-Platteville, 4. University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 5. University of Wisconsin-Parkside, 6. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 7. University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 8. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, 9. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 10. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 11. University of Wisconsin-Stout, 12. University of Wisconsin-River Falls, 13. Superior Public Library, 14. Northern Great Lake Center · Beloit Public Library · Brown County Library · Kenosha Public Library · Milwaukee County Historical Society · Milwaukee Public Library · Norwegian American Genealogical Center and Naeseth Library · Oshkosh Public Library · Racine Heritage Museum Research Center · University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Library · Allen County Public Library · Newberry Library
Migration
 Routes
Retrieved from "https://integration-ru.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=Forest_County,_Wisconsin_Genealogy&oldid=6330604"