Grant County, Wisconsin Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Lancaster
Organized: December 8, 1836
Parent County(s): Iowa[1]
Neighboring Counties
Clayton (IA)CrawfordDubuque (IA)IowaJo Daviess (IL)LafayetteRichland
See County Maps
Courthouse
Grant County Wisconsin CourtHouse.jpg
Location Map
WI Grant.png

County Information

Description

The county was named for an Indian trader; his first name. The county is located in the southwest area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse

Grant County Courthouse
111 S Jefferson
Lancaster, WI 53813
Phone: 608-723-2675
Grant County Website

Register of Deeds has birth and death records from 1876, marriage records from 1840 and land records from 1837.
Register in Probate has probate records from 1840.
Clerk of Court has divorce and court records.
Veterans Service Officer has military records.[3]

Grant 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
1876 1840 1876 1836 1837 1840 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
Villages
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places
Ghost towns


History Timeline

Resources

Bible Records

Biographies

Business, Commerce, and Occupations

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Grant 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.
1840 3,926
1850 16,169 311.8%
1860 31,189 92.9%
1870 37,979 21.8%
1880 37,852 −0.3%
1890 36,651 −3.2%
1900 38,881 6.1%
1910 39,007 0.3%
1920 39,044 0.1%
1930 38,469 −1.5%
1940 40,639 5.6%
1950 41,460 2.0%
1960 44,419 7.1%
1970 48,398 9.0%
1980 51,736 6.9%
1990 49,264 −4.8%
2000 49,597 0.7%
2010 51,208 3.2%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Grant 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
Fennimore and Castle Rock

  • Records of the American Lutheran Church, Fennimore and Castle Rock, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com.

Plattville

  • Records of the American Lutheran Church, Plattville, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com.

St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Fennimore

  • Records of St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Fennimore, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com.


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records

Directories

Emigration and Immigration

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups

Funeral Homes

Genealogies

Website about the town of Livingston, how the town became to be, its people, biographies, and genealogical information. Livingston-Watson Family 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.

Online Land Indexes and Records

  • Bureau of Land Management, Wisconsin Land Patents Database (USGenWeb Archives)

Local Histories

Maps and Gazetteers

Crawford CountyRichland CountyIowa CountyLafayette CountyJo Daviess CountyDubuque CountyClayton CountyAllamakee CountyWI GRANT.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources

Migration

Military Records

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Grant 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 Grant:

- 2nd Regiment, Wisconsin Cavalry, Companies C and L
- 3rd Regiment, Wisconsin Cavalry, Companies G, H and M
- 6th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company C
- 7th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Companies C, F and H.
- 10th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company F
- 11th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company C, many men from the town of Waterloo, which is part of Jefferson County and Grant County
- 12th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company K

World War I

Naturalization and Citizenship

Newspapers

Wisconsin Newspapers Online

Obituaries

Other Records

Periodicals

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Grant Clerk of Circuit Court and are housed at the Grant 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 Grant County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Wisconsin Archives and Libraries.

  • Area Research Center - University of Wisconsin-Platteville
    Southwest Wisconsin Room-Karrmann Library
    One University Plaza
    Platteville, WI 53818-3099
    Phone: 608-342-1719
    Email: swwis@uwplatt.edu
    [Research Facilities 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 Grant County. For state-wide library facilities, see Wisconsin Archives and Libraries.

  • Southwest Wisconsin Room-Karrmann Library
    Area Research Center - University of Wisconsin-Platteville
    One University Plaza
    Platteville, WI 53818-3099
    Phone: 608-342-1719
    Email: swwis@uwplatt.edu
    Website

Museums

Societies

Listed below are societies in Grant 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, "Grant County, Wisconsin " in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_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), Grant 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, "Grant County, Wisconsin," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_County,_Wisconsin, accessed 10 September 2018.