Adams County, Nebraska Genealogy

Adams County, Nebraska genealogy and family history research page. Guide to genealogy, history, and courthouse sources including birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, wills, deeds and land records, Civil War records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

County Courthouse
County Judge has marriage and probate records. Clerk District Court has divorce and land records.

History
Adams County was part of the Louisiana territory and therefore ruled by both the French and the Spanish in its early history. After the Louisiana Purchase and the formation of the State of Nebraska in 1867, Adams County was formed on February 16, 1867. By 1871 the westward migration brought families from the eastern seaboard of the United States to the open prairies of Nebraska and Adams County. In the 1870s two railroads came to Adams county and with them came many immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland eager to homestead the prairie land.

Parent County
1867 Adams County was created 16 February 1867 from unorganized territory. County seat: Hastings

Description
Adams County was established as a county by an act of the State Legislature approved February 16, 1867. The county was then organized in 1871. It is named for John Adams, the second President of the United States.

Boundary Changes

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Nebraska - shows boundary changes for Nebraska Counties
 * Nebraska Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

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

City

 * Hastings

Villages

 * Ayr
 * Holstein
 * Juniata
 * Kenesaw
 * Prosser
 * Roseland
 * Trumbull

Unincorporated communities

 * Assumption
 * Hansen
 * Hayland
 * Ingleside
 * Pauline

Townships

 * Ayr
 * Blaine
 * Cottonwood
 * Denver
 * Hanover
 * Highland
 * Juniata
 * Kenesaw
 * Little Blue
 * Logan
 * Roseland
 * Silver Lake
 * Verona
 * Wanda
 * West Blue
 * Zero

Neighboring Counties

 * Buffalo
 * Clay
 * Franklin
 * Hall
 * Hamilton
 * Kearney
 * Nuckolls
 * Webster

State Census Records

 * 1854 - 1870 - Nebraska, Compiled Census Index, 1854-1870 at Ancestry.com - index ($)
 * 1860 - 1885 - Nebraska State Census Collection 1860-1885 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)
 * 1885 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1885 - Nebraska State Census 1885 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for Nebraska starting in 1860. For links to Federal census indexes, see Nebraska Census.

Church
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Hastings

Court

 * 1870 - 1990 — Nebraska Prisoner Records 1870-1990 — index only

Land
Online Land Records

For more information see Nebraska Land and Property
 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories

 * Biographical and historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton counties, Nebraska. 1890. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Pub. Co. Available online at:
 * Internet Archive
 * My Heritage
 * My Heritage


 * Past and present of Adams County, Nebraska. Burton, William R., David J. Lewis. 1916. Chicago, Illinois: S. J. Clarke Pub. Co. Available online at:
 * Google Books
 * HathiTrust
 * Internet Archive


 * HISTORY of the State of Nebraska. Cutler, William. 1882. The Western Historical Company, A. T. Andreas, Proprietor: Chicago, IL. Available online at:
 * Kansas Collection Books

Maps and Gazetteers

 * View the 1885 Adams County Nebraska map in the David Rumsey Map Collection.
 * Nebraska Gazetteer - database for all known places found in 1890 and 1911 Nebraska gazetteers
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Nebraska - shows boundary changes for Nebraska Counties


 * Find



Migration
Early migration routes to and from Adams County, Nebraska for European and African American settlers included:


 * Platte River
 * Little Blue River
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah

Revolutionary War

 * 1775 - 1783 - at FamilySearch - images only
 * For more nationwide Revolutionary War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1891 - Nebraska Resident Military Roster on June 1, 1891 at Ancestry.com - ($), Roster of Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines of the War of 1812, the Mexico War, and the War of the Rebellion, residing in Nebraska June 1, 1891
 * 1893 - Roster of Nebraska Veterans - list of veterans in 1893
 * For more nationwide Civil War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

WWI

 * 1917 - 1918 - World War I Drafts 1917-1918 - index only
 * For more nationwide World War I databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Newspapers
 Nebraska Newspapers Online Nebraska Newspaper Catalogs
 * Nebraska Newspapers - contains images of newspapers throughout Nebraska
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Nebraska newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Nebraska newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Nebraska newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * Nebraska State Historical Society - catalog of known Nebraska newspapers; lists repositories that have the newspapers
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper

Probate
Online Probate Records


 * 1806 – 1989 Nebraska Wills and Probate Records 1806-1989 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Marriage Records
Online Marriage Records Indexes and Images
 * 1855 - 1995 — at FamilySearch — index only
 * 1856 - 1898 — Nebraska Marriages 1856-1898 at Ancestry.com ($), index only

Societies and Libraries
County, Township and City Societies


 * Adams County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 424 Hastings, NE 68902-0424 Email: [mailto:achs@inebraska.com achs@inebraska.com]; [mailto:adamscountygenea@gmail.com adamscountygenea@gmail.com]


 * Adams County Historical Society P.O. Box 102 1330 N Burlington Ave Hastings, NE 68901-0102 Phone: 402-463-5838 Email: [mailto:achs@inebraska.com achs@inebraska.com]; [mailto:hastingsmuseum@alltel.net hastingsmuseum@alltel.net] Website

Libraries


 * Hastings Public Library 517 W. 4th St. Hastings, NE 68901 402-461-2346

Family History Centers

 * Hastings Nebraska Family History Center
 * Hastings Nebraska Family History Center


 * West Nebraska Family Research &amp; History Center 1602 Ave. A Scottsbluff, NE 69361 Phone: 308-635-2400

Websites

 * NEGenWeb
 * USGenWeb