Lincoln County, Nebraska Genealogy

United States Nebraska  Lincoln County Lincoln 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 Clerk has marriage records. Clerk District Court has divorce records. County Court has probate and court records. Register of Deeds has land records.

Parent County
1860 Lincoln County was created 7 January 1860 from unorganized territory. County seat: North Platte

Description
Lincoln County is located in the western central part of the state. Lincoln County was named after Abraham Lincoln. Founded 1866.

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
1923 A fire burned the Lincoln County Courthouse.

Places/Localities
==== Populated Places ====


 * Brady
 * Dickens
 * Hershey
 * Maxwell
 * North Platte
 * Sutherland
 * Wallace
 * Wellfleet

Neighboring Counties

 * Custer
 * Dawson
 * Frontier
 * Hayes
 * Keith
 * Logan
 * McPherson
 * Perkins

Cemeteries

 * Antelope Cemetery
 * Ash Grove Cemetery(German Lutheran: south and west of Wellfleet)
 * Birdwood Creek (gravesite: north and west of Hershey)
 * Birdwood Presbyterian Church Cemetery (north and west of Hershey)
 * Brady Cemetery (west and north of Brady)
 * Buchner family Cemetery (S.S. Buchner: north and east of Wallace)
 * Chamberline family cemetery (James Chamberline: north and east of Dickens on Chamberline Ranch)
 * Conroy's Grave Cemetery
 * County Cemetery (south and west of Sutherland: abandoned)
 * Dickens Cemetery
 * Fairview Cemetery
 * Floral Lawns Memorial Cemetery (south and east of North Platte)
 * Fort McPherson National Cemetery
 * Frederick Fischer Lone Grave
 * Frontier Cemetery south and west of Sutherland)
 * Garfield Cemetery
 * Gaslin Cemetery (south and east of Brady)
 * Good Hope Cemetery (northwest from North Platte)
 * Hansen Family Cemetery ( Hans C Hansen: north of Curtis)
 * Kilmer Valley Cemetery (south and west of Arnold)
 * Lamont Cemetery (Riverside District: south and west of Hershey)
 * Lindberg Cemetery (west and north of Gothenburg)
 * Listen Family Cemetery (west and south of Dickens)
 * Lutheran Cemetery
 * Marantha Bible Camp
 * McBaugh Family Cemetery (Maxwell Precinct)
 * McCullough Cemetery
 * McNeel Cemetery
 * Melton Family Cemetery (west and south of Dickens)
 * Miriam Cemetery (south and east of North Platte)
 * Morning View Cemetery (south of Wallace)
 * John A. Murphy Cemetery (Catholic: west and north of Farnam)
 * Myrtle Cemetery (northeast of North Platte)
 * Nation Cemetery
 * North Platte City Cemetery
 * Nowell Burial Site
 * O'Fallon Cemetery See: Riverside Cemetery Hershey
 * Old Sutherland Cemetery
 * Peckham Rural Cemetery(south and west of Gothenurg)
 * Plainview Cemetery (south and west of Maxwell)
 * Platte Valley Cemetery (east of Hershey)
 * Pleasant Valley Cemetery (south of Wallace)
 * Riverside Cemetery (west and north of Hershey)
 * River View Cemetery See: Sutherland Riverview Cemetery
 * St Joseph Cemetery
 * St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery (south and west of North Platte)
 * Sutherland City Cemetery (2) (northeast corner of town)
 * Sutherland Riverview Cemetery (1) (south of Sutherland) Also known as: River View Cemetery, Sutherland Cemetery
 * Sutherland City Cemetery (2) (northeast corner of town)
 * Svea-Dal Cemetery (northeast of Brady)
 * Sykes Family Cemetery (north and east of Wallace)
 * Trinity Cemetery (Lutheran: in Huebner: south and east of Hershey)
 * Wellfleet Cemetery
 * Wyuka and Fairview Cemetery
 * Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery (German Lutheran: north and east of Wellfleet)

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


 * Created in 1935 from the East Nebraska District, was a unit of the Western States Mission. Record of members 1935-1941
 * Record of members 1929-1941

Court
There is a District Court and a County Court in Lincoln County. District courts primarily hear felony criminal cases, equity cases, and civil cases involving more than $51,000. County courts handle misdemeanor cases; traffic and municipal ordinance violations; preliminary hearings in felony cases; civil cases involving $51,000 and less; small claims cases; some divorce cases; probate, guardianship, conservatorship, and adoption proceedings; and juvenile matters.


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


 * Lincoln County District Court PO Box 1616 North Platte, Nebraska 69103
 * Lincoln County Court PO Box 519 North Platte, NE 69103

Land
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

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 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



Migration
Early migration routes to and from Lincoln County for European and African American settlers included:


 * Platte 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 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 Newspaper Catalogs
 * 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 $

Surname Lists
Surname listof early settlers of North Platte area.

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

 * Lincoln County Historical Society 2403 NORTH BUFFALO NORTH PLATTE NE 69101


 * Lincoln-lancaster County Genealogy Society P.O. Box 30055 Lincoln 68503


 * Nebraska State Genealogical Society Box 5608 Lincoln, NE 68505


 * Nebraska State Historical Society P.O. Box 82554 1500 R St. Lincoln, NE 68501-2554 Phone: 402-471-3270


 * Nebraska History Network 1997 280th Seward 68434-7823


 * Nebraska Military Historical Society Hastings 68901


 * North Central Nebraska Genealogical Society P.O. Box 362 O’Neill NE 68763


 * Northeastern Nebraska Genealogical Society P.O. Box 169 Lyons NE 68038


 * Northwest Nebraska Genealogical Society P.O. Box 6 Alliance, Nebraska 69301


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

Libraries


 * Gere Branch Library 2400 South 56th Street (68506) (S. 56th St. & Normal Blvd.) Lincoln (402) 441-8560


 * Eiseley Branch Library 1530 Superior Street (68521) (N. 15th & Superior Streets) Lincoln (402) 441-4250


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


 * State DAR Library The State DAR Library is located in the Lue R. Spencer Genealogical Library at the Edith Abbott Memorial Library. It is open during the normal library hours.


 * Edith Abbott Memorial Library 2nd and Washington Streets Grand Island, NE 68801


 * Grand Island Library 211 N Washington St Grand Island, NE 68801 Phone: +1 308-385-5333 Website


 * Spencer Historical and Genealogy Society Website


 * Beatrice Public Library 100 North 16th Street Beatrice, Nebraska 68310 Phone: 402-223-3584 Fax: 402-223-3913 Email: lriedesel@beatrice.lib.ne.us Director:  Laureen Riedesel (402) 223-3584 Website


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

Family History Centers

 * North Platte Nebraska Family History Center

Websites

 * NEGenWeb
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.