Rock County, Wisconsin Genealogy

Guide to Rock County Wisconsin ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

County Courthouse
Rock County Courthouse 51 S Main Street Janesville, WI 53545-3978 Phone: 608.757.5660  Register of Deeds has birth, marriage and death records from 1849 and land records from 1839; Registrar in Probate has probate records

County Offices


 * Rock County government website
 * Rock County Circuit Court website
 * Rock County Register of Deeds website

Parent County
1836--Rock County was created 7 December 1836 from Milwaukee County. County seat: Janesville

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Wisconsin County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Wisconsin County Boundary Maps" (1790-1961) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

There have been no boundary changes in Rock County since its inception.

Records Loss
First Courthouse was built in 1841 and was destroyed by fire in 1859.

Populated Places
See Wikipedia entry

Neighboring Counties
Boone County, Illinois •  Dane  •  Green  •  Jefferson  •  Walworth  •  Winnebago County, Illinois

Cemeteries

 * Rock County Tombstone Photograph Pages USGenWeb Archives
 * Janesville, Wisconsin Cemeteries
 * Eastlawn Cemetery, Beloit Transcription of markers. USGenWeb Archives
 * Turtleville Cemetery Partial grave information. USGenWeb Archives

Census

 * 1855 - 1855 Wisconsin State Census This census includes name of head of family; other individuals in the household are identified by sex and race, number of deaf and dumb, blind, insane and foreign born.
 * 1865 - 1865 Wisconsin State Census Name index and images of the 1865 State Census which names the head of household. Most records have been destroyed but schedules exist for the following counties: Dunn, Green, Jackson, Kewaunee, Ozaukee, and Sheboygan.
 * 1875 - 1875 Wisconsin State Census Identifies head of household by name.
 * 1885 - at FamilySearch — index and images. Search indexed census.  Identifies by name of head of household.  Other information is statistical and identifies the rest of the household by race, gender and country of birth.
 * 1895 - at FamilySearch — index and images. Identifies head of household by name. Other information is statistical.
 * 1905 - at FamilySearch — Name index and images of population. Enumerates by name all inhabitants.
 * 1905 - 1905 Rock County, Wisconsin State Census— Free indexed images can be viewed on the FamilySearch website. This census includes name of each member of the household, sex, race, age, marital status, country of birth, country of parents' birth, occupation, and home ownership.


 * 1836-1930 - Rock County Census Records Records from 1836 to 1930. State and federal census by township. Some links. WIGenWeb project

Church History and Records

 * Rock County Churches and Clergymen WIGenWeb project
 * Janesville, Wisconsin Church Records

Lutheran

 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Beloit, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Directories
City and county directories from 1858 to 1931 can be found at
 * University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.
 * Janesville, Wisconsin City Directories

Genealogy

 * Local History Database - index to obituaries, newspaper articles, and photos, maintained by the Hedberg Public Library, Janesville
 * Rock County Histories American Local History Network. WIGenWeb project

History

 * Janesville's Past - digitized books, documents, and photos can be found in this collection, part of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections. *The History of Rock County, Wisconsin, 1879. Digitized volume at the Wisconsin Historical Society website
 * Portrait and Biographical Album of Rock County, Wisconsin, 1889. Digitized volume at the Wisconsin Historical Society website

Land and Property

 * Rock County Land and Property Records WIGenWeb Project

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Wisconsin
 * Family Maps of Rock County, Wisconsin (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * 1858 Plat Map of Rock County at the Rock County Genealogical Society website
 * 1873 Plat Map of Rock County at WIGenWeb Rock County
 * 1922 Plat map of Rock County at the Rock County Genealogical Society website
 * Official Wisconsin DOT Map of Rock County, showing cities, highways, town boundaries, and survey township numbers

Military History and Records

 * Rock County Links to All Wars WIGenWeb project
 * Rock County Veteran Burials Links to all wars from Civil War to Vietnam

Civil War
Civil War service men from Rock County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are many companies or regiments that were formed from men of Rock County.


 * - 2nd Regiment, Wisconsin Cavalry, Companies K, L, and M
 * - 3rd Regiment, Wisconsin Cavalry, Companies C, E, H, and L
 * - 5th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company E
 * - 5th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry Reorganized, Company B
 * - 6th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company G
 * - 8th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company G
 * - 13th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Companies A, B, D, E, F, G, H and K
 * - 15th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company G

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * Rock County Immigration and Naturalization Links WIGenWeb Project

Newspapers

 * Newspaperarchive.com ($) has digitized historical newspapers from Janesville from the late 1800s and early 1900s that covered local news on residents from Rock County.
 * Janesville, Wisconsin Newspapers Free

Obituaries

 * Rock County Obituaries USGenWeb Archives

Probate Records
Online Records


 * 1800 – 1987 Wisconsin Wills and Probate Records 1800-1987 at Ancestry.com — images and index $
 * 1848 – 1948 at FamilySearch — images

Vital Records
The Wisconsin Genealogy Index at the Wisconsin Historical Society contains an index of pre-1907 Wisconsin vital records.

Birth Records

 * 1826 - 1926 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1820 - 1907 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1826 - 1908 Wisconsin, Births and Christenings Index, 1826-1908 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriage Records

 * 1836 - 1930 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1973 - 1997 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1973 - 1997 Wisconsin Marriages, 1973-1997 at Ancestry.com — index/images $
 * Rock County Marriages Indexed by bride and groom. WIGenWeb project
 * Early Rock County Marriages WIGenWeb project

Divorce Records

 * 1965 - 1984 at FamilySearch.org — index

Death Records

 * 1867 - 1907 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1835 - 1968 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1820 - 1907 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1959 - 1997 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * Rock County Deaths Listed by surname and by resource. WIGenWeb project

Repositories
See also a List of Wisconsin Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Rock County Historical Society 426 North Jackson Street Janesville, WI 53548 (608) 756-4509

Archives, Libraries and Museums

 * Beloit Public Library
 * Clinton Public Library
 * Edgerton Public Library
 * Eager Free Public Library, Evansville
 * Hedberg Public Library, Janesville
 * Milton Public Library
 * Orfordville Public Library
 * Anderson Library Area Research Center University of Wisconsin, Whitewater

Family History Centers

 * Beloit Wisconsin Family History Center

Societies

 * German Interest Group-Wisconsin

Websites

 * Rock County Genealogical Society
 * Rock County, WI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Wisconsin Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Wisconsin Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Rock County Archives USGenWeb Archives
 * Rock County WIGenWeb project
 * Rock County WIGenWeb project