Hall County, Nebraska Genealogy

Hall 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, military records, family histories, cemeteries, churches, tax records, newspapers, and obituaries.

County Information
Hall 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 Territory of Nebraska, Hall County was formed on November 9, 1858. Willard Hall, a representative from Missouri, proposed the formation of the territory of Nebraska in 1853. In 1846 Mormon Pioneers settled on the Platte River creating a colony. German and Irish immigrants arrived soon afterward. Both the Sioux and Pawnee Indians were early inhabitants of the area. The Overland Trail, which led pioneers to Salt Lake, California and Oregon added to and took from the local population as well as provided a source of income for the inhabitants.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has marriage records from 1869. County Judge has probate records. Clerk District Court has divorce and court records. Register has land records.

Parent County
4 November 1858: Hall County was created as an original county.

Description
Hall County was organized in 1859. It is located in the sixth tier of counties west of the Missouri River.. The county was named after Augustus Hall, an early judge of this territory. Its county seat is Grand Island.

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.

Populated Places

 * Grand Island
 * Alda
 * Cairo
 * Doniphan
 * Wood River

Neighboring Counties

 * Adams
 * Buffalo
 * Clay
 * Hamilton
 * Howard
 * Kearney
 * Merrick

Biography

 * Biographical and Historical memoirs of Adams, Clay, Hall and Hamilton Counties, Nebraska. Comprising a Condensed History of the State, a number of Biographies of Distinguished Citizens of the same, a Brief Descriptive History of each of the Counties mentioned, and numerous Biographical Sketches of the Citizens of such Counties
 * History of Hall County, Nebraska: A Narrative of the Past with Special Emphasis Upon the Pioneer Period of the County's History, and Chronological Presentation of its Social, Commercial, Educational, Religious, and Civic Development from the Early Days to the Present Time, and Special Analysis of its Military and Civil Participation in the Late World War - The book includes several biographical sketches of Hall's citizens.

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 History and Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Record of Members 1929-1941 at family History Library

Court Records

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

History

 * 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


 * History of Hall County, Nebraska. Buechler, August F., Barr, R J (Robert J.), Stough, Dale P. 1920. Lincoln, Neb.: Western Publishing and Engraving Co. Available online at:
 * Internet Archive
 * Google Books
 * Google Books


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

Land and Property

 * Hall County Register of Deeds - By using the MapSifter or Instrument Search you may search for property ownership information.

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

 * Hall County Historical Maps and Atlases - Contains historical maps of Hall County and its cities from 1885, 1890, and 1904 as well as early maps of Grand Island and Nebraska. The historical maps include the many of the land owner's names.
 * Hall County GIS Interactive Map
 * 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 Hall 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

Military History and Records

 * : Hall County, Nebraska : Civil War, Indian wars, Spanish American War, World War I. [n.d.: n.p] 1925. this is p. 228-241 of an unknown larger work. It lists names, addresses, units, and staates. It is divided by war. (FHL book 978.241 M2r).

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

Railroads
Grand Island railroad history- The first Transcontinentan Railroad reached the present site of Grand Island, Nebraska in July of 1866. Railroads are still important to the town.

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
 * Hall County, Nebraska Marriage Indexes

Societies, Libraries and Museums
County, Township and City Societies


 * Hall County Historical Society P.O. Box 1683 Grand Island, NE 68802 Phone: 308-385-1545 Email: [mailto:hchsfred@gmail.com hchsfred@gmail.com] Facebook


 * Cairo Roots Historical and Genealogical Society Cairo Roots c/o Mrs. Delmar Perkins Rt. 1, Box 42 Cairo, NE 68804


 * Prairie Pioneer Genealogical Society P.O. Box 1122 Grand Island, NE 68802 Phone: 308-384-3218


 * Reynolds Center Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer 3133 W US Hwy 34 P.O. Box 1505 Grand Island, NE 68802-1505 Phone: 308-385-5316 Fax: 308-385-5028 Email: [mailto:info@stuhrmuseum.org info@stuhrmuseum.org]

Libraries


 * Grand Island Public Library Edith Abbott Memorial Library Lue R. Spencer (DAR) and Ella Sprague Genealogical Collections 211 North Washington Grand Island, NE 68801-5855 Phone: 308-385-5333 Fax: 308-385-5339 Email: [mailto:LibrarySupervisors@gilibrary.org LibrarySupervisors@gilibrary.org]

Family History Centers



 * Grand Island Nebraska Family History Center

Websites

 * NEGenWeb
 * USGenNet
 * USGenWeb