Sarpy County, Nebraska Genealogy

Sarpy 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. County Clerk has land records.

Parent County
1857 Sarpy County was created 7 February 1857 from Douglas County. County seat: Papillion

Description
Sarpy County was named in honor of Peter Sarpy, an early fur trader at Fontenelle's Post located in the Bellevue area in the 1840s. Sarpy County is located on the eastern border of Nebraska, along the Missouri River.

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.

Cities

 * Bellevue
 * Gretna
 * La Vista
 * Papillion
 * Springfield

Census-designated places

 * Chalco
 * La Platte
 * Offutt AFB
 * Richfield

Unincorporated communities

 * Avery
 * Gilmore
 * Gilmore Junction
 * Meadow
 * Mella
 * Portal

Census divisions
Sarpy County is divided into the following divisions, called precincts, except for the City of Bellevue.


 * City of Bellevue
 * Bellevue Second I
 * Bellevue Second II
 * Bellevue Second III
 * Bellevue Second IV
 * Fairview
 * Forest City No. 1
 * Forest City No. 2
 * Gilmore I
 * Gilmore II
 * Highland I
 * Highland II
 * LaPlatte I
 * LaPlatte II
 * La Vista
 * Melia-Forest City
 * Papillion
 * Papillion Second I
 * Papillion Second II
 * Platford-Springfield I
 * Platford-Springfield II
 * Richland I
 * Richland II
 * Richland III
 * Richland IV
 * Richland V
 * Richland VI
 * Richland VII
 * Richland VIII
 * Springfield

Neighboring Counties

 * Cass
 * Douglas
 * Mills County, Iowa
 * Pottawattamie County, Iowa
 * Saunders

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.

Court

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

Land

 * Digital images of Grantor/Grantee books, containing indexes of land transactions between 1857 and 1990 at the Sarpy County Register of Deeds site.

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

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 Sarpy County for European and African American settlers included:


 * Missouri 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


 * Sarpy County Historical Society 2402 Clay Street Bellevue, NE 68005 Phone: 402-292-1880

Libraries


 * Gretna Public Library Main Library - 736 South St. Gretna, NE Phone: 402-332-4480


 * Sump Memorial Library 222 N Jefferson St Papillion, NE Phone: 402-597-2040


 * La Vista Public Library 9110 Giles Rd La Vista, NE 68128-3081 Phone: 402-537-3900 Fax: 402-537-3902 e-mail: rbarcal@cityoflavista.org Director: Rose Barcal

Family History Centers



 * Papillion Nebraska Family History Center

Websites

 * NEGenWeb
 * USGenWeb
 * Genealogy Trails