Wisconsin, County Marriages - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of a name index to marriage registrations in Wisconsin. Most registrations in this publication end in 1907. The record content varies by county. Marriages were recorded by the clerk of the district court for each county from the time the county was formed. Persons desiring to marry obtained a license that they presented to the minister or other person authorized to marry, such as a justice of the peace. Once the marriage was performed, the officiator sent a return to the clerk confirming that the marriage had occurred.

Civil marriage records were created to legalize marital relationships and to protect the interests of the wife and other heirs to legal claims on property. The marriage date, place, and residence of the bride and groom are relatively reliable. Other information, such as birthplace, is dependent on the knowledge, memory, and accuracy of the informants, usually the bride and groom.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: • 2

How Do I Search This Collection?
To begin your search, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The name of a parent or date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the names of the parents to find other church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and death records. Also search for immigration, military, land and probate records
 * Use the information to find additional family members in censuses
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record. Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relatives that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search
 * Try variant spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Wisconsin.
 * Wisconsin Guided Research
 * Wisconsin Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Adams County, Registration of marriages, 1861-1907 and index to marriages (1861-1907)
 * Dodge County, Registration of marriages, 1842-1907 and marriage index 1845-1907 --, 1842-1907
 * Grant County, Registration of marriages, 1842-1907 and index to marriages,1838-1907
 * Jackson County, Registration of marriages, 1860-1907 and marriage index, 1860-1907
 * Jefferson County, Registration of marriages and marriage index to marriages, 1841-1907, 1928
 * Kenosha County Registration of marriages, 1853-1908; index to marriages, 1851-1907
 * Kenosha County, Record of certificates of marriages, 1850-1853, and record of certificates of ordinations of ministers of the gospel, 1850-1928
 * Kewaunee County Registration of marriages and index to marriages, 1858-1907
 * La Crosse County, Registration of marriages, 1851-1907 and index to marriages 1852-1907 --, 1851-1907
 * Manitowoc County, Registration of marriages,1860-1907 and marriage, 1859-1907 index, 1859-1907
 * Milwaukee County, Marriage certificates, 1836-1876
 * Milwaukee County, Marriage records, 1838-1911 : index, 1838-1918
 * Milwaukee County, Registration of marriages, 1837-1907; index to marriages, 1852-1907
 * Portage County, Registration of marriages, 1860-1907 and index to marriages 1862-1907, 1860-1907
 * Price County Registration of marriages, 1880-1907, index to marriages, 1880-1907, 1880-1907
 * Racine County, Registration of marriages, 1837-1907; index to marriages, 1837-1907
 * Rock County, Registration of marriages, 1840-1907; index to marriages, 1852-1907
 * Sheboygan County Registration of marriages and index to marriages, 1852-1907
 * Walworth County, Registration of marriages, 1839-1907; index to marriages, 1839-1907
 * Washington County, Registration of marriages, 1845-1907; index to marriages, 1845-1907
 * Waukesha County, Registration of marriages, 1847-1907; index to marriages, 1846-1907
 * Waupaca County, Registration of marriages, 1853-1907; index to marriages, 1852-1907, 1852-1907
 * Waushara County, Registration of marriages, 1853-1907 and index to marriages 1852-1907
 * Winnebago County, Registration of marriages, 1861-1907 and 1859-1907 index to marriages, 1859-1907
 * Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services, Marriage Records, 1907-2015

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Wisconsin Marriages, 1836-1930
 * Wisconsin Marriage Index, 1973-1997
 * Wisconsin Divorce Index, 1965-1984

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Wisconsin Historical Records Survey, Division of Community Service Programs, Work Projects Administration, Guide to public vital statistics records in Wisconsin. Madison, Wis. : Wisconsin Historical Records Survey, 1941.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.