Dawes County, Nebraska Genealogy

Dawes 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 land records from 1880. County Judge has marriage and probate records. Clerk District Court has divorce records.

Parent County
1860 Dawes County was created 19 February 1885 from Sioux County. County seat: Chadron

Description
Dawes County was a part of the unorganized area of northwestern Nebraska until February 19, 1877, when it became a part of Sioux County from which it was separated February 19, 1885 and was given its present name. Box Butte County was taken from Dawes January 29, 1887, leaving Dawes County with its present area. The county was named for James W. Dawes.

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

 * Chadron
 * Crawford

Village

 * Whitney

Unincorporated communities

 * Bordeaux
 * Dakota Junction
 * Horn
 * Marsland
 * Pine Ridge

Ghost town

 * Belmont

Neighboring Counties

 * Box Butte
 * Fall River County, South Dakota
 * Shannon County, South Dakota
 * Sheridan
 * Sioux

Cemeteries

 * Greenwood Cemetery Search Database and Map

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
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

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


 * Crawford Historical Society Crawford Historical Museum P.O. Box 333 341 Second St Crawford, NE 69339 Phone: 308-665-1732; 308-665-2350


 * Dawes County Historical Society Museum P.O. Box 1319 341 Country Club Road Chadron, NE 69337 Phone: 308-432-4999


 * Mari Sandoz Heritage Society 300 East 12th St Chadron, NE 69337 Phone: 308-432-6276 Email: [mailto:kkorte@csc.edu kkorte@csc.edu]

Libraries


 * Chadron Public Library 507 Bordeaux St Chadron, NE 69337-2696 Phone: 308-432-0531 Fax: 308-432-0534 Email: [mailto:deweycpl@echadron.net deweycpl@echadron.net]


 * Chadron State College Reta E. King Library 300 East 12th St Chadron, NE 69337 Phone: 308-432-6271


 * Crawford Public Library 601 Second St Crawford, NE 69339-1151 Phone: 308-665-1780 Email: [mailto:crawlib@hotmail.com crawlib@hotmail.com]

Family History Centers



 * Chadron Nebraska Family History Center

Web Sites

 * NEGenWeb
 * USGenWeb project - Nebraska and Dawes County
 * Family History Library Dawes County record holdings