Forest County, Wisconsin Genealogy

Guide to Forest County, Wisconsin ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The County was named for the forests contained within its limit. The County has Crandon as its seat and the County was created 1885. The County is located in the northeast area of the state.

County Courthouse
Forest County Courthouse 200 E Madison Street Crandon, WI 54520 Phone: 715-478-2422 Forest County Website Register of Deeds has birth, marriage, death and land records from 1885. Clerk of Circuit Court has divorce and court records. Register in Probate has probate records.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit Hometown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Census Records

 * 1905-1910 - 1905-1910 School Censuses WIGenWeb Project

State 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.

Land and Property Records

 * |st=WI|cty=041|sp=true|sw=true|sadv=false General Land Office Records, Forest County. Listed alphabetically. Bureau of Land Management.

Maps and Gazetteers
Courtesy of the Crandon Public Library:


 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Wisconsin
 * 1940 Census Enumeration District Maps: Wisconsin, Forest County, ED21-1 - ED 21-19

Civil War

 * Civil War Vets in Forest County WIGenWeb Project

Newspapers

 * Forest County Newspapers, Past and Present WIGenWeb Project

Obituaries
The Crandon Public Library in the city of Crandon has made an obituary database on its website. This index was begun by local and library volunteers and converted to an online database by the library. The index currently covers the years from 1909 – 1923, 2001 – 2003, and 2005. This is an ongoing project. There are nearly 1,800 records in the index. The data fields include last name, first name, age, newspaper, and date of publication. Click on the column header to sort the records.

Enter a surname in the search box to bring up a list of individuals with that name. You may request a copy of the obituary from the library for a small fee. As noted on the website, you may also request a copy of an obituary for someone who died in years not included in the index, if you have an approximate date of death.

Copies of the obituaries are available from the library. ($)

Probate Records
Online Records


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

School Records

 * Crandon High School Yearbooks: 1938, 1943, 1945-1948, 1950-1951, 1953, 1955, 1958-1961, 1963-1964
 * School Census Records 1905, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910 (Crandon and Wabeno) - WIGenWeb, Forest County

Birth

 * 1820-1907 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1826-1908 Wisconsin, Births and Christenings Index, 1826-1908 at Ancestry — index $
 * 1826-1926 at FamilySearch — index
 * Forest County Birth Records WIGenWeb Project

Marriage

 * 1836-1911 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1836-1930 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1973-1997 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1973-1997 Wisconsin Marriages, 1973-1997 at Ancestry — index/images $
 * Forest County Marriage Records WIGenWeb Project

Death

 * 1820-1907 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1835-1968 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1867-1907 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1959-1997 at FamilySearch — index
 * Forest County Death Records WIGenWeb Project

Divorce

 * 1965-1984 at FamilySearch — index

Archives

 * History Center and Archives, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center Wisconsin Historical Society 29270 County Highway G Ashland, WI 54806-9339 Phone: 715-685-2647 Email: [mailto:whsnorthwoods@whs.wisc.edu whsnorthwoods@whs.wisc.edu] Website

Societies

 * Forest County Historical and Genealogical Society 103 W. Jackson Street PO Box 432 Crandon, WI 54520 Phone: 715-478-5900 Email: [mailto:forestctyhistory@gmail.com forestctyhistory@gmail.com] Website
 * Forest History Association of Wisconsin 403 McIndoe St Wausau, WI 54403-4746 Phone: 715-848-6143 Website

Websites

 * Forest County, WI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Wisconsin Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Wisconsin Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Forest County WIGenWeb Project
 * Forest County USGenWeb Archives
 * - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records