Hall County, Nebraska Genealogy

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

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.

County Courthouse
Hall County Courthouse 111 W. 1st Street Grand Island, NE 68801 Phone: 308.385.5080 Hall County Website County Clerk has marriage records from 1869. County Judge has probate records. Clerk District Court has divorce and court records. Register has land 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:

Biographies

 * 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.

Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for Nebraska starting in 1860. For links to Federal census indexes, see Nebraska Census.

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 ($)

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Record of Members 1929-1941 at family History Library

Land and Property Records

 * Hall County Register of Deeds - By using the MapSifter or Instrument Search you may search for property ownership information.
 * 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
 * 1863 - 1908 - U.S. Homestead Records 1863-1908 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

For more information see Nebraska Land and Property

Local Histories

 * 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
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 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

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.

Military 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
 * 1861 - 1948 - 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.

World War I

 * 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

Other Records

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

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

Marriage

 * 1855 - 1995 — at FamilySearch — index only
 * 1856 - 1898 — Nebraska Marriages 1856-1898 at Ancestry.com ($), index only
 * Hall County, Nebraska Marriage Indexes

Family History Centers

 * Grand Island Nebraska Family History Center

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]

Museums

 * 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]

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

Websites

 * NEGenWeb
 * USGenNet
 * USGenWeb
 * - 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