Platte County, Wyoming Genealogy

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

Description
Platte County is located in the north central area of Platte County. The county was named for the North Platte River.

County Courthouse
Platte County Courthouse 806 9th Street Wheatland, WY 82201 Phone: 307.322.3555 Platte County Website County Clerk has marriage and land records from 1890; Clerk of the District Court has divorce, probate and court records.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

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:

Cemeteries
The following web site has additional information on Platte county cemeteries.


 * Interment.net Wyoming cemetery records by county.

Territory and State Census Records

 * 1850 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; North Dakota was included in the 1850 Utah Territory Census - How to Use this Collection.
 * 1860 - 1910 Wyoming Compiled Census at Ancestry — ($), index and images
 * 1860 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Wyoming was included in the 1860 Nebraska Territory Census - How to Use this Collection
 * 1870 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Wyoming Territory Census  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1880 at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Wyoming Territory Census - How to Use this Collection

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for the state of Wyoming starting in 1890, although no records survived. The 1900 Census is the next Federal Census available. For links to Federal Census indexes, see Wyoming Census.

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Funeral Homes

 * Converse Chapel in Douglas
 * Platte Chapel in Wheatland

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records
 * 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 - ($), index and images

Local Histories

 * Platte County at Wyoming History.org.

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Wyoming - shows boundary changes for Wyoming Counties
 * Historical Maps and Atlases of wyoming - maps and atlases of Wyoming

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Platte County, Wyoming Genealogy 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

Military Records
These collections are unique to Wyoming. You will find nationwide databases for military records on U.S. Military Online Genealogy Records and Wyoming Military Records.

General Civil War No known military units were raised specifically from Wyoming as it did not become a state until 1890. However men from the territories that became Wyoming fought in other units during the Civil War. World War I World War II For further information see Wyoming Military Records.
 * 1914-1946 Wyoming, U.S., Military Service and Veterans Records, 1914-1946 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1883 List of Civil War Pensioners, Wyoming, 1883 - Index only
 * 1890 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1917 - 1918 at FamilySearch — Index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties for Wyoming - Index only

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

Newspapers
 Wyoming Newspapers Online Wyoming Newspaper Catalogs
 * Wyoming Newspapers.
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Wyoming newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Wyoming newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Wyoming newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * 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

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
 * 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Vital Records

 * 1908 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Marriage

 * 1839 - 1957 Wyoming, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index $
 * Western States Marriage Index - Index, incomplete, list of counties included
 * 1867 - 1941 Wyoming Marriages 1867-1941 at Findmypast ($), index.
 * 1877 - 1920 at FamilySearch— Index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1877 - 1920 Wyoming, Marriages, 1877-1920 at MyHeritage ($) — index.
 * 1941-1966 Reclaim the Records: Wyoming Marriage Index at Archive.org - images of index
 * 1941-1969 Wyoming, U.S., Marriage Records, 1941-1969 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

Death

 * Wyoming Death Index at Wyoming State Archives — index (currently contains only A-E, it is a work in progress)
 * 1909-1969 Wyoming, Death Records, 1909-1969 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * Pre 1939-1952 Reclaim the Records: Wyoming Death Index at Archive.org - images of index

Divorce

 * Pre 1941-1952 Reclaim the Records: Wyoming Divorce Index at Archive.org - images of index
 * 1941-1969 Wyoming, U.S., Divorce Records, 1941-1969 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Hanna Wyoming FamilySearch Center
 * Rawlins Wyoming FamilySearch Center
 * Saratoga Wyoming FamilySearch Center
 * Scottsbluff Nebraska FamilySearch Center
 * Torrington Wyoming FamilySearch Center
 * Wheatland Wyoming FamilySearch Center


 * West Nebraska Family Research & History Center - an affiliate library

Libraries
Guernsey Public Library PO Box 607 108 S Wyoming Ave Guernsey, WY 82214 307-836-2816 Website

Platte County Public Library 904 9th St Wheatland, WY 82201 Phone: 307-322-2689 Fax: 307-322-3540 Email: [mailto:pcpl@plattecountylibrary.org pcpl@plattecountylibrary.org] Website

Societies
Platte County Historical Society 44 Mt Drive Wheatland WY 82201 307-322-3014 Email: [mailto:linda@wyshs.org linda@wyshs.org] Website

Websites

 * Platte County at Cyndi's List — a comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online
 * Platte County at Genealogy Trails — transcribed genealogical and historical data
 * Platte County at LDSGenealogy - collection of links by state, county, city, and record type
 * Platte County at WyoHistory.org; a project of the Wyoming State Historical Society - contains history, pictures, resources and economical information
 * Platte County at Wyoming USGenWeb - free online resources for genealogical research
 * Platte County at Wyoming USGenWeb Archives — free online data for genealogical research
 * - 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.