Cass County, Nebraska Genealogy

Cass 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 marriage records from 1855. County Court has probate and court records from 1854. Cemetery Board has burial records. Clerk District Court has divorce records from 1855. Register of Deeds has land records.

Parent County
1854 Cass County was created 23 November 1854 as an original county. County seat: Plattsmouth

Description
Cass County was named in honor of Lewis Cass, the son of Jonathan Cass, a Revolutionary Soldier.

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

 * Louisville
 * Plattsmouth
 * Weeping Water

Villages

 * Alvo
 * Avoca
 * Cedar Creek
 * Eagle
 * Elmwood
 * Greenwood
 * Manley
 * Murdock
 * Murray
 * Nehawka
 * South Bend
 * Union

Unincorporated communities

 * Factoryville
 * Mynard
 * Rock Bluff
 * Wabash

Census divisions
Cass County is divided into the following divisions, called precincts, except for the cities of Plattsmouth and Weeping Water.


 * Avoca
 * Center
 * East Rock Bluff
 * Eight Mile Grove
 * Elmwood
 * Greenwood
 * Liberty
 * City of Louisville
 * Mount Pleasant
 * Nehawka
 * City of Plattsmouth
 * Plattsmouth
 * Salt Creek
 * South Bend
 * Stove Creek

Neighboring Counties

 * Fremont County, Iowa
 * Lancaster
 * Mills County, Iowa
 * Otoe
 * Sarpy
 * Saunders

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.

Churches

 * Immanuel Lutheran Church, located at 36712 Church Road, Louisville, Nebraska, 68037-2918
 * Trinity Lutheran Church, located at 31104 Church Road, Murdock, Nebraska 68407-2216

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



Migration
Early migration routes to and from Cass County for European and African American settlers included:


 * Missouri 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

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


 * Cass County Genealogy Club 1116 Third Avenue Plattsmouth, NE 68048


 * Cass County Historical Society 646 Main St. Plattsmouth, NE 68048


 * Weeping Water Valley Historical Society 215 W Eldora Ave Weeping Water, NE 68463 Phone: 402-267-5447 Website

Libraries


 * Plattsmouth Public Library 401 Avenue A Plattsmouth, NE 68048 Phone: 402-296-4154 Fax: 402-296-4712 Email: plattsmouthpubliclibrary@hotmail.com


 * Elmwood Public Library 124 West D St PO Box 283 Elmwood, NE 68349-0283 Phone: 402-994-4125 Fax: 402-994-4125 Email: elmwoodlibrary@outlook.com Director: Janet L Sorensen


 * Greenwood Public Library 619 Main St PO Box 29 Greenwood, NE 68366-0029 Phone: 402-789-2301 Fax: 402-789-2323 Email: kfranklibrary@hotmail.com Director: Karen Frank

Websites

 * NEGenWeb
 * USGenWeb