Wisconsin Divorce Index - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of indexes to divorce records from 1965 to 1984 from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. The index is provided by Ancestry.com.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * Name of husband
 * Name of wife
 * Docket number
 * Divorce date
 * Divorce place
 * Reference number (page, volume, entry number)

How Do I Search This Collection?
To begin your search, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The name of a spouse or date of the event

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the information found in the divorce index to locate the actual divorce record
 * Use the information to find other church and vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records. Also search for immigration, military, land and probate records
 * Use the information to find additional family members in censuses
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record. Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relatives that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search
 * Try variant spellings of your ancestor’s name
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Wisconsin.
 * Wisconsin Guided Research
 * Wisconsin Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Wisconsin Center for Health Statistics. Indexes for Wisconsin divorces, 1965-1984

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * Wisconsin Historical Records Survey, Division of Community Service Programs, Work Projects Administration. Guide to public vital statistics records in Wisconsin. Madison, Wis. : Wisconsin Historical Records Survey, 1941.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.