Dawson County, Nebraska Genealogy

Dawson 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 1873. County Court has probate and court records. Clerk District Court has divorce and naturalization records. Register of Deeds has land records. Veterans Service Office has military records.

Parent County
1860 Dawson County was created 11 January 1860 from unorganized territory. County seat: Lexington.

Description
The county of Dawson was thought to have been named after Jacob Dawson, the first postmaster in the settlement of Lancaster; further research has indicated that the honor may actually belong to Pennsylvania Congressman, John L. Dawson, writer of the homestead bill of 1854.

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

 * Cozad
 * Gothenburg
 * Lexington

Villages

 * Eddyville
 * Farnam
 * Overton
 * Sumner

Census-designated place

 * Willow Island

Unincorporated communities

 * Buffalo
 * Darr
 * Josselyn

Neighboring Counties

 * Buffalo
 * Custer
 * Frontier
 * Gosper
 * Lincoln
 * Phelps

Cemeteries
Christ Cemetery - Gothenburg

Cottonwood Cemetery - Cozad

Cozad Cemetery - Cozad

Evergreen Cemetery - Lexington (north east)

Fairview Cemetery - Cozad

Gothenbury Cemetery - Gothenburg

Grace Cemetery - Lexington (west)

Hewitt Cemetery - Lexington (west)

Hillside Cemetery - Buffalo

Jewell Cemetery - Sumner

Mount Hope Cemetery - Lexington (east)

Overton Cemetery - Overton

Park Valley Cemetery - Eddyville

Pleasant View Cemetery - Gothenburg (south east)

Rose Hill Cemetery - Buffalo

Saint Ann's Cemetery - Lexington (east)

Saint John's Cemetery - Buffalo

Saint Patrick's Cemetery - Eddyville

Salem Cemetery - Gothenburg

Sumner Cemetery - Sumner

Walnut Grove Cemetery - Cozad (north west)

Willow Island Cemetery - Willow Island

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.

Lutheran

 * Records of the American Lutheran Church, Gothenburg, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

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 Dawson 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

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


 * Cozad Genealogy Club Wilson Public Library P.O. Drawer C 910 Meridian Ave Cozad, NE 69130 Phone: 308-784-2879


 * Cozad Historical Society P.O. Box 325 206 E 8th Street Cozad, NE 69130 Phone: 308-537-7217


 * Dawson County Genealogical Society 514 E. 8th St Cozad, NE 69130


 * Dawson County Historical Society P.O. Box 369 805 North Taft Lexington, NE 68850 Phone: 308-324-5340 Fax: 308-324-5340


 * Gothenburg Historical Society P.O. Box 153 520 Ninth St Gothenburg, NE 69138


 * Lexington Genealogical Society P.O. Box 778 Lexington, NE 68850-0778 Email: [mailto:ebrummet@atcjet.net ebrummet@atcjet.net]

Libraries


 * Gothenburg Public Library 1104 Lake Ave Gothenburg, NE 6918-1903 Phone: 308-537-2591 Fax: 308-537-3667


 * Lexington Public Library P.O. Box 778 103 East 10th St Lexington, NE 68850-0778 Phone: 308-324-2151 Fax: 308-324-2140


 * Wilson Public Library 210 Meridian Cozad, NE 69130-1755 Phone: 308-784-2019 Fax: 308-784-3509 Email: [mailto:wpublib@cozadtel.net wpublib@cozadtel.net]

Websites

 * NEGenWeb
 * USGenWeb