Adams County, Nebraska Genealogy

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

Description
The County was named for John Adams. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Adams County Courthouse 500 W. 4th Street Hastings, NE 68901 Phone: 402-461-7153 Adams County Website County Judge has marriage and probate records. Clerk District Court has divorce and 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:

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 ($)
 * 1860 - 1885 Nebraska State Census Collection 1860-1885 at Ancestry.com - index & images, ($)
 * 1885 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index and images
 * 1885 Nebraska State Census 1885 at Ancestry.com - index & images, ($)

Church Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places


 * 1875-1899 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index

Ward and Branch Records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


 * Hastings

Directories

 * 1915-1930 (*) at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Funeral Homes

 * Apfel Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Hastings and Kenesaw
 * Dewitt Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Hastings
 * Livingston|Butler|Volland Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Hastings

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.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:
 * FamilySearch Digital Library
 * Internet Archive
 * My Heritage
 * Past and present of Adams County, Nebraska. Burton, William R., David J. Lewis. 1916. Chicago, Illinois: S. J. Clarke Pub. Co. Available online at:
 * Google Books
 * HathiTrust
 * Internet Archive
 * HISTORY of the State of Nebraska. Cutler, William. 1882. The Western Historical Company, A. T. Andreas, Proprietor: Chicago, IL. Available online at:
 * Kansas Collection Books

Maps and Gazetteers

 * View the 1885 Adams County Nebraska map in the David Rumsey Map Collection.
 * 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
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Find

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Adams County, Nebraska for European and African American settlers included:


 * Platte River
 * Little Blue 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  - How to Use this Collection; images only


 * For more nationwide Revolutionary War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War

 * 1861 - 1865 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1861 - 1948 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; 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.

World War II

 * 1940 - 1945 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

 * 1855-1989 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index and images

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

Other Records

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

Probate Records
Online Probate Indexes and Records
 * 1806-1989 Nebraska Wills and Probate Records 1806-1989 at Ancestry.com — index & images, ($)
 * 1887-1935 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
 * 1919-1947 (*); County Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

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.

Marriage

 * 1855 - 1995 — at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index only


 * 1856 - 1898 — Nebraska Marriages 1856-1898 at Ancestry.com ($), index only

Death

 * 1861-1948 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1904-1955 Reclaim the Records: Nebraska Death Index at Archive.org - images of index
 * 1904-1968 Nebraska, U.S., Index to Deaths, 1904-1968 at Ancestry — index, ($)

FamilySearch Centers

 * Grand Island Nebraska FamilySearch Center
 * Hastings Nebraska FamilySearch Center
 * Kearney Nebraska FamilySearch Center


 * Grand Island Public Library - an affiliate library

Libraries
Hastings Public Library 314 N Denver Ave Hastings, NE 68901 Phone: 402-461-2346 Email: [mailto:circulation@cityofhastings.org circulation@cityofhastings.org] Facebook Website

Museums
Hastings Museum 1330 N Burlington Ave Hastings, NE 68901 Phone: 402-461-2399 Email: [mailto:info@hastingsmuseum.org info@hastingsmuseum.org] Facebook Website

Societies
Adams County Genealogical Society PO Box 424 Hastings, NE 68902-0424 Email:[mailto:adamscountygenea@gmail.com adamscountygenea@gmail.com] Facebook Website Adams County Historical Society 1330 N Burlington Ave PO Box 102 Hastings, NE 68902-0102 Phone: 402-463-5838 Email: [mailto:achs@inebraska.com achs@inebraska.com] Website
 * Located in the Hastings Museum.

Websites

 * NEGenWeb
 * 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