Sweetwater County, Wyoming Genealogy

United States Wyoming Sweetwater County

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

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Description
Sweetwater County was organized in 1867. It is located in the most southwestern area of the state. Its county seat is Green River. It was named for	Sweetwater River.

County Courthouse
Sweetwater County Courthouse 80 W Flaming Gorge Way PO Box 730 Green River, WY 82935 Phone: 307.872.6400 Sweetwater County Website County Clerk has marriage records from 1864 and land records from 1876. Clerk of the District Court has divorce, probate and court records.

Sweetwater County, Wyoming Record Dates

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 * width="91%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" colspan="7" | Beginning Dates for Major County Records
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Birth*
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Marriage
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Death*
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Court
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Land
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Probate
 * width="13%" bgcolor="#e4d8e5" align="center" | Census
 * width="13%" align="center" | *
 * width="13%" align="center" | 1870*
 * width="13%" align="center" | *
 * width="13%" align="center" | 1867
 * width="13%" align="center" | 1867
 * width="13%" align="center" | 1858
 * width="13%" align="center" |
 * colspan="7" | * For earlier dates, try... Church &#124; Obituaries &#124; Cemeteries
 * }
 * width="13%" align="center" |
 * colspan="7" | * For earlier dates, try... Church &#124; Obituaries &#124; Cemeteries
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Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Wyoming - shows boundary changes for Wyoming Counties
 * Wyoming Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

For animated maps illustrating Wyoming County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Wyoming County Boundary Maps" (1848-1965) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
 * Parent County: Formed from the western half of Laramie county 27 Dec 1867 (Laramie county originally encompassed the entire state). Originally named Carter county and original county seat South Pass City. The county was renamed Sweetwater by the first Wyoming Legislative Assembly. The county seat was moved to Green River in 1873. 
 * County Seat: Green River

Populated Places

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Cemeteries
Cemetery records often reveal birth, marriage, death, relationship, military, and religious information.

State Census Records

 * 1860 - 1910 Wyoming Compiled Census, 1860-1910 at Ancestry Index ($)

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for Wyoming starting in 1850. For links to Federal census indexes, see Wyoming Census.

Church Records
LDS Ward and Branch Records


 * Green River, McKinnon, Reliance, Rock Springs,Rock Springs 1st, Rock Springs 2nd, Superior, Winton

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
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images


 * BLM General Land Office Records

Maps and Gazetteers

 * 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 Sweetwater County, Wyoming Genealogy for European and African American settlers included:


 * South Pass
 * Green River
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * Sublette-Greenwood_Cutoff 1844 from South Pass, Wyoming to Fort Hall, Idaho
 * California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
 * Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah
 * Cherokee Trail 1850 from Salina, Oklahoma to Grainger/Fort Bridger, Wyoming
 * Union Pacific Railroad 1925 from Grainger, Wyoming via Boise to Portland, Oregon

Military Records
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 For further information see Wyoming Military Records.
 * 1861 -1865 at FamilySearch.— index
 * 1890 at FamilySearch.— index
 * 1917 - 1918 at FamilySearch — Index and images

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

Other Records
Public Records

1882 Poll Book for Green River, Sweetwater County, Wyoming.

Probate Records
The bulk of the probate case files from the 1870's to the 1940's have been transferred to the Wyoming State Archives in Cheyenne. Check their website for additional details.

Marriage

 * Western States Marriage Index - Index, incomplete, over 924 marriages 7 Jun 1870 to 25 Jun 1904 list of counties included
 * 1867 - 1941 Wyoming Marriages 1867-1941 at FindMyPast ($), index.
 * 1877 - 1920 at FamilySearch— Index
 * 1877 - 1920 Wyoming, Marriages, 1877-1920 at MyHeritage ($) — index.


 * Sweetwater County GenWeb Marriage index, formation of county to 2009 available as a spreadsheet

Death

 * Wyoming Death Index at Wyoming State Archives — index (currently contains only A-E, it is a work in progress)

Family History Centers

 * Green River Wyoming Family History Center
 * Rock Spring Wyoming Family History Center

Libraries

 * Sweetwater County Library System Polk directories, microfilm of Green River and Rock Springs newspapers.

Museums

 * Rock Springs Historical Museum Various holdings including sporadic Polk city directories and high school yearbooks.
 * Sweetwater County Historical Museum 3 E. Flaming Gorge Way Green River 82935

Websites

 * Sweetwater County, WY History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Wyoming Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Wyoming Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
 * Genealogy Trails: Sweetwater County Site. A Volunteer project dedicated to making genealogy records free to the public. Includes links to births, marriages and deaths; newspaper stories obituaries, censuses, military data, and more.