Portage County, Wisconsin Genealogy

Guide to Portage County Wisconsin ancestry, family history, and genealogy research page. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Parent County
1836--Portage County was created 7 December 1836 from Brown, Crawford, Iowa andMilwaukee Counties. County seat: Stevens Point

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Wisconsin County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Wisconsin County Boundary Maps" (1790-1961) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Neighboring Counties
Adams •  Marathon  •  Shawano  •  Waupaca  •  Waushara  •  Wood

Biography

 * Portage County Biographies USGenWeb Archives

Cemeteries

 * Portage Cemeteries and Obituaries at FamilySearch.
 * Portage County Cemetery Index
 * Forest Cemetery Records
 * Union Cemetery Records
 * Portage County Tombstone Photograph Pages USGenWeb Archives

State Census

 * 1855 - 1855 Wisconsin State Census This census includes name of head of family; other individuals in the household are identified by sex and race, number of deaf and dumb, blind, insane and foreign born.
 * 1865 - 1865 Wisconsin State Census Name index and images of the 1865 State Census which names the head of household. Most records have been destroyed but schedules exist for the following counties: Dunn, Green, Jackson, Kewaunee, Ozaukee, and Sheboygan.
 * 1975 - 1875 Wisconsin State Census Identifies head of household by name.
 * 1885 - at FamilySearch — index and images. Search indexed census.  Identifies by name of head of household.  Other information is statistical and identifies the rest of the household by race, gender and country of birth.
 * 1895 - at FamilySearch — index and images. Identifies head of household by name. Other information is statistical.
 * 1905 - at FamilySearch — Name index and images of population. Enumerates by name all inhabitants.

Federal Census

 * 1850 and 1900 - Portage County Census Records for 1850 and 1900 USGenWeb Archives

Church History and Records
Information about local churches (history and records) can be found on the Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society's website.

Lutheran

 * Records of Peace Lutheran Church, Amherst, in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($).

Court Records
The surviving early probate files have been indexed and are on the Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society's website. Also indexed are the Circuit Court Criminal Case Files Index 1849-1919 and the Circuit Court Civil Case Files Defendant Index 1845-1919

Ethnic, Political, or Religious Groups

 * Ethnic Communities of Portage County
 * Polish Heritage Highway (Hwy 66) WIGenWeb Project

History

 * History Links for Portage County WIGenWeb project

Maps

 * Old Antique Atlases &amp; Maps of Wisconsin
 * Family Maps of Portage County, Wisconsin (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
 * Portage County Maps

Civil War
Civil War service men from Portage County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are many companies or regiments that were formed from men of Portage County.


 * - 1st Regiment, Wisconsin Cavalry, Company B
 * - 3rd Regiment, Wisconsin Cavalry, Company H
 * - 5th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry Reorganized, Companies D and F
 * - 7th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company G
 * - 14th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company B

World War I

 * Troop I, First Wisconsin Cavalry WIGenWeb project

World War II

 * WWII Veterans Killed in Action Portage County - WIGenWeb project

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization Records for Portage County have been indexed and the index is available on the Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society's website.

Newspapers
A complete listing of all Portage County newspapers can be found on the Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society's website.

Obituaries
The Portage County Obituary Index is now a part of the Central Wisconsin Genealogy Index. Full text obituaries from The Wisconsin Pinery (1853-1890) and The Plover Times (1866-1881) can be found on the Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society's website. These are not indexed in the Obituary Index.
 * Portage County Obituaries USGenWeb Archives
 * Obit Index by Betty Martz WIGenWeb project

Probate Records
Online Records


 * 1800 – 1987 Wisconsin Wills and Probate Records 1800-1987 at Ancestry.com — images and index $
 * 1848 – 1948 at FamilySearch — images

Probate Index

Repositories
See also a List of Wisconsin Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Archives, Libraries and Museums
Nelis R. Kampenga Archives and Area Research Center University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point 520 LRC 900 Reserve Street Stevens Point, WI 54481-3897 Phone: 715-346-2586 Email: archives@uwsp.edu

Portage County Public Library

List of genealogical resources available at the Portage County Public Library

County Courthouse
The Portage County Courthouse is located at 1516 Church Street, Stevens Point, WI 54481. The Register of Deeds office, which houses birth, death, and marriage records, as well as land records is open for genealogical research during the following days and times:

Monday - Thursday, 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Closed for research on Fridays and from 11:30 - 1:00.

Societies
Portage County Historical Society PO Box 672 Stevens Point WI 54481 Telephone: 715-344-5752 Website

Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society 1001 Main Stevens Point, WI 54481 website

Almond Historical Society 319 County A Almond, WI 54900 Telephone: 715-366-7341 website

Birth Records

 * Portage County Vital Records Collected by Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society
 * Pre-1907 Portage County Birth Records Index WIGenWeb project
 * 1826 - 1926 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1820 - 1907 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1826 - 1908 Wisconsin, Births and Christenings Index, 1826-1908 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriage Records

 * Portage County Vital Records Collected by Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society
 * 1836 - 1930 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1973 - 1997 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1973 - 1997 Wisconsin Marriages, 1973-1997 at Ancestry.com — index/images $

Divorce Records

 * 1965 - 1984 at FamilySearch.org — index

Death Records

 * Portage County Vital Records Collected by Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society
 * 1867 - 1907 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1835 - 1968 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1820 - 1907 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1959 - 1997 at FamilySearch.org — index

Websites

 * Portage County, WI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Wisconsin Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Wisconsin Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Portage County, WIGenWeb Project
 * Portage County, USGenWeb Archives
 * Nelis R. Kampenga Archives and Area Research Center
 * Nelis R. Kampenga Archives and Area Research Center