Wisconsin, Death Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What Is in the Collection?
The collection consists of an index and images of death records in the state of Wisconsin covering the years 1867 to 1907. The state of Wisconsin required its counties to register vital records (birth, marriage, death, and divorce) beginning in 1852. However, only a limited number of these events were actually recorded before 30 September 1907. The existing records prior to 1907 have been collected by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Deaths were recorded to better serve public health needs. They were also used in connection with the probate of wills and the administration of estates.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Wisconsin death records ask for the following information:


 * Full name of deceased
 * Maiden name (if deceased is a married woman)
 * Color
 * Sex
 * Race
 * Occupation
 * Age
 * Name of father
 * Birthplace of father
 * Name of mother
 * Birthplace of mother
 * Birthplace of deceased
 * Name of spouse
 * Birth date of deceased
 * Marital status of deceased
 * Death date
 * Residence of deceased
 * Cause of death
 * Place of death
 * Duration of disease
 * Was deceased a soldier or in the service of the United States
 * Burial place
 * Name of undertaker
 * Date of certificate
 * Number of burial permit
 * Place of burial permit
 * Other remarks

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The name of a parent or date of the event

Search the Index
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page.
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have
 * 2) Click Search to show possible matches

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.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the age listed to determine an approximate birth date to find other church and vital records such as birth, baptism, and marriage 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.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who 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. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Wisconsin, United States Genealogy.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Library Catalog

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation: Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

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