Lafayette County, Wisconsin Genealogy

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

County Facts
County seat: Darlington
Organized: January 31, 1846
Parent County(s): Iowa County[1]
Neighboring Counties
Grant  • Green  • Iowa  • Jo Daviess (IL)  • Stephenson (IL)
See County Maps
Courthouse
Lafayette County Wisconsin Courthouse.jpg
Location Map
WI Lafayette.png
Adoption

County Information[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

The County was named for Marquis de Lafayette. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.[2]

County Courthouse[edit | edit source]

Lafayette County Courthouse
626 Main Street
Darlington, WI 53530
Phone: 608-776-4850
Lafayette County Website

Register of Deeds has birth records from 1860, marriage records from 1847, death records from 1877 and land records from 1840.
Clerk Court has divorce and court records.
Register in Probate has probate records. [3]

Lafayette County, Wisconsin Record Dates[edit | edit source]

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Major County Records[4]
Birth* Marriage Death* Court Land Probate Census
1860 1847 1877 1847 1840 1847 1820
*Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1907. General compliance year unknown.

Record Loss[edit | edit source]

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

Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]

  • 1846--Lafayette County was created 31 January 1846 from Iowa County.
  • County seat: Darlington[5]

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.

Populated Places[edit | edit source]

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:[6]

Cities
Towns
Villages
Unincorporated communities
Census-designated places


History Timeline[edit | edit source]

Resources[edit | edit source]

Bible Records[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Business, Commerce, and Occupations[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries of Lafayette County, Wisconsin online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)
List of Cemeteries in the County
See Wisconsin Cemeteries for more information

Census Records[edit | edit source]

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1850 11,531 —
1860 18,134 57.3%
1870 22,659 25.0%
1880 21,279 −6.1%
1890 20,265 −4.8%
1900 20,959 3.4%
1910 20,075 −4.2%
1920 20,002 −0.4%
1930 18,649 −6.8%
1940 18,695 0.2%
1950 18,137 −3.0%
1960 18,142 0.0%
1970 17,456 −3.8%
1980 17,412 −0.3%
1990 16,076 −7.7%
2000 16,137 0.4%
2010 16,836 4.3%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Lafayette census records online, see: Wisconsin Census.

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Wisconsin denominations, view the Wisconsin Church Records wiki page.


List of Churches and Church Parishes

Court Records[edit | edit source]

Directories[edit | edit source]

Emigration and Immigration[edit | edit source]

Ethnic, Political, and Religious Groups[edit | edit source]

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

Guardianship[edit | edit source]

Land and Property Records[edit | edit source]

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Wisconsin Land and Property for additional information about early Wisconsin land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories[edit | edit source]

Maps and Gazetteers[edit | edit source]

Dane CountyIowa CountyGrant CountyGreen CountyJo Daviess CountyStephenson CountyDubuqueWI LAFAYETTE.PNG
Click a neighboring county
for more resources


Migration[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Civil War[edit | edit source]

Regiments. Service men in Lafayette served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Lafayette:

- 2nd Regiment, Wisconsin Cavalry, Company I
- 5th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry Reorganized, Company I
- 7th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company A
- 10th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company A

Naturalization and Citizenship[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Newspaperarchive.com ($) has historical newspapers available online. Their database has Freeport, Illinois newspapers from the late 1800s and early 1900s that covered local news on residents from Lafayette County. The Rock Island Public Library in Rock Island, Illinois provides free access to this database at its library.

Obituaries[edit | edit source]

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Periodicals[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Probate records are held by the Lafayette Clerk of Circuit Court and are housed at the Lafayette Courthouse. See the wiki page Wisconsin Probate Records for information about how to use probate records.

Content: Probate records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.

Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, and adoptions.

Online Records

School Records[edit | edit source]

Social Security Records[edit | edit source]

Tax Records[edit | edit source]

Wisconsin tax records complement land records and can be used to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned property or other items that could be taxed were listed, some residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records. For more information see the Wiki page, Wisconsin Taxation.

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Most counties started keeping records in the 1870s. In 1907, the counties began sending copies to the state.

For pre-1907 births, deaths, and marriages, search the Wisconsin Genealogy Index.

For additional information, see Wisconsin Vital Records.

Birth[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

Death[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Research Facilities[edit | edit source]

Archives[edit | edit source]

Listed below are archives in Lafayette County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Wisconsin Archives and Libraries.

  • Area Research Center - University of Wisconsin-Platteville
    Southwest Wisconsin Room-Karrmann Library
    One University Plaza
    Platteville, WI 53818-3099
    Phone: 608-342-1719
    Email: swwis@uwplatt.edu
    Website

Family History Centers[edit | edit source]

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.

Local Centers and Libraries

Libraries[edit | edit source]

Listed below are libraries in Lafayette County. For state-wide library facilities, see Wisconsin Archives and Libraries.

  • Southwest Wisconsin Room-Karrmann Library
    Area Research Center - University of Wisconsin-Platteville
    One University Plaza
    Platteville, WI 53818-3099
    Phone: 608-342-1719
    Email: swwis@uwplatt.edu
    Website

Museums[edit | edit source]

Societies[edit | edit source]

Listed below are societies in Lafayette County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Wisconsin Societies.

Websites[edit | edit source]

Research Guides[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wisconsin.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Lafayette County, Wisconsin " in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_County,_Wisconsin."
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wisconsin.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  4. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Lafayette County, Wisconsin. Page 755-760, At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 757-759.
  5. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Wisconsin.At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002.
  6. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Lafayette County, Wisconsin," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_County,_Wisconsin, accessed 20 September 2018.


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