Waukesha County, Wisconsin Genealogy and History
Established: 1846
County Seat: Waukesha
Parent: Milwaukee County
* Records before the establishment of the county may be in the parent records.
Neighboring Counties
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From: Handbook of Wisconsin by S. Silas, 1855
WAUKESHA.--Population 24,012 (1855).
pg. 104-105
Lies next West of Milwaukee, and was originally a part of it. The face of the country is rolling, rising in the north-west part to high table land. East of Fox River is heavy timber, west, openings with a few small prairies. There is considerable marsh land, but no more than is needed for hay meadows. The marshes in this and most other portions of the State can generally be drained, and will eventually become rich meadows. The lands are nearly all good, and well cultivated. Summit, in the north-west part, contains some of the best farms in the State. It is well watered with streams and lakes, and has many good water powers.
Waukesha, near the centre, is the County Seat. It has a good water power, and is the location of Carroll College, under the charge of the Presbyterians. This institution has a fine stone building, is fully officered, and has a well qualified corpse of instructors. Its prospects are fair, and is intended by its friends, that it shall not be inferior to any college in the west.
Oconomowoc, on the Milwaukee and Watertown Rail Road, is a flourishing place, and does a large business.
The Milwaukee and Mississippi, and the Milwaukee and Watertown Rail Roads, both in operation, pass through the whole length of the County. There is also a charter for a Rail Road from Waukesha down the Fox River.
General Genealogy and History Links
This section contains links to websites that have multiple databases or webpages with genealogical information.
- Muskego Historical Society - Genealogy and History for Muskego area people. -
- USGenWeb Archives - Waukesha County - US GenWebArchives -
- Waukesha County Genealogy Forum - Place to add your genealogy inquiry or look for others researching your same names. -
- Waukesha County History 1870-1920 - University of Wisconsin digital collection -
- WIGenWeb - Genealogy and History Information Part of the WIGenWeb -
Vital Records
Birth, Death, & Marriage Records:
Earliest Registration Dates*:
Births 1860
Deaths 1872
Marriages 1846
Waukesha County Register of Deeds
1320 Pewaukee Rd
Waukesha, WI 53188-3870
Telephone: (262) 548-7583
- 1880 Muskego Mortality Index - List of people who died in Muskego circa 1879-1880 -
- Muskego Deaths 1918 - List of Muskego Deaths 1918 -
- Pre-1907 Vital Records Index at the Wisconsin Historical Society - Pre-1907 Vital Records Index at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Search for births, deaths and marriages. -
Cemetery and Obituary Links
- Cemeteries in Waukesha - Cemeteries and burials at the Links to the Past website. (my site) -
- Cemetery records at Interment.net - Short list of cemetery information and burials available at Interment.net -
- Find-a-Grave Waukesha County - Cemeteries and burials submitted to Find-a-grave for Waukesha county. -
- List of Waukesha cemeteries at Billion Graves - Their goal is to preserve precious records found in cemeteries throughout the world. They attempt to capture images of tombstones as well as the GPS location of graves. -
- Melendy's Prairie Cemetery - Many early Cornish immigrants are buried in this cemetery -
- Prairie Home Cemetery burials - Waukesha - Official website of the Prairie Home (Waukesha City Cemetery) -
- Select Muskego Obituaries - A small selection of Muskego Obituaries. More added as time permits. -
- St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery - Waukesha - Interments at St. Joseph Cemetery Waukesha. -
- Tombstone Photograph Pages Waukesha County - Waukesha County Wisconsin Cemetery pages with photos of select tombstones. -
Court Records - Naturalization and Probate
- Central Wisconsin Genealogy Index - Index to Obituaries, Census, and Naturalization for Portage and Waupaca Counties -
- Wisconsin Circuit Court Access - Waukesha County list of court cases. Of particular interest are the probate listings. Often they include the date of death. -
Census Links
Censuses contain valuable information about families. This section contains links to transcribed censuses, census indexes or census images for the county.
- 1860 Muskego Census - Census in PDF form offered by the Muskego Historical Society. -
- 1873 Muskego Register of Electors - List of Electors -
- City Directories Waukesha County - List of known Waukesha City Directories. Some available online. Some through the Family History Center or National Archives. Also check Waukesha Library Card catalogs. -
- Waukesha County Censuses - Census Records, City Directories, Business Listings of Waukesha County and the Surrounding Communities -
Residents of the County
This section contains links to family tree websites, biographies and information about individuals that lived in the county.
Area History
This section contains links of published histories and historical information about the county, its villages, cities or towns. Sometimes within these histories is information about founders, or other people that settled in the area. It may also include ethnic or religious histories of the communities.
- History St. Joseph Parish Waukesha - Short history of the church. -
- Waukesha, Wisconsin Local History & Biography Articles - Articles in the WI Historical Society articles database. -
Maps and Atlases
- Waukesha County Property Data Warehouse - Great tool for determining ownership of properties. Includes information on property deeds, mortgages etc. -
- Waukesha County Tax Listings - This program accesses data from databases maintained by several County Departments and Local Municipalities. -
Military
- Civil War Soldier Casualties - Waukesha County, Wisconsin - Civil War Casualty list and soldiers in Waukesha Cemeteries -
- Waukesha County Veteran and Soldier Military History - Links and information on military veterans from Waukesha County. -
Societies, Libraries and Offline Resources
- Courthouse Rules - Guidelines for researching at the Waukesha Courthouse. -
- Newspapers in Waukesha County - List of county newspaper publications listed at the Library of Congress -
- Oconomowoc Historical Society and Museum - Link to the official website of the Historical Society -
- Pewaukee Historical Society - Information on the historical society. -
- Research Center - Waukesha Historical Society and Museum - List of major resources available at the Research center - Waukesha -
- UW Milwaukee Archives - Waukesha - UW Milwaukee Archives holds materials for Waukesha County. See also the UWM Microfilm collection. -
- Waukesha County Genealogical Society - One of the best ways to learn about genealogy is to exchange ideas with others who share an interest in researching the history of their families. -
- Waukesha Public Library Genealogy resources - List of links from the Public library. -
