Keith County, Nebraska Genealogy

United States

Nebraska

Keith County

 

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

Nebraska Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Ogallala Organized: February 27, 1873 Parent County(s): unorganized territory Neighboring Counties Arthur  • Deuel  • Garden  • Lincoln  • McPherson  • Perkins  • Sedgwick (CO) See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for either M. C. Keith of North Platte, whose grandson Keith Neville or John Keith, also of North Platte. The County is located in west central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Keith County Courthouse
511 N. Spruce Street
P.O. Box 149
Ogallala, NE 69153-0149
Phone: 308.284.4726
Keith County Website

County Clerk has birth, death, and land records. County Judge has marriage records.
Clerk District Court has divorce, probate, and court records.

Keith County, Nebraska Record Dates

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 Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1904	1873	1904	1873	1873	1873	1854
*Statewide registration for births and deaths started in late 1904. General compliance by 1920.

Record Loss

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

Boundary Changes

1873 Keith County was created 27 February 1873 from unorganized territory. County seat: Ogallala Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Nebraska - shows boundary changes for Nebraska Counties Nebraska Historical Boundary Changes - list of all boundary changes by county provided by Newberry Library

Populated Places

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:

Cities
Ogallala (county seat)
Villages
Brule	Paxton
Unincorporated communities
Nevens	Ruthton
Census-designated places
Belmar Keystone	Lemoyne Martin	Roscoe Sarben

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Keith County, Nebraska online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com NEGenWeb Tombstone Project Nebraska Cemeteries Billion Graves Index at FamilySearch NE Interment
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves Cemetery Records by Access Genealogy FamilySearch Places
See Nebraska Cemeteries for more information

 

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	194	—
1890	2,556	1217.5%
1900	1,951	−23.7%
1910	3,692	89.2%
1920	5,294	43.4%
1930	6,721	27.0%
1940	8,333	24.0%
1950	7,449	−10.6%
1960	7,958	6.8%
1970	8,487	6.6%
1980	9,364	10.3%
1990	8,584	−8.3%
2000	8,875	3.4%
2010	8,063	−9.1%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

Federal Censuses were taken for Nebraska starting in 1860. For links to Federal census indexes, see Nebraska Census.

For tips on accessing Keith County, Nebraska Genealogy census records online, see: Nebraska Census.

State Census Records

• 1854 - 1870 - Nebraska, Compiled Census Index, 1854-1870 at Ancestry.com - index ($)
• 1860 - 1885 - Nebraska State Census Collection 1860-1885 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)
• 1885 - Nebraska State Census 1885 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1885 - Nebraska State Census 1885 at Ancestry.com - index and images ($)

Church Records

Church records 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 Nebraska denominations, view the Nebraska Church Records wiki page.
List of Churches and Church Parishes

• FamilySearch Places

Online Church Records

• 1875-1899 - Nebraska, Church Records, 1875-1899 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Land and Property Records

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

• 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
• 1863 - 1908 - U.S. Homestead Records 1863-1908 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

For more information see Nebraska Land and Property

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Keith County, Nebraska Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Nebraska Local Histories.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Nebraska Gazetteer - database for all known places found in 1890 and 1911 Nebraska gazetteers
• Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Nebraska - shows boundary changes for Nebraska Counties
• FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places

Migration

Early migration routes to and from Keith County for European and African American settlers included:

The usage of "Mormon" and "LDS" on this page is approved according to current policy.

• Platte River
• Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
• California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California
• Mormon Trail 1846 to 1869 from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah

Military Records

Revolutionary War

• 1775 - 1783 - United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only

• For more nationwide Revolutionary War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

Civil War

• 1861 - 1865 - Nebraska Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1861 - 1948 - Nebraska, Grand Army of the Republic, Burial Records, 1861-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1891 - Nebraska Resident Military Roster on June 1, 1891 at Ancestry.com - ($), Roster of Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines of the War of 1812, the Mexico War, and the War of the Rebellion, residing in Nebraska June 1, 1891
• 1893 - Roster of Nebraska Veterans - list of veterans in 1893
• For more nationwide Civil War databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

World War I

• 1917 - 1918 - World War I Drafts 1917-1918 - index only
• For more nationwide World War I databases, see US Military Online Genealogy Records.

World War II

• 1940 - 1945 - Nebraska, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Naturalization and Citizenship

• 1855-1989 - Nebraska, Naturalization Records, 1855-1989 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images

Newspapers

For information on Nebraska newspapers, see Nebraska Newspapers.

Nebraska Newspapers Online

• Nebraska Newspapers - contains images of newspapers throughout Nebraska
• GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Nebraska newspapers
• Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Nebraska newspapers
• Chronicling America - contains images of some Nebraska newspapers; searching tips
• Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites

Nebraska Newspaper Catalogs

• Nebraska State Historical Society - catalog of known Nebraska newspapers; lists repositories that have the newspapers
• 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

• 1870 - 1990 — Nebraska Prisoner Records 1870-1990 — index only

Probate Records

In most counties in Nebraska, probate records have been kept by the county judge. They include wills, fee books, claim registers, legacy records, inheritance records, probate ticklers, and dockets. The records are available at the county courthouse.

The FamilySearch Catalog lists films of probate records. To find the records for this county, use the Place Search for Nebraska - Keith - Probate records.

Online Probate Records

• 1806 – 1989 Nebraska Wills and Probate Records 1806-1989 at Ancestry.com — index and images $

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.

Tax Records

Nebraska tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses before 1820 or to supplement the years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years in the records.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents. A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred.

Marriage

• 1855 - 1995 — Nebraska Marriages, 1855-1995 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index only
• 1856 - 1898 — Nebraska Marriages 1856-1898 at Ancestry.com ($), index only

Death

• 1861 - 1948 - Nebraska, Grand Army of the Republic, Burial Records, 1861-1948 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1904-1955 Reclaim the Records: Nebraska Death Index at Archive.org - images of index

Research Facilities

Archives

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

Family History Centers

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.

• Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

Libraries

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

• Goodall City Library
  203 West A Street
  Ogallala NE, 69153
  Phone: 308-284-4354

Societies

Listed below are societies in Keith County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Nebraska Societies.

• Keith County Historical Society
  Mansion on the Hill
  1004 North Spruce Street
  P.O. Box 5
  Ogallala, NE 69153
  Phone: 308-284-4215

Websites

• NEGenWeb
• USGenWeb
• FamilySearch Catalog - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records