Vilas County, Wisconsin Genealogy

United States

Wisconsin

Vilas County

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

County Facts County seat: Eagle River Organized: April 12, 1893 Parent County(s): Oneida County Neighboring Counties Forest  • Gogebic (MI)  • Iron (MI)  • Iron  • Oneida  • Price See County Maps Courthouse Location Map Adoption This page is available for adoption

County Information

Description

The County was named for William Freeman Vilas. The County is located in the north-central area of the state.

County Courthouse

Vilas County Courthouse
330 Court Street
Eagle River, WI 54521
Phone: 715-479-3600
Vilas County Website

Register of Deeds has birth, marriage, death and land records.
Register in Probate has probate records.

Vilas County, Wisconsin 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 County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1889	1893	1889	1900	1893	1900	1820
Statewide registration for births and deaths began in 1907. General compliance year unknown.

Record Loss

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

Boundary Changes

1893--Vilas County was created 15 April 1893 from Oneida County. 1897--Vilas County gained land from Forest and Oneida Counties on 29 April 1897. 1905--Vilas lost land to Oneida Count on 31 March 1905. 1905--Vilas gained land from Forest County on 16 May 1905. 1909--Vilas kept control of disputed area between Vilas County and Upper Peninsula of Michigan on 1 Jan 1909. County seat: Eagle River 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

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
Eagle River (county seat)
Towns
Arbor Vitae Boulder Junction Cloverland Conover Lac du Flambeau	Land O' Lakes Lincoln Manitowish Waters Phelps Plum Lake	Presque Isle St. Germain Washington Winchester
Unincorporated communities
Arbor Vitae (community) Conover (community) Katinka Village Land O' Lakes (community)	Manitowish Waters (community) Marlands Phelps (community) Presque Isle (community)	St. Germain (community) Star Lake Winchester (community)
Census-designated places
Boulder Junction (CDP)	Lac du Flambeau (CDP)	Sayner (CDP)

Resources

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Vilas County, Wisconsin online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	Findagrave.com WIGenWeb WIGenWeb Archives Billion Graves Index at FamilySearch
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	Family History Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	Findagrave.com Billion Graves EPodunk
See Wisconsin Cemeteries for more information

 

Census Records

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1900	4,929	—
1910	6,019	22.1%
1920	5,649	−6.1%
1930	7,294	29.1%
1940	8,894	21.9%
1950	9,363	5.3%
1960	9,332	−0.3%
1970	10,958	17.4%
1980	16,535	50.9%
1990	17,707	7.1%
2000	21,033	18.8%
2010	21,430	1.9%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

For tips on accessing Vilas census records online, see: Wisconsin 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.
• 1875 - 1875 Wisconsin State Census Identifies head of household by name.
• 1885 - Wisconsin State Census, 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 - Wisconsin State Census, 1895 at FamilySearch — index and images. Identifies head of household by name. Other information is statistical.
• 1905 - Wisconsin State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch — Name index and images of population. Enumerates by name all inhabitants.

Church Records

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.

• Vilas County Churches WIGenWeb project

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 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.

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Wisconsin
• Family Maps of Vilas County, Wisconsin (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.

Military Records

Civil War

Regiments. Service men in Vilas 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 Vilas:

- 11th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, Company K

Newspapers

• Vilas County Newspapers WIGenWeb project

Probate Records

Probate records are held by the Vilas Clerk of Circuit Court and are housed at the Vilas 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

• 1800–1987 Wisconsin Wills and Probate Records 1800-1987 at Ancestry — images and index $
• 1848–1948 Wisconsin Probate Estate Files 1848-1948 at FamilySearch — images

Tax Records

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

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

• 1820-1907 Wisconsin, Birth Index, 1820-1907 at FamilySearch — index
• 1826-1908 Wisconsin, Births and Christenings Index, 1826-1908 at Ancestry — index $
• 1826-1926 Wisconsin, Births and Christenings, 1826-1926 at FamilySearch — index

Marriage

• 1836-1911 Wisconsin, County Marriages, 1836-1911 at FamilySearch — index
• 1836-1930 Wisconsin, Marriages, 1836-1930 at FamilySearch — index
• 1973-1997 Wisconsin, Marriage Index, 1973-1997 at FamilySearch — index
• 1973-1997 Wisconsin Marriages, 1973-1997 at Ancestry — index/images $

Death

• 1820-1907 Wisconsin, Death Index, 1820-1907 at FamilySearch — index
• 1835-1968 Wisconsin, Deaths and Burials, 1835-1968 at FamilySearch — index
• 1867-1907 Wisconsin, Death Records, 1867-1907 at FamilySearch — index
• 1959-1997 Wisconsin, Death Index, 1959-1997 at FamilySearch — index

Divorce

• 1965-1984 Wisconsin, Divorce Index, 1965-1984 at FamilySearch — index

Research Facilities

Archives

• History Center and Archives, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center
  Wisconsin Historical Society
  29270 County Highway G
  Ashland, WI 54806-9339
  Phone: 715-685-2647
  Email: whsnorthwoods@whs.wisc.edu
  Website
  

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.

• For current information about a center near you, go to the Family History Center Map

Societies

• Vilas County Historical Society
  Main Street
  Sayner, WI 54560
  Phone: 715-542-3388
  Website
• Eagle River Genealogy Society
  PO Box 693
  Eagle River, WI 54521
  Phone: 715-479-8899
• Eagle River Historical Society
  PO Box 2011
  Eagle River, WI 54521
  Phone: 715-479-4845
  Website
  Facebook
• Lac du Flambeau Historical and Cultural Society
  PO Box 729
  Lac du Flambeau, WI 54538
  Phone: 715-588-7626
  Website
  
• Land O' Lakes Historical Society
  PO Box 541
  Land O' Lakes, WI 54540
  Phone: 715-547-3638
  Website

Websites

• Vilas County, WI History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Wisconsin Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Wisconsin Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• Vilas County WIGenWeb project
• Vilas County Archives USGenWeb Archives
• 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

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Family History Library