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Wyoming Research Outline |
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Table of Contents
Records Of The Family History Library
Family History Library Catalog
Archives And Libraries
Bible Records
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
Church Records
Court Records
Directories
Emigration And Immigration
Gazetteers
Genealogy
History
Land And Property
Maps
Military Records
Native Races
Naturalization And Citizenship
Newspapers
Periodicals
Probate
Vital Records
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions
LAND AND PROPERTY
When the United States acquired Wyoming, most of the land that comprises the present state became part of the public domain. The federal government surveyed available land and began transferring much of it to private ownership through local land offices in a process called “land entry Land entry in Wyoming was either based on cash payment for the land (cash entries The local offices recorded each transaction in a section of land in tract books After a settler completed the requirements for land entry, his case file was sent to the General Land Office For copies of the tract books, township plats, and patent records, contact:
A guide to the land office records at the Denver branch and a history of the federal land system in Wyoming is Eileen Bolger, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming (Denver: Federal Archives and Records Center, 1983; FHL book 978.7 R2b).
After land was transferred from the federal government by sale or grant to private ownership, it could be sold again, inherited, lost by foreclosure Most of the county land records begin after 1869. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of important land records from about half of the counties in the state. From Laramie County, for example, the library has 75 microfilms of deeds, mortgages, indexes, railroad deeds, corporation records, bills of sale, and mining deeds. These records date from as early as 1867 to as late as 1961.
The University of Wyoming in Laramie has a fine collection of maps and atlases The Family History Library has a few maps of Wyoming. These show trails, roads, forts, migration routes, and other features. Atlases that describe Wyoming's progression from Indian lands through various territorial designations are on FHL film 002083.
The U.S. Military Records Research Outline (34118) provides more information on federal military records and search strategies.
Many of the federal military records you'll want to use are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives
The Family History Library and the National Archives have an index to some soldiers from Nebraska Territory (FHL films 821905-6). A special census was taken in 1890 of Union veterans of the Civil War (FHL film 338276). An index to the returns for Wyoming has been published (FHL book 978.7 X22j 1890).
Enlistment registers are available for soldiers who served in the regular army from 1798 to 1914. Many of these soldiers served in the western states, including Wyoming, during the Indian wars. The enlistment registers provide the soldiers' rank, unit, commanders, physical description, occupation, and birthplace. The records are arranged by year and by the first letter of the surname (FHL films 350307—).
An index is available for soldiers who applied for pensions between 1892-1926, as a result of service in the Indian Wars which were fought between 1817 and 1898 (FHL films 821610-21). The pension records are only available at the National Archives.
Historical accounts of the forts and posts in Wyoming are in Robert A. Murray, Military Posts of Wyoming (Ft. Collins: Old Army Press, 1974; FHL book 978.7 H2m).
A published roster of soldiers is in volume one of Ichabod S. Bartlett, ed., History of Wyoming, 3 vols. (Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1918; FHL book 978.7 H2b; film 1000826 items 2-4).
A published roster of Wyoming soldiers is in volume three of W.M. Haulsee, et al., Soldiers of the Great War, 3 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Soldiers Record Publishing Association, 1920; FHL book 973 M23s; fiche 6051244). The Wyoming State Archives has files for men killed during the war.
World War I draft registration cards United States. Selective Service System. Wyoming, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Federal Land Records
.” The first land office was established at Cheyenne in 1870.
), or on conditions of settlement (homesteads). Anyone who was twenty-one years old, or who was a head of household (including widows), could purchase land. Free homesteads could be obtained after 1862 by those who settled and cultivated the land for at least five years. A homestead applicant either had to be a U.S. citizen or must have filed his intention to become a citizen.
. They also created township plats, which are maps of land entries within each township.
in Washington, D.C., where a patent (first-title deed) was issued. To locate the land entry or homestead case file for your ancestor, you will need to know either the patent number or the legal description (range, township, section) of the land. The county recorder of deeds may be able to tell you the legal description of the land from county land records. You may also be able to pinpoint the exact location of a tract by searching the entries in the tract book covering the approximate area concerned.
Wyoming State Office of the Bureau of Land Management
The National Archives
2515 Warren Avenue
P.O. Box 1828
Cheyenne, WY 82003
Telephone: 307-775-6001
Fax: 307-775-6082
also has the original tract books, plats, homestead entry files, and cash entry files. The Family History Library has copies of the tract books on microfilm. The National Archives—Rocky Mountain Region (Denver) also has some of the land office records.
County Land Records
of a mortgage, or distributed through a divorce. These transactions are recorded by the district courts in the form of deeds and mortgages. You can obtain copies of the records by contacting the appropriate clerk's office in each county.
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MAPS
. The Wyoming State Engineer's Office at Cheyenne has a large library of technical maps.
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MILITARY RECORDS
, and other federal and state archives. The United States Research Outline provides more information about the federal records. For Wyoming the following sources are also very helpful.
Civil War (1861-1865)
Indian Wars
Spanish-American War (1898)
World War I (1917-1918)
for men age 18 to 45 may list address, birth date, birthplace, race, nationality, citizenship, and next of kin. Not all registrants served in the war. For registration cards for Wyoming, see:
To find an individual's draft card, it helps to know his name and residence at the time of registration. The cards are arranged alphabetically by county, within the county by draft board, and then alphabetically by surname within each draft board.
Most counties had only one board; large cities had several. A map showing the boundaries of individual draft boards is available for most large cities. Finding an ancestor's street address in a city directory will help you in using the draft board map. There is an alphabetical list of cities that are on the map. For a copy of this map see:
United States. Selective Service System. List of World War One Draft Board Maps. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. (FHL film 1498803.)
Modern discharge records are kept by each county. The Family History Library has copies of these records from a few counties. The records include the individual's date and place of birth, induction and discharge dates, and address after discharge.
The Wyoming State Archives has records of the Wyoming National Guard.
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