Lincoln County, Wyoming Genealogy

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

Description
Lincoln County was named for Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United States. Lincoln County is the Southwest area of the state.

County Courthouse
Lincoln County Courthouse PO Box 670 Kemmerer, WY 83101 Phone: 307.877.9056 Lincoln County Website County Clerk has marriage records from 1913 and land records. Clerk District Court has divorce and probate records from 1913 and court records.

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

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:

Cemeteries
The following web sites have additional information on Lincoln county cemeteries.


 * Interment.net Wyoming cemetery records by county.


 * Star Valley Historical Society

Territory and State Census Records

 * 1850 - at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; North Dakota was included in the 1850 Utah Territory Census - How to Use this Collection.
 * 1860 - 1910 - Wyoming Compiled Census at Ancestry.com — ($), index and images
 * 1860 - at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Wyoming was included in the 1860 Nebraska Territory Census - How to Use this Collection
 * 1870 - at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Wyoming Territory Census  - How to Use this Collection
 * 1880 - at FamilySearch Historical Records — index and images; Wyoming Territory Census - How to Use this Collection

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for the state of Wyoming starting in 1890, although no records survived. The 1900 Census is the next Federal Census available. For links to Federal Census indexes, see Wyoming Census.

Church Records
Ward and Branches of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints List of Churches and Church Parishes
 * FamilySearch Places

Funeral Homes

 * Ball Family Chapel in Kemmerer
 * Schwab Mortuary and Funeral Chapel in Afton and Thayne

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records
 * 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

Local Histories

 * History of the Upper Hamsfork Valley. 1974. By Jacob W Antilla. Kemmerer, Wyoming: J.W. Antilla;


 * Star Valley Oral Histories
 * Star Valley Pioneer Families (settled prior to 1886)

Maps and Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Wyoming - shows boundary changes for Wyoming Counties
 * Historical Maps and Atlases of wyoming - maps and atlases of Wyoming

Migration
Early migration routes to and from Lincoln County, Wyoming Genealogy for European and African American settlers included:


 * Green River
 * Oregon Trail 1830s to 1890s from western Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon
 * Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff 1844 from South Pass, Wyoming to Fort Hall, Idaho
 * California Trail 1846 to 1869 from western Missouri to northern California

Military Records
These collections are unique to Wyoming. You will find nationwide databases for military records on U.S. Military Online Genealogy Records and Wyoming Military Records.

General Civil War No known military units were raised specifically from Wyoming as it did not become a state until 1890. However men from the territories that became Wyoming fought in other units during the Civil War. World War I World War II For further information see Wyoming Military Records.
 * 1914-1946 Wyoming, U.S., Military Service and Veterans Records, 1914-1946 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * 1861 -1865 at FamilySearch.— index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1883 List of Civil War Pensioners, Wyoming, 1883 - Index only
 * 1890 at FamilySearch.— index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1917 - 1918 at FamilySearch — Index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties for Wyoming - Index only

Naturalization and Citizenship
Online Naturalization Indexes and Records


 * 1902-1943 (*); District Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images

Newspapers
 Wyoming Newspapers Online Wyoming Newspaper Catalogs
 * Wyoming Newspapers.
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Wyoming newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Wyoming newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Wyoming newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * 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


 * Wyoming Newspaper Project
 * Cokeville Register 1914–1919
 * Kemmerer Camera 1901–1921
 * Kemmerer Republican 1914–1920
 * Star Valley Pioneer/Star Valley Independent 1901–1922

Obituaries

 * 1901-present - Star Valley Historical Society
 * 1901-2015 - at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection; Also at Ancestry ($)

Social Security Records

 * 1935-2014 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.

Vital Records

 * 1908 - 1966 at FamilySearch — index - How to Use this Collection

Marriage

 * 1839 - 1957 Wyoming, United States Marriages at FindMyPast — index $
 * Western States Marriage Index - Index, incomplete, over 2,231 marriages dating from 12 Jan 1899 list of counties included
 * 1867 - 1941 Wyoming Marriages 1867-1941 at findmypast ($), index.
 * 1877 - 1920 at FamilySearch— Index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1877 - 1920 Wyoming, Marriages, 1877-1920 at MyHeritage ($) — index.
 * 1941-1966 Reclaim the Records: Wyoming Marriage Index at Archive.org - images of index
 * 1941-1969 Wyoming, U.S., Marriage Records, 1941-1969 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

Death

 * Wyoming Death Index at Wyoming State Archives — index (currently contains only A-E, it is a work in progress)
 * 1901 - 2015 at FamilySearch — index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1909-1969 Wyoming, Death Records, 1909-1969 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * Pre 1939-1952 Reclaim the Records: Wyoming Death Index at Archive.org - images of index

Divorce

 * Pre 1941-1952 Reclaim the Records: Wyoming Divorce Index at Archive.org - images of index
 * 1941-1969 Wyoming, U.S., Divorce Records, 1941-1969 at Ancestry - index & images ($)

Family History Centers

 * Afton Wyoming Family History Center
 * Cokeville Wyoming Family History Center
 * Kemmerer Wyoming Family History Center

Libraries
Alpine Branch Library 243 River Cir Alpine, WY 83128 Phone: 307-654-7323 Fax: 307-654-3158 Website

Lincoln County Library System 519 Emerald St Kemmerer, WY 83101 Phone: 307-877-6961 Fax: 307-877-4147 Email: [mailto:lclsboard@linclib.org lclsboard@linclib.org] Website

Star Valley Branch Library 261 S Washington St Afton, WY 83110 Phone: 307-885-3158 Fax: 307-885-9651 Website

Societies
Cokeville Historical Society c/o Charlotte Freeman Cokeville, Wyoming 83114 Email: [mailto:dramamama42@yahoo.com dramamama42@yahoo.com] (Charlotte Freeman) Email: [mailto:bktoomer@allwest.net bktoomer@allwest.net] (Karla Toomer) Website

Lincoln County Website

Lincoln County Historical Society Box 224 1-199 W 1st Ave Kemmerer, WY 83101 Website

Star Valley Historical Society PO Box 1212 61 E 5th Ave Afton, Wyoming 83110 Email: [mailto:svhs@silverstar.com svhs@silverstar.com] Website Facebook

Websites

 * Lincoln County at Cyndi's List — a comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online
 * Lincoln County at Genealogy Trails — transcribed genealogical and historical data
 * Lincoln County at LDSGenealogy - collection of links by state, county, city, and record type
 * Lincoln County at WyoHistory.org; a project of the Wyoming State Historical Society - contains history, pictures, resources and economical information
 * Lincoln County at Wyoming USGenWeb - free online resources for genealogical research
 * Lincoln County at Wyoming USGenWeb Archives — free online data for genealogical research
 * - 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.