Civil Cases and Probate Holdings
Civil Case Files
| County | Inclusive Dates of Civil Case Files |
Indexed in |
Contact Courthouse |
| Dodge | 1931-1935 (DIVORCE ONLY) | Yes | For post-1935 |
| Fond du Lac | 1844-1976 | Some (1965-1976) (or use index at FamilySearch it covers 1848-1950) |
For Index and Post-1976 cases |
| Green Lake | NONE | N/A | For all inquiries |
| Marquette | 1840?-1978 | Yes | For post-1978 |
| Winnebago | 1848-1977 | Partial (in progress) | For Post-1977 |
Further Information
Civil case files from Circuit, County and Family Courts can provide detailed information regarding legal disputes involving family members. Civil cases will include, among others, divorces, bankruptcies and contract disputes. Very occasionally, civil courts will hear criminal cases.
In addition to case files: record books, justice of peace records and other miscellaneous court records can be useful to genealogical research. Check the catalog or contact the archives for more information regarding our holdings.
Probate
| County | Inclusive Dates of Probate Case Files |
Indexed in |
Contact RIP |
| Dodge | 1847-1954, 1959-1961 | For post-1961 | |
| Fond du Lac | 1848-1899 |
Yes |
For post-1899 |
| Green Lake | NONE | N/A | For all inquiries |
| Marquette | 1860-1921 | Yes | For post-1921 |
| Winnebago | 1838-1870, 1873-1964 | Yes | For Post-1964 |
Further Information
Probate records are very important to family history researchers as they can reveal familial relationships and patterns of wealth. All probate records are created within the court system (probate or county courts) and the most useful of the records are probate records case files. The Wisconsin Historical Society holds many probate case files from the Oshkosh ARC jurisdiction on security microfilm which is not accessible. In these cases you must contact the county Registers in Probate (RIP) for access as they hold user copies. Therefore, with the exception of Marquette and Winnebago County, you must contact the RIP office for copies of probate case files from counties in this ARC jurisdiction
There are many other probate records that are very useful to genealogical research including: summary books, guardianship books, books of wills, etc.. Check the catalog or contact the archives for more information regarding our holdings.