Nebraska County Resources

This entry was originally written by Marsha Hoffman Rising, CG, FUGA, FASG and Dwight A. Radford for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.

This article is part of the Nebraska Family History Research series.

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The Nebraska State Historical Society has a microfilming partnership with the Genealogical Society of Utah to preserve county records. The county marriage registers have been among the first completed with naturalization and deed records in process. The available microfilm can be viewed at the Nebraska State Historical Society and the FHL. The Nebraska State Genealogical Society has published Research Guides for Genealogical Data for the majority of Nebraska's counties. This ongoing project will publish additional guides in the future.

Current links to each county's government can be found at the State of Nebraska website. In the chart below, dates in parentheses indicate the year the county was organized as opposed to the year it was formed. 'Original' counties were established in 1854 when territorial government was created. 'Unorganized' land refers to counties added later from land not organized under territorial government.

The dates for records on the following chart are based on a comparison of the catalog of the Nebraska Historical Society, the Family History Library Catalog, the various county inventories produced by the Nebraska Genealogical Society, and the USGenWeb site for Nebraska. The source for county formations is Nebraska: A Guide to Genealogical Research by the Nebraska State Genealogical Society, which references three standard works in compiling its data. The years for records were taken from various county guides produced by the society.

The county clerk can be expected to hold county commissioners' minutes, notary records, and delayed birth registrations. Other records of interest to the researcher include military discharges, voter registrations, estray notices, marks and brands, physician's registers, farm and ranch names, and school registers. A few county commissioners' minutes are at the Nebraska State Historical Society.

Few births or deaths were kept before statewide recording (see Nebraska Vital Records). Marriages are at the county clerk, deeds are at the register of deeds, and probates are at the clerk of the county court, as are court records dealing with civil matters.

Map	County	County Address	Date Formed	Parent County(ies)	Birth	Marriage	Death	Land	Probate	Court
G6	Adams	500 W. Fifth, Rm. 109, Hastings 68901-7509	1867	unorganized		1872		1871	1871	1872
H3	Antelope	501 Main St., Rm. 109, Neligh 68756-1466	1871	unorganized		1876		1871	1871	1871
C4	Arthur	205 First St./P.O. Box 126, Arthur 69121-0126	1887 (1913*)	McPherson		1914		1913	1913	1913
	*Earlier records attached to McPherson County
A4	Banner	204 State St./P.O. Box 67, Harrisburg 69345-0067	1888	Cheyenne		1883		1889	1889	1889
	Blackbird Indian Reservation	Became Omaha Reservation in 1857 and Thurston County in 1889. From 1884'89 administered by Dakota County.
E2	Blaine	P.O. Box 136, Brewster 68821-0136	1885	unorganized		1883		1886	1886	1886
H4	Boone	222 S. Fourth St., Albion 68620-1247	1871	unorganized		1872		1871	1871	1871
A2	Box Butte	P.O. Box 678, Alliance 69301-0678	1886	Dawes		1887		1887	1887	1887
G1	Boyd	401 Thayer St./P.O. Box 26, Butte 68722-0026	1891	unorganized		1892		1891	1891	1891
E2	Brown	148 W. Fourth, Ainsworth 69210	1883	unorganized		1883		1887	1883	1880
F5	Buffalo	1512 Central/P.O. Box 1270, Kearney 68848-1270	1855 (1870)	unorganized		1872		1870	1874	1871
K3	Burt	111 N. 13th St./P.O. Box 87, Tekamah 68061-0087	1854	original		1861		1857	1858	1858
J4	Butler	451 N. 5th St./P.O. Box 289, David City 68632-0289	1857	unorganized		1869		1857	1856	1859
	Calhoun		1856 (renamed Saunders, 1862)	Lancaster
K5	Cass	346 Main St., Plattsmouth 68048-1957	1854	original		1855		1855	1855	1856
J2	Cedar	101 Broadway/P.O. Box 47, Hartington 68739-0047	1855	unorganized		1872		1857	1857	1857
C6	Chase	921 Broadway/P.O. Box 1299, Imperial 69033-1299	1886	Keith*		1887		1887	1887	1886
	*Attached for administrative purposes to Frontier County until 1877, then to Hales County until 1886.
D2	Cherry	365 N. Main/P.O. Box 120, Valentine 69201-0120	1883	Sioux		1883		1882	1883	1883
A4	Cheyenne	1000 10th St./P.O. Box 217, Sidney 69162-0217	1867	Lincoln		1870		1871	1871	1871
G6	Clay	111 W. Fairfield, Clay Center 68933-1499	1871	unorganized		1871		1872	1871	1872
J4	Colfax	411 E. Eleventh St., Schuyler 68661-1940	1869	Platte		1869		1869	1869	1860
J3	Cuming	200 S. Lincoln/P.O. Box 290, West Point 68788-0290	1855	unorganized		1866		1869	1869	1862
E4	Custer	431 S. Tenth St., Broken Bow 68822-2001	1877	unorganized(originally Kountze County)		1883		1880	1877	1877
J2	Dakota	1600 Broadway/P.O. Box 39, Dakota City 68731-0039	1855	unorganized		1856		1855	1858	1857
A2	Dawes	451 Main St., Chadron 69337-2697	1885	Sioux		1886		1885	1886	1877
E5	Dawson	700 N. Washington/P.O. Box 370, Lexington 68850-0370	1860 (1871)	unorganized		1873		1871	1871	1870
B5	Deuel	718 3rd/P.O. Box 327, Chappel 69129-0327	1889	Cheyenne		1889		1886	1889	1888
J2	Dixon	302 3rd St./P.O. Box 546, Ponca 68770-0546	1856	Dakota		1861		1862	1858	1860
J4	Dodge	435 N. Park, Fremont 68025	1854	original		1856		1857	1867	1856
K4	Douglas	1819 Farman St., Omaha 68102	1854	original	1869	1856	1873	1854	1855	1855
C6	Dundy	102 7th Ave. W./P.O. Box 506, Benkelman 69021-0506	1873 (1884)	unorganized		1873		1873	1873	1873
	Emmett		1867	(changed to Knox, 1873; originally called L'Eau Qui Court, 1867)
H6	Fillmore	900 G St./P.O. Box 307, Geneva 68361-0307	1856	(1871) from Saline		1871		1872	1872	1871
	Forney		1854 (renamed Nemaha, 1855)	original
F6	Franklin	405 15th Ave./P.O. Box 146, Franklin 68939-0146	1871	unorganized		1872		1871	1872	1872
D6	Frontier	P.O. Box 40, Stockville 69042-0040	1872	unorganized		1873		1872	1872	1872
E6	Furnas	912 R St./P.O. Box 387, Beaver City 68926-0387	1873	unorganized		1876		1873	1873	1873
J6	Gage	612 Grant St./P.O. Box 429, Beatrice 68310-0429	1855	unorganized (Beatrice)	1890	1860	1890	1858	1855	1857
B4	Garden	611 Main St./P.O. Box 486, Oshkosh 69154-0486	1909	Deuel		1910		1887	1910	1910
F3	Garfield	250 S. 8th/P.O. Box 218, Burwell 68823-0218	1884	Wheeler		1884		1884	1884	1884
E6	Gosper	507 Smith St./P.O. Box 136, Elwood 68937-0136	1873 (1881)	unorganized		1873		1875	1873	1873
C3	Grant	105 E. Harrison St./P.O. Box 139, Hyannis 69350-0139	1887	unorganized		1888		1888	1888	1888
G4	Greeley	Courthouse Sq./P.O. Box 287, Greeley 68842-0287	1871	unorganized		1871		1870	1871	1871
	Greene		1855 (renamed Seward, 1862)	Cass
G5	Hall	121 S. Pine St., Grand Island 68801-6076	1858	unorganized		1868		1858	1859	1867
H5	Hamilton	1111 Thirteenth St., Ste. 1, Aurora 68818-2017	1867	unorganized		1870		1871	1871	1871
F6	Harlan	706 W. 2nd St./P.O. Box 698, Alma 68920-0698	1871	Lincoln		1873		1871	1871	1871
D6	Hayes	Troth St./P.O. Box 370, Hayes Center 69032-0370	1877	unorganized		1886		1877	1877	1877
D6	Hitchcock	229 E. D St./P.O. Box 248, Trenton 69044-0248	1873	unorganized		1888		1873	1873	1873
G2	Holt	204 N. 4th/P.O. Box 329, O'Neill 68763-0329	1862 ;	(as West; renamed 1876) unorganized		1878		1862	1862	1862
D3	Hooker	303 NW 1st St./P.O. Box 184, Mullen 69152-0184	1889	unorganized		1889		1889	1903	1889
G4	Howard	612 Indian/P.O. Box 25, Saint Paul 68873-0025	1871	Hall		1872		1871	1871	1871
	Izard		(renamed Stanton, 1862)	Cass
	Jackson		1855 (renamed Fillmore, 1856)	Original
	Far west corner of Nebraska; later divided into Chase, part of Hayes, Perkins, Dundy, and Hitchcock. Census for 1870 is found in Lincoln enumeration.
J6	Jefferson	411 Fourth St., Fairbury 68352-2513	1856 (1864)	unorganized		1864		1864	1864	1864
	Was established in 1856 as Jefferson County. Present-day Jefferson County, to the east, was designated as Jones County. When Nebraska was admitted to the Union in 1867, Jefferson and Jones Counties were united as Jefferson. In 1870 Jefferson was again separated. The area that was originally called Jones took the name Jefferson and retained the old county records. The original Jefferson became known as Thayer County.
K6	Johnson	351 Broadway/P.O. Box 416, Tecumseh 68450-0416	1857	Nemaha		1858		1859	1867	1862
	Johnston		1855 (renamed Saline, 1856)
	Jones		(abolished 1867; became Jefferson)	unorganized
F6	Kearney	424 N. Colorado/P.O. Box 339, Minden 68958-0339	1860 (1872)	unorganized		1872		1872	1873	1873
C4	Keith	511 N. Spruce/P.O. Box 149, Ogallala 69153-0149	1873	Cheyenne		1873		1873	1873	1873
E1	Keya Paha	310 Courthouse Dr./P.O. Box 349, Springview 68778-0349	1884	Brown		1885		1881	1884	1884
A4	Kimball	114 E. Third St., Kimball 69145-1456	1888	Cheyenne		1889		1886	1889	1886
H2	Knox	206 Main St./P.O. Box 166, Center 68724-0166	1857	as L'Eau Qui Court*		1869		1857	1857	1857
	*Name changed to Knox 1873.
	Kountze		(changed to Custer, 1877)
J5	Lancaster	555 S. Tenth St., Rm 110, Lincoln 68508-2803	1855	unorganized		1866		1858	1866	1863
	L'Eau Qui Court		(renamed Knox, 1873)	unorganized
D5	Lincoln	301 N. Jeffers St., North Platte 69101-3932	1860	(as Shorter; renamed 1866)unorganized		1862		1868	1868	1866
D4	Logan	P.O. Box 8, Stapleton 69163-0008	1885	unorganized		1885		1885	1885	1885
	Loup (old)		1855	(abolished 1856; became part of Madison, Izard, Monroe, Platte) Burt
F6	Loup (present)	408 4th St./P.O. Box 187, Taylor 68879-0187	1883	unorganized		1883		1883	1883	1883
H3	Madison	110 Clara Davis Dr./P.O. Box 290, Madison 68748-0290	1856 (1867)	unorganized		1868		1867	1867	1867
	McNeale		1855	(abolished 1856; became part of Madison) Burt
D4	McPherson	5th & Anderson/P.O. Box 122, Tryon 69167-0122	1887 (1890)	unorganized		1890		1890	1890	1890
H4	Merrick	1510 18th St./P.O. Box 27, Central City 68826-0027	1858	unorganized		1869		1858	1858	1858
	Monroe		1856 (abolished 1860; became part of Platte)	Loup
A3	Morrill	6th & Main St./P.O. Box 610, Bridgeport 69336-0610	1908	Cheyenne		1909		1909	1909	1909
H4	Nance	209 Esther St./P.O. Box 338, Fullerton 68638-0338	1879	Monroe		1893		1878	1879	1879
K6	Nemaha	1824 N St., Auburn 68305-2342	1855	(as Forney; renamed 1855)		1855		1855	1855	1855
H6	Nuckolls	150 S. Main/P.O. Box 366, Nelson 68961-0366	1860 (1871)	unorganized		1872		1869	1871	1871
K5	Otoe	1021 Central Ave./P.O. Box 249, Nebraska City 68410-0249	1854	Pierce		1855		1854	1855	1855
K6	Pawnee	625 6th St./P.O. Box 431, Pawnee City 68420-0431	1855	unorganized*		1858		1855	1855	1855
	*Attached to Richardson for judicial purposes until 1856.
C5	Perkins	200 Lincoln Ave./P.O. Box 156, Grant 69140-0156	1887	Keith		1888		1887	1887	1887
F6	Phelps	715 5th Ave./P.O. Box 404, Holdrege 68949-0404	1873	unorganized		1877		1873	1886	1873
	Pierce (old)		1854 (abolished 1855)	original
H2	Pierce (present)	111 W. Court St., Pierce 68767-1224	1870	unorganized		1879		1856	1856	1856
H4	Platte	2610 Fourteenth St., Columbus 68601-4960	1856	Monroe		1858		1856	1856	1857
H4	Polk	Courthouse Sq./P.O. Box 276, Osceola 68651-0276	1856 (1870)	Butler		1871		1870	1870	1870
D6	Red Willow	502 Morris Ave., McCook 69001-2006	1873	unorganized		1873		1879	1873	1873
K6	Richardson	1700 Stone St., Falls City 68355-2025	1854 (1855)	original		1855		1855	1855	1855
F2	Rock	400 State St./P.O. Box 367, Bassett 68714-0367	1888	Brown		1884		1888	1888	1887
J6	Saline	215 S. Court/P.O. Box 865, Wilber 68465-0865	1855 (1867)	original		1866		1867	1867	1866
	*Originally named Johnston when created in 1855 from organized lands. Absorbed into Saline County in 1856.
K4	Sarpy	1210 Golden Gate Dr., Papillion 68046-3088	1857	Douglas		1857		1857	1857	1857
J4	Saunders	433 N. Chestnut/P.O. Box 610, Wahoo 68066-1863	1856	(as Calhoun; renamed 1862)		1866		1856	1866	1866
A3	Scotts Bluff	1825 Tenth St., Gering 69341-2444	1888	Cheyenne		1889		1889	1889	1889
J5	Seward	529 Seward St./P.O. Box 190, Seward 68434-0190	1856	(as Greene; renamed 1862)unorganized		1869		1856	1856	1856
B2	Sheridan	301 E 2nd/P.O. Box 39, Rushville 69360-0039	1885	Sioux		1885		1885	1894	1885
F2	Sherman	630 O St./P.O. Box 456, Loup City 68853-0456	1871	unorganized		1873		1871	1871	1871
	Shorter		1860 (renamed Lincoln, 1861)	unorganized
A2	Sioux	325 Main St./P.O. Box 158, Harrison 69346-0158	1867 (1886)	Izard		1887		1882	1908	1886
	Attached to Cheyenne County for administrative purposes until 1886. Boundaries defined in 1877.
J3	Stanton	804 Ivy St./P.O. Box 347, Stanton 68779-0347	1865	(as Izard; renamed 1862)Dodge		1869		1862	1862	1862
	Taylor		Unorganized county in western section enumerated as part of Lincoln in 1870 census. Taylor became the counties of Garden, Deuel, and parts of Morrill and Cheyenne.
H6	Thayer	225 N. 4th St./P.O. Box 208, Hebron 6837-02080	1867	(as Jefferson; renamed 1872)Jefferson		1871		1871	1871	1870
D3	Thomas	503 Main St./P.O. Box 226, Thedford 69166-0226	1887	unorganized		1887		1887	1887	1887
J3	Thurston	106 S. 5th St./P.O. Box G, Pender 68047-0138	1855	(as Blackbird; renamed 1889)Burt	1917	1855	1917	1882	1895	1886
	From 1857'89, Thurston was part of the Omaha Reservation.
F4	Valley	125 S. Fifteenth , Ord 68862	1871	unorganized		1871		1871	1871	1871
K4	Washington	1555 Colfax St./P.O. Box 466 , Blair 68008-0466	1854	original		1856		1857	1855	1855
J3	Wayne	510 Pearl St./P.O. Box 248, Wayne 68787-0248	1867	unorganized		1871		1871	1871	1869
G6	Webster	621 N. Cedar St., Red Cloud 68970-2300	1871	unorganized		1871		1872	1872	1871
	West		1860 (renamed Holt, 1862)	unorganized
G3	Wheeler	3rd & Main/P.O. Box 127, Bartlett 68622-0127	1877	unorganized		1917		1917	1917	1917
	Courthouse fire 1917.
H5	York	510 Lincoln Ave., York 68467-2963	1855 (1870)	Seward		1870		1870	1870	1870