Wyoming Public Records
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To Search Public and Vital Records -
Vital records are records of life events important enough that
some level of government acquires, organizes, and preserves
them. While the term "vital records" is often applied
to a wide variety of life events... Read
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Wyoming Vital Records
Wyoming began recording births and deaths in 1909. Very few birth
and death records were kept on the county level prior to that time.
Marriages have been recorded statewide since 1941. Earlier marriages
were recorded by the county clerk in the county were the license was
issued. All Wyoming marriage records from 1869 to 1970 are available
from the Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department for all
Wyoming counties.
For birth and death records from July 1909 and marriage records
from May 1941, contact:
Wyoming Department of Health
Division of Public Health, Vital Records Service
Hathaway Building
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Tel: 307-777-7591
Fax: 307-635-4103
http://wdhfs.state.wy.us/vital_records/DEFAULT.HTM
For earlier records, write:
County Clerk
County Courthouse
(county seat), WY
Wyoming Census Records
Federal censuses for the state of Wyoming begin in 1870 and continue
every ten years thereafter. They are currently available through
1920 (except for the mostly destroyed 1890 census). All are indexed
in at least one format. Wyoming inhabitants were enumerated with
Utah Territory in 1850 and with Nebraska Territory in 1860. The
1850 U.S. census schedule recorded residents of Fort Bridger in
1851 as part of the Green River Precinct, Weber County, Utah Territory.
Green River County was never organized and was discontinued in 1868
when Wyoming Territory was created. Persons residing at Fort Laramie
were enumerated as part of the unorganized portion of Nebraska Territory.
In 1880, Wyoming Territory included seven counties as well as Yellowstone
National Park. All counties are extant in the 1880 census. Mammoth
Hot Springs of Yellowstone National Park was enumerated with Uinta
County, and this census has been both Soundexed and indexed. While
the 1900 U.S. census for Wyoming is Soundexed, the 1910 enumeration
is not but has been indexed and published. All counties are extant
for these two censuses.
A relatively unknown source is the First Wyoming Territorial Census,
which was enumerated soon after formation in 1869. This comprehensive
census includes name, length of residency, and place of origin.
This census is available on microfilm at the Wyoming State Archives
and the FHL.
Wyoming Land Records
Wyoming is a federal-land state. Lands were generally acquired from
the federal government or from other individuals. Several land offices
were opened in Wyoming, the first having opened at Cheyenne in 1870.
Records generated through these offices include cash entries, homestead
certificates, canceled homestead entries, timber-culture final certificates,
canceled timber-culture entries, desert-land final certificates,
canceled desert-land entries, and timber and stone lands. An inventory
of all Bureau of Land Management (BLM) records on file at the National
Archives Rocky Mountain Region in Denver can be found in Eileen
Bolger, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Land
Management‹Wyoming (Denver, Colo.: Federal Archives and Records
Center, 1983). BLM posessions consist of the records of the six
land offices and include land patents, rights, and claims. The BLM
office in Cheyenne has records of the grantees of the original land
patents.
Lands transacted between individuals were recorded at the county
level. All county land transactions are available at the Wyoming
State Archives from 1869 to 1970, as well as all unpatented homestead
records. For information about land and property research in general,
consult:
Hone, E. Wade. Land and Property Research in the United States.
Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997.
Wyoming Court Records
Court records include probate records (which include wills), guardianship,
naturalization, and a wide variety of other sources, ranging from
criminal trials to simple road orders. All contain information about
individuals within the area. It should be remembered that there
are different levels of jurisdiction for courts in the United States,
all of which should be considered for research under various circumstances.
Court of Common Pleas, Orphan's Court, Probate Court, District Court,
Superior Court, Supreme Court, and other titles are among those
encountered. To study more about court records in general, see "Research
in Court Records," by Arlene H. Eakle, in:
Szucs, Loretto Dennis, and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, eds. The
Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City:
Ancestry, 1997.
Wyoming Military Records
The Wyoming State Archives has records of those killed during World
War I and the records of National Guardsmen from the state. The
archives also has military discharge records. Since soldiers were
not required to file their discharge records at the county clerk's
office, they may not be complete. Most of the discharge records
begin in the early twentieth century. In order to check these records
the researcher needs to know the county in which the ancestor filed
for discharge. Most of the county discharge records are indexed.
The State Adjutant General's Office also has military records. For
more information, contact the Adjutant General's Office, 5500 Bishop
Boulevard, Cheyenne, WY 82002. See also:
Neagles, James C. U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and
State Sources. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1994.
Additional Sources
Urbanek, Mae. Wyoming Place Names. 1967. Reprint. Mountain Press
Publishing Co., 1988. (A listing of geographic places and town names.)
Spiros, Joyce V. Hawley. Genealogical Guide to Wyoming. Gallup,
N.M.: Verlene Publishing, 1982. (No research in Wyoming county sources
should begin without examining this book first.)
Murray, Robert A. Military Posts of Wyoming. Fort Collins, Colo.:
Old Army Press, 1974. (This book provides history, drawings, and
photographs for each of Wyoming's old military posts scattered throughout
the state.)
Erwin, Marie. Wyoming Blue Book. Reprint. Cheyenne: Wyoming State
Archives and Historical Department, 1974.
Wyoming Vital Records:
Event: Birth
Cost of copy: $12.00
Address:
Vital Records Services
Hathaway Building
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Remarks: State office has had records since July
1909.
Check or money order should be made payable to Vital
Records Services. Personal checks are accepted. To verify current
fees, the telephone number is (307) 777-7591. Information on how
to obtain certified copies is also available via the internet at
Vital Records Services.
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Event: Death
Cost of copy: $9.00
Address:
Vital Records Services
Hathaway Building
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Remarks: State office has had records since July
1909.
Check or money order should be made payable to Vital
Records Services. Personal checks are accepted. To verify current
fees, the telephone number is (307) 777-7591. Information on how
to obtain certified copies is also available via the internet at
Vital Records Services.
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Event: Marriage (State)
Cost of copy: $12.00
Address:
Vital Records Services
Hathaway Building
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Remarks: Records since May 1941.
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Event: Marriage (county)
Cost of copy: Varies
Address: See remarks
Remarks: County Clerk in county where license was
issued.
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Event: Divorce (State)
Cost of copy: $12.00
Address:
Vital Records Services
Hathaway Building
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Remarks: Records since May 1941.
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Event: Divorce (court)
Cost of copy: Varies
Address: See remarks
Remarks: Clerk of District Court where divorce took
place.
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