Local History / Genealogy

This is a checklist of major sources to help those searching for Fond du Lac County ancestors. Other sources may also contain information.

Most of these sources, with the exception of the census, were not intended to include every resident. The early city directories seldom list women and plat maps list only landowners. Remember to check variations in spelling, as most information was written down by someone other than the individual.

You may need to use birth, death, marriage, land, church, and military records to find desired information. Even though the Library does not house all these records, we have information on how and where to access them.

Local History Digital Collection & Online Databases

Early Fond du Lac County People and Places is a collection of thirteen Fond du Lac historical books that have been digitized and made available online. It contains eight early City and County directories; four illustrated books featuring Fond du Lac people and places from 1898, 1904, and 1912; and Ruth Worthing’s book History of Fond du Lac County as Told by Its Place Names. This project was made possible by LSTA grants.

Also available online are manuscripts of two books of historical essays mainly by students at Marian College under the supervision of Clarence B. Davis, Source of the lake : 150 years of history in Fond du Lac and History by the lake : studies in the history of Fond du Lac and the Lake Winnebago region.

Heritage Quest Online U.S. census information, family and place histories, Revolutionary War information and PERSI. Available for use in the FDL Public Library and remotely to FDL library cardholders.

Ancestry Library Edition U.S. census information, passenger lists, birth, death, marriage and military records, family and local history collections and more. Available for use only in the FDL Public Library.

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Newspapers

Fond du Lac Vital Records Index Database indexing citations of many of the obituaries, funeral notices, marriages and milestone anniversaries published in the Fond du Lac newspapers between 1846 and 1994

Fond du Lac Newspapers 1846-present (Microfilm)

Newspaper Index 1846-1970 (Card file)

Newspaper Index 1996, Jan-June 1997, 2000, Jan-Aug 2001, Jan-Aug 2002

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County Histories (Indexed)

History of Fond du Lac County by Martin Mitchell, 1854 *977.5 M69

Fond du Lac County History, 1880 *977.5 W75h

Portrait & Biographical Album of Fond du Lac County, 1889 *977.5 W75po

History of Fond du Lac County by Maurice McKenna, 1912 *977.5 M19

Fond du Lac County: Gift of the Glacier by Michael Mentzer, 1991 *977.568 M529

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City & County Directories, Plat Maps

Fond du Lac City/County Directories, 1857-58, 1865-66, 1868, 1872- present *917.75 F73

Plat Books, 1862, 1874, 1893, 1910 and various dates to present *917.75 (Indexed)

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Census Records

Wisconsin Territorial Census - 1838, 1840, 1842, 1847 (microfilm)

Fond du Lac County Federal Census - 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 (microfilm), 1930 (CD-ROM)

Fond du Lac County State Census - 1855, 1875, 1885, 1895, 1905 (microfilm)

Wisconsin Territorial Census for Fond du Lac County, 1838, 1842, 1847 (Index) *929.3775 R97f

Fond du Lac County Wisconsin 1850 Census Index by Ruth Worthing *929.3 W899

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Cemetery Records

The Library has inscriptions for many of the more than 100 cemeteries in the county.

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Additional Fond du Lac County Sources

Index to Fond du Lac County Naturalization Records (Microfilm)

Pedrick Papers & Necrology Ripon Area Family Information & Obituaries (Microfilm)

Query Files from Fond du Lac County Genealogical Society

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CD-ROMs

Germans to America

Passenger & Immigration Lists Index

1880 Census

And many more!