Finding Records

• Belgian Pedigree Charts:
  Submitted by individuals of Belgian descent. A comprehensive index was created with approximately 4000 names. The index includes every name on every chart, not just those of Belgian descent.
• Brown County Citizenship Records, 1829-1984
• Brown County Plat Map, 1875
• Brown County Wills and Probate Case Files, 1821-1976
• Calumet County Citizenship Records, 1850-1955
• Kewaunee County Circuit Court records, 1858-1950
• Kewaunee County Citizenship Records, 1850-1950
• Manitowoc County Citizenship Records, 1848-1955
• Oconto County Wills and Probate Case Files, 1857-1952
• Outagamie County Citizenship Records, 1852-1963
• Outagamie County Probate Case Files, 1853-1958
• Shawano County Circuit Court Records, 1860-1961
• Shawano County Court Records, 1921-1946

General Search Tips

Exact Match vs. Soundex search

• If the Soundex option is selected, the search engine will also look for names with spelling variations that might be phonetically pronounced the same. For example, if you enter Mueller in the Last Name search box and select Soundex, the search engine will also find Miller, Mailer, Mahler, etc.
• If the Soundex option is NOT selected, the search engine will only look for names that match everything exactly as it was entered in the First, Middle, and Last Name search boxes.

Name Searching

• Check all possible spelling variations.
• Spelling differences occur frequently for a variety of reasons
  • Misinterpretation of handwriting on the original document (A capital L may have looked like a capital S to the indexer, or an "o" might have been interpreted as an "a," etc.)
  • Spelling of the name was recorded incorrectly by the record-keeper NOTE: consider the name might be spelled phonetically?)
• To broaden search results, enter only the first letter or few letters of the name.

Advanced Searching Options

Collection Name Searching

• Collection name indicates the broad types of collections included in the index (e.g. citizenship, court records, etc.). The collections listed here are the only ones that have available online indexes at this time and do not represent the complete holdings of the Archives.
• Check back frequently, as new indexes will be added as they become available.
• For broadest results, do not select a collection name.

Case Type Searching

• If you are searching for an individual, it is recommended you do not select a case type.
• This field is useful for researchers who are seeking information about a particular subject (i.e. elder abuse/neglect, arson, divorce, violation of voting laws, etc.), and not necessarily the individuals involved in the case.
• If a case type is selected, the search engine will not retrieve any results for any records other than circuit court case files (i.e. no citizenship, probate, plat map, etc.).

Corporate Name Searching

• This index field was used to record the name of a corporation or other entity (such as a unit of government or a business) rather than a personal name.
• Circuit court case files, for example, might have a business suing an individual for non-payment of debt. Or the State of Wisconsin might be suing a railroad company for wrongful death, etc.
• To search for units of governments (i.e. State of Wisconsin, City of Manitowoc, etc.), use only "Wisconsin" or "Manitowoc" in the Corporate Name search field. This will find results indexed as "State of Wisconsin" AND "Wisconsin, State of." This applies to towns and schools also.

Final Reminders

• The online indexes only represent a fraction of the collections held by the Archives. For more information about our holdings check the web listing.
• If you have tried all of our tips and suggestions, and nothing seems to work, you can contact an archivist (archives@uwgb.edu) with your specific research question.