Repositories
Brown County Register of Deeds
P.O. Box 23600
Northern Building Room 260
305 E. Walnut Street
Green Bay, WI 54305-3600
(920) 448-4470
http://www.co.brown.wi.us/departments/?department=e7fb85d94ba9
Vital records: Births (1814 to present), Marriages (1823 to present), and Deaths (1834 to present); records prior to 1907 are hit-or-miss since vital record registration was not required. The state began maintaining vital records in 1907-records after this date are complete. The Brown County Register of Deeds also houses land records for Brown County beginning in 1903. Deeds from 1820-1902 have been archived and can be found at the Area Research Center Archives at UW-Green Bay. The indexes to deeds 1853- 1918 have been microfilmed and are available for viewing at the Brown County Central Public Library Local History and Genealogy Room.
Brown County Probate Court
P.O. Box 23600
100 South Jefferson Street
Green Bay, WI 54305-3600
(920) 448-4120
http://www.co.brown.wi.us/departments/?department=7b5059ec68f1
Houses probate records for all of Brown County back through 1907. Records from 1821- 1906 have been archived and are available for viewing at the Area Research Center Archives at UW-Green Bay.
Green Bay Catholic Diocese Archives
P.O. Box 23825
Green Bay, WI 54305-3825
Phone: (920) 272-8187
http://www.newcatholics.org/pg/resourcesArchives.tpl
The archives contain parish, diocesan and other related records. They have microfiche copies of all the existing sacramental records for baptisms, marriages, burials, plus some first communions and confirmations for the Catholic churches of the Green Bay Diocese. Many of the early records are not complete. The Diocese was formed in 1868; however, some records go back to the 1830’s.
Brown County Central Public Library & Local History and Genealogy Room
515 Pine Street
Green Bay, WI 54301
Phone: (920) 448-4400 x 394
http://www.co.brown.wi.us/departments/?department=58da4860ce85&subdepartment=d9 601c5bec47
The library houses microfilmed copies of the census (federal and state), microfilmed newspapers for Brown County, maps (plat maps, Sanborn maps, etc.), and numerous periodicals from local and nation-wide genealogical groups. The Local History and Genealogy Room offers genealogy and local history books pertaining to Wisconsin, as well as those for other states (see their online card catalog for specific titles: Local History & Genealogy Overview of Collection
Note that there are no newspaper indexes available for vital events at the present time. The LH&G room offers a complete cemetery transcription of all cemeteries within Brown County (Note: By complete, It is meant as of the date of cemetery reading; these occurred between 1978-1993). These cemetery transcriptions were performed by the Bay Area Genealogical Society.
Area Research Center & Archives –
UW-Green Bay David A. Cofrin Library
2420 Nicolet Drive
Green Bay, WI 54311-7001
Phone: (920) 465-2539
The Area Research Center is the Wisconsin Historical Society’s local repository for Northeast Wisconsin documents. Collections include books, photographs, census records, oral histories, vital records on microfilm to 1907, court records, tax records, and citizenship records.
Brown County Historical Society
1008 South Monroe Avenue
Green Bay, WI 54301
Phone: (920) 437-1840
http://www.browncohistoricalsoc.org/
The Brown County Historical Society was founded by a dedicated group of local historians. The society been active in preserving historic buildings, conducting research, providing information to the public, and stimulating interest in the complex multi-cultural heritage of the area.
Neville Public Museum
210 Museum Place
Green Bay, WI 54303-2760
Phone: (920) 448-4460
Email: BC_Museum_Collections@co.brown.wi.us
http://www.nevillepublicmuseum.org/
The Museum resources include:
• Permanent collection of over 100,000 three dimensional historic and prehistoric artifacts.
• Library containing books and periodicals relating to the collection and regional history.
• Photograph collection of approximately one million images and four million feet of news film.
• Archival repository of manuscript materials, public records, maps, newspapers, and a special collections library. See their website for additional details.
The Neville Public Museum welcomes visitors to use the collections by appointment. The Neville Public Museum staff provides all possible assistance to users of the Neville’s collections. Requests for an appointment are made by email, mail, or telephone and may be limited by staff time, availability, and the nature of the request. A fee may also be charged.
White Pillars Museum, home of the De Pere Historical Society
403 North Broadway
De Pere, WI 54115
Phone: (920) 336-3877
Email: Info@DePereHistoricalSociety.org
http://deperehistoricalsociety.org/
Museum Archive & Research System (MARS) is available at White Pillars Museum during normal business hours or by appointment.. (Sorry, no online access).
MARS provides access to the following information:
Newspapers – This unique newspaper database features scanned images of most De Pere newspapers from the mid-1880s through the 1991. It sports a “Google-like” search engine that can find a particular name or phrase in under a minute. This database contains newspaper issues from the De Pere News, Brown County Democrat, De Pere Journal-Democrat, Twin City Index, and more.
Ledgers – Over 150,000 pages from 125 ledgers from business and civic organizations have been scanned and hand indexed into the Ledgers database. This database offers a quick search feature that sails through the data and returns a list of all the ledgers that pertain to your search criteria. If the name you are looking for is found, you may find out what store grandma shopped at or when grandpa joined the band.
Holy Cards – Also known as prayer cards, funeral cards, or mass cards, this searchable database features a scanned image of cards in the De Pere Historical Society’s collection or images of cards donated by members of the community for use at the Museum.
Maps – A unique collection of maps related to De Pere and Brown County is available.
Photographs – This indexed database contains the scanned images of the De Pere Historical Society’s 15,000+ photograph collection and is great for finding out if the museum has a picture of your great-aunt Tilde, grandpa’s class photo, or what your home looked like fifty years ago.
The Museum Archive & Research System is unique to White Pillars Museum and De Pere Historical Society members. It is not available over the Internet. The system is supported by volunteers and is open to members during normal museum hours or by appointment. Special request times are available by making prior arrangements. To sign up for a session, (2-hour maximum, if people are waiting), or make a appointment, contact at White Pillars Museum at 920-336-3877 or email Info@DePereHistoricalSociety.org.
Wisconsin Historical Museum
30 N Carroll St
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-264-6555
http://historicalmuseum.wisconsinhistory.org/
The collections of the Museum contain over 110,000 historical objects and nearly 400,000 archaeological artifacts documenting the history of Wisconsin from prehistoric times to the present. See the museum website for further details.
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Record Losses
Brown County has had few records lost since its inception. As stated earlier, vital records prior to 1907 are sporadic due to lack of mandates. In about 1918, Allouez Catholic Cemetery suffered a fire, which consumed their records. Records were reconstructed at that time by walking and recording the stones which remained. It is recognized that a number of stones had already decayed at that time. A fire also struck Fort Howard Cemetery about this same time; they also lost their records.
Extant Records
Most records are extant for Brown County, Wisconsin. Church records, if available, are in the possession of the church body or Diocese as documented earlier. While out-of- date, a very useful resource in locating church records and their registers for Brown County is the Church Records Survey, Brown County, Wisconsin, 1988. This publication was compiled by the members of the Bay Area Genealogical Society and gives detailed information on where various records can be found for the churches of Brown County (both existent and defunct to 1988).
Published Sources
Church Records Survey of Brown County, Wisconsin. 1989. Green Bay: Bay Area Genealogical Society.
Brown County Cemeteries (various). Green Bay: Bay Area Genealogical Society.
Our thanks to Paula Griepentrog for her contributions to this page.