VERNON COUNTY MUSEUM

Research Room

Most items are located on shelves and in drawers in the main research room.  Microfilm and readers are in a back room.  Please ask if you can't find what you're looking for.

CEMETERY RECORDS:

• All Vernon Co. tombstone inscriptions, through 2008
• All Vernon Co. cemeteries (photos, histories, exact locations, etc.)
• Hillsboro Area Cemeteries, by B. Kretche
• Viola and Czech National Cemeteries, by David Thompson
• Gravestones in Cemeteries of Forest Twp., by Iva Storey and Carla McGarry
• tombstone photos from the following cemeteries:  Bad Axe Lutheran, Belgium Ridge, Brookville, Fox, De Soto , Maiben, NW Prairie, Sugar Grove, Viroqua, Walnut Mound
• some information from Crawford, La Crosse , Monroe , and Richland Co. cemeteries

CENSUS RECORDS:

• 1847 Mt. Sterling precinct census — newspaper article
• 1850 Crawford Co., federal census, including Bad Ax Twp. — transcribed & indexed, and also on microfilm
• 1855 Bad Ax Co., state census — microfilm
• 1860 Bad Ax Co., federal census — transcribed & indexed, and also on microfilm
• 1870 Vernon Co., federal census — transcribed & indexed, and also on microfilm
• 1875 Vernon Co., state census — microfilm
• 1880 Vernon Co., federal census — whole county on microfilm; also transcribed for following townships only:  Bergen , Coon, Forest, Franklin , Sterling , Viroqua;  also Liberty , separately
• 1885 Vernon Co., state census — microfilm
• 1885 Forest Twp., state census — transcribed
• 1885 Vernon Co. villages, state census — photocopies
• 1895 Vernon Co., state census — microfilm
• 1900 Forest Twp., federal census — transcribed
• 1900 Vernon Co., federal census — microfilm
• 1900 Liberty Twp., federal census — transcribed
• 1910 Vernon Co., federal census — microfilm
• 1910 Liberty Twp., federal census — transcribed
• 1920 Vernon Co., federal census — microfilm
• 1930 Vernon Co., federal census — microfilm

  CHURCH RECORDS:

• On microfilm:

• Bad Axe Lutheran Church
• Membership 1883 – 1983
• Minutes         1869 – 1960
• Coon Valley Pontoppidan
• Membership 1879 – 1889
• De Soto Lutheran Church
• Membership 1896 – 1977
• Freeman Lutheran Church
• Membership 1904 – 1977
• Northwest Prairie Lutheran Church
• Membership 1878 – 1900; 1878 – 1983
• Minutes 1879 – 1972
• Southwest Prairie Lutheran Church
• Membership 1874 – 1983
• West Prairie Hauge Lutheran Church
• Minutes 1859 – 1910
• West Prairie Lutheran Church            
• Membership 1858 – 1883
• Minutes 1881
• Westby Coon Prairie
• Membership 1851 – 1900
• Minutes 1853 – 1900
• On index cards:

The Lutheran Messenger for Crawford & Vernon Counties, 1940-1954

• In files:

Church histories, church directories, newspaper articles, photos, worship
bulletins.  These files are arranged alphabetically by church name in boxes
in the back room — please ask for assistance.

COMMUNITY HISTORIES: Files containing newspaper articles, photos, postcards, community history books.These are arranged alphabetically by community name.  The files are stored in a back room — please ask for assistance. 

FAMILY HISTORIES (PEOPLE FILES): Files containing newspaper articles, family trees, photos, family history books. These are arranged alphabetically by family name.  The files are stored in a back room — please ask for assistance.

HISTORY BOOKS: Here are a few selected titles:

• 1884 History of Vernon County (indexed)
• 1907 Memoirs of Vernon County (indexed)
• 1994 Vernon County , Wisconsin , Heritage (indexed)
• 1884 History of Crawford and Richland Counties (indexed)
• 1927 Coon Prairie by Hjalmer Holand – in Norwegian, with pictures and index
• English translation of above, indexed but without pictures
• 1928 Coon Valley by Hjalmer Holand (indexed)
• Norwegian Immigrants to the United States : A Biographical Directory, 1825-1850, Volumes 1-5, by Naeseth and Hedberg

The research room also contains many books which you may browse, including European and American genealogy books and Wisconsin county history books.  Books by local authors and books arranged by subject are found in the back room — please ask for assistance.

MAPS:    

• Plat map books:  1878, 1896, 1915, 1931, and more recent books           
• Also see separate index of large maps

MILITARY:
Here are a few selected titles:

• Civil War:  Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865
• Civil War:  The Military History of Wisconsin , by E.B. Quiner, 1866
• Post-Civil War:  1890 Union Veterans Special Census, Vernon & Crawford Cos.
• World War I:  Vernon County War History
• Post-World War I:  Autograph book for Vernon County soldiers
• Vernon Co. Veterans Grave Registration

Military file boxes and additional books are stored in the back room — please ask for assistance.

County-wide papers on microfilm (list is alphabetical):   

• De Soto Chronicle
• 1886 through 1899
• De Soto Republican
• 1870 through 1872
• LaFarge Enterprise
• 1898 through 1914
• Prairie du Chien Patriot
• Sept. 22, 1846 – Feb. 13, 1850
• Westby Times
• 1917 – 1919

Viroqua papers on microfilm (list is chronological):              

• North Western Times
• June 7, 1856 – Aug. 16, 1865
• Viroqua Expositor
• Jan. 15, 1859 – Aug. 20, 1859
• 1861 – Apr. 18, 1863
• Vernon County Censor
• Aug. 23, 1865 through 1876
• 1879 through 1885
• 1890 through 1943
• 1954 – Nov. 3, 1955
• Vernon County Leader
• Oct 20, 1882 – July 19, 1889
• Aug. 7, 1894 through 1896
• Jan. 11, 1918 – July 28, 1919
• Viroqua Republican
• 1897 – March 2, 1911
• Vernon County Broadcaster
• April 13, 1933 – Feb. 6, 1936
• Jan 6, 1944 through 1995

Many original newspapers are also stored in the 3^rd floor newspaper room   — please ask for assistance.  

           
NEWSPAPER EXTRACTIONS: births, marriages, anniversaries, deaths, etc., in binders and booklets:

• 1846-1850, Prairie du Chien Patriot (handwritten notes), and1856-1910, Vernon Co. papers (primarily news articles)1856-1876, genealogical gleanings from Vernon Co. newspapers
  
• 1870-1901, Genealogical Events from Newspapers for Crawford, Vernon and Grant Counties , WI, compiled by Vernon D. Erickson
• 1873-1910, Births, Deaths, Marriages and Other Genealogical Gleanings from Newspapers for Crawford, Vernon and Richland Counties, WI, compiled by Vernon D. Erickson
• 1897-1902, Genealogical Gleanings from Early Newspapers for Residents In and Near Crawford County , WI , compiled by Vernon D. Erickson
• 1917-1922, Westby Times (primarily genealogical)
• 1938-1940, Westby Times (primarily genealogical)
• 1991-1995, The Freda Markee Collection of  Births, Marriages, Engagements, Military Information, and General Interest Articles gleaned from the Hillsboro Sentry-Enterprise

OBITUARIES:

• Most are in obituary cabinet
• Others can be found inside the red binders (mainly Hillsboro area)
• Still more are found in binders and books above the scrapbook index:
• Obits from Hillsboro Sentry-Enterprise 1987-1995 (3 vols.)
• Obits from Kickapoo Scout and other Soldiers Grove newspapers, 1883-1942
  Obits from Vernon County Broadcaster : 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000

SCHOOLS:

• rural school histories are found in green boxes on shelves in main research room
• Normal School history is also stored in main research room
• Viroqua public schools histories are stored in the back room — ask for assistance
• town school histories and high school yearbooks are stored in the Alumni Room on 2^nd floor
• school record books are kept in a storage room on 2^nd floor — ask for assistance

SCRAPBOOKS:

Our collection of over 200 scrapbooks has been indexed — see the card catalogue in the main research room.  The scrapbooks contain a wealth of genealogical information.


VITAL RECORDS:

• 1850's — record of marriage certificates from Bad Ax County — in binder
• 1850's, '60's, and '70's — certifications of Bad Ax/Vernon Co. birth records — in binder
• 1876-1886 — information from Vernon Co. death records — in binder
• pre-1907 — Wisconsin births, marriages, and deaths — on microfiche in back room
• 1930's and '40's —marriage record information from Allamakee Co. Courthouse, Waukon , IA , for people with Vernon Co., WI, ties — in binder
• 1959-1967, 1969-1970, 1979-1984 — Wisconsin deaths — on microfiche in back room
• 1965-1984 — Wisconsin divorces — on microfiche in back room
• 1973-1984 — Wisconsin marriages — on microfiche in back room
• Norwegian christenings and marriages — on microfiche in back room

Westby area only: ·       

10/1907 to 3/1950, copies of birth certificates ·     
11/1907 to 1947, copies of marriage certificates ·   
10/1907 to 5/1949, copies of death certificates.

plus much, much more!