Finding Nebraska Cemeteries

There are many ways to find information about Nebraska cemeteries on Internet.  Probably one of the easiest is to enter search terms into Google.  These can either be by the name of the cemetery and county and "Nebraska" or "cemetery" plus county and "Nebraska."  

Another place to check is ePodunk.  The opening web page has a selection of county profiles. Click on Nebraska, then proceed to the county of your choice.  Once you have selected a county, the return will show a map of Nebraska indicating the location of the county.  You can study census, demographics and also check out the cemeteries in the county.  Making a cemetery selection will pull up a Google map showing the cemetery location as well as the latitude and longitude of the location. 

BrainyGeography is a fun web page to explore.  Click on Nebraska and then click on cemetery. Once you locate a cemetery of your choice, information pops up about the latitude, longitude, as well as a Google map.  For some reason these Google maps do not pinpoint the cemetery locations. 

One that I particularly like is Lat-Long.com.  Search by Nebraska and you will locate an alphabetical listing of Nebraska cemeteries, followed by the name of the county.  These also have google maps, along with a state map and latitude and longitude locations.  

There's actually many more cemetery locators on Internet, but give these a "go."  You will like them!  

Land Records

A Genealogy & Land Records Symposium will be held Friday, July 10th and Saturday, July 11th.  The location for the symposium is the SCC Continuing Education Center, 301 South 68th Street Place in Lincoln, Nebraska.  

This event is a partnership between the Homestead National Monument of America and the Southeast Community College (SCC).  The deadline for registration is July 2nd.  

Nebraska is a great setting to learn about land records.  The Homestead Act of 1862 provided approximately 270 million acres of land for settlement, much of which was located in Nebraska.  Participants in the symposium will learn about land records, in particular about the Homestead Act.  

An exciting presentation will be given by Richard G. Sayre, who will show how to use Google Earth to make and map historical buildings and cemeteries.  Other speakers will be Greg Boyd (Family Maps), Peter Drinkwater (Footnote.com), and Pamela Boyer Sayre (learning new things and Google Earth).  The keynote speaker will be Kenneth Heger, Chief of the Archives I Support Branch, National Archives.  

Be sure to look at their brochure and registration form which can be downloaded in PDF format.  This is a great Nebraska event you won't want to miss!  

North Platte Public Library, North Platte, Nebraska

This is a library in my home town and they have a great genealogy collection.  It is on the second floor, with access by elevator or stairs.  The library is located two blocks from the Lincoln County Courthouse, so you can easily do a lot of research in downtown North Platte. 

North Platte Public Library 

120 West 4th Street 

North Platte, NE 69101

308-535-8036

Summer Hours (Memorial Day-Labor Day)

Monday & Thursday  9 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. 

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday  9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Closed Sundays 

The library has a large collection of genealogical and historical books, with emphasis on Nebraska and Lincoln County.  Some of the highlights of their collection include: 

Lincoln County Atlases 

1885 Atlas of Nebraska 

Lincoln County and other Nebraska county cemeteries

City Directories for North Platte - 1919-current with some missing years 

North Platte High School yearbooks 

Obituary Index 

Newspaper Index 

DAR Cabinet 

rare books, DAR Lineage books 1893-1921, Pennsylvania Archives

Vertical File - scrapbooks, clippings, maps 

Microfilm 

North Platte newspapers 1915-February 2009; some missing issues; some earlier years

Lincoln County Court Records - 26 reels about 1900 to about 1970 

Lincoln County Naturalizations 

New England Historic Genealogical Society Register  Volumes 1-50 

census, passenger lists 

There two microfilm reader/printers available.  Patrons can use computers in the Technology Learning Center next to the genealogy collection.  

Be sure to include this library in one of your summer time research trips!

Nebraska in the Civil War

At the dawn of the Civil War, Nebraska was still a territory, with heavier populations in the east. Elibigle men living in the territory responded to the call for troops.  This resulted unprotected western settlements in the territory.  If we could travel back in time, we would see the southeast portion of the territory, primarily Nebraska City, providing a safe haven for people fleeing the fighting along the Missouri-Kansas border.  

Nebraska provided about 3,300 soldiers to the Union Army.  Of these 239 died in war, most from disease and not in battle.  Shortly after the Civil War broke out, territorial Governor Alvin Saunders called for the formation of the First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry regiment. Troops boarded steamboats at Omaha in July of that year and left for Missouri.  Some of these men were involved in major battles, such as Shiloh.  

In 1863 the First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry was reconstituted as a cavalry regiment.  They were furloughed to Omaha and assigned as the First Nebraska Cavalry to Fort Kearny in 1864. The second cavalry regiment was recruited for nine months to respond to the Santee uprising in Minnesota and the Battle at White Stone Hill north of Fort Pierre in Dakota Territory.  

One of the largest repositories for military records in Nebraska is in Lincoln at the Nebraska State Historical Society.  While they are currently closed for remodeling, it is definitely a place you need to visit when they reopen.  They are located at 1500 R Street in Lincoln.  A synopsis of their Civil War collection is: 

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR Membership Rosters 

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Burial Cards 

Rosters of Nebraska Soldiers in the Civil War, 1861-1865 as published in Andreas's 1882 History of Nebraska 

Rosters of Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, 1887-1925 (living in Nebraska during that time period) 

Gerald E. Sherard has two large databases online for Nebraska Civil War soldier information.  They are Nebraska Civil War Grand Army of the Republic Members Index and Nebraska Civil War Veterans' Data.  In addition the Nebraska State Historical Society has a search form for their Nebraska Civil War Veterans' Database.  

Other Internet web pages with good information include the Civil War Rosters - Nebraska Links and 1893 Roster of Nebraska Veterans-Nebraska Enlistees.  The Nebraska Civil War Regimental Histories contains a good deal of interesting information.  

A membership in Footnote.com gains you information from the compiled service records for Union Soldiers, Nebraska.  It is about 95% complete.  These are not pension records.  If you do not have a membership in Footnote.com, you can access this at a Family History Center (LDS) near you.