Wyoming Genealogy Search

Wyoming family history begins with the Union Pacific railroad towns of 1867 to 1869, the cattle ranches and the homesteads, and the records follow: county deed and brand books from the territory's founding in 1868, the vital records that began statewide in 1909, and the collections of the Wyoming State Archives in Cheyenne, which holds the territorial and state records and the county records of 23 counties. Wyoming took no state censuses, so the federal censuses from 1870 and the county and homestead records cover the settlement years.

Wyoming's newspapers, digitized free from 1849 onward by the Wyoming State Library, are often the fullest record of a family in a state that never had many people.

Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.

Wyoming statewide genealogy links

• Wyoming Department of Health Vital StatisticsVital Records
• Family SearchSocial Secuirty Death Index
• Wyoming State ArchivesState Archives Records
• Wyoming Census Information
• Wyoming Memory Digital ArchiveDigital Archives
• Genealogical Databases and InventoriesGenealogical Resources of Government Records
• WYGenWeb ProjectSearch the GenWeb Site
• Wyoming History and Genealogy
• Cheyenne Genealogical and Historical Society

Wyoming began statewide birth and death registration in 1909, with some county records from the 1890s, and the Wyoming Department of Health's Vital Statistics Services in Cheyenne holds the certificates. Birth records become public after 100 years and death records after 50, and the State Archives holds the public ones with indexes. Marriage licenses were issued by each county clerk from the county's founding, and the State Archives holds a statewide marriage index, and divorce records sit with the district court clerk.

• Wyoming Vital Statistics ServicesBirth, death, marriage and divorce certificates from 1909, checked September 25, 2026
• Wyoming State ArchivesPublic vital records, marriage index, territorial and county records, checked September 25, 2026
• Wyoming Vital Records guideHow to order certificates and what is public

The State Archives holds the territorial and state records from 1868, the Wyoming State Penitentiary registers from Laramie and Rawlins with an online index, Wyoming's Spanish-American War and World War I service records, county records on microfilm, naturalization records from the district courts, cattle brand books and the records of the state land board. Federal land patents and homestead entries for Wyoming are at the General Land Office site, with the full homestead files at the National Archives, and the National Archives at Denver holds Wyoming's federal court, land office and Wind River agency records. The American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming holds manuscripts and ranch records.

• Wyoming NewspapersFree digitized Wyoming newspapers from 1849 onward, checked September 25, 2026
• Bureau of Land Management General Land Office recordsWyoming homestead and land patents, checked September 25, 2026
• National Archives at DenverFederal court, land and Indian agency records for Wyoming, checked September 25, 2026
• FamilySearch Wyoming research guideFree indexed Wyoming records and images, checked September 25, 2026

Wyoming county clerks hold deeds, mortgages and marriage licenses from each county's founding, and clerks of the district court hold probate, divorce, civil and naturalization files, with most county clerks posting online indexes. The State Archives has microfilmed the older books of the 23 counties, and the Laramie County records, covering Cheyenne, and the Natrona County records, covering Casper, are the largest sets. Wyoming's counties formed from the original five of 1869, so early records for a family in Campbell or Teton county sit in the books of Crook or Uinta.

• Wyoming County Public RecordsCounty clerks and district courts for all 23 counties
• Wyoming Court RecordsDistrict court case and probate searches

These federal and national sources complement Wyoming's state-level records. They are the authoritative sources you should cross-check when Wyoming state records are incomplete or out-of-state activity matters.

NARA, National Archives The federal government's primary archive. Holds the U.S. census (1790, 1950), ship passenger lists, naturalization records, military service files, and land entry files.

FamilySearch Free online genealogy platform operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Digitized microfilm copies of many county and state records worldwide.

Library of Congress, Local History & Genealogy The LoC's research guides, city directories, newspapers, and Civil War records, most accessible free online through loc.gov.