NEGenWeb Project
Merrick County, Nebraska

 

Guidelines:

Gazetteer lists are scanned directly, surname and given name or initials, with no soundex. The business list includes occupation and is ordered by location. The farmer list includes their service post office, which may not have been in Merrick County, but "over the line" in an adjacent county.

Census are extracted as read, no correction is made for misspelling. A soundex is added to aid in surname searches. Calculate a soundex for your surname by clicking HERE. Please use your BACK button to return to this page.

Andreas "History of Nebraska", 1882
Merrick County Chapter (Look for link to the index for the chapter)

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Chronological set of records | Cemeteries | Church | Marriage | Military | Newspapers | Photo Album | Schools | Other resources

Note: Norwegian Cemetery in Howard County (west of Worms) - see the NE page of Tombstone Photo Project -
select Howard County (from bar near top), then scan down to the Norwegian Cemetery

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• 1858 Map of NE, with Merrick County marked - from Nebraska Counties, 1854-Present (website by Gary Martens)
  
  
• 1860 Census of Merrick County - provided by Laura Wolfe & posted with USGenWeb Project Archives.
  
  
• 1870 Census of Merrick County - by Connie Burkett & Marsha Thompson with IMAGES, provided by Shirley D. Webb & posted with USGenWeb Project Archives
  
  
• Merrick County Jurors - 1872 Extracted from Nebraska Ancestree
  
  
• Merrick County portion of Johnson's History of Nebraska, 1880
  
  
• 1880 Census for Merrick County
  
  
• 1885 Census for Merrick County
  1885 Census - Population totals for Merrick County from 1889 NE Blue Book and Legistlative Manual (continues on next page).
  
  
• Merrick County map from The Official State Atlas of Nebraska, 1885
  
  
• Place names in Merrick County, NE
       Please see: Nebraska Place Names, 1925 - University of Nebraska, Lilian Linder Fitzpatrick.
       A more recent book - "Perkey's Nebraska Place Names" lists many more locations, and can be purchased from NE State Historical Society.
  
  
• "Nebraska State Gazetteer, Business Directory and Farmers List for 1890-91" J.M. Wolfe & Co., Publishers, 1890.
  
  
• Historical and Descriptive Review of Nebraska, Vol II - 1892 (May 2003)  Merrick County portion
  
  
• 1898 History of Merrick County from The Nonpareil (newspaper). Note: Booklets of this material were sold by the Chamber of Commerce in the 1960's. It is no longer available. There is a copy on the shelves at Central City Library. (Abbrev. version that appeared in NSGS Ancestree, Vol. 9 no. 4 )
  
  
• 1900 Census for Merrick County - in the NEGenWeb Project Archives. SURNAME INDEX to townships provided.
  
  
• Directory of Merrick County, 1900 published by Fitch Bros. of Central City. Copy provided by Merrick County Historical Museum, Inc. and Larry Coates who made the copies. THANK YOU.
  Please note - the spelling of some names has changed since 1900.
  
  
• Semi-Centennial History of Nebraska, 1904 - by A. E. Sheldon.
  Merrick County segment (pp 284-286), brief bios for: S. D. AYERS, J. D. HOLLISTER, F. J. KOMBRINK, H. W. R. KOMBRINK, FRED A. MARSH, C. F. NEWMYER, D. K. NEWMYER, WILLIAM H. C. RICE, M. G. SCUDDER, F. K. SPRAGUE, R. TOOLEY. (Photos for 8 of them)
  
  
• Souvenir ... Central City, Nebraska (abt. 1910) A small book of postcard type pictures of in and around Central City, Neb. about the turn of the century. (MARDOS Memorial Library Collection)
  
  
• Biographies for Merrick County residents in "Compendium of History Remininscence & Biography of Nebraska". 1912 Look for these Merrick surnames in the bio index: Abbott, Adams, Aurand, Baird, Beman, Berryman, Boelts, Branaman, Brinkerhoff, Burke, Burkman, Campbell, Chamberlin, Clark, Colborn, Combs, Cover, Crites, Davis, Dinsdale, Farnham, Farrell, Fauquier, Foster, Frauen, Frazer, Gosnell, Gray, Hards, Harris, Hartwell, Heater, Hilton, Hodges, Holden, Holmes, Holtorf, Hummel, Huxford, Inbody (see Miller), Johnston, Kellogg, King, Kyes, Laub, Lawson, Lear, Leuthaeuser, Ludington, Lueck, Lumadue, Martin, McAllister, McClure (Sorgenfrie), McKendry, Miller (John A. & John M.), Mills, Minter, Mithofer, Morse, Newcomer, Nicholas, Nitzel, Parker, Patterson, Phelps, Place, Powell, Rawlings, Reynolds, Rice, Ross, Samuell, Scherzberg, Schrawger, Scudder, Seim, Shoemaker, Shonsey, Simonson, Sinsel, Spires, Stearns, Strathman, Tunks, Tyndale, Van Hoosen, Van Pelt, Vieregg, Wallis, Wells, Wherrett, White, Willeman, Wilson, Windfield, Wolcott (Eatough), Wymer.
  
  
• 1914 map segment for Merrick, Nance, Boone and other counties to the EAST
  1914 map segment for Merrick, Nance, Boone and other counties to the WEST.
  Both posted by Janie Edwards.  (Please use your back button to return to this page)
  
  
• 1917 Nebraska State Gazetteer (Business listings only)
  
  
• Three pages from the 1917 Atlas & Plat Book of Merrick County, Nebraska - Pictures (page 53), Ads (page a & page b)
  
  
• New 1920 Census for Merrick County
  
  
• 1921 Atlas and Plat Book of Merrick County, Nebraska
  
  
• New 1930 Census for Merrick County
  
  
•  c1931 - "Reminiscences of 'Auld Land Syne'" and "Pioneering in Minnesota"
  by Mary Louisa Sackett Barnes (Mrs. Fountain H. Barnes) who arrived with her family in Clarksville in 1871.
  
  
• "Who's Who in Nebraska, 1940 - Merrick Co." History of the County and Biographies of Prominent People.
  
  
• Autograph Book of Helen Evelyn Glause (1935-1939)
  Prepared by granddaughter, Karla Archuleta (Feb 2002) NOTE: Images not yet available, cannot open them!
  
  
•  Merrick County's 100th Year: 1858-1958. Thanks to Mary Alice Vampola!
  
  
• History of Merrick County, Nebraska Vol I (Published 1981.  Includes general history of the county, histories of townships, towns, churches, school districts, etc.)
  
  
  History of Merrick County, Nebraska Vol II (Published 1987)
  Write to Merrick Co. Historical Society for copies of material (see look-ups page)
  Permission to Publish Directories
  
  
  History of Merrick Co., Vol I - Surname Index
  History of Merrick Co., Vol I - Topical Index
  History of Merrick Co., Vol II - Every Name Index A-LEC, or LEE-Z
  History of Merrick Co., Vol II - Topical Index
  For copies of the articles, please write to Merrick County Historical Museum.
  
  
• INDEX to Merrick County Pictorial History (prepared by Robert Bee, thank you!)
  
  
• "The Funs of the Pioneers" by Frank McConnell (published about 1987) - tales from Pleasant Hill & Pierce Chapel neighborhoods.
  No grasshoppers or blizzards, just FUN stories - and they may include your ancestors! Thank you, Mr. McConnell.
  
  
  
• Church Records
  
  Tracts of the Friends Society (covers only) - Thanks to J. Lenon
  
  Thanks to Mrs. Selma Messner for both of the following -
  
  1899-1999  Central City Friends Meeting, Centennial (Quakers) -
            Including bios for pastors & members; history and student lists for Central Academy / Central College.
  
  1889-1964  75th Anniversary of Pierce Chapel, M. E. church near Clarks (program booklet with brief history)
  
  
  
• MARRIAGE RECORDS - Full extracts, indexes by bride or groom
  
  

  Book A 1860-1884	Brides Index	Grooms Index
  Book B 1884-1890	Brides Index	Grooms Index
  Book C 1891-1898	Brides Index	Grooms Index
  Book D 1898-1904	Brides Index	Grooms Index
  Book E 1904-1910	Brides Index	Grooms Index
  Book F 1910-1913	Brides Index	Grooms Index
  Book G 1913-1920	Brides Index	Grooms Index
  Book H 1920-1923	Brides Index	Grooms Index
  Book I 1923-1932	Brides Index	Grooms Index

  
  
• MILITARY
  
  1883 Military Pensioners List for Merrick County provided by Alice Miller
           List for entire state of Nebraska
  1890 Special Census of Union Soldiers & Sailors of the Civil War
       Only the veteran or the widow was listed. (alternative posting)
  GAR Rosters for 1891, 1893, 1895 (entire state, USGenWeb Archives)
  "Roster of Ex-Soldiers and Sailors Living in Nebraska in 1893 for Merrick County"      (from Ancestree, Vol 19, no. 1, 1996 - Nebraska State Genelogical Society journal)
  
  NEW Soldiers from Merrick County Who Died In Service from Darrell Widman (Thank you Darrell)
  
  NEW Veterans buried in Merrick County Cemeteries from Darrell Widman (Thank you Darrell)
             Bureau | Burke | Central City | Chapman | Clarks | Fairview | German | Norwegian (Howard County) | Prairie Creek |
             Rose Hill | Silver Creek | St. Lawrence | Weigert (Hall County) | Zion Evangelical | Zion Lutheran
  
  World War I - Draft Registration Information
  World War I - Draft Call - July 1917
  World War I - Draft Registration - June 1918
  WW I Honor Roll
  WW I clippings (Clarks Enterprise) from scrapbook of Mrs. C.J. Dittmer (from Lois Fairfield)
  List of those who served in Great War, those that died (from 1921 Merrick County Atlas and Plat Book
  
  Photo  WW I  Draftees (from Mrs. Dittmer's scrapbook. Thank you, Lois!)
  
  WW II Honor Roll
  
  World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel from  Nebraska (NARA website - list by county)
  
  NOTE: The list of Korean War Veterans on the Nance County page includes the following persons with Merrick County mail addresses:
  Eugene B. Davis, Palmer, NE Army, 8/17/54
  Edsel J. Matousek, Clarks, NE Army, 12/18/53
  Gene J. Swertzic, Silver Creek, NE Army, 6/24/54
  
  Merrick Co. Veterans Requesting Discharge Papers, 1946-1947 (from NSGS NE Ancestree, Vol 16, no 3 - Winter 1994)
  
  Nebraskans in the Civil War (has links to other war pages)
  
  Honor Roll of Nebraskans killed in World War II (Introduction explains codification - then scroll down to Merrick Co.)

  Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865, NE Department
     (see "Disbanded Tents" for information on Central City group.)
  
  

  NEWSPAPERS
  
  Grandmother Dittmer's Scrapbook of clippings - Table of Contents
          collected by Mrs. C. J. (Elizabeth) Dittmer, scanned by Lois Fairfield.
  
  Merrick County Newspapers - Links to lists of what is available and where. How to order rolls of film from NSGS or NSHS.
  
  News Clips. Please contribute articles that appeared 1926 or earlier for inclusion on the page.
  
  Obituaries - Index to obituary clippings and extracts - 1874 to date
  
  EXTRACTS from the Palmer Journal approx 1914-1937 have been added to NEGenWeb Project News website.
  Try using the search engine?  Alternative - The newspaper code is 1502 and gives you only the Palmer Journal. Please read the instructions. Copies of articles were submitted to NSHS by Aileen Rawlings (about 1992?) and waiting for extraction. Delay occurred because there was no person to do the remainder of the job, and space was running short on the main frame computer! Original set of files from that big computer totaled over 150,000 entries and were posted almost a year ago. Since then, files have been added for Platte, Buffalo and now Merrick County!
  This set for Palmer includes deaths/obits and weddings/anniversaries. Items relate primarily to Merrick, Nance, Howard & Greeley Counties, sometimes to Butler, Hamilton and Hall Counties. On occasion, there are articles related to deaths in CA, CO, WY and Idaho. Some accident reports are among the extracts.
  Posted 18 Mar 2001.
  
  

• SCHOOLS
  Ash Grove School
  Hartwell School, District #7
  Pleasant Hill School
  Clarks HS about 1924.
  Pemberton School, District 44 - 1925 students & teacher
  Old Rose and Green, 1920 Annual of Central City High School
       Alumni list (1895-1919) from 1920 Annual.
  Alumni list from 1960 Bison, Central City High School (1895-1959)
       See lookups page for securing info related to 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962 Bison Annuals
  Image - 1909 School District 37, Central City teacher Elizabeth J. McMahon from
       USGenWeb Penny Postcard Collection, Nebraska page by Joy Fisher (scan down to Merrick County for 3 add. images)
  "Twenty-First Biennial Report of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of Nebraska, 1910" by E. C. Bishop.
       Report - Merrick County
       Report - Central City Schools
  School Awards - provided by J. Lenon
  
  
• OTHER RESOURCES
  
  NE Association of County Officials, brief Merrick history about the county with "2 panhandles"
  
  Merrick County - National Register sites (NSHS photos & files)
  
  Merrick County Records deposited/held at NSHS Library, Lincoln, NE
  
  Nebraska State Genealogical Society "Ancestree" (NSGS journals) - articles related to Merrick County.
  
  
  Merrick County surnames and mini-genealogies
  
  Merrick County Census files - links to the 1885, 1890 and the 1900, on one page for your convenience.
  
  Merrick County Photo Album
  People, places, events ... files from individuals, and from Central City Library
  
  Merrick County Oops! - a place to report errors found in data files (surely we don't have any of those? - grin)
  
  Temperance cards from Central City (Thanks to J. Lenon)
  
  Merrick County Message Board
  
  Merrick County Mail List
  
  

  Nebraska Studies (history website)

  
  
  Grave "witching" (demonstration website)
  
  Please, check the announcements page!  Books you can order.

Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey - by county, 1992 NSHS files

Nebraska State Hisorical Society

© 1998 - 2008 by Ted & Carole Miller for NEGenWeb Project < tcmiller@pacbell.net >