Title: Wisconsin. Circuit Court (Vilas County): Civil Case Files
Inclusive Dates: 1893-1938

Creator:

• Wisconsin. Circuit Court (Vilas County)

Call Number: Vilas Series 8

Quantity: 62 reels of microfilm (16mm)

Repository:

Housed at the Area Research Center, History Center and Archives, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center / Ashland Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Circuit Court case files dealing with civil actions. Legal papers may include complaints, summonses, affidavits, petitions, court orders, and decrees.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-vila0008

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Roughly by case file number.

“Court Record Books” (Vilas Series 7) indexes this series.

1. Find the entry for the file in the “Court Record Book” (Vilas Series 7). If you know the approximate year that the case was resolved, go directly to the Record Book for that year. If you know only the name(s) of the plaintiff or defendant and not the year, you will need to scan the index for each volume until you find the appropriate volume. Once you have the appropriate volume, find the name of either the plaintiff or defendant in the volume's index and turn to that page.

2. Note the case number. In Volume 1, the page number is the case number. Some entries in Volume 1 do not provide a case number but instead read, “no file - file found later”. Make a note that the entry reads “no file - file found later” because this determines which reel may contain the case. In Volumes 2-5, the case number appears in black in the “header” section in the middle of the page. In all volumes you may find a note reading “no file” and no case number. This does not necessarily mean that the case was not filmed: it may or may not have been filmed, but always will be difficult to find.

3. Consult the reel list to determine which reel contains the case number. Cases which have a “no file - file found later” note in Court Record Volume 1 will not be in the regular numerical sequence of cases (reels 1-57) but may or may not be found on reels 1A through 5A.

4. If you cannot find the file where it should be located, and instead see an index card stating that the file is missing, check the Court Record again to see if it is a “no file- file found later” entry. If it is, consult reels 1A-5A. Be aware that cases on these reels are in no particular order nor have case numbers indicated. It will probably require a frame-by-frame search to locate a file.

If it is not a “no file - file found later” entry, then try reels 32, 33, and 57. This film was produced for the county by the Schumann Microfilming Corporation and their targets state that these reels contain “miscellaneous files with no one entry in any one docket” and “all old files that we couldn't find that where [sic] miss [sic] filed.” Very few of these have case file numbers and they appear to be filmed in random order.

Next try reels 4A and 5A because they may contain miscellaneous files. The control sheet notes from the Schumann Microfilming Corporation for these reels read, “found more files in box real old” and at end of reel 5A are “odds and ends a fill [sic] roll.” Again, be aware that cases on these reels are in no particular order nor have case numbers.

Finally, if you still cannot find the file, rely on the information about in the case in the “Judgment and Order Books” (Vilas Series 6). Unfortunately, these volumes do not have information on cases heard between 1893 and 1910 (the volumes begin in 1911), but do cover cases through 1946 and are easy to use.

Reel   1	Case nos. 1-139, 1893-1896
Reel   1A	Cases from Vol. 1, p. 3-98 of Court Record marked “No file - file found later”
Reel   2	Case nos. 139-241; , 1896-1897
Reel   2A	Cases from Vol. 1, p. 98-330 of Court Record marked “No file - file found later”
Reel   3	Case nos. 242-356, 1897-1898
Reel   3A	Cases from Vol. 1, p. 336-598 of Court Record marked “No file - file found later”
Reel   4	Case nos. 357-509, 1898
Reel   4A	Cases from Vol. 1, p. 599-627 of Court Record marked “No file - file found later;” Miscellaneous; and Jury list from 1904
Reel   5	Case nos. 509-590, 1898-1900
Reel   5A	Miscellaneous
Reel   6	Case nos. 591-674, 1900-1902
Reel   7	Case nos. 675-757, 1902-1903
Reel   8	Case nos. 758-799, 1904
Reel   9	Case nos. 799-846, 1904-1905
Reel   10	Case nos. 846-920, 1905-1909
Reel   11	Case nos. 921-971, 1909-1910
Reel   12	Case nos. 972-1006, 1910-1912
Reel   13	Case nos. 1006-1055, 1912-1913
Reel   14	Case nos. 1056-1109, 1913-1915
Reel   15	Case nos. 1110-1166, 1915-1917
Reel   16	Case nos. 1167-1225, 1917-1918
Reel   17	Case nos. 1226-1270, 1918-1919
Reel   18	Case nos. 1271-1328, 1919-1921
Reel   19	Case nos. 1329-1377, 1379-1388, 1921-1923
Reel   20	Case nos. 1389-1440, 1923-1924
Reel   21	Case nos. 1441-1463, 1464-1487, 1924-1925
Reel   22	Case nos. 1488-1521, 1523-1538, 1924-1925
Reel   23	Case nos. 1540-1581, 1926
Reel   24	Case nos. 1581-1597, 1599-1636, 1926
Reel   25	Case nos. 1636-1674, 1926
Reel   26	Case nos. 1675-1727, 1926
Reel   27	Case nos. 1728-1772, 1926-1927
Reel   28	Case nos. 1772-1772, 1927
Reel   29	Case nos. 1772-1790, 1927
Reel   30	Case nos. 1790-1835, 1837-1840, 1927-1928
Reel   31	Case nos. 1841-1853, 1855- 1862, 1928
Reel   32	Case nos. 1378, 1464, 1522, 1598, 1706, 1862 and “old files not found in any volume”
Reel   33	Miscellaneous files with no one entry in any docket
Reel   34	Case nos. 1861-1895, 1928
Reel   35	Case nos. 1895-1939, 1928-1929
Reel   36	Case nos. 1940-1983, 1929-1930
Reel   37	Case nos. 1983-2021, 1930
Reel   38	Case nos. 2022-2035, 2037-2065, 1930-1932
Reel   39	Case nos. 2065-2097, 1932-1931
Reel   40	Case nos. 2098-2122, 1931
Reel   41	Case nos. 2123-2156, 1931
Reel   42	Case nos. 2156-2207, 1931-1932
Reel   43	Case nos. 2208-2224, 1932
Reel   44	Case nos. 2224-2279, 1932-1933
Reel   45	Case nos. 2279-2329, 1933-1934
Reel   46	Case nos. 2330-2397, 1933-1934
Reel   47	Case nos. 2397-2444, 1934-1935
Reel   48	Case nos. 2445-2495, 1934
Reel   49	Case nos. 2496-2527, 1935
Reel   50	Case nos. 2528-2542, 1935
Reel   51	Case nos. 2543-2589, 1935-1936
Reel   52	Case nos. 2590-2607, 2609-2627, 1935-1936
Reel   53	Case nos. 2628-2672, 1936
Reel   54	Case nos. 2673-2713, 1936-1937
Reel   55	Case nos. 2714-2755, 1937
Reel   56	Case nos. 2746-2779, 1937-1938
Reel   57	Case nos. 1836, 1854, 2036, 2608, 2780-2804 and miscellaneous files