One thing missing on the internet is a sense of geography. Doing a search on the name Smith will give you all sorts of results in many locations throughout the world. I am hoping that doing a search on Smith Wisconsin will bring you to this site. WI Roots was formed to provide a free source for genealogy and history relating to Wisconsin and its counties, towns, villages, cities, and ancestors.

Many years ago, before the internet...I was doing personal research on my family history. Day after day I hit brick walls because of the time and money involved in furthering my research. As a mother of small children, it was just impossible to make those courthouse and library trips. I had to find a way to make my hobby a rewarding experience without having to spend bucket loads of money or time away from my family. It was then I found the internet. Through the years I have been able to make many connections to family through the internet. It is my goal to provide Wisconsin researchers with their own connections to their ancestors using only a few clicks of their mouse.

The information this site presents or is linked to is not intended to be used as a source document. Instead the information is a place to find clues and information to aid in further research. I strongly encourage you to check the primary source for accuracy and validity as mistakes are made by all of us (especially the early record keepers).

My goal is to keep the information my fellow contributors, transcribers, researchers, and project managers present here free to the public. It irks me to see large corporations charge people for access to information that they could get for free if they just had time or the money to get to a courthouse.

If you would like to become a county, town, village or city project manager for WI Roots, please email me. I am sure we will find a place for you. I only ask that you follow 5 basic rules:

1. Have Fun!
2. Please respect the privacy of living people and do not publish anything pertaining to live people.
3. Do not publish information that contains a copyright. (see copyright information page)
4. There can be any number of projects for any organizational unit. Meaning there could be two Ashland sites, one might concentrate on cemeteries, another on marriages or both are countywide.
5. Last but not least, have fun. Because if it is not fun....why bother?