My daughter lives in Rio and I lives about 25 miles from there. I moved up here about 10 years ago. I'm from Illinois. I see if I can get you the info on the Columbia County Historical Society. They changes contact person and I don't have the new info. Do you have the URL for the WI State Historical Society? WI has state census on the "5" year seperate from the Federal Census. What names are your searching for? Maybe there is someone with name name still in the area. sr wrote: > > Well, now that I know there are folks out there, I impatiently ask > questions. > Did Wis. have state census in 1870-80? > Does anyone have the state or federal census that they would like to do a > look up? > Are there folks out there with info on Rio in this time frame? > Has anyone ever heard of a place called 'Blue Cart' > Are there specific sources that might pertain to Norwegians, or was there a > church that may have records. > Any good URL's to search? > Tips on Wi research? > Sorry if I'm impatient, but after 10 years of searching in MN, I have made > some progress! > > Thanks , Stan