Registry of Interested Persons

You can register your interest in a single burial site or in all burial sites of a particular kind, age, or location. In your supporting documents, you must explain why you have a registered interest in that site or class of sites, at the priority of interest you are applying for.

Priority of interest is the type of interest you have in the site or class of sites you are applying for, and it also guides the Wisconsin Historical Society Director in weighing interests regarding requests to disturb burial sites and applications for disposition.

Individuals or organizations can list any priority of interest they feel is appropriate for the site or class of sites they are applying for, but they will need to explain why that priority of interest was chosen in their supporting documents.

Family members on the Registry who have direct kinship (the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, rather than cousins, nieces or nephews) are given first priority, followed by applicants who share cultural, tribal or religious affiliation with the deceased. Scientific, environmental, and educational institutions come next in the order of priority. People or organizations who have registered a historic or aesthetic significance come next, and Registry members who have indicated any other interest rank last.  

The Wisconsin Historical Society will periodically send members of the Registry a request for updated information on behalf of the Burial Sites Preservation Board. At any time, members on the Registry can contact the Burial Sites Program via email to update their contact information.

If an individual or organization would like to remove themselves from the Registry, they will need to submit a written request to be removed. That request can be sent to the Burial Sites Program, who will work with the Burial Sites Preservation Board to have that request reviewed and the Registry updated accordingly.

A correct and complete application consists of the application form itself, a written statement that clearly indicates the level of interest being requested and describes why you feel the Burial Sites Preservation Board should approve your application at that level of interest for the site or class of sites applied for. Additionally, a complete application will include documents and other materials supporting your level of interest.

Wisconsin Historical Society staff will review applications for completeness within 30 days of receiving the application. If the application is not complete, Wisconsin Historical Society staff will reach out to ask for the missing documents or information.

The Burial Sites Preservation Board determines who will be admitted to the Registry, not the Wisconsin Historical Society.