Wisconsin Archives and Libraries

United States Wisconsin  Archives and Libraries

Many archives and libraries have resources such as maps, gazetteers, and other aids to help locate places in Wisconsin. Many have record-finding aids, such as guides to their own collections or inventories of records housed elsewhere in the state. They may have collections of previous research, such as family and local histories and biographies.

A guide to Wisconsin archives and libraries is:


 * Ryan, Carol W. Searching for Your Wisconsin Ancestors in the Wisconsin Libraries. Green Bay: C. W. Ryan, 1988. (Family History Library book 1988; film.

Inventories of County Archives
To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Wisconsin counties, use the 15inventories of the county archives published about 1940 by the Historical Records Survey. They contain detailed inventories of the records that existed in county courthouses in about 1940. They also describe the contents of the records. The Family History Library has copies of the inventories for Barron, Buffalo, La Crosse, Marathon, Monroe, Rusk, and Sheboygan Counties. They are listed in the catalog under WISCONSIN, [COUNTY] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES.

The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections or services helpful to genealogical researchers.

Wisconsin Historical Society
816 State Street Madison, WI 53706 Library Division Telephone: 608-264-6535 Library Division Fax: 608-264-6520 Archives Division Telephone: 608-264-6460 Internet: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/

The Wisconsin Historical Society serves as the state archives, the state library, and the American history library for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its research collections are divided between library and archives divisions. The library houses printed and microfilmed materials, while the archives maintains the original records for Wisconsin government jurisdictions. The Wisconsin Historical Society is the largest free-standing American history library in the United States. It has the second-largest collection of newspapers in the U.S., after the Library of Congress.

The Wisconsin Historical Society and the University of Wisconsin System jointly operate a network of Area Research Centers located at UW campus libraries throughout the state. Each geographic region is served by an Area Research Center (ARC), which houses the original records from that region. Centers often have probate records, tax records, school records, church records, naturalization records, and other local historical records.

Several guides have been published that describe the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society. A helpful introductory guide is:


 * Danky, James P., ed. Genealogical Research: An Introduction to the Resources of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1986. (Family History Library book

Another guide to the collections at the Wisconsin Historical Society is:


 * Smith, Alice E., ed. Guide to the Manuscripts of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1944, 1957. (Family History Library book ; .) A second supplement was published in 1966 (not available at the Family History Library). These guides contain references to the papers of many families and businesses.

The Wisconsin Historical Society's website has a number of resources of use to genealogists:


 * Wisconsin Genealogy Index - a statewide index of pre-1907 birth, marriage, and death records, 150,000 obituaries and biographical sketches
 * Historical image collection - thousands of images from the 19th and 20th centuries
 * Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 - alphabetical and regimental lists of soldiers who served in Wisconsin units during the Civil War
 * Civil War veterans' censuses - 1885, 1895, 1905
 * Local history and biography articles - 16, 000 searchable newspaper articles
 * County histories - 80 digitized, searchable county histories
 * Wisconsin Magazine of History - digitized, from 1917 to the present

Wisconsin Area Research Centers


The Family History Library has guides to the three Wisconsin area research centers at Green Bay, River Falls, and Stevens Point. These guides are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under WISCONSIN - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES.

1. Wisconsin Historical Society Archive Reference 816 State Street Madison, WI 53706-1488 Telephone 608-264-6460 Internet: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/research.asp askarchives@wisconsinhistory.org

Serves Sauk, Columbia, and Dane counties

2. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Eugene W. Murphy Library 1631 West Pine Street La Crosse, WI 54601 Telephone: 608-785-8511 Internet: http://www.uwlax.edu/Murphylibrary/Departments/archome.html specoll@uwlax.edu

Serves Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Trempeleau, and Vernon counties

3. University of Wisconsin-Platteville The SW Wisconsin Room Ullsvik Hall, 1 University Plaza Platteville, WI 53818 Telephone: 608-342-1719 Internet: http://www.uwplatt.edu/library/swwis/ swwis@uwplatt.edu

Serves Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, and Richland counties

4. University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Harold W. Anderson Library 800 West Main Street Whitewater, WI 53190 Telephone: 262-472-5520 Internet: http://library.uww.edu/archives/archicol.html archives@uww.edu

Serves Jefferson, Rock, and Walworth counties

5. University of Wisconsin-Parkside Wyllie Library/Learning Center 900 Wood Road Box 2000 Kenosha, WI 53141-2000 Telephone: 414-595-2345 Internet: http://www.uwp.edu/departments/library/archives archives@uwp.edu

Serves Kenosha and Racine counties

6. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives Department UWM Libraries PO Box 604 2311 East Hartford Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53201 Telephone: 414-229-6980 I nternet: http://www4.uwm.edu/libraries/arch askarch@uwm.edu

Serves Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties

7. University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Forrest R. Polk Library 800 Algoma Boulevard Oshkosh, WI 54901 Telephone: 920-424-0828 Internet: http://www.uwosh.edu/archives archives@uwosh.edu

Serves Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, and Winnebago counties

8. University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Cofrin Library Area Research Center (7th Floor) 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 Telephone: 920-465-2540   1-888-729-4611 Internet: http://www.uwgb.edu/library/spc speccoll@uwgb.edu    libraryweb@uwgb.edu

Serves Brown, Calumet, Door, Florence, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, and Shawano counties

9. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Area Research Center University Library 900 Reserve Street Stevens Point, WI 54481 Telephone: 715-346-2586 Internet: http://library.uwsp.edu/depts/archives/archives.htm archives@uwsp.edu

Serves Adams, Juneau, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Portage, Waupaca, Waushara, and Wood counties

10. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Special Collections &amp; Archives (5022 5th floor) William D. McIntyre Library University Drive Eau Claire, WI 54702-5010 Telephone: 715-836-2739 Internet: http://www.uwec.edu/Library/archives/index.htm library.archives@uwec.edu

Serves Buffalo, Eau Claire, Chippewa, Rusk, Clark, and Taylor counties

11. University of Wisconsin-Stout Swanson Learning Center - University Archives and Area Research Center University Library 315 Tenth Ave. Menomonie, WI 54751 Telephone: 715-232-2300 Internet: http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/archives/index.cfm archives@uwstout.edu

Serves Barron, Dunn, and Pepin counties

12. University of Wisconsin-River Falls Area Research Center Chalmer Davee Library 120 Cascade Avenue - street address 410 South 3rd Street - maling address River Falls, WI 54022 Telephone: 715-425-3567 Internet: http://www.uwrf.edu/library/arc archives@uwrf.edu

Serves Burnett, Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix counties

13. Superior Public Library Area Research Center 1530 Tower Avenue Superior, WI 54880 Telephone: 715-394-8860 Internet: http://www.ci.superior.wi.us/index.asp?nid=158 jenningsj@ci.superior.wi.us

Serves Douglas County

14. Northern Great Lake Center Area Research Center 29270 County Highway G Ashland,  WI 54806 Telephone: 715-685-2647 Email:  whsnorthwoods@whs.wisc.edu

Serves Bayfield, Ashland, Iron, Vilas, Washburn, Sawyer, Price, Oneida, and Forest Counties

National Archives
National Archives Great Lakes Region (Chicago) 7358 S. Pulaski Rd. Chicago, IL 60629-5898 Phone: (773)948-9001 Fax: (773)948-9050 E-mail: chicago.archives@nara.gov Internet: http://www.archives.gov/great-lakes

State Societies and Research Centers
Wisconsin State Genealogical Society P.O. Box 5106, Madison, WI 53705-0106 E-mail: wsgs@wsgs.org Internet: http://wsgs.wetpaint.com/

Milwaukee County Historical Society 910 North Third St. Milwaukee, WI 53203 Telephone: 414-273-8288

The Milwaukee County Historical Society houses Civil War and church records, obituaries and biographical newspaper clippings, naturalization indexes, census records, court and probate records, and coroners' inquests.

Vesterheim Genealogical Center 415 West Main St. Madison, WI 53703 Telephone: 608-255-2224

This center has records of many Norwegian-Americans, including passenger lists, church records, family records, and Norwegian local and farm histories.

Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society c/o Robert Felber, Archivist 6100 W. Mequon Rd. Mequon, WI 53092-1951 Telephone: 414-355-6252

There are an estimated 8,500 cemeteries in Wisconsin. This society has compiled the records of about 2,000 cemeteries. They publish a newsletter in which you can place queries.

Outside Wisconsin
National Archives Great Lakes Region (Chicago) 7358 S. Pulaski Rd. Chicago, IL 60629-5898 Phone: (773)948-9001 Fax: (773)948-9050 E-mail: [mailto:chicago.archives@nara.gov chicago.archives@nara.gov] Internet: http://www.archives.gov/great-lakes/


 * Includes federal censuses 1790–1930; selected military service indexes, pension indexes, passenger lists, and naturalizations. Free computers for Ancestry, Heritage Quest, or Fold3. Federal agency, civil, and criminal court records of Wisconsin.

Allen County Public Library 900 Library Plaza Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Telephone: 260-421-1225 E-mail: [mailto:genealogy@acpl.info genealogy@acpl.info]


 * This is the second-largest genealogy collection in the United States and the largest genealogy collection in a public library. Its holdings include more than 350,000 printed volumes and 513,000 items on microfilm and microfiche. It has a premier genealogical periodical collection, local histories, genealogies, databases, military, censuses, directories, passenger lists, ethnic sources, and Canadians. They have a great Wisconsin collection.

Newberry Library 60 West Waltron Street Chicago, IL 60610 Telephone: 312-255-3512 Email: [mailto:genealogy@newberry.org reference@newberry.org.]


 * A large Chicago repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records many from Wisconsin, the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and the British Isles.