Local History @ Your Library
Local History @ Your Library Libraries are great sources for historical records including city directories, atlases and plat maps, vital records, old newspapers, census records, personal narratives, local histories and much more. You can search InfoSoup for local resources or visit your library and ask about their local history collections.
See Also ยป Local History Digital Collections for a growing list of local and regional history available online.
Searching InfoSoup
InfoSoup libraries' vast collection of local history materials, books, maps, newspapers, pamphlet files. For a good overview of materials available try browsing by county or city subject headings:
Try some of these other searches to explore local history resources:
- Cemeteries -- Wisconsin
- Cemetery and Wis
- Registers of Births
- Registers of Births Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Census Enumeration
- Real property - Wisconsin (plat maps)
- United States. Army. Wisconsin
- Wisconsin -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
- United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories
- Wisconsin -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories
- Wisconsin -- Militia.
- School Yearbooks
@Your Library
These InfoSoup libraries have posted local history information on their web sites and/or descriptions of their local history holdings.
- Algoma Public Library
- Appleton Public Library
- Door County Library
- Hortonville Public Library
- Kaukauna Public Library
- Kimberly Little Chute Public Library
- (Manawa) Sturm Memorial Library
- (Oconto) Farnsworth Public Library
- Oconto Falls Community Library
- Scandinavia Public Library
- Waupaca Area Public Library
Census Records
U.S. federal census records for Wisconsin counties are available on microfilm at some InfoSoup libraries, including Algoma, Appleton, Oconto, Shawano, Iola, and Waupaca. Please contact the libraries for more details on specific holdings or check with your local library for more information about locating census records.
Full image of census records are also available online from HeritageQuest and, inside any InfoSoup library, from Ancestry Library Edition.
Local Indexes
Appleton Post-Crescent Index
A selective index of articles appearing in various Appleton newspapers from 1853 to the present. From the Appleton Public Library.
Kaukauna Newspaper Index
A selective index of articles appearing in various Kaukauna newspapers from 1880 to the present. From the Kaukauna Public Library.
APL Obituary Index
A partial but continually growing index to obituaries and death notices from Appleton newspapers. From the Appleton Public Library.
Veterans' Grave Registrations
Information on over 500 Fox River area deceased veterans from the War of 1812 to World War I. From the Appleton Public Library.
Outagamie County Plat book Index
A name index to four Outagamie County Plat books published between 1889 and 1942. From the Appleton Public Library.
Wisconsin Genealogy Index
Search for pre-1907 Vital Records (VR), including birth, death, and marriage records as well as for 150,000 Wisconsin Name Index (WNI) records, including biographical sketches, obituaries, and newspaper articles published before 2000. From the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Resource Libraries
Appleton Public Library
The resource library for public libraries in Outagamie and Waupaca counties features an extensive Wisconsin Collection, including city & county directories, cemetery records, local history books, census records, and more.
Brown County Library
The central library in Green Bay has a large collection of local history & genealogy material covering Brown and other northeast Wisconsin counties.
Oshkosh Public Library
An extensive genealogy and local history collection concentrating on the city of Oshkosh and Winnebago County.
Subscription Databases
Ancestry Library Edition
In Library use only. The library version of the popular Ancestry.com. Provides access to a vast collection of Census records, birth, marriage & death records, immigration and military records, directories, passenger lists, and more!
HeritageQuest
Includes census data, family records, local histories, military records and PERSI (the PERiodical Source Index). Library card number & PIN required from outside a library.
Organizations, Archives, & Other Libraries
Wisconsin Historical Society
A vast collection of resources and services are available from the State Historical Society in Madison.
Area Research Center Network
Each Area Research Center serves a specific geographic region. The Society maintains a courier service which allows members of the network to borrow collections housed elsewhere for use by their local patrons.
Directory of Wisconsin Local Historical Organizations
A directory of more than 360 county, local, and specialized historical organizations affiliated with the Wisconsin Historical Society. Not sure of the name or region? Try the map search.
Family History Centers
Branch facilities of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City provide access to most of the microfilms and microfiche in the central Family History Library. Find Family History Centers in Wisconsin.
WI register of Deeds
Many counties in Wisconsin provide the ability to order Birth, Death, Marriage, and Real estate records online.