Researching the Family Tree

Federal Documents

Maps & Atlases

Computers/CD-ROMs

Related Resources

Interlibrary Loan

Library Staff

Societies

Genealogical sites on the Internet have grown at an amazing pace. Under Get Reference Help on the library’s Web site, one of the subject headings is Genealogy. Many helpful Internet sites have been bookmarked.

Cyndi Howell started one of the first genealogy sites called Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet. In 1999 she published a paper copy of the lists on her site Cyndi’s List. Over 40,000 sites were listed. In her 2001 edition she has over 70,000 sites listed.

Several books have been written on doing genealogy research on the Internet. Two helpful titles are Rick Crume’s Plugging Into Your Past: How to Find Real Family History Records Online and Cherri Flinn’s Genealogy Basics Online.

There are many special Local History Collections in the Frank P. Zeidler Humanities Room that may be of help in doing genealogical research. The librarians at the desk will assist in accessing these collections.

• The Great Lakes Marine Collection can be helpful in locating biographies of ships’ captains and information about vessel owners.

• The Historic Photo Collection has thousands of photographs of local scenes; some with identified local citizens.

• The Manuscript Collection contains the unpublished writings of local authors, some of whom have family photographs and diaries.

• The Milwaukee Road Archives contains personnel records for some individuals along with a name index to the employees’ magazine.

• The Permanent Pamphlet Collection contains biographical articles and printed works, along with company and church histories.

• The City Archives is just beginning to index its holdings. Some of the more useful new finding tools include an index to the names of babies born to women at the old Lying-In Hospital, and a register of physicians and midwives.

• The tax rolls provide a complete record of local property owners beginning with Milwaukee’s founder Solomon Juneau.

• Local History also contains military records. Groups like the American War Mothers created registration cards for local soldiers during World Wars I and II. These often include newspaper articles and photographs.

The Internet is also a place to check for library holdings such as Newspapers in Microform: US and Newspapers in Microform: Foreign. Often specific material listed in these guides can be obtained on interlibrary loan.

Other materials such as census films and census indexes are also available through your local interlibrary loan office. Check with your local librarian.