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 » Local History Digital Collections for a growing list of local and regional history available online.

See Also » Online Newspapers: Historic & Current to find out more about the local, regional, and national newspapers available online.

@Your Library

These InfoSoup libraries have posted local history information on their web sites and/or descriptions of their local history holdings.

Census Records

Full image of Federal census records are available online from Ancestry Library Edition and HeritageQuest.

U.S. federal census records for Wisconsin counties are also 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. You can also check InfoSoup for more information about Wisconsin Census resources available at your local library.

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.

Clintonville Obituary Index

A "work in progress" index of obituaries found in Clintonville newspapers from 1879 to the present.

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.~~ Temporary Remote Access with Library Card. If you don't have a personal subscription to Ancestry.com, stop by the library to search this vast 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 may be required from outside a library.

Wisconsin Newspaper Archive

A large collection of over 700 Wisconsin newspapers covering the years 1813 - 2017. Search by name or keyword or browse newspapers by location. Titles available are included in the Wisconsin State Historical Society Wisconsin newspapers available online database. Made available by InfoSoup Libraries. From outside a library, users will need to enter their InfoSoup library card number and PIN.