Know Your Family History | Wisconsin Historical Society

Know Your Family History

Find Your Ancestors

  • Search over 3,000,000 records including: birth, death and marriage record indexes; newspaper clippings; photographs and other visual materials; and property records from National Register and State Register of Historic Places and the Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory (AHI).

    Search Tips

    Phonetic name search: as above, but search only for first, last, or maiden names using a "sound-alike" algorithm tailored to names. E.g. search for Müller will also find Muhler, Mueller, and Muller, as well as Miller and other false positives.

  • Ask our staff

Request copies for these records:

Wisconsin Pre-1907 Vital Records (Birth, Marriage and Death) Obituary Search Service Newspaper or Periodical Article Search Request Service Civil War Regimental Muster and Descriptive Rolls (aka Red and Blue Books) Draper Manuscripts Digital Copy Order Special Non Population Census Search

Other resources

Search Our Catalogs

Society card catalog, 1901. WHI 57048.

Library Catalog

The Society's library and archival holdings are cataloged in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's library catalog.

Finding Aids

These finding aids (registers) describe archival resources held by 24 repositories throughout Wisconsin.

Webinars and Workshops

Don't miss our upcoming webinars, workshops, classes.

Area Research Centers

Use the Society's courier service to have Archives materials transferred to a research center near you. Learn More

Visit Us

Get expert advice in how to create a family tree or hunt for clues about an ancestor's past.

Email Us

Or call us at 608-264-6535

Guides and Instructions

Ready to begin your family history research? Use our guides and instructions to get started!
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About Our Collections

Learn more about our family history collections and the resources located in our Library, our Archives and online.
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Genealogy-Family History Book Award

Learn more about our family history collections and the resources located in our Library, our Archives and online.
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Related Resources

Click on the links below to learn more about these resources. All offer online materials plus many more physical materials in the Society's Library and Archives.