Family History Guides and Instructions | Wisconsin Historical Society

Family History Guides and Instructions

Getting Started Researching Your Family History

Ames-Angier Family Tree, Massachusetts 1560-1937. WHI 50491.

An excellent overview of resources and what steps to do first. This is a great place to start your family research!

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Note: The majority of our Family History resources are not yet online. If you can't find what you are looking for, please let us know or try searching our catalogs to the right.

Start Here

Don't know where to start? Use these resources to find the core information about your ancestors that will create the foundation of your genealogical research. They often contain clues that will point you to other resources to investigate.

Check Published Sources

Once you have gathered the core information about your ancestors, the next step is to add context by researching what others have written about various counties and families. Many of these sources are available to read both online and in our Library.

Digging Deeper

At this stage, you are ready to fill out the story of your ancestors by researching these other family history resources.

Search Our Catalogs

Use the UW Library Catalog to find materials in the Society's Library or Archives.

Related Online Resources

Search for your ancestors in these Society collections.

Have Questions?

Ask the experts! Contact our helpful Library and Archives staff by phone at 608-264-6535 or by email below to find answers to your questions about family history research.