Milwaukee County Historical Society

Genealogical & Historical Research Collections

Assessment & Taxation Records 1839-1887
Scattered volumes for Bay View (village), Milwaukee (city) and Towns of Franklin, Granville, Greenfield, Lake, Milwaukee, Oak Creek, and Wauwatosa.

Books
The library book catalog includes 19th and 20th century volumes relating to local and state history.

Business Index
Alphabetical card index by firm name. Includes published business information and pamphlet files.

Census Records

  • Territorial Censuses 1836, 1840, 1842, 1846, and 1847, indexed.
  • Federal Censuses of 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920 are available for the City of Milwaukee and the townships of Granville, Milwaukee, Lake, Oak Creek, Wauwatosa, Franklin, and Greenfield. Note: Only 1850 is indexed Wisconsin state census of 1905 for Milwaukee County is also available.
  • Wisconsin State Census of 1905.

To find names in later censuses, a ward number must be determined.
These records can be requested through an on-line form.

Church Records & Pamphlet Files
Microfilm baptisms, burials, marriages, confirmations, for the following churches- Episcopal:

  • St. James (Milwaukee)
  • St. John Chrysostom (Delafield); St. Luke (Racine)
  • St. Peter's (West Allis)
  • St. Paul's (Watertown, Columbus, and Ashippun)
  • St. Mark's (Beaver Dam)
  • St. Edmund's (Elm Grove)
  • Our Savior's Lutheran (Milwaukee)
  • Ascension Lutheran (Milwaukee)
  • St. Peter's Lutheran (River Hills)
  • West Granville Presbyterian
  • St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church (Milwaukee)

No indexes are available. Individual church files include anniversary publications and church histories indexed by denomination and church name. Records of the Milwaukee Episcopal Archdiocese are available.

Civil War Roster of Wisconsin Veterans

  • Alphabetical lists by name, rank, company, regiment, residence at enlistment, date of enlistment, cause and discharge from service.
  • Indexed and quote; Personal War Sketches and quote; of E. B. Wolcott Post #1, Robert Chivas Post #2, and Rank and File Post #240.
  • Soldier's Relief Commission pension forms indexed by veteran or survivors. State censuses of veterans alphabetically arranged for 1885, 1895, and 1905.

City Directories 1847-1990
Helpful in determining when a person or business was in the City of Milwaukee, addresses and occupations for heads of households. Business subject listings. Reverse directories begin in 1921; these indicate who or what occupied a particular street address in a given year.

Jail Registers Sheriff’s Department

  • 1855-1869
  • 1881 [name index only]
  • 1889-1926
  • 1929-1960
  • 1964
  • No name index: includes name, offense, and court, some disposition and release dates.
  • Additional women's registers 1836-1969.

Manuscript Collections
Card index and detailed finding aids to unpublished, primary material relating to individuals, businesses, organizations, institutions, and government. Also file of unpublished monographs and theses.

Maps
A wide selection of city, county, suburban, and state maps. Helpful for locations and old street names. Fully indexed.

  • Milwaukee County plat maps (excludes City of Milwaukee) for 1858, 1876, 1893, 1916, 1926, 1954, and 1961, which show owner's name and may include acreage.
  • Local and state atlases. The 1898 Baist's Atlas and 1910 Sanborn fire insurance set show individual structures on enlarged street sections. Incomplete set of Sanborn fire sets for 1927, 1929, 1930, and 1937 are available.

Microfilm
Includes newspaper clippings, alphabetically arranged by subject. Among the categories are biographical,business, religious, education, and government.

National Defense Program
Post World War II era registration cards for Milwaukee County employees only, name index. 13,150 fingerprint cards include name, date and place of birth, address, physical description, job applied for, citizenship status, and photograph.

Naturalization Papers 1836 - May 25, 1941
Final Petitions for Naturalization and Declarations of Intent. Alphabetical card index for naturalizations, bound indexes for intents. Papers after November 1906 are more detailed than those before that date. Women did not fill out naturalization papers until 1922 when they were granted the right to vote. Prior to 1922, a woman was naturalized through the action of her father or husband.

These records can be requested through an on-line form.

Obituaries & Biographies

  • Six volumes of Old Settler's Club obituaries and memorials, indexed.
  • Microfilmed obituaries and biographical newspaper clippings arranged alphabetically.
  • Separate name index to biographical sketches.
    Obituaries reflect prominent individuals, not daily death notices.

Ordination Papers 1836-1934
Name index includes date and denomination. Papers include Catholic, Protestant, and other denominational certificates of credentials as ordained clergy.

Periodicals
Milwaukee County Historical Society magazines include the Historical Messenger and Milwaukee History. Assorted current journals and newsletters, including the Wisconsin Magazine of History and historic magazine collections are also available.

Published Histories
Rich sources of biographical and local history information, all indexed:

  • Aderman, Ralph M., ed From Trading Post to Metropolis: Milwaukee County's First 150 Years (1987)
  • Anderson, Harry H. and Frederick I. Olson, Milwaukee: At the Gathering of the Waters (1981)
  • Bruce, William George, History of Milwaukee City and Milwaukee County 3 vols (1922)
  • Buck, James, Pioneer History of Milwaukee, 4 vols
  • Conrad, Howard Louis, History of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County 3 vols (1895) 1881History of Milwaukee [Frank Flower]
  • Gregory, John G., History of Milwaukee, Wisconsin 4 vols (1931)
  • Gurda, John, The Making of Milwaukee (1999)
  • Koss, Rudolph, Milwaukee (1871)
  • Still, Bayrd, Milwaukee The Story of a City (1948)
  • Watrous, Jerome A., Memoirs of Milwaukee County; 3 vols (1909)
  • Wheeler, Andrew C., Chronicles of Milwaukee (1860)

School Census Records 1863-1960
Scattered volumes for City of Milwaukee, suburban communities, and Towns in Milwaukee County. Contains children of school age, and some dates of birth, parents, addresses, and teachers. Early volumes do not list children's names.

Spanish American War Roster of Wisconsin Troops 1899
Lists by regiment include transfers, discharges, cause and date of death, where died, and burial records.