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Links
WHS Directory of Wisconsin Local Historical Societies
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/localhistory/directory/
This Wisconsin Historical Society page is a statewide, searchable listing of the websites of local historical societies and museums. Limit your search to Southeastern to find links to the Burlington Historical Society, the Caledonia Historical Society, the Kenosha County Historical Society, and the Muskego Historical Society among many others.
Racine Resources:
The Research Center at the Racine Heritage Museum
http://www.racineheritagemuseum.org/lhrc.html
An invaluable resource -- Included in the collections of the Research Center is their Surname Card File that contains indexes of newspaper articles, most county cemetery tombstone information, 1858 county plat entries, and naturalization records.
Racine Public Library's Subject List -- Hobbies: Genealogy
http://www.racinelib.lib.wi.us/SubjectHobbies.htm
A number of online tools and websites selected by the librarians at the Racine Public Library, including a link to Heritage Quest -- Heritage Quest provides online access to census and other historical records but does require a Racine or Kenosha Public Library card.
Waterford Area Local History Collection
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WaterfordLocHist
A variety of digital images and full-text documents relating to Waterford and western Racine County --The collection is divided into six categories: Community, Fire, Maps, People and Portraits, Recreation and Leisure, and Books and Manuscripts. The materials range in date from the second half of the 19th century into the first half of the 20th century.
Kenosha Resources:
The Kenosha History Center
http://www.kenoshahistorycenter.org/
The Kenosha History Center is the headquarters of the Kenosha County Historical Society. In addition to their historical museum area, the Kenosha History Center also has a collection of materials relating to Kenosha County. This collection is maintained in the Center’s Archives and includes newspapers, obituaries, maps, city directories, family histories, school yearbooks and various other manuscript materials dating back to the 1830s.
The Kenosha Public Library's Guide to the Web -- Genealogy
http://www.kenosha.lib.wi.us/links/genealogy2.html
This site includes a large collection of links to genealogy online tools and websites selected by the librarians at the Kenosha Public Library.
Kenosha County Community Libraries' Guide to the Web -- Genealogy Resources http://www.community.lib.wi.us/guide.genealogy.html
Similar to KPL’s Genealogy web guide, this site is a large collection of links and online tools selected by librarians at public libraries throughout Kenosha County.
National and State Resources:
The National Archives' Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians
http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/index.html
The National Archives -- sometimes referred to as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) -- is the Federal agency responsible for maintaining the country’s historical record. They have a huge variety of materials of interest to genealogists and history researchers including census, naturalization, land and military service records. Definitely worth a visit, the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) section will allow you to instantly retrieve records from their many databases with a broad search term such as a location or surname.
Footnote.com Free Titles
http://www.footnote.com/free.php/
A document and image sharing website that bills itself as, “…a place where original historical documents are combined with social networking in order to create a truly unique experience involving the stories of our past.” While the material listed on this page is freely available, many of the other products and services—such as digitized copies of original documents—available through Footnote require membership, available at a small cost. Members can also contribute to Footnote and add annotations to existing records. The site may also be browsed, either chronologically or by type of document/record.
American Memory from the Library of Congress
http://memory.loc.gov/
The American Memory site is a fabulous online collection of images, texts, maps, architectural designs and other digital material relating to America, its history and its people. In particular, the “Immigration, American Experience” and “Maps” section are often useful to family historians. Searching for Racine or Kenosha in the site’s search box is an easy way to start.
The University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/
The UWDCC is a massive digital database of manuscripts, photographs, maps, oral histories and other historical materials relating to Wisconsin and its people. “The History Collection” and the “State of Wisconsin” collection are likely the two most useful collections for genealogists, but there are many other resources available at UWDCC for both family and general historians.
Wisconsin Marine Historical Society’s Great Lakes Marine Collection
www.mpl.org/shipshape
A cooperative project between the WMHS and the Milwaukee Public Library, the WMHS Great Lakes Marine Collection includes a searchable database of over 10,000 records on Great Lakes vessels. In addition to the ship records, the web site also includes a variety of digitized maps and ship diagrams and illustrations.
Wisconsin's Maritime Trails
http://www.maritimetrails.org/
A partnership of the Wisconsin Historical Society and the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, this site “…encourages divers, snorkelers, boaters, maritime enthusiasts, and tourists to visit and enjoy Wisconsin's diverse collection of maritime resources.” The site includes information on lighthouses, museums, shipwrecks—including streaming video—and more.
Milwaukee Public Library’s Recommended Genealogy Links
http://www.mpl.org/coldfusion/librarian_rec_category.cfm?Category=12
This website features an extensive listing of genealogy web sites, arranged alphabetically. Notes about the contents/value of each of the listed site are quite useful and help to distinguish this site from many of the other genealogy web lists. Some of the linked sites require a Milwaukee Public Library card for access, but most are freely available to all.
Google Library Book Project
http://books.google.com/
The Wisconsin Historical Society and Google have recently collaborated on a book digitization project which has resulted in the scanning of many books relating to Racine, Kenosha, their history and the people who have lived there. Searching for subject:"Racine County (Wis.)" or subject:"Kenosha County (Wis.)" in the site’s search box is an easy way to start.
Illinois State Archives
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/archives.html
The home of Illinois’ public records, including state census records, death records, Illinois plat maps, military records, probate records and many others. The website includes a number of searchable, online databases including a vital records index and an extensive military/veterans index. Links to resources in other Illinois’ archival repositories are also available through the State Archives website.
FamilySearch Record Search Pilot Site
http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=0
FamilySearch has designed a new interface for searching and retrieving their millions of records of interest to genealogists and historians. Find images of State and National Censuses as well as Vital Records here. You may choose to participate in the program by volunteering to transcribe many of the newly digitized records. Collections are currently available to the public for free. An up-to-date collections list is available at: http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=4.
Genealogy Today
http://genealogytoday.com/
An excellent starting point for web genealogy research, this site includes information on How to do genealogy, links to digitized records, manuscripts and documents, and links to other good genealogy web sites. Genealogy Today requires a free registration to access much of its content, as do some of the linked sites require subscriptions. Additionally, some of the linked sites are fee-based services. The site includes a surname tracker via an rss feed.
DeadFred.com Genealogy Photo Archive
http://www.deadfred.com/
DeadFred.com is a rapidly growing photo sharing site for genealogists. There are nearly a 100,000 photos already posted on the site, a figure that will soon be eclipsed. Searching can be done by name or location. Additionally, there is a link to Dead Fred’s blog, Relatively Speaking.
Linkpendium
http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/WI/ALL/
A wide-ranging links page to resources regarding genealogy in Wisconsin. Linkpendium divides the links into a variety of categories, such as “Vital Records”, “Obituaries and Funeral Home Records”, and many more.
http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/WI/Kenosha/: The Kenosha specific portion of Linkpendium, this site contains nearly 200 links to resources specific to Kenosha.
http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/USA/WI/Racine/:The Racine specific portion of Linkpendium, this site contains nearly 300 links to resources specific to Racine.
Resources for UW-Parkside Students:
UW-P History Portal
http://www.uwp.edu/departments/library/guides/portals/history_portal.htm
“One stop” shopping for students in history or history-related disciplines, the History Portal provides access to print and online resources available through the library at UW-Parkside. Some of the resources require Parkside ID authentication, but all are available to onsite users and many of them are available to everyone online as well.
Historical Voices
http://www.historicalvoices.org/
The Historical Voices website is an initiative of the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities in conjunction with a number of universities and historical agencies. It is a multimedia library that provides its content in digital and fully accessible format to any and all. The majority of the site features audio content, speeches and conversations with many famous and prominent individuals and also a growing number of oral histories with “the common man”. Additionally, there are a number of images and digitized manuscripts available through the Historical Voices portal.
Other useful resources & tools for the Genealogist and Local Historian:
WHS Guide to Beginning Your Family History
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/genealogy/beginners/
A concise, well-organized “ten step” introduction to those just beginning the fascinating process of tracing their own family and its heritage. There are many other excellent resources available to family researchers through the Wisconsin Historical Society, but this is an excellent introduction/primer for genealogists.
Ancestors companion web site to the PBS family history & genealogy television series.
http://www.byub.org/ancestors/
The Ancestors web site is a terrific "jumping off place" for those just beginning to compile their genealogy or for those that haven’t been actively working at it for a while. In addition to providing good summaries on a wide variety of topics and resources, it also offers extensive links to other genealogy and family history web sites.
Templates to facilitate requests for genealogical records
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/results.aspx?qu=genealogy&av=TPL000
Various letters and forms in MS Office formats that can be easily adapted by a family historian to accommodate their own research needs. The form letters are particularly helpful so that you don’t have to “reinvent the wheel” every time you need to correspond with a public official or department.
The Regional Alliance for Preservation (RAP)
http://www.preservecollections.org/
An excellent resource for anyone concerned with the long term preservation of their photographs, paper records and ephemeral materials. Their listing of bibliographies and other conservation/preservation publications (most in .pdf format) are particularly useful.
