Scattered volumes for Bay View (village), Milwaukee (city) and Towns of Franklin, Granville, Greenfield, Lake, Milwaukee, Oak Creek, and Wauwatosa.

The library book catalog includes volumes relating to local and state history dating from the 19th century.

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

• Territorial Censuses 1836, 1840, 1842, 1846, and 1847, indexed.
• Federal Censuses of 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 are available for all Milwaukee County. Note: MCHS has an index for the 1850 census only. 
• Wisconsin State Census of 1905.

These records can be requested through an online form.

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.

1847-1990, 1992-1993, 1996-1997, 2002
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 business occupied a particular street address in a given year.

Bound alphebetical name indexes and microfiche by court and years until 1974. Court cases after 1974 must have the court case case number obtained from the courthouse. Civil court cases and divorce records only, no criminal records. Post-1932 cases are not on-site and may take several days to pull them.

• 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.

1873-1935; 1960-1969
Full alphabetical name index available. Files contain death certificates and inquest testimony.

• 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.

Detailed finding aids to primary material relating to individuals, businesses, organizations, institutions, and government. Also an index of unpublished monographs and theses. Some finding aids are available to view here.

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, and 1966 are available.

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.

Final Petitions for Naturalization and Declarations of Intent. Alphabetical card index for naturalizations, bound indexes for intents. Papers after September 1906 are more detailed than those before that date. Women did not fill out naturalization papers until 1922, after 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 online form.

Six volumes of Old Settler’s Club obituaries and memorials, indexed.

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

The Milwaukee County Historical Society has more than one million photographs in its collections. Most photographs are housed on-site and are readily available for patrons. The collections are arranged by subject category, street, and family or individual name. We also have collections from several Milwaukee photographers.

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, Jermone A., Lt. Col., Memoirs of Milwaukee County (1909)