The WCHSM’s Research Center provides the community with a wealth of information. This list is of the major resources that can be found in the collection. Please contact the Research Center to plan your visit at [email protected] or 262.521.2859 x225.
PLEASE NOTE WCHSM CANNOT PROVIDE COPIES OF MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES, DEATH CERTIFICATES, OR BIRTH CERTIFICATES.
BIOGRAPHY & HISTORY
Books and extensive files on many aspects of Waukesha County history. Published histories (most with name indexes): 1880, 1894, 1907, and 1984.
BIRTH RECORDS
Transcripts of births recorded at the Waukesha County Courthouse: 1846-1879. Some copies of courthouse birth records, incomplete, 1890’s-1961. Annual Vital Records Books include birth announcements: 1973-present.
CEMETERY RECORDS
Transcribed information from tombstones and cemetery records of known Waukesha County cemeteries: 1840s-present.
CENSUS RECORDS
Territorial censuses (1838, 1840, 1842, 1846), State censuses (1855-1895), and Federal censuses (1850-1870). Waukesha County only. All years may not be available for each township. See Census Materials: Information Sheet for a collection guide.
COUNTY ASSISTANCE RECORDS
Records of the county institutions (County Home and Hospital): 1853-1922, a few later. Not complete. Some restrictions apply.
COURT RECORDS
Court calendars, civil and criminal and jail docket books, court daybooks, minute books and appearance dockets. Dates between 1847-1912.
DIRECTORIES
Waukesha City, 1858 and 1890-present. Also some county farm and village directories. Some telephone books for Waukesha County, earliest Waukesha City, 1917.
LAND AND AGRICULTURAL RECORDS
First recorded land ownership records and maps. Some original deeds, abstracts, patents, and mortgages. Swamp Land Index, Waukesha County: 1855-1857. Policy registers of the Farmers’ Mutual Fire Insurance Company of the Town of Waukesha: 1874-1938. Also some registers of two other insurance companies in New Berlin and Vernon.
MANUSCRIPT MATERIALS
Waukesha County related diaries, land records, letters, personal and family papers, and scrapbooks.
MAPS, HISTORIC
First land ownership maps and plat maps (1859-present) and books on Waukesha County. See Geography for Genealogists: Information Sheet for a collection guide.
MARRIAGE RECORDS
Index to Waukesha County, Wisconsin Marriages: 1846-1907; Index to Marriage Records of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Territory: 1836-1849; Index to Waukesha County Marriage Records: 1846-1866; Transcriptions of Marriages published in the Waukesha, Wisconsin newspapers w/index: 1859-1881; Waukesha County Marriage License Applications w/index: 1899-1935; Wedding Announcements of Waukesha County residents published in area newspapers: 1935-1955.
MILITARY RECORDS
Historical information on U.S. wars and the county’s participation, especially for Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War. Special rosters, indexes, and files for Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War.
MUSEUM/ARCHIVES RESOURCES COLLECTION
Books and periodicals for professional development in many aspects of museum management, curatorship, and archival studies.
NATURALIZATION RECORDS
Waukesha County Declarations of Intention (1847-1954), Petitions (1906-1955), and Certificates of Naturalization (1847-1906). Indexes available.
OBITUARIES
An extensive collection of Waukesha County related obituaries extracted, clipped and/or indexed from area newspapers: 1859-present.
ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS
Archival records of Waukesha County businesses, municipalities, and other organizations that were created or accumulated in the course of daily events, and saved for continued administration or later research.
SCHOOL RECORDS
History and information on schools within the county. Some original records and photos. Waukesha County Superintendent of Schools Records: 1849-1965, incomplete. Some area high school and college yearbooks.
SUBJECT BINDERS
Information compiled on various Waukesha County subjects such as Artists, Authors, Businesses, Breweries, Buildings and Homes, Farms, Genealogy, Les Paul, Lunt and Fontanne, Medical History, Military Service, National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Forms, People, Pioneers, Resorts, Hotels and Taverns, Springs, Vital Records.
TAX AND ASSESSMENT RECORDS
City of Waukesha real estate and personal property assessment rolls: 1896-1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, not all years. County tax sale records: 1846-1929, some later. Waukesha City Assessors files, late 1920’s-1950’s. City of Oconomowoc tax and assessment rolls: 1936-1938.
VERTICAL FILE COLLECTION
Newspaper clippings of Waukesha County filed by subject.
VISUAL IMAGES COLLECTION
Photographs, negatives, slides, and prints of past and present Waukesha County. A select number of images are available online through the University of Wisconsin’s Digital Collections Center. These photographs reflect Waukesha County’s Springs Era, agricultural community and industrial heritage. View the “Waukesha County History 1870-1920” digital library.
