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| Oklahoma Societies and Archives |
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It is wise to acquaint yourself with any repository which you might visit by writing to the appropriate archive or library in advance. Every repository has published materials that introduce its collections and research policy. State archives and historical agencies also have Internet sites that provide the same information. Some even have downloadable databases for some or parts of their collections.
Oklahoma Public Libraries - In Oklahoma, within the entire library system, there is an interlibrary program that can be called upon for many printed materials. The reference librarian at the local library, for a small fee, can request assistance in locating a particular book through this system.
- Oklahoma Department of Libraries,
Division of State Archives and Records,
200 N.E. 18th Street,
Oklahoma City, OK 75105
- The agency holds the original permanent records generated by state government including Confederate pension applications and transcripts of minutes of the boards of county commissioners for forty-seven counties for 1886–89. The Records Center, a few blocks away at 125 N.E. 21st Street, maintains the non-permanent records for state government and has some records for Cleveland County.
- The Oklahoma Territorial Museum,
107 East Oklahoma,
Guthrie, OK 73044
- It has a collection of early Oklahoma microfilmed records as well as a small collection of histories of the area.
- National Archives; Southwest Region, 501 West Felix Street, Building 1, Fort Worth, Texas 76115-3405; E-mail: ftworth.archives@nara.gov.
Mailing Address:
P.O. 6216
Fort Worth, Texas 76115-0216
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"Genealogists are generally positive and energetic, and most are ready to share their findings or research experience with anyone they can help. There are hundreds of genealogical societies at the grass-roots level. Knowledge of the genealogical community will place you in the midst of much activity, increase your productivity, and alert you to the importance of research standards and etiquette."
Sandra Hargreaves Luebking,
Editor of FGS Forum,
Co-editor of The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy
Because family history research relies greatly upon records found at the county level, many local societies represent counties. Organizations also form around shared interests. Ethnic or religious origins account for many groups, such as the Polish Genealogical Society of America and P.O.I.N.T. (Pursuing Our Italian Names Together). Societies also form around common locales of origin for members’ ancestors; hence, the Palatines to America and Germans from Russia societies. To locate these and other societies, consult Juliana Szucs Smith’s The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book. It lists addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and Internet addresses of thousands of organizations throughout the United States.
For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both. In addition to their own work, state-level groups sometimes help coordinate the efforts of local societies within the state. Their publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those produced by the local societies.
- Oklahoma Historical Society, 2100 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
- The society has a museum and a library with several major collections that do not circulate. It has federal census records, nearly 50,000 books including, but not limited to, the extensive collection of printed volumes belonging to the State Library of the Oklahoma Society of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the collection of the Oklahoma Genealogical Society, and other standard genealogical reference materials. It has the largest collection of newspapers for the state, Oklahoma state records, and land records. The strength of its printed collections, however, concerns the counties formed from Oklahoma Territory. It maintains a surname file and a good collection of family histories. The Fred S. Bard Collection of genealogical material concerning pioneers and history is included. The Archives and Manuscripts Division houses some records for the counties of Comanche, Greer, Johnston, Kiowa, Logan, Muskogee, Osage, Payne, Potawatomie, and Swanson. The Indian Archives section of the division houses excellent resources for Native American research
- University of Oklahoma Library, 630 Parrington Oval, Monnet Hall, Norman, OK 73019
- Genealogical materials including histories and general reference materials for public use are among the accessions for the library. Special interests are history of the West, development of the Trans-Mississippi West, and Native American cultures. Its Western History Collection includes the WPA Indian-Pioneer Papers (see Manuscripts). It maintains more than 1,500 collections pertaining to Oklahoma, Native Americans, and western frontier history. The Manuscripts Division houses over 5,000 maps of Indian Territory, Oklahoma Territory, and the Trans-Mississippi West. It also has more than 1,000 sound recordings, including the Doris Duke Indian Oral History Collection and other interviews with Oklahoma's pioneers and leaders
- Oklahoma Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 12986, Oklahoma City 73157-2986
- Oklahoma City Public Library, 131 Northwest Third Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73102
- The library has a genealogical collection. On request, the staff will check family histories free of charge, and materials are available through interlibrary loan.
- The Federation of Oklahoma Genealogical Societies, P.O. Box 2531, Ponca City, Oklahoma 74602
- Many county and city libraries have some genealogical collections, and most counties have genealogical or historical societies. The Federation of Oklahoma Genealogical Societiescan help locate currently operating ones
- Southwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society,Serving: Beckham, Caddo, Comanche, Cotton, Grady, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Jefferson, Kiowa, Stephens, Tillman and Washita Counties
- Cherokee National Historical Society
- Oklahoma Pioneer Genealogical Society,
Ponca City, Oklahoma
- National Genealogical Society,
4527 17th Street North, Arlington, Virginia 22207-2399; (703) 525-0050 or (800) 473-0060
- International Society of Sons and Daughters of Slave Ancestry, P.O. BOX 436937, CHICAGO, IL 60643-6937; Phone: (773) 238-2686
- Oklahoma Society of Daughters of the American Revolution
- National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776 D Street NW,
Washington, D.C. 20006; Phone: (202) 628-1776
- Oklahoma Society of Sons of the American Revolution
- National Society of Sons of the American Revolution, 1000 South Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40203; (502) 589-1776
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Search The PERiodical Source Index
The Chronicles of Oklahoma is a valuable periodical published by the Oklahoma Historical Society since 1921. This ongoing series contains information about all aspects of life in the state and records created by and for its people. Volume 23 includes an article on the Edward Palmer Collection housed in the Carnegie Library in Enid, Oklahoma. Two cumulative indexes exist:
- Chronicles of Oklahoma Cumulative Index, Volumes 1–37, 1921–1959. Vol. 1. Oklahoma City, Okla.: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1961.
- Chronicles of Oklahoma Cumulative Index, Volumes 38–57, 1960–1979. Vol. 2. Oklahoma City, Okla.: Oklahoma Historical Society, 1983.
As many as fifty distinct publications are available for Oklahoma counties, regions, special interests, or the state. The Federation of Oklahoma Genealogical Societies publishes a quarterly Newsletter; and the Oklahoma Genealogical Society Quarterly, which began in 1961 (formerly called The Bulletin, beginning in 1955) as the publication for the Oklahoma Genealogical Society
[ see specific county page for individual county list ]
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Search Historical Newspapers
While records of birth, marriage, and death are the most commonly sought and the most consistently helpful records, only the genealogist’s imagination and resourcefulness limit newspapers’ usefulness in supplying clues about historical events, local history, probate court and legal notices, real estate transactions, political biographies, announcements, notices of new and terminated partnerships, business advertisements, and notices for settling debts.
Newspapers can provide at least a partial substitute for nonexistent civil records. For example, a person’s obituary may have appeared in a newspaper even when civil death records for that person do not exist. And newspapers are an important source of marriage records, particularly in those states where civil recording of marriages was essentially nonexistent until the twentieth century.
Unlike official records, newspapers are not limited to a particular geographical area. They often include reports of the weddings of local citizens (even those that occurred in a neighboring county or another state), and they sometimes report visits of geographically distant relatives or the visits of former local residents. They often published death notices of individuals who had left the area long before but who still had local family or friends as well. In each case the newspaper account can identify the date and place of an event, thus opening the possibility of turning up additional documentation in other sources.
The first step in searching a newspaper is to identify those which served the area of interest and which have survived. The three most necessary tools are bibliographies (What was published?), inventories of library and depository holdings (Where is it?), and indexes (How do I find what I want in it?).
The Oklahoma Historical Society has an extensive collection of newspapers published in Indian Territory, Oklahoma Territory, and the state of Oklahoma, dating back to the Cherokee Advocate, which ran from 1845–1901 in Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. Another newspaper was the Indian Chieftain, which was published between 1884–1900 in Vinita, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. Most are on microfilm (which can be purchased), and some indexes are available. A smaller collection is at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries (see Archives, Libraries, and Societies). The Muskogee Genealogical Society indexed all Muskogee newspapers. These index cards are maintained by the Muskogee Public Library, Muskogee, Oklahoma 74401. See also:
- Ray, Grace. Early Oklahoma Newspapers: History and Description of Publications from Earliest Beginnings to 1889. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1928.
- Parker, Doris Whitehall. Footprints on the Osage Reservation. 2 vols. Pawhuska, Okla.: the author, 1984. These are newspaper abstracts for 1894–1907.
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