Historical Research
Madison Public Library
House/Building Research
Newspapers
Newspapers on Microfilm
Madison City Directories
Books and Magazine Articles on Madison/Wisconsin Subjects
The Frank Custer Local History Research Files
Forest Hill Cemetery
Sun Prairie Death List
Dane County Register of Deeds
Wisconsin Historical Society - Online Wisconsin Genealogy Index
Social Security Death Index
Cemetery Inventories
Statewide Death Records
Madison Public Library
The downtown main library is closed as of Nov. 14th 2011 for a major reconstruction of the building at 201 West Mifflin Street. It will be closed for about two years. In the meantime, the library has opened a small downtown “branch”, 126 South Hamilton Street. It has limited resources for local history research.
House/Building Research
If you want to investigate the history of your house or another building, the web site for the Friends of Historic Third Lake Ridge has posted an excellent list of sources on their home page.
Newspapers
NewspaperARCHIVE is a full-text, online resource for Madison newspapers (and other newspapers around the world!) It can be accessed through the Madison Public Library’s LINKcat system.
Click on Databases (third from the right on the blue tool bar), then Information about Genealogy, then NewspaperARCHIVE and type in your library card’s bar code number.
Newspapers On Microfilm
Newspapers on microfilm are not available at the temporary downtown “branch” of the Madison Public Library.
The Wisconsin Historical Society has the Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, the Madison Democrat and other lesser and earlier Madison newspapers on microfilm in the second floor microforms room. There is a card catalog available to get the call number (call numbers can also be obtained by using MadCat on line by searching for a specific title.)
After locating a reel of film, the reader/printers are in the Reading Room. Ask for assistance to use the machines. You can make paper copies, save to a thumb drive or email articles to yourself.
Madison City Directories
City directories give the name (husband and wife), occupation and address for individuals and corporate name, officers/owners, and address for businesses. There is a reverse directory in the back listing people and businesses by address and by telephone number. They were not published every year until after 1950.
Madison city directories from 1858 – 1921 are on line on the UW Digital Collections – State of Wisconsin Collection web site under Historical County Plat Maps for South Central Wisconsin and Early Madison City Directories.
From 1923 to date "hard copies" are available at the temporary downtown branch of the Madison Public Library, now located at 126 South Hamilton Street.
Ask the librarian to have the years you want to look at brought down from the third floor Telephone Reference Room (not accessible to the public).
They are also available in the Wisconsin Historical Society. Use the MadCat computer catalog “Basic Search”, type in Madison [city directory:listing] and choose “Title begins with” and press Search. Print out a copy of the list, which will give call numbers for each volume.
Books and Magazine Articles on Madison/Wisconsin Subjects
The Madison Public Library has created two special indexes: Madison Study - an index to the contents of books about Madison and Wisconsin Magazines Index - index to the articles in magazines about Madison and Wisconsin - two drawers for articles prior to 1986 and one drawer for 1986 to date (see also Box 60 of the Custer Local History Research Files mentioned below). These indexes are in card file drawers in Room 006 in the basement (not accessible to the public) on top of the pamphlet file cabinets at the temporary downtown branch, 126 South Hamilton Street. Ask the librarians to have them brought up.
The Madison Public Library has also indexed the Wisconsin State Journal for local newspaper articles from May 1966 – April 1996. Using LINKcat online click on the Newspapers tab on the far right of the blue tool bar.
The Frank Custer Local History Research Files
The Wisconsin Historical Society's fourth floor Archives Division has the Frank Custer Local History Research Files. These "files" consist of 52 boxes of 3x5 cards, plus one box each of 4x6 and 5x8 cards, onto which Frank Custer pasted local newspaper clippings or typed information about people, places or events in Madison and surrounding communities.
Ask to see the “Case File” to determine which box/es has the topic you are interested in, then fill out a slip with the Call Number M2001-157 and Shelf Location MAD 4/26/F7-G5
Boxes 9-56 are Madison subjects A-Z (see also boxes 62 & 63), Boxes 57-59 are Madison street names A-Z with info on houses on the street and origin of street names, Box 60 is an index to articles in Madison magazines, Box 61 is non-Madison subjects (people, places & events) A-Z, Box 62 is 4x6 Madison subject cards A-Z, Box 63 is 5x8 Madison subject cards A-Z
Forest Hill Cemetery
Burial records are available online at Forest Hill Cemetery, 1 Speedway Road, 266-4720.
Sun Prairie Death List
The Death List is a database containing nearly 18,000 entries that is the synthesis of cemetery transcriptions from several cemeteries located in the northeastern part of Dane County. The cemeteries are located in the townships of Blooming Grove, Bristol, Burke, Cottage Grove, Medina, Sun Prairie, Windsor and York.
Dane County Register of Deeds
The Dane County Register of Deeds, Room 110, City-County Bldg., 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. is the central location for vital and land records for Dane County. Office hours are 7:45 to 4:15 weekdays.
You'll need to register the first time and sign in each time after that at the Birth-Marriage-Death desk and ask for their orientation. The indexes and records are open to the public for searching.
Wisconsin Historical Society – On-line Wisconsin Genealogy Index
Search for pre-1907 Vital Records (VR) in the Wisconsin Genealogy Index, including birth, death, and marriage records as well as for 150,000 Wisconsin Name Index (WNI) records, including biographical sketches, obituaries, and newspaper articles published before 2000. Pre-1907 records contain information for about 25% of all incidents before this time as that's when our registration law took effect. Not until 1959 is information indexed again at this location.
The records that are cited can be purchased online from the Society or you can take the citations and make your own copy from the microfilm of county vital records in the Society’s Reading Room.
Social Security Death Index
When the death of a person with a social security number is reported to the Social Security Administration, a social security death record is created and added to the Social Security Death Index.
Cemetery Inventories
These have been compiled by members of the WI State Genealogical Society and are in the Wisconsin Historical Society microforms room. Pages from the WSGS newsletter have been copied into a 3-ring binder.
Statewide Death Records
Statewide death records are available from the Wisconsin Vital Records Office, 1 West Wilson Street. Genealogical searches have been deemed a lower priority service, so you cannot get same-day service. A six-week wait is usually imposed. It is possible to register for a two- or three-hour research period of time, but the waiting list is three to four months long.