OSU Library Genealogy Resources

The OSU Library offers some resources that may be helpful to persons interested in genealogy; however, it does not have a separate genealogy collection or a librarian who specializes in genealogy searches. The General Reference Desk on the 2nd floor is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with the Library. For Library hours call 405-744-5029.

OSU Library's Online Information System

The OSU Library web site provides access to the OSU Library online catalog and a variety of bibliographic indexes and remote library catalogs. Research workstations are located on every floor of the library.

Note: The OSU Library website and catalog can be accessed from any home or office computer equipped with a modem. OSU students, faculty and staff may also access the Library's databases from off-campus. See Accessing OSU Library's Web Databases From Off-Campus for instructions.

Newspapers (Room 105 (Microform & Media Room) 1st floor)

• The Daily Oklahoman, 1889+
• The New York Times, 1851+

A complete list of newspapers owned by the OSU Library is available in Room 105 (Microform & Media Room) 1st floor southeast. The list is arranged by state and then by city. Some newspapers have indexes.

Maps (Map Room, Basement)

• Topographic and other maps. Some maps show settlements and cemeteries
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: Oklahoma, Room 105, 1st floor southeast
• Older Oklahoma maps, Special Collections, 2nd floor, east

Government Documents (5th floor)

When looking for material published by a government agency, ask at the Documents Reference Desk.

• Reports of the United States Congress (Senate and House of Representatives), 1820+
• Pennsylvania Archives
• U.S. Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes. Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen (Dawes Commission Rolls), (microfilm). Not indexed by names.
• Indexes to Pension Files, Mexican War 1886-1926 (microfilm)
• Fairfax County, Virginia. Clerk of the Circuit Court (Orderbooks and Minutebooks, 1768-1827), (microfilm).

Off-Campus Sources for Genealogical Research

• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, (Mormon Church), Stake Offices, 1720 E. Virginia, Stillwater, OK 74075   405-377-4122
• Oklahoma Historical Society Library, 2100 N. Lincoln, Oklahoma City, OK 73105   405-521-2491 (Extensive collections of Native American records and Oklahoma newspapers on microfilm)
• Stillwater Public Library's Genealogy Room, 1107 S. Duck, Stillwater, OK 74074   405-372-3633
• The Payne County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 1565, Stillwater, OK 74076
• Payne County Courthouse in Stillwater contains official records of events and transactions that took place in Payne County, such as marriages, probates, land transactions, voter registration lists, guardianship records, and civil court proceedings.

A published index to approximately 67 cemeteries and burial sites in Payne County is available at several sites noted above.

Vertical file material, county newspapers, maps, and city directories are at several sites noted above.

Popular Titles for Genealogical Research

• Passenger and Immigration Lists Index (929.373 P287)
• United States Local Histories in the Library of Congress: A Bibliography (016.973 U585u)
• The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy. Virkus, F.A. (929.1 V818a)
• The New York Times Obituaries Index (929.3 N532)
• The Draper Manuscript Collection, (Room 105, microfilm, 1st floor southeast)
• Bio-Base, an index to biographical dictionaries (microfiche), General Reference Desk, 2nd floor.
• Several biographical dictionaries are located in the Reading Room, 2nd floor.

Internet Resources

You may want to start with keywords genealogical or genealogy using a search directory such as Yahoo or Metacrawler. Internet workstations are located on the 1st, 2nd and 5th floors.