Oklahoma Archives and Libraries

United States Oklahoma  Archives and Libraries

Many archives and libraries have resources such as maps, gazetteers, and other place-finding aids to help you locate information about Oklahoma. They may have collections of previous research, such as family and local histories and biographies. Many have record-finding aids such as guides to their own collections or inventories of records housed elsewhere in the state.

The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections or services helpful to Oklahoma genealogical researchers.

National Archives Southwest Region (Ft. Worth)
501 West Felix Street, Building 1 Fort Worth, TX 76115-3405 Telephone: 817-831-5620 Fax: 817-551-2034 Internet: http://www.archives.gov/southwest

Subject specialties include censuses, westward expansion into the Southwest and settlement of Native Americans (especially Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles), slavery, bankruptcy court, ethnology, genealogy, military service records, pension and bounty land warrant applications, passenger lists and Dawes census cards and enrollment jackets for the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma.

National Archives—Central Plains Region (Kansas City) 400 West Pershing Road Kansas City, MO 64108 Telephone: 816-268-8000 Internet: http://www.archives.gov/central-plains/

State Archives, Libraries and Societies
Oklahoma Historical Society 800 Nazih Zudhi Drive Oklahoma City, OK 73105 Telephone: 405-522-5225 Fax: 405-521-2492 Internet: www.okhistory.org/research

Excellent collections for Native Americans and Anglo settlers of Oklahoma. This is a good starting place for research of Oklahoma ancestors.

A guide to family histories at the society is:

Huffman, Mary, comp. Family History: A Bibliography of the Collection in the Oklahoma Historical Society. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: The Society, 1992.

Oklahoma Department of Libraries 200 N.E. 18th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73105-3298 Telephone: 405-521-2502, 800-522-8116 Fax: 405-525-7804 Internet: www.odl.state.ok.us

The Oklahoma Department of Libraries includes two areas of particular interest to genealogists: the Oklahoma Room and the State Archives Division. The Oklahoma Room houses a huge book library with county histories, periodicals, indexes, and reference works. The State Archives Division maintains Oklahoma government records and other historical documents. Lawton Public Library 110 S.W. 4th Street Lawton, OK 73105-3298 Telephone: 405-581-3450 Internet: http://www.cityof.lawton.ok.us/library/genealogy.htm The largest book collection of Oklahoma genealogies together with periodicals, maps, biographies, family folders, and a statewide index to all Oklahoma Territory tract books (public land buyers).

Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720 Telephone: 415-642-3781 This library in California  has a good collection of documents about Oklahoma  early settlers, early trails, stagecoaches, miners, and histories.

University of Oklahoma Western History Collection 630 Parrington Oval, Room 452 Norman, OK 73019 Telephone: 405-325-3641 Fax: 405-325-2943 Internet: http://libraries.ou.edu/locations/?id=22

The following lists manuscripts in their collection:


 * Southwell, Kristine L., comp. Guide to Manuscripts in the Western History Collections of the University of Oklahoma. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002. )

An important part of the Western History Collection is titled The Indian-Pioneer Papers which is a collection of interviews done during the Depression. Biographical information is given for Indians as well as persons of all ethnic groups. Those interviewed may have been residents of either the Oklahoma Territory or the Indian Territory. There are about 80,000 entries in 112 volumes in the collection with free online access to both an index and the digitized transcripts of the interviews. Read the biographies and other topics found in the Indian-Pioneer Papers.

Their collection also includes original historical manuscripts, county records, Spanish, Indian, military, Civil War, newspapers, cattle trails, ranching, mining, and oil production records.

Hughes County Historical Society 124 North Broadway Holdenville, OK 74848 Telephone: 405-379-5124 This collection, originally in the Grace M. Pickens Public Library, holds unique Native American papers relating to the Five Civilized Tribes (and Delawares) removed to Indian Territory. Includes a surprisingly good genealogical research collection.

Oklahoma Territorial Museum Carnegie Library 406 East Oklahoma Ave. Guthrie, OK 73044 Telephone: 405-282-1889 Internet: http://www.okterritorialmuseum.org/LIBRARY.html

The Oklahoma Territorial period is well covered including Native Americans, Anglos, intruders, Sooners, homesteaders, and land rush people.

Tulsa Genealogical Society Library

Museum of the Western Prarie Library

Miami Public Library

Oklahoma Genealogical Society P.O. Box 12986 Oklahoma City, OK 73157 Internet: www.rootsweb.com/~okgs

Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art 1400 North Gilcrease Museum Road Tulsa, OK 74127-2100 Telephone: 918-596-2700 Fax: 918-596-2700 Internet: www.gilcrease.org

Museum of the Great Plains 601 Ferris Lawton, OK 73507 Telephone: 580-581-3460 Fax: 580-581-3458 Internet: www.museumgreatplains.org

A useful guide to Oklahoma records is:

Koplowitz, Bradford. Guide to the Historical Records of Oklahoma. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1997. .) It contains a survey of records kept in counties and cities through 1920.

To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Oklahoma counties, use the eleven inventories of county archives published by the

Historical Records Survey around 1940. The Family History Library has inventories for: Atoka, Beckham, Cherokee, Cimarron, Haskell, Lincoln, McIntosh, Mayes, Muskogee, Pittsburg, and Pushmataha counties.

Family History Library Catalog

To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Oklahoma counties, use the inventories of the county archives published around 1940 by the Historical Records Survey. The Family History Library has copies of most of these. These inventories can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:


 * OKLAHOMA, [COUNTY] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES - INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS

Web Sites
You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Oklahoma in a variety of sources at local, state, national, and international levels. Much of the information is available at little or no cost. Addresses on the Internet change frequently. The following sites are important gateways to additional sites:

FamilySearch™ Internet Genealogy Service. [Salt Lake City, Utah]: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 22 March 1999 [cited 7 October 1999]. Available at FamilySearch.org. At this site you can access the Family History Library Catalog, Ancestral File, International Genealogical Index, Source Guide, lists of Family History Centers, web sites related to family history, and lists of researchers interested in similar genealogical topics. You can also learn about and order Family History Library publications.

Howells, Cyndi. "U.S.- Oklahoma-OK." In Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet. Puyallup, Washington: Cyndi Howells, 6 October 1999 [cited 7 October 1999]. Available at Cyndislist.com. This list has more links to other Oklahoma genealogical sites and describes more resources than any other site on the Internet.

Oklahoma USGenWeb In The USGenWeb Project [Internet site]. N.p., 1999 [accesssed 18 May 2011]. This is a cooperative effort by many volunteers to list genealogical databases, libraries, bulletin boards, and other resources available on the Internet, for each county, state, and country.

Most Family History Centers have computers with FamilySearch™. Many centers have access to online services, networks, or bulletin boards. You may also use these services at mostpublic libraries, college libraries, and private locations.