Norwegian American Genealogical Center and Naeseth Library

United States Wisconsin  Dane  Archives and Libraries  

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Contact Information
E-mail: Contact Us form

Address:


 * 415 West Main Street
 * Madison, WI 53703-3116

Telephone: 608-255-2224 Fax:  608-255-6842

Hours and holidays: Monday – Friday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Closed:  Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.

Map, directions, and public transportation:


 * Google Map and Directions: Norwegian American Genealogical Society and Naeseth Library
 * Public transportation: Madison Metro Transit routes 1, 10, 19, 38 and 82 all stop within a block of the library. Routes 5 and 75 stop within 2 blocks.

Internet sites and databases:


 * Home research, databases, hire an expert, classes and events, e-store, support, membership, about, and contact us.
 * Online catalog by keywords, title, subject, creator, or call number.

Collection Description
Formerly known as Vesterheim Genealogical Center and Naeseth Library (VGC/NL). Collection includes thousands of genealogical books, microfilms, and resources relating to Norwegian and Norwegian-American genealogical research. This includes Norwegians in the following United States federal censuses:


 * 1850 CA GA IL IA LA MI MS NY RI TX UT and WI
 * 1860 AL AR CA CO CT, Dakota Territory, DC, FL GA IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MI MN MS MO NE, NY (in progress), RI TX UT WI
 * 1870 WI (counties A-D)
 * 1880 Dakota Territory, IL IA KS MI MN NE NV NH NJ NM TX WI

Also cemeteries (320,000 names in 1,200 cemeteries), passenger arrival lists for New York 1830-1856, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1884, 1886, 1892, Philadelphia 1878-1879, and Quebec 1865-1873, North American church records 1840-1900, Norwegian immigrants card index 1820-1850, obituaries (200,000), printed family histories, maps, Norwegian church records, Norwegian censuses 1801, 1865, 1875, and 1900, Norwegian probate records, 1000 bygdebøker (farm histories), Bergen emigrants 1874-1924, Oslo emigrants 1867-1966, Kristiansand emigrants 1873-1927, Trondheim emigrants 1867-1925, and Kristiansund emigrants 1882-1959.


 * Databases (online for members only): births in Norwegian American church records pre-1901, Norwegian American cemeteries, Norwegian emigrants 1825-1860, Norwegian American marriages, Norwegian Americans in U.S. federal censuses 1850, 1860, and 1880, and a Montana database of Norwegian Lutheran church records, and marriages.

Tips

 * NAGC members are welcome to visit Naeseth Library free of charge. Non-members will be asked to pay the $15.00 Daily Use Fee.
 * Please call ahead to make an appointment, if you will need staff assistance.

Guides
{''Optional: Internet or guide books describing this collection for genealogists. ''}

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, best manuscript collection in Wisconsin, including censuses, tax, and land records. They hold the famed Draper Manuscript Collection of pioneer history, and the Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society collection.
 * Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN, premier periodical collection, including Midwestern genealogies, local histories, databases, military, censuses, directories, and passenger lists.
 * Newberry Library, Chicago, a large repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records mostly from the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and the British Isles.
 * National Archives at Chicago old federal court and agency records for Wisconsin and Midwest U.S. federal censuses 1790–1940; military service and pension indexes, passenger lists, naturalizations, Ancestry.com, HeritageQuest, Fold3.

Similar Collections


 * Vesterheim National Norwegian-American Museum and Heritage Center, Decorah, IA, photos, history, immigration history, and art.
 * Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Rock Island, IL, Swedish church records, census, passenger lists, lodges, newspapers, directories.
 * Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 450 computers, 3,400 databases, 3.1 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, Mormon records.

Neighboring Collections


 * Dane County Clerk, Madison, marriage licenses.
 * Dane County Clerk of Courts, Madison, probate records.
 * Dane County Recorder, Madison, birth, marriage, death, and deed records.
 * Dane County Medical Examiner, Madison, suspicious deaths.
 * U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, Madison, recent civil, criminal, or bankruptcy cases.
 * Dane County Historical Society, Madison, books, periodicals, maps, photos, diaries, scrapbooks.
 * Dane County Area Genealogical Society, Madison, newsletter and speakers.
 * Madison Public Library genealogy resources.
 * Norwegian Heritage Center, Stoughton, WI, the story of Norwegian migration 1825-1910.
 * University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Library, a very large manuscript collection with many historical documents.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties: Columbia, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock, and Sauk.
 * Brown County Central Library, Green Bay, WI, a very large genealogy section with a good range of materials such as local histories, county histories, newspapers, obituaries, and family folders.
 * Milwaukee County Historical Society, a huge manuscript collection, Civil War, church records, obituaries, biographical news clippings, naturalization indexes, censuses, court and probate records, and coroners' inquests, specializing in German immigrant families.
 * Racine Heritage Museum Research Center, a very good genealogy collection. Includes cemeteries, federal and territorial censuses, city directories, photos, maps, manuscripts, marriage card file 1838-1879, military records, naturalizations 1838-1906, obituaries and newspapers.
 * Wisconsin Vital Records Services, Madison, birth, marriage, divorce, and death records.
 * Area Research Center Network 14 locations statewide. The records created by county offices for that region are housed at the Area Research Center, as are non-governmental manuscript collections of regional interest.
 * Wisconsin State Genealogical Society, Madison, WI, webinars, conferences, and publications.
 * United Methodist Church Wisconsin Conference Archives, Sun Prairie, WI, minutes, Books of Disciplines, hymnals, periodicals, tracts, local church records, Methodist histories.
 * Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee Archives pre-1920 baptismal, marriage, death, cemetery, orphanage, and adoption records.
 * Concordia Historical Institute (LCMS), St. Louis, MO, Lutheran (MO Synod) parish records, leaders.
 * Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives, Elk Grove Village, IL, parish records and leaders.
 * Repositories in surrounding states (or provinces): Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, and in Canada:  Ontario.