Oklahoma Archives and Libraries

United States Oklahoma  Archives and Libraries

These archives, libraries, societies, and museums preserve sources, maintain indexes, and provide services to help genealogists document their ancestors who lived in Oklahoma. See also  Oklahoma Societies.

Wiki Articles on Major Repositories in Oklahoma
Oklahoma Historical Society· Oklahoma Department of Libraries· Oklahoma State Archives and Records Administration· Lawton Public Library· University of Oklahoma Libraries· Hughes County Historical Society· Oklahoma Territorial Museum Carnegie Library· Tulsa Genealogical Society Library· Museum of the Western Prairie Library· Miami Public Library· National Archives at Fort Worth· Bancroft Library at Univ. of Calif., Berkeley · Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research· Dallas Public Central Library

State and Regional Repositories
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. 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 The State Archives Division maintains Oklahoma government records and other historical documents.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).

University of Oklahoma Libraries 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 9136 East 31st Street Tulsa, OK 74145 Telephone: 918-627-4224 Internet: http://www.tulsagenealogy.org/library/


 * A large library for Oklahoma ancestors including Bibles, cemeteries, obituaries, family folders, city directories, plat maps, and indexes.

Museum of the Western Prairie Library 1100 Memorial Drive Altus, OK 73521 Telephone: 580-482-1044 Internet: http://www.okhistory.org/sites/westernprairie


 * Records of Oklahoma settlers, obituaries, periodicals, books, histories, biographies, including many from Texas and New Mexico.

Miami Public Library 200 N Main St. Miami, OK 74354 Telephone: 918-541-2292 Internet: http://www.miamipl.okpls.org/genealogy.shtml


 * A good book-library with an emphasis on the Ozark region of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas, including Native Americans.

Talbot Library and Museum 500 South Colcord Avenue Colcord, Oklahoma 74338 Telephone: 918-326-4532 Email: [mailto:talbotlibrary@earthlink.net talbotlibrary@earthlink.net] Internet: Talbot Library and Museum


 * The Talbot Library and Museum (TLM) is one of the best genealogical libraries in the United States. Their library focuses on Northeast Oklahoma, Northwest Arkansas, and Cherokee genealogy research.

Tulsa City-County Library Genealogy Center Hardesty Regional Library 8316 E. 93rd St. Tulsa, OK 74133 Telephone: 918.549.7691 E-mail: [mailto:genaskus@tulsalibrary.org genaskus@tulsalibrary.org] Internet: Genealogy Center


 * The Genealogy Center of the Tulsa City-County Library is one of the largest genealogy collections in Oklahoma. Their focus is on Tulsa and Oklahoma, but they also have strengths in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. A limited amount of research, including Indian roll look-ups, can be conducted by email and letters. See their American Indian Research guide.

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

Outside of Oklahoma Repositories
National Archives at Fort Worth


 * for Archival research using textual records by appointment: 1400 John Burgess Drive Fort Worth, Texas 76140 Telephone: 817-551-2051 Fax: 817-551-2034


 * for Microfilm research and public access computers: 2600 West 7th Street Suite 162 Fort Worth, TX, 76107 Telephone: 817-831-5620 Fax: 817-334-5621


 * Internet for both: 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.


 * For further information, see  National Archives at Fort Worth.

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.

Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research 5300 Caroline Houston, TX 77004 Telephone: 713-284-1999 Internet: http://www2.houstonlibrary.org/clayton/


 * One of America's best genealogical collections. Especially strong for Texas and adjoining states like Oklahoma.

Dallas Public Central Library 1515 Young St. Dallas, TX 75201-9987 Telephone: 214-670-1400 Internet: http://dallaslibrary2.org/genealogy/index.php


 * Outstanding genealogical collection with records for more than Texas, including Oklahoma, the South, Mid-Atlantic, and New England states.

Family History Centers. Some of the collections described above are at least partially available on microfilms at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and through thousands of its branch Family History Centers. For further information see Introduction to LDS Family History Centers. To locate a center near you, see Find a Family History Center.

FamilySearch 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 FamilySearch 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 FamilySearch 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 most public libraries, college libraries, and private locations.

Guides
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.