Oklahoma Archives, Societies & Publications

It is a good idea to familiarize personally with just about any repository in Oklahoma that you simply might travel to by communicating with to the best suited archive or library in advance.

Most, if not all, Oklahoma repositories have written and published content that present its collections as well as research policy.

Oklahoma archives and historical organizations usually have On-line sites that provide equivalent details. Several also contain down loadable data for some or parts of their collections.

Table of Contents hide
List of Oklahoma Archives
List of Oklahoma Libraries & Museums
List of Oklahoma Historical & Genealogical Societies
Regional and State Societies
County, Township and City Societies
Religious and Ethnic Societies
Oklahoma Newspapers & Publications
Newspapers
Periodicals
Books

List of Oklahoma Archives

  • Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Division of State Archives and Records, 200 N.E. 18th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 75105
    • The agency holds the original permanent records generated by state government including Confederate pension applications and transcripts of minutes of the boards of county commissioners for forty-seven counties for 1886–89. The Records Center, a few blocks away at 125 N.E. 21st Street, maintains the non-permanent records for state government and has some records for Cleveland County.
  • National Archives; Southwest Region, 501 West Felix Street, Building 1, Fort Worth, Texas 76115-3405; E-mail: ftworth.archives@nara.gov. Mailing Address: P.O. 6216, Fort Worth, Texas 76115-0216

List of Oklahoma Libraries & Museums

  • University of Oklahoma Library, 630 Parrington Oval, Monnet Hall, Norman, OK 73019;
  • Genealogical materials including histories and general reference materials for public use are among the accessions for the library. Special interests are history of the West, development of the Trans-Mississippi West, and Native American cultures. Its Western History Collection includes the WPA Indian-Pioneer Papers (see Manuscripts). It maintains more than 1,500 collections pertaining to Oklahoma, Native Americans, and western frontier history. The Manuscripts Division houses over 5,000 maps of Indian Territory, Oklahoma Territory, and the Trans-Mississippi West. It also has more than 1,000 sound recordings, including the Doris Duke Indian Oral History Collection and other interviews with Oklahoma’s pioneers and leaders
  • Oklahoma City Public Library, 131 Northwest Third Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73102; The library has a genealogical collection. On request, the staff will check family histories free of charge, and materials are available through interlibrary loan.
  • Tulsa City-County Library Genealogy Center, 8316 E. 93rd St., Tulsa, OK 74133; has obituary lookups that can be emailed to you for a fee of about $10.  The email address is rcaskus@tulsalibrary.org.  They are able to access the microfiche data.  A great value for $10!
  • Atoka County Library, 215 E. “A” Street, Atoka, OK 74525; Phone: (580) 889-3555
  • Elk City Carnegie Library, 221 West Broadway, Elk City, OK; Phone: (580) 225-0136
  • Sayre Public Library, 113 E Poplar, Sayre, OK 73662; Phone: (580) 928-2641
  • Watonga Public Library, 301 N Prouty, Watonga OK; Phone: (580) 623-7748
  • The Oklahoma Territorial Museum, 107 East Oklahoma, Guthrie, OK 73044. It has a collection of early Oklahoma microfilmed records as well as a small collection of histories of the area.

List of Oklahoma Historical & Genealogical Societies

For almost every state there is a state genealogical society, a state genealogical council, or both.

In addition to their own work, Oklahoma groups many times help coordinate the efforts of local societies throughout the Oklahoma.

Their unique publications, newsletters and quarterlies, supplement those created through the area societies.

Regional and State Societies

  • National Genealogical Society, 4527 17th Street North, Arlington, Virginia 22207-2399; (703) 525-0050 or (800) 473-0060
  • Oklahoma Pioneer Genealogical Society, c/o Ponca City Public Library, 515 East Grand, Ponca City, Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma History Center, 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73105; (405) 522-5248; The society has a museum and a library with several major collections that do not circulate. It has federal census records, nearly 50,000 books including, but not limited to, the extensive collection of printed volumes belonging to the State Library of the Oklahoma Society of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the collection of the Oklahoma Genealogical Society, and other standard genealogical reference materials. It has the largest collection of newspapers for the state, Oklahoma state records, and land records. The strength of its printed collections, however, concerns the counties formed from Oklahoma Territory. It maintains a surname file and a good collection of family histories. The Fred S. Bard Collection of genealogical material concerning pioneers and history is included. The Archives and Manuscripts Division houses some records for the counties of Comanche, Greer, Johnston, Kiowa, Logan, Muskogee, Osage, Payne, Potawatomie, and Swanson. The Indian Archives section of the division houses excellent resources for Native American research
  • Oklahoma Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 12986, Oklahoma City 73157-2986; Publishes a quarterly (see Periodicals)
  • The Federation of Oklahoma Genealogical Societies, P.O. Box 2531, Ponca City, Oklahoma 74602; Many county and city libraries have some genealogical collections, and most counties have genealogical or historical societies. The Federation of Oklahoma Genealogical Societiescan help locate currently operating ones
  • Northwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society, P.O. box 834, 1500 Main Street, Woodward, OK 73802; 580-254-8544; Serving: Dewey, Ellis, Harper and Woodward Counties
  • Northeast Oklahoma Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 484, Vinita, OK 74301
  • Southwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society, P. O. Box 148, Lawton, OK 73502; Serving: Beckham, Caddo, Comanche, Cotton, Grady, Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Jefferson, Kiowa, Stephens, Tillman and Washita Counties
  • Indian Territory Genealogical & Historical Society, c/o University Archives, John Vaughan Library/TL Ballenger Room, Northeastern State University, Tahlequah OK USA 74464; Phone: (918) 456-5511 ext. 3221 or 444-3221
  • Oklahoma Society of Daughters of the American Revolution
  • Oklahoma Society of Sons of the American Revolution

County, Township and City Societies

Religious and Ethnic Societies

Oklahoma Newspapers & Publications

Oklahoma Genealogical publications (magazines, newsletters, periodicals, books, etc.) contain all types of invaluable information about specific ancestors, whole lineages and families, places in time, and about all sorts of genealogical records and repositories.

Newspapers

Periodicals

Genealogical journals provide you with plenty of sources of information and facts, they are generally overlooked by genealogy and family history researchers and genealogist in looking around for family history.

Many regional and county genealogical and/or historical societies produce periodicals which have records relating to the region or vicinity they operate.

Frequently these publications have articles involving records that are not obtainable somewhere else.

  • Chronicles of Oklahoma is a valuable periodical published by the Oklahoma Historical Society since 1921. This ongoing series contains information about all aspects of life in the state and records created by and for its people.
  • The Federation of Oklahoma Genealogical Societies publishes a quarterly Newsletter;
  • Oklahoma Genealogical Society Quarterly began in 1961 (formerly called The Bulletin, beginning in 1955) as the publication for the Oklahoma Genealogical Society
  • Dusty Trails, a quarterly publication of the Genealogical Institute of Oklahom
  • Prairie Lore, a publication of the Southwestern Oklahoma Historical Society
  • The Goingsnake Messenger, a quarterly published by the Goingsnake District Heritage Association (Westville, Oklahoma)
  • The Frontier Freedman’s Journal: An African American Genealogical and Historical Journal of the South, Indian Territory, and the Southwest

Books