Nebraska State Historical Society Reference Room: New Hours

In response to popular demand, the Library/Archives Reference Room will no longer close over the noon hour, but will be opening one hour later. The new hours will be:

Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 – 4:00

Saturday, 8:00 – 5:00 (Saturday hours remain unchanged)

The new hours go into effect on Tuesday, September 6.

Source: http://blog.nebraskahistory.org/?p=5136

Fun Day at the Omaha Public Library

Some readers of LongLostRelatives.net are aware that 2011 has marked the beginning of my genealogy speaking "career." While I have done public speaking and training workshops for many years, hitting the genealogy speaking circuit presented something new and challenging - and a lot of fun!

Yesterday, I had the privilege of sharing my passion for genealogy blogging with fellow genealogists at the W. Dale Clark Library in Omaha. My friends and I arrived at the library early, so we were able to spend time in the genealogy room and get a quick tour of the available resources from Karen, one of the volunteers from the Greater Omaha Genealogical Society (GOGS).

Could it be magic?

The first thing that caught my eye was the card catalog of Omaha area obituaries. There was one in particular that I was looking for, so I pulled out the drawer and set it down on the table. Somehow, the drawer of hundreds of index cards opened up and the obituary that was staring me directly in the face was for my second cousin! Was magician Criss Angel in the room?

Fellow genealogists know that quite often these moments of synchronicity just happen. What is even more amusing to me is that my very first blog post was an "obituary wanted" for this man's mother. That blog post is the first example in my blogging presentation about how to use your blog to locate long lost cousins. At that moment, I knew it was going to be a great day.

Susan and Evelyn
Cousins? Quite Likely!

After getting a lay of the land of all of the wonderful genealogy resources at the library, we headed for the conference room where I would be speaking. I was approached by a delightful woman who introduced herself, and I knew her immediately from a comment she had left on my blog last year.

She is Evelyn Pecht, and our Pecht families both hail from the same area in Pennsylvania. Now that we've met, I have no doubt that we will kick up our efforts to find out if we are, indeed, cousins. Since this is a unique surname and the families lived in the same vicinity, I'm guessing there's a very good chance we're related. Attending genealogy events doesn't get any better than this! Even if we're not cousins, I'm thrilled to have met Evelyn - I really enjoyed our brief conversation and look forward to getting together again.

All I can really say about my presentation is that I had a great time. The audience was attentive, seemed interested and open to the concept of blogging and asked very good questions! I enjoyed visiting with everyone who stayed to chat and ask questions afterward.

A very special thank you goes out to Martha Grenzeback, Librarian at OPL, who organizes these events and made arrangements for me to speak yesterday. She gets five gold stars!

Genealogy Resources at the W. Dale Clark Library in Omaha

The one thing that I forgot to do was to get my Omaha Public library card, since the Lincoln and Omaha libraries have reciprocity with one another. That is an amazing service and I thank both library systems for making this available to readers and researchers in both communities. I am looking forward to my next research trip to the W. Dale Clark Library this fall - when I'll come prepared with my notes, netbook and "To Do" list!

To learn more about the genealogy resources and events at OPL, click here.

Follow Omaha Public Library on Facebook and Twitter.

My friends and I had a great lunch afterwards at Stokes in the Old Market, and no trip to Omaha is complete without stopping at the Baker's Candy Factory in Greenwood. It was great fun for a Girls Day Out!

Thanks again, Martha, OPL, and what I hope will be a new group of genealogy bloggers!

University of Nebraska Libraries Image and Multi-Media Collection

I've been "connected" to the Internet since about 1994. That was back in the day before web browsers were required and web surfing was limited to text-only format. How far things have come in such a short time. I continue to be amazed by the volume of information and resources available online. There's so much, in fact, that for the past year I have discovered so much information on the families that I am researching that I've been kept quite busy without using traditional research resources.

Today I'd like to share a web site I just discovered this week. It is the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries Image and Multi-Media collections. Some of the collection is restricted to log-in use by University students, staff and faculty, but there are some great discoveries for public access.

Architecture and Interior Design - Most of this section is restricted content, but there are a couple public collections.

The Nebraska Educational Television section has a variety of podcasts that are of interest to genealogists and family historians, such as:

• Nebraska Veterans Cemetery at Alliance
• Nebraska City's Mahew Cabin (formerly known as the site of John Brown's Cave)
• Photographing Nebraska's Czech cemeteries
• The 1882 Nebraska Suffrage Campaign
• Greening of the Dust Bowl (video)

There are more than 800 podcasts in this collection. Not all are history or genealogy related, but there are a lot of gems to be discovered. Take some time and browse through the titles.

English - In this category are photographs of Nebraska author Willa Cather and of Walt Whitman.

St Mary's Catholic Church - 1938
Lincoln, Nebraska
view from the grounds of the Nebraska State Capitol

American History - The subcategories in this section are: Cuban Battlefields, Nebraska Studies (more than 7,500 images), the Omaha Indian Heritage Project, Plains Tribes and Western Trails. The Solomon Butcher photograph collection is housed in these digital archives. 

This entire digital archive is fully indexed and searchable. There are some surnames in the results, so if you have any Nebraska ancestors or place names, I highly recommend you search the site for possible connections to your family or the locales where they lived.

Enjoy your search and if you find something good, please share in the Comments section below. Happy Hunting!

Nebraska Resources: Custer County

This is part of a series of posts regarding genealogy and local history resources, museums and other sites that may be helpful for your Nebraska research or if you are planning a research trip in Nebraska. If you have additional resources for this county, please add them in the Comments section below or email me.

• Anselmo, 189
• Ansley, 555
• Arnold, 679
• Berwyn, 122
• Broken Bow, 3,778 - county seat
• Callaway, 539
• Comstock, 135
• Mason City, 160
• Merna, 377
• Milburn, Unincorporated
• Oconto, 147
• Sargent, 710
• Weissert, Unincorporated
• Westerville, Unincorporated

Custer County Genealogy - RootsWeb

• Obituaries (limited)
• Libraries in Custer County
• Photos
• County Records - The following records are available at the courthouse:

• Civil Court Records from 1887 (Judge)
• Probate records from 1887 (Judge)
• Marriage Records from 1878 (Judge)
• Divorce Records from 1866 (Clerk, District Court)
• Land Records from 1880 (Registrar of Deeds)
• Obituaries from 1915 (County Clerk)

Custer County Courthouse - Broken Bow

• Broken Bow history
• Custer County history

Broken Bow Public Library

• Search the card catalog - several Custer county resources available

Sargent Public Library

FindAGrave - Custer County cemeteries

History of Custer County - S.D. Butcher's pioneer history of Custer County (full view on Google books)

Homestead Records - search records of the Broken Bow land office (free)

Homestead Records - search records of the Broken Bow land office on Footnote (subscription)

Broken Bow - city web site

Custer County Chief - Broken Bow newspaper

Custer County Historical Society - on RootsWeb

Custer County Historical Museum - visitors are welcome to research their roots. Resources include maps, obituaries, pictures, marriage records.

Custer County Historical Museum - official

Custer County Research Library - resources

• Family surname files
• Newspapers on microfilm
• Maps and Atlases
• Pictures
• Microfiche
• Military notes
• Early probate records
• Obituary index and files
• Population census
• Books and biographies
• Marriage records
• Schools
• Funeral records
• Poor farm records
• Homesteader's Index
• Cemeteries

Nebraska State Grange historical marker

Solomon Butcher pioneer photographer - DVD for purchase

Solomon Butcher photo collection at the Library of Congress - photographs of homesteads; high quality digital images; indexed - MUST SEE digital collection

• Butcher's photographs from Custer County

Finch Memorial Library - Arnold

Books about Custer County - from the LongLostRelatives.net affiliate store with Amazon.com

Note: I will keep this page updated and it will have a permanent link under the Susan's Links tab above. Please email me or leave a Comment below if you have a suggestion for a link or resource.

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #45 - Genealogy Societies - my Nebraska societies

This week's challenge in Geneabloggers' 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy is to examine genealogy societies in your region.

This is a challenge I'm quite excited about because there are several societies and organizations in my area that provide wonderful resources and events.

Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society, (LLCGS) Lincoln, Nebraska

I consider this my "home" society. Not only do I live here, but I feel that as a genealogist I am very fortunate because my maternal ancestors and family have been in the area since the early 1870s and my father's family has been here since the mid 1920s. It means that a lot of my family history is within arms reach at all times.

Society meetings are held at 7:15 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month and meet at the Dick Administration Building at Union College. Business meetings and announcements are followed by an informative and educational presentation on some aspect of genealogy or family history research.

The resource I find most valuable to my research is the society's searchable online database that contains information about cemeteries and marriages. I can't even begin to count the number of my family members for whom I've located burial or marriage information. In the case of marriage records, the search result will provide the book and page number where the record can be found in the Lancaster county marriage records. Cemetery records provide a link to the page of the society's cemetery index publication.

When it comes to publications, here is a list of those developed and offered for sale by the society.

The society's library is located at the Union College Library, 3800 South 48th Street in Lincoln. The library includes materials on Lancaster county and the city of Lincoln, exchange newsletters and quarterlies, research guides on specific topics and geographic areas.

The society sponsors conferences in which nationally recognized speakers are brought in. The most recent was last month's presentation by John Colletta. The society also publishes a monthly newsletter. Society members teach beginning and intermediate genealogy classes at Southeast Community College.

Presently, individual membership is $15 and a family membership is $20.

Greater Omaha Genealogical Society (GOGS),  Omaha, Nebraska

I'm in my first year of membership in GOGS and just last weekend attended my first conference sponsored by the society. Since many of my relatives lived in Omaha, Douglas County, Cass County and Sarpy County, this society provides resources to aid in my research in those areas. The society's blog, linked above, serves as the society's web site.

Society meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month except July, August and December at the Crown Point Retirement Center, 2820 S. 80th Street in Omaha.

At this time, membership is $20 for individuals or $25 for family. The society publishes a newsletter and provides announcements via email. The society offers free workshops, research library lock-ins, publications, member discounts on conferences, and a tape rental library. Genealogical resources are housed at the W. Dale Clark Library in Omaha.

Publications available from the Society are listed on the web site.

Now, on to the really good stuff! The Society has provided an amazing resource of event indexes on the web. On each of the following links, the index is located by alphabetical letter on the right side of the screen.

Omaha Births - these have been extracted from newspaper obituaries. Copies of the birth announcement are available from the Society for $5.

Omaha Marriages and Anniversaries - This is an index to the marriage records available on microfilm at the W. Dale Clark Library.

Omaha Obituaries - now has more than 200,000 listings!

Cass County marriages - this is of great interest to me as many of my ancestors settled and lived here. Copies are available for $5.

Sarpy County marriages - more than 9,000 listings at this writing.

The Society's indexes now also extend well outside of the greater Omaha area with the following listings:

Brown County marriages - more than 2,500 listings at this writing.

Hall County marriages - more than 4,500 listings at this writing.

Rock County marriages - more than 4,000 listings at this writing.

Thurston County marriages - nearly 2,000 listings at this writing. Source of many Native American names

Wayne County marriages - more than 1,000 listings at this writing.

Nebraska State Genealogical Society

This is another society membership that I treasure. The state society has a web site and a page on Facebook. The Society also has the Tombstone Photo Project which now has more than 55,000 entries.

Society membership is $20 for individual or $23 for family. This includes subscriptions to the quarterly publications, Nebraska Ancestree and the NewBrassKey. Membership also gives you access to the members only portion of the web site which includes three decades worth of Nebraska Ancestree publications. Yes, I've found some information on my family there!

The Society sponsors an annual conference. This year's conference in Norfolk featured two full days with Paula Stuart-Warren. The next annual conference will be held May 6 - 7, 2011 in Nebraska City.

The Society is also collaborating with Ancestry.com on the Nebraska newspaper digitization project.

The book library of the Society is housed at the Beatrice Public Library, 100 North 16th Street in Beatrice.

Members whose families settled in Nebraska may apply for a Pioneer Family of Nebraska certificate if their family settled here between 1868 and 1879. First Family certificates are an option if your ancestors settled here before 1867. Century Family recognition is for those whose ancestors settled in Nebraska at least 100 years prior to the submission of the application. I just realized that my ancestors fit all three categories!

Society resources include a variety of Nebraska, county and newspaper records on microfilm that can be checked out.

In addition to these genealogical societies, I also hold membership in the Cass County Historical Society Museum in Plattsmouth and the Nebraska State Historical Society. The Nebraska State Historical Society's blog is absolutely one of my favorites to follow. It always has great photos and stories from the museum's collection. The society is also active on Facebook.

When a person has access to such great resources, it's easy to take them for granted. None of these societies would be what they are today without the work of their team of dedicated volunteers and members. My heartfelt thanks to all of those people who keep these societies, their libraries and archives viable resources for researchers.


52 Weeks To Better Genealogy is a series of weekly prompts that are a bit more challenging and are geared towards those new to the field of genealogy and family history as well as those who want to brush up on some skills which might be a bit rusty.

Lancaster County, Nebraska web site - cemetery records may go online

The Lincoln Journal-Star reported last week about the makeover of the Lancaster county web site.  Buried at the bottom of the article is information of interest to genealogists, which states that "villages will be able to place cemetery records on their websites, with the help of free software provided by the county, to help families and relatives find graves and for genealogical  research." The article quotes a county official who says, "They can list all of the people in their cemeteries."

This is, indeed, great news for those of us who are seeking ancestors and relatives in Lancaster county!

The Lancaster county web site has links to the official web sites for the following Lancaster county communities: Bennet, Davey, Denton, Firth, Hallam, Hickman, Malcolm, Panama, Raymond, Roca, Sprague, and Waverly. At this time, the only communities with their own standalone web sites are Firth, Hickman and Waverly. But it's a start!

The fact that someone in county government had the foresight to provide software so that cemetery interments may be made available online is commendable. As genealogists in Lancaster county, we need to encourage these communities to make use of the resource that is available to them. Perhaps the communities are interested in doing the cemetery project but are in need of volunteers. Let's step up and see if we can help!

Cass County, Nebraska Marriages now online

I'm very pleased to report that the Greater Omaha Genealogical Society (GOGS) has added a site for Cass County (Nebraska) marriages. Once you click on that link, entries are listed in alphabetical order by surname under "Pages."

Right off the bat, I found an entry for my great-grandfather's brother, William D. Kelly, Jr. and Mary "Mollie" Kelleher, as follows:

KELLY, William D.; 22; md.: Mollie Kealeher; 24; C2 Feb 1885 p 433

Mollie's surname was frequently spelled incorrectly in many records, so the misspelling here is no surprise.

What IS surprising is that the couple also took out a marriage license in neighboring Lancaster county to be married on February 10, 1886 [Lancaster county marriage records, Book 7, Page 5 - Lincoln Lancaster County Genealogical Society searchable database]. That record gives William's age as 23 (a year older) and Mollie's age as 22 (two years younger!).


Clearly, the couple took out a marriage license in both counties. The Cass county index site states, "Our site is merely an index to marriages, and we include those who got a license, but did not actually marry (or at least they didn't return the license to indicate they did".


Had the couple planned to marry in Cass county in February, 1885? Did they actually get married in Lancaster county in February, 1886?

According to his tombstone, their first child, Willie Kelly, was born March 4, 1886 and died December 14 of that year. Did they marry a year before Willie was born or did they marry three weeks before he was born? And if they married in 1885 in Cass county, why did they take out a marriage license in Lancaster county a year later?

It's another family history mystery to be solved, but going back to the original source documents for both marriage licenses may shed some light on the mystery.

As it turned out, William died in 1889 at age 38. Mollie married his brother, Michael C. Kelly, a year and a half later, again in February (February 7, 1901).

I want to thank the diligent people at GOGS for adding Cass county marriages to their ongoing list of projects. In addition to Cass county, the Society also has some online indexes for Hall, Rock, Sarpy, Thurston and Wayne counties, as well as the Omaha death, birth and marriage indexes. Nice job!

Follow Friday: Nebraska Tombstone Photo Project

This week I am pleased to recommend the Nebraska State Genealogical Society Photo Project. It is managed by the Nebraska State Genealogical Society. To date, more than 45,700 gravestone photo records have been added.

The site is free to use and is always in need of volunteers to photograph gravestones in all areas of the state and upload the images to the site. Users can browse the site by cemetery or search by surname. Females are cross-referenced by maiden name, when the name is known.

I would certainly encourage anyone who is a FindAGrave volunteer in Nebraska to also consider adding gravestone photos to NebraskaGravestones.org. People search the 'net in many different ways and it doesn't hurt to have digital images available in both locations. However - please remember to upload only photographs you've taken yourself. Do not "steal" photos from one site to add to another.

Kearney Cemetery records on line

Kudos to the city of Kearney, Nebraska for putting a detailed listing of interment records from Kearney Cemetery online!


The table of records (alphabetized by last name) includes the following fields:

• Name of deceased
• Late address (that's what the header says, I think it means LAST address)
• Interred on Lot Number
• Space
• Field
• Date of Death
• Date of Interment
• Age in Years, (Months, Days)
• Cause of Death
• Lot Owned By
• Owner's Last Address
• Remarks (mainly name of mortuary); some dates of birth

City of Kearney Nebraska - Kearney Cemetery interments

Who would have ever thought I'd find a treasure like this while channel surfing in my Kearney motel room last night? You never know what's going to show up on those public access channels!

June Genealogy events in Nebraska

The following genealogy events in Nebraska are slated:

June 8, 2010 - Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society meeting. 7:15 p.m., Union College, 3800 S. 48th St., Lincoln. Presenter: Robert Ripley. Topic: The Tower of the Plains - the Nebraska State Capitol.

June 12, 2010 - Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society - Walking tour of Wyuka Cemetery led  by Ed Zimmer. 9:30 a.m., 3600 O St, Lincoln.

June 16, 2010 - Greater Omaha Genealogical Society meeting. 7:00 p.m., Crown Point Retirement Center, 2820 S. 80th St., Omaha.

June 17, 2010 - Lincoln - Brown Bag Lecture - Archaeology at the Beaver Crossing Trail. Presenter: Nolan Johnson. 12:00 noonBlackman Auditorium, Nebraska History Museum, 131 Centennial Mall North, Lincoln.

June 19, 2010 - Greater Omaha Genealogical Society class - Newspaper research and Cemetery Research. 9:15 a.m. Mormon Trail Center, 3215 State Street, Omaha.

June 21, 2010 - West Point - Elkhorn Valley Genealogical Society meeting. 7:00 p.m., Stahl Library, West Point.

For further information and calendar listing of genealogy events in Nebraska, click here.

Nebraska State Genealogical Society now on Facebook

NSGS at Facebook

Welcome to Facebook, NSGS!

Featured Nebraska county: Sarpy County

Sarpy county is located in eastern Nebraska, just south of the Omaha metro area (Douglas county). It is also adjacent to Pottawatomie county, Iowa where Council Bluffs is located. The county is named after Peter Sarpy, an early fur trader in the area. The county seat is located in Papillion. Other cities in the county are Bellevue, Gretna,  LaVista and Springfield. Also located in Sarpy county is Offutt Air Force Base. Sarpy county was organized in 1857. Bellevue was the original county seat, Papillion has been the county seat since 1875.

Follow Friday: A Day in the Life of Downtown Omaha

This week, I have not one, but two, recommendations for Follow Friday:

The Nebraska State Historical Society's blog is one that I enjoy following. A recent post, A Day in the Life of Downtown Omaha, features a typical street scene of historic Omaha. Even before I read the caption, I recognized the Brandeis building.

What I really enjoy about the post is how they have cropped some elements from the main photograph to isolate some images of every day life in 1934. People are motoring about, interacting with one another - all these vignettes that one might not see just by glancing at the original photograph. It's given me a new perspective on viewing those historic photographs.

J Sterling Morton - contributions to family history

Many of us in Nebraska still observe the original Arbor Day (and Earth Day) on April 22, the birthday of J. Sterling Morton, the founder of the holiday. Officially, the holiday is being observed in Nebraska today.

J. Sterling Morton also left some wonderful resources for genealogists with ancestors in Nebraska. There were several editions of his Illustrated History of Nebraska, in which he collaborated with Albert Watkins. These editions include a wealth of biographies of early Nebraska pioneer families.

It was in one of these books that I first discovered my great-great-great grandfather and the county of origin of my Kelly ancestors in Ireland.

If you have some 19th century Nebraska ancestors, you may find some great information in one of these books. Even better, they are available on Google books!

Illustrated History of Nebraska - 1913

History of Nebraska - 1918

Nuckolls County Nebraska genealogy resources

The Superior Public Library in Superior, Nebraska has a variety of genealogy resources available for public use. The library's card catalog may be searched online.

The library's web site states they do not check out their genealogy materials, but they will do look-ups. A microfilm reader is available and copies are $.35.

Other resources of interest to genealogists:

Superior

Superior has had a number of town newspapers. At different times these newspapers were in print, some during the same time, Superior Sun, Superior Daily Journal, Superior Weekly Journal and the Superior Express. The Superior Express was started in January 1900 and is still in print today. The library has microfilm of these newspapers from Feb 28, 1888 to present.

Nebraska

• Nuckolls Country Cemetery Records thru 2003.
• Nuckolls County Marriages Book 1, index.
• 1870-1910 Nebraska Census records for Nuckolls and Thayer counties.
• Federal Census 1880-1930 for Nuckolls and Thayer counties.
• Early Superior school index.
• Nuckolls County Obituaries.

Kansas

Superior is only 2 miles off the Kansas border so the library also has a few records from Kansas:

• 1870-1920 Kansas Census for Jewell, Jefferson, Kearny counties.
• Index to Jewell County Marriage records from June 1871 - August 1927.
• Jewell County Cemetery Records.
• Some Jewell County Birth Records

 Family Records

 These are family records in book form. These can be found in the card catalog under "genealogy" or "family name".

Library Hours

1:30 - 5:30 PM
7:00 - 9:00 PM
Monday - Friday

10:00 AM to Noon
1:30 - 5:30 PM
Saturday

Closed Sunday

Phone: (402)879-4200

superiorlibrary@hotmail.com

Some of this week's favorite web sites

Here are a few web sites that I definitely recommend:

Script Tutorials - resources for old handwriting and documents. Are you having trouble interpreting some of the old handwriting styles? This site, managed by the Center for Family History and Genealogy at Brigham Young University, offers tutorials on how to read those old documents - in German, Dutch, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Virtual Calendars - I don't think that a research day goes by that I don't use this resource to identify dates referenced in newspapers. Do you find an obituary that says only that someone died "last Tuesday" and doesn't give the date? Start with the date of the newspaper, then go to this site and view the calendar for that month and year. You can determine what date was "last Tuesday."

Missouri Digital Heritage - if you are doing any research at all in Missouri, you need to check out this web site. It even has a treasure chest of digital versions of death certificates - all for free. It doesn't get much better than that. It was named as one of Family Tree Magazine's 101 best web sites in 2009.

The Minnesota Historical Society is another of my favorite sites. I've located death records and have been able to order copies of death certificates for a reasonable price.

Closer to home, the Nebraska State Historical Society just keeps getting better all the time. The site has a fantastic blog you must check out! The April 23, 2010 entry deals with the Great Sheedy Murder Trial of 1891, a story that has surfaced frequently in my research on great-grandfather Dan Kelly's brother-in-law, John Fitzgerald.

Which brings me around to THE BEST interactive history site I've encountered in recent memory, Gilded Age Plains City. I challenge you to click that link and spend anything less than an hour looking around, following links and interacting with the site.

Paula's Genealogical Eclectica - this is Paula Stuart-Warren's fantastic blog. A fantastic blog from a fantastic person. I was fortunate to spend Friday and yesterday soaking up all of Paula's tips and research ideas at the Nebraska State Genealogical Society convention. Her blog offers more great ideas, resources and just plain fun.

And - I'm pleased to announce that LongLostRelatives.net has been added to the GeneaBloggers blog! With more than 900 genealogy blogs identified on the site, you can't help but find information on a topic you are interested in!

Honoring Arbor Day in Nebraska

Arbor Day was created by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska in 1872. It was a day to be set aside for planting trees.

Check out the interactive history book about Arbor Day on the Arbor Day Foundation website and Mr. Morton's diary entry for Arbor Day in his journal on the Nebraska State Historical Society web site.

Nebraska Historical Society Library and Archives reopens March 9, 2010

Great news has arrived from the Nebraska State Historical Society!

The library and archives in Lincoln has been closed doing the building renovation and will reopen March 9, 2010!

Check the society's website for updated Information. Regular Hours: Tuesday-Friday 9-12 a.m., 1-4 p.m. & Saturday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (Closed on State Holidays)

The Library has the largest collection of Nebraska state and local histories including Nebraska atlases, plat books, flat maps, city directories and phonebooks. Most of these titles are not available on the Web.

They have over 3000 genealogies/family histories collected during our 131-year history. We have a general collection of non-Nebraska genealogy guides and histories from other states. Again, many may not be available on the Web and you can use them right here in Lincoln.

The microfilm collection includes the largest collection of Nebraska newspapers in the state. Check out the online Nebraska

Contact the staff about the Nebraska Statewide Cemetery Registry and cemetery tombstone transcriptions in the Library.

Government Records at the NSHS include various federal, state, and county records used in family research.

Looking for genealogy records in Omaha?

Are you looking for birth, death and marriage records from Omaha, Nebraska? The Greater Omaha Genealogical Society has a records index search available online.

Click here for obituaries

Click here for marriages

Click here for births

Broken Bow Land Office Records Go Online

In an effort to begin preserving and providing wider access to the information in the records, Homestead National Monument of America, located in Beatrice, Nebraska, and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) contracted with the National Archives & Records Administration to microfilm the Broken Bow Land Office records (1890-1908). Using this microfilm, UNL has created an online index to the records. This pilot project is the precursor to new partnerships and, we hope, to new scholarship.

Funds for the project were received from the National Park Service, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Eastern National, and Tier One Bank. At the University, the Center for Great Plains Studies, the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, and the University Libraries have all contributed to the project. Many person hours were devoted to the project by National Park Service volunteers and staff, and by faculty, staff, and administrators at UNL. As new developments are announced, look for changes on the site.

Search the records here.