The University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries has Digital Collections (UWDC) including city directories and some historical collections for family history research.
A few that stand out for family history research include:
Wisconsin City Directories
Beloit
- Bell telephone directory for Beloit (August, 1920)
- Bell telephone directory for Beloit (December, 1923)
- Bell telephone directory for Beloit (December, 1930)
- Bell telephone directory for Beloit (June, 1931)
- Bell telephone directory for Beloit (1932-1933)
- Bell telephone directory for Beloit (1933-1934)
- Bell telephone directory for Beloit. August, 1920-1933-1934 [6 vols.]
- Bell Telephone directory for Neenah-Menasha, December 1913. 1913
- Beloit and South Beloit city directory. 1907-1908
- Beloit city directory for 1897. 1897
- Beloit city directory for 1902. 1902
- Beloit city directory for 1904. 1904
- Beloit city directory 1900-1901
- The Beloit directory [1858]
- Beloit telephone directory. December, 1937
- City directory of Beloit and South Beloit for 1906. 1906
- …city directory, history, and business advertiser, for 1859—1860. 1859
- Directory of Beloit exchange. August 1, 1911
- Hand-book of Beloit including a complete directory of all heads of families, and all other persons over fourteen years of age, having employment. 1889-1895 [6 vols.]
- McCoy’s Beloit and South Beloit City Directory. 1917
- Osborne’s 1900-‘1 Beloit city directory 1900
Berlin
- Berlin city directory, 1892 1892
- Berlin city directory, 1898. 1898
- The Berlin city directory (1858)
- Farrell-McCoy’s Berlin city directory, 1915-1916 1915/1916
Custerdale
Dane County
- Official county plat book and farmers’ directory of Dane County, Wisconsin. Farm Plat Book Publishing Co ([1953])
Green Bay
Green County
Green Lake County
- History and directory of Green Lake and Waushara Counties, and the city of Ripon (1869)
- Standard atlas of Green Lake County, Wisconsin (1923)
Fond du Lac
- Brigham and Co’s Fond du Lac city directory and business advertiser for 1857-58. Brigham, A. D. (1857/1858)
- Fond du Lac city directory, and business advertiser, for 1865-’66. [1865]
- Centennial 1876 directory of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin 1876
Fort Atkinson
Fort Howard
Iowa County
Janesville
- Hardie & Scharle’s Janesville city directory 1894-95 1895
- Holland’s Janesville city directory, for 1870-71[1870]
- Holland’s quadrennial city directory of Fond du Lac, Wis. For the years 1887-91 1887
- Janesville city directory and business advertiser, for 1866. 1866
- Janesville city directory for 1902-03 [1902]
- Janesville city directory, 1880 1880
- Janesville city directory, 1889, with a compendious street directory. 1889
- Janesville city directory, 1889-90 1889
- Janesville city directory, 1892-93, with a compendious street directory and map. 1892
- The Janesville directory [1858]
- Osborne’s 1900-‘1 Janesville city directory 1900
- Owen’s Janesville city, Rock County gazetteer, and directory 1876
- Pryor & Co.’s Janesville city directory, 1878-9 1878
- Wright’s directory of Janesville for 1898-99 1898
- Wright’s directory of Janesville for 1903 1903
- Wright’s directory of Janesville for 1907 1906
- Wright’s directory of Janesville for 1911 1910
- Wright’s directory of Janesville for 1913 1912
- Wright’s directory of Janesville for 1915 1914
- Wright’s directory of Janesville for 1917 1917
- Wright’s Janesville (Wisconsin) city directory, 1929 1929
- Wright’s Janesville (Wisconsin) city directory, 1931 1931
- Wright’s Janesville city directory, 1921 1921
- Wright’s Janesville city directory, 1923 1923
- Wright’s Janesville city directory, 1925 1925
- Wright’s Janesville city directory, 1927 1927
- Wright’s Neenah-Menasha city directory 1924 Wright Directory Co (1924) [2 vols.]
- Chas O. Eble & Co.’s Janesville city directory for 1884-85 1884
Kewaunee County
La Crosse
- Pryor & Co.’s La Crosse city directory, 1878-9 1878
- Standard atlas of La Crosse County, Wisconsin: including a plat book of villages, cities and townships of the county, map of the state, United States and world: patrons directory directory 1906
Madison
Manitowoc County
- Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, official farm plat book and directory. 1962
- Official county plat book and rural directory of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin(1958)
- History of Neenah, illustrated…containing also a full and complete record of Neenah in the Rebellion and a complete city and business directory (1878)
Manitowoc City
Marinette County
Menasha
Neenah
Neenah-Menasha
- Zabel’s Neenah-Menasha, Wisconsin, city directory, August 1, 1928. 1928
- Neenah-Menasha community directory, 1934. 1934
Neenah-Menasha, Wisconsin, city directory. 1931 - Wright’s Neenah-Menasha city directory 1924 (1924) [2 vols.]
Outagamie County
Racine
Rock County
- Rock County gazetteer, directory and business advertiser, for 1857-8 1857
- Rock County, Wisconsin farm directory. 1928
- Wright’s directory of Rock County for 1896-7 1896
- Wright’s directory of Rock County for 1905 1904
- Wright’s directory of Rock County for 1909 1909
- [Wright’s directory of Rock County for 1919 [1919]Standard atlas of Rock County, Wisconsin, including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county, patrons directory 1917
Shawano County
Sheboygan City, Sheboygan County
- Directory of the city and county of Sheboygan. 1908/1909
- Directory of the city and county of Sheboygan. 1908/1909
- Directory of the city and county of Sheboygan. 1910/1911
- Directory of the city and county of Sheboygan. 1910/1911
- Wright’s directory of Sheboygan Co. for 1889-90 1889/1890
- Wright’s directory of Sheboygan for 1887-8 1887/1888
- Wright’s directory of Sheboygan for 1891-92 1891
- Wright’s directory of Sheboygan for 1893-94 1893
- Wright’s Sheboygan city and county directory. 1920
- Wright’s Sheboygan city and county directory. 1922
- Wright’s directory of Sheboygan Co. for 1889-90 1889/1890
- Wright’s directory of Sheboygan for 1887-8 1887/1888
- Wright’s directory of Sheboygan for 1891-92 1891
- Wright’s directory of Sheboygan for 1893-94 1893
- Directory of the inhabitants, institutions, incorporated companies, manufacturing establishments, business, business firms, etc., etc., in the city of Sheboygan for 1868-9. 1868
- The farm journal illustrated rural directory of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin . 1918
- Pott’s directory of the city and county of Sheboygan, 1895-96. 1895
- Pott’s directory of the city and county of Sheboygan, 1897-98. 1897
- Pott’s directory of the city and county of Sheboygan. 1902
- Pott’s directory of the city and county of Sheboygan. 1902
- Pott’s directory of the city and county of Sheboygan. 1904/1905
- Pott’s directory of the city and county of Sheboygan. 1904/1905
- Pryor & Co’s Sheboygan city directory. 1875-76 1875/1876
- Sheboygan city directory. 1884 1884
Sheboygan city directory. 1886 1886 - Sheboygan Publishing Company’s directory of the city and county of Sheboygan (1915/1916)
- Zorn’s directory of the city and county of Sheboygan. 1906/1907
- Zorn’s directory of the city of Sheboygan. 1912/1913
- Zorn’s directory of the county of Sheboygan. 1912/1913
- Zorn’s rural routes directory of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. 1903
Stoughton
- A directory of the city of Stoughton, and the villages of Edgerton, Milton and Milton Junction. Sneath, Thomas S. (1882)
Walworth County
- Standard atlas of Walworth County, Wisconsin : including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county, patrons directory (1907)
Standard atlas of Walworth County, Wisconsin : including a plat book of the villiages [villages], cities and townships of the county, patrons directory (1921)
Waukesha
- Wright’s directory of Waukesha 1899 together with a complete directory of Waukesha County 1899
Wright’s directory of Waukesha 1909-10 together with a complete directory of Waukesha County 1909
Wright’s directory of Waukesha for 1901-02 comprising an alphabetically arranged list of business firms and private citizens 1901 - Standard atlas of Waukesha County Wisconsin including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county, map of the state, United States and world, patrons directory 1914
- Wright’s Waukesha directory 1921 1921
Waushara County
- Waukesha County gazetteer and farmers’ and land owners’ directory, 1890-91. 1890/1891
- History and directory of Green Lake and Waushara Counties, and the city of Ripon (1869)
Winnebago County
Woodville
- Telephone directory for Baldwin and Woodville, Wisconsin. November 1, 1936
Wood County
- Directory service company annual farm directory of Woods [ie Wood] County Wisconsin, 1965. 1965
- Official county plat book and rural directory of Wood County, Wisconsin (1956)
- Wood County farm directory, 1940. 1940
- Standard atlas of Wood County, Wisconsin including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships … Patrons directory 1909
- Standard atlas of Wood County, Wisconsin including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships …Patrons directory, reference business directory 1928
Other
- Directory of the short course alumni, 1886-1907 : and announcement of the twelfth annual reunion and fourth annual banquet. University of Wisconsin. College of Agriculture ([1908?])
- Directory of Wisconsin dairy manufacturing plants: containing dairy statistics for Wisconsin for the year 1932. Klueter, Harry ([1934])
- Wisconsin Telephone Company directory of Neenah, Menasha and Appleton exchanges, July 1, 1907. 1907
- Historic Steamboat Photographs
- WI Bordner Survey Maps
- History Collection
- Wisconsin Folksong
- Many other individual collections
Other collections that may be of interest:
- UW Collection
- UW-Madison Collection
- UW-Madison Archives
- African Studies
- The Harold E. Scheub Collection
- Ecology and Natural Resources
- Arts Collection
- South East Asian images & Texts
- Primate Collection
- Publishers’ Bindings Online
- WI Geological and Natural History
- Botany Collection
- Casselman Spanish Architecture
- Africa Focus
- Mills Digital Collections
- WI Sheet Music
- Halpern Laotian Slide Collection
- Botany Department Teaching Collection
- Historic USGS Topographic Maps
- WI Public Land Survey Records
- De Smet Medieval Church Architecture
- Kuhn Laotian Image Collection
- Gender and Women’s Studies
- Cartonera Publishers Database
- DARE Fieldwork Recordings
- Iltis Botanical Photos
- WI Bordner Survey Maps
- Sage Laotian Image Collection
- Wisconsin Union Collection
- Artists’ Book Collection
- Dovie Horvitz Collection
- Aldo Leopold Collection
- Virginia M. Kline Collection
- Decorative Arts and Material Culture
- Benson Laotian Slide Collection
- Ethnographic Collection
- Philippines Image Collection
- Olakh’s Feminist Political Posters
- MSC Archive
- Nimogram Archaeological Images5
- North Carolina Earthenware
- Longridge Collection
- East Asian Collection
- UW-Madison’s Cultural Landscape
- History of UW-Madison Libraries
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