EOLS LOCAL HISTORY AND GENEALOGY

These records are available courtesy of a man named Rex Campbell, who purchased the ledgers at an OKC thrift store in May of 2022. Mr.  Campbell provided these scanned pages as a courtesy for patrons to use for research.

There are more 4,000 Death Certificates dated from Jan. 1, 1910 to Aug. 1916.

View Records

Questions? Call our Genealogy Department at Muskogee Public Library!

Special Library Collections

The Muskogee Public Library offers a specialized genealogy and local history collection. Published items include:

• Dawes enrollment cards and packets (1896-1914) for the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole Tribes. Tribal records of the Five Civilized Tribes
• Most early census and payrolls for the Five Civilized Tribes
• Guion Miller (Cherokee) enrollment applications (1906-1909)
• Indexes, soundex, microfilm or online access to all surviving United States Census 1790-1940, including Oklahoma Indian Territory Census (1900-1940)
• Oklahoma Territory Census 1890
• Indian Pioneer Papers
• Muskogee County Newspapers, 1875-present
• Muskogee City Directories from 1903-present
• Muskogee County School Census, 1912-1936
• Muskogee County Court Records, including marriage, probate and guardianship, criminal and civil case files
• Muskogee funeral home and interment records
• Allotment maps and indexes for them for the Five Civilized Tribes
• Indexes available for obituaries published in the Muskogee Phoenix, early marriages, newspaper stories, and other sources.

Stanley Tubbs Memorial Library in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, has a special project exploring the history of football in Sallisaw. Visit eols.org/sallisaw-football for photographs and video interviews of former players and coaches.

The Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is home to many research resources. A listing of their holdings is available at https://eols.org/5-tribes.

Family historians, genealogists, and local historians can significantly benefit from using interlibrary loan (ILL) services for several key reasons:

1. Access to Rare and Specialized Resources

• Wider Range of Materials: Many valuable genealogical records, local histories, and family documents are housed in libraries outside one’s local area. ILL allows users to access these rare or specialized resources from other libraries, which might not be available locally.
• Unique Collections: Some libraries hold unique collections, such as historical newspapers, out-of-print books, or regional archives. ILL can make these otherwise inaccessible resources available.

2. Cost-Effective Research

• Savings on Travel and Purchases: Instead of traveling to distant libraries or purchasing expensive books or records, ILL offers a cost-effective way to borrow materials, thus reducing expenses associated with in-depth research.
• Affordable Access to Paywalled Content: Some genealogical resources may be behind paywalls or available only through subscriptions. ILL can sometimes provide access to these materials without additional costs.

 3. Time Efficiency

• Efficient Research Process: By leveraging ILL, researchers can gather a wide array of sources quickly without the need for multiple trips or lengthy waits for hard-to-find materials. This can significantly speed up the research process.
• Centralized Resource Requests: ILL services often allow users to request multiple items at once, streamlining the process of gathering necessary materials.

 4. Broadening the Scope of Research

• Cross-Regional Comparisons: ILL enables historians to access resources from different geographic regions, which is crucial for comparing family histories across borders or understanding local histories in broader contexts.
• Enhanced Research Depth: By accessing diverse materials, historians can uncover new insights, add depth to their work, and create more comprehensive and accurate family trees or local histories.

5. Support for Collaboration and Verification

• Cross-Checking Information: Access to multiple sources via ILL allows for better cross-checking and verification of data, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of genealogical and historical research.
• Facilitating Collaboration: ILL can support collaborative projects by enabling multiple researchers in different locations to access the same resources, fostering teamwork and shared discoveries.

 6. Preserving Local and Family Histories

• Protection of Original Documents: By using ILL to access digital or photocopied versions of rare materials, researchers help preserve the originals, which may be fragile or deteriorating.
• Contributing to Broader Histories: The use of ILL can also aid in uncovering histories that contribute to a broader understanding of local or regional histories, benefiting communities as a whole.

 For more information about interlibrary loan, email genealogylibrarian@eols.org or call the Genealogy Department at 918-682-6657.

Local History

Muskogee County Genealogical Society – Genealogy and family history research for Muskogee County and Oklahoma.

Oklahoma Historical Society Research Library – Search census, marriage, divorce, prison, and death records.

Oklahoma State Archives – Collection of Oklahoma Confederate Pension applications including the form and correspondence.

Oklahoma Digital Prairie – Unique digital content spanning more than 100 years of rich, vibrant history from our State. Includes documents, photographs, newspapers, posters, maps and more.

Oklahoma Indian Pioneer Papers – Oral interviews conducted by the WPA with pioneers from all ethnic groups across Oklahoma. Headed by Grant Foreman of Muskogee and headquartered in Muskogee. Also available on microfilm at the Muskogee Library.

Chronicles of Oklahoma – The publication of the Oklahoma Historical Society. Also available at the Muskogee Library.

Muskogee Greenhill Cemetery – Established in the early 1900s, earlier graves were also moved to this location from the original city cemetery.

Explore local history books online

by Roy Gittinger
Oklahoma: A Guide to the Sooner State (1941) from the WPA
compiled by W.B. Richards
compiled by W.B. Richards
by O.C. Seely
by Joseph B. Thoburn and Isaac Mason Holcomb

Check out these great websites to discover family connections as well as the stories of Green Country’s people, places and events.

General Resources

Chronicling America – Select digital access to American newspapers 1880-1910 including 27 newspapers from Oklahoma.

Find A Grave – Directory of the locations of graves for over 2.5 million memorials. Browse by name and locations. Includes photographs of many of the graves.

American Indian

Oklahoma Historical Society: American Indian Ancestry – Includes Dawes Rolls and allotment records and allotment maps for Muscogee Creek.

American Indian Records @ National Archives – Documents created by Federal agencies in the course of their daily business.

Military

Oklahoma War Memorial Collection – Covers World War I to the Korean War

Veterans Nationwide Gravesite Locator – Search for burial locations of veterans in VA National and state cemeteries. Fort Gibson National Cemetery is located in Muskogee County and was the only National Cemetery in Oklahoma for many years. Fort Sill National Cemetery is now located near Lawton.

National Archives Military Records – Search for records pertaining to all US wars and branches of service.

Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System – Information on over 6 million soldiers, who served on both sides during the Civil War. Also includes information on battles, regiments, prisoners, and medals of honor.