Genealogy & Local History

The library offers many resources for genealogists and those interested in local history. Use this page learn about library holdings, online resources, and local organizations.

Subscription Databases

HeritageQuest

Genealogical resources including census data, family records, local histories, military records and an extensive index to genealogical & local history magazines. Library card required for use from home.

Ancestry Library EditionAncestry Library Edition (In Library Use Only)

If you don't have a personal subscription to Ancestry.com, stop by the library to search this vast vast collection of Census records, birth, marriage & death records, immigration and military records, directories, passenger lists, and more!

Waupaca County Pioneer Certificate

A qualified pioneer ancestor is a person who can be proven to have resided in any part of Waupaca County, the present day state of Wisconsin, before 1 January 1870 but does not have to have been born or died here. A qualified applicant must be a direct descendant of a qualified pioneer ancestor (male or female). Applicant does not have to reside in Waupaca County nor have ever lived in the state of Wisconsin, but must show prove of his/her direct line from the pioneer ancestor with documentation for each generation.

The certificate information and form is available here.

Obituary Search

There is a $15.00 charge per individual name request for searching and copying each obituary. This fee covers staff time and we cannot guarantee that we will locate every name. We will be searching library archives, as well as Waupaca County Post, and Waupaca County Republican newspapers.

Neighboring municipality libraries keep their own newspaper archives. Obituary & Genealogy requests are by postal mail only.

Please include a self-addressed and stamped envelope and make out checks or money orders to the Waupaca Area Public Library. Please print out a copy of our Obituary & Genealogy Requests form and fill out the form as completely as possible.

Birth, Death, and Marriage certificates may be available through the Wisconsin Department of Vital Records.

Genealogy & Local History Web Sites

Wisconsin Vital Records Services - The Wisconsin Vital Records Office is responsible for filing, preserving, prot Read More »

Join the Waupaca Area Genealogical Society!

Waupaca Area Genealogical Society

The group generally meets at 9:00 am on the second Saturday of the month at the Holly History and Genealogy Center. However, locations, times and dates do change, especially in the summer. Check the website to verify.

We meet at the Holly History and Genealogy Center in Waupaca during the winter months, but during the summer our location varies, check the newsletter or call Nancy Helbach at 715-258-2247 for more information.

Local Sources

Waupaca Sexton Office
Cemetery Records
Richard Martin (715) 258-4406, ext. 230
407 School Street, Waupaca, WI 54981

Waupaca County Courthouse
811 Harding Street, Waupaca, WI 54981

Register of Deeds
(715) 258-6250
P.O. Box 307, Waupaca, WI 54981

  • Birth, Marriage, Death and Land Records
  • Index to Military Discharges

Waupaca Area Public Library Microfilm Holdings

Cemetery Index

Wayne and Alta Guyant's Cemetery Index on microfilm (See Waupaca GenWeb at the top of the page for a listing of cemeteries).

This index includes a general index, as well as veteran and maiden name indexes with each cemetery. It includes cemeteries found in Portage, Waupaca, and Waushara counties as well as obituaries from the Waupaca County Post for some of the listings.

Newspapers

  • Waupaca County Republican from April 2, 1874 - May 31, 1917
  • Waupaca County Record from December 1, 1894 - May 31, 1917
  • Waupaca County Post from January 19, 1878 - present.

Federal and State Census Records

Birth and Death Indexes

  • Pre-1907 Birth and Death Indexes for Wisconsin on microfiche donated by the Waupaca Area Genealogical Society.

Waupaca Historical Society: Holly History and Genealogy Center

Waupaca annually attracts many historians, professional or amateur, who are seeking information about personal heritage, Native American history, Civil War events. The area’s rich and colorful history often can be found in documents at the Holly Center, 321 South Main Street. Local experts or the Center’s Executive Director, Julie Hintz, provide assistance as requested.

HOURS: Wednesday and Friday, Noon - 3:00 P.M. Saturday, 9:00 A.M. – Noon

Group Tours: by appointment (715) 256-998

Malcolm Rosholt Books Available Online

The works of Central Wisconsin historian Malcolm Rosholt, out of print for more than a decade, have been digitized and are now available through McMillan Memorial Library’s website at www.mcmillanlibrary.org/rosholt. Rosholt spent decades researching Wisconsin history and his works are an important resource for students, genealogists and historians.

The eleven books cover such topics as logging, railroads and the early pioneers of Central Wisconsin. All of the titles are well illustrated and four of them are photographic albums.

The works remain protected under their original copyright, but his family granted permission for these books to be digitized and displayed on McMillan’s website.  Digitization was overseen by the South Central Library System. Funding was provided by a Library Services and Technology Act grant made available through the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Malcolm Leviatt Rosholt (1907-2005) grew up in the Wisconsin village named for his family and worked as a lumberjack as a young man. After graduating from St. Olaf College, he worked as a journalist in 1930s China, served as an intelligence officer for the Flying Tigers during World War II and eventually authored twenty-five books. He wrote about Wisconsin history, his experiences in China and other subjects, along with several historical novels. His wife, Margaret, co-authored several of the books.