“Gunshots rang out in the territorial capital at Guthrie on Saturday, 16 November 1907, as word was received by telegrapho that President Theodore Roosevelt had signed the proclamation creating Oklahoma as the forty-sixth state. Oklahoma, a Choctaw word meaning red (Okla) people (homma) was chosen as the name for the state joining Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory. Abundant in land and natural resources, the story of Oklahoma is the story of her land. Whether it was the native peoples who first settled this wide open prairie or the white men who came from far and wide to stake their claim in the first ever land run, Oklahoma’s records tell their stories. Unlike the early Spanish explorers who found no gold in Oklahoma, genealogist will discover a gold mine of records in the Sooner state.”
Beginning in 1987, the National Genealogical Society began publishing a series of state guides in the organization’s magazine, the Quarterly. These guides were later re-issued as special publications designed to support genealogical research in each state. NGS Research in the States Series: Oklahoma was written by Kathy Huber, and is summarized here:
Like other NGS Research in the States guides, this volume on Oklahoma begins with a short, historical summary of the state and its inhabitants. Archeologically evidence shows early game-hunting sites and settled villages, with evidence of early hunting tools and early agricultural practices. The land became part of the United State with the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, but statehood did not come until 1906, making it the forty-sixth state.
The guide outlines and describes the expected resources available for research, from libraries and archives, to courthouses and vital records. According to the author’s conclusion, “to fully understand Oklahoma’s story, however, family researchers should focus on the story of Oklahoma’s land.” You can get a start on that research through this guide. See the Table of Contents below for a complete list of information found in the book.
About the Author
Kathy Huber manages the Genealogy Center of the Tulsa (Oklahoma) City County Library, where she has worked for over 20 years. She is a member of the Oklahoma Library Association, the Texas Library Association, the Texas Genealogical Society, DAR, and others. Huber has taught classes and given presentations at the library and at several local and national events and societies, including NGS and FGS.
Table of Contents
Early History and Settlement
- Exploration
- Jurisdictional Changes
Archives, Libraries, and Societies
- Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS)
- Oklahoma Department of Libraries (ODL)
- Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries
- National Archives at Fort Worth
- Other Libraries
- Bartelsville Public Library
- Jennie L. McCutcheon Research Room, Lawton Public Library
- Muskogee Public Library
- Genealogy Center, Tulsa City County Library
- Other Societies
- Oklahoma Genealogical Society (OGS)
- Southwest Oklahoma Genealogical Society (SWOGS)
- Tulsa Genealogical Society (TGS)
Major Resources
- Aids to Research
- Atlases, Gazetteers, and Maps
- Biographical Sources, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts
- Bible Records
- Business and Organizational Records
- Cemetery Records
- Censuses and Census Substitutes
- Territorial Census
- Federal Population Schedules
- Special Censuses
- City Directories
- County-Level Research
- Court Records
- Pre-Statehood Records
- County-Records
- State-Records
- Federal Records
- State Legislative Records
- Ethnic Records
- African American
- American Indians
- Land Records
- Oklahoma Territory
- Indian Territory
- County-Land Records
- Military Records
- Civil War
- Confederate Records
- Union Records
- Battle of Washita
- Oklahoma National Guard
- Spanish-American War
- Twentieth-Century Wars
- Naturalization and Immigration Records
- Newspapers
- Probate Records
- Religious Records
- School Records
- Vital Records
- Adoption
- Birth and Death Records
- Marriage Records
- Divorce Records
- Women of Oklahoma
- Conclusion
These guides are an excellent resource for state by state research. Available guides, including NGS Research in the States Series: Oklahoma are available from Family Roots Publishing.