Milwaukee’s German Newspapers

Milwaukee’s German Newspapers; an index of death notices and related items (1844-1930); addenda 1931-1950 / compiled and edited by Gary R. Rebholz.

Milwaukee’s German Newspapers has been set up as a Traveling Data-exhibit and available on a computer at the Salzmann Library since March 1, 2011. This makes the most current data available for researchers searchable by name and browsable by date (Excel Workbook format). There is also a display of some of the notices and articles found in these papers.

The Salzmann Library is located on the grounds of St. Francis de Sales Seminary, in St. Francis (suburban Milwaukee County). It is not the same location as the Milwaukee Archdiocese Archives (Cousins Center). The library staff are not responsible for the data, or for lookups.

This index is the only resource to make these papers accessible to the general public. It is also a comprehensive collection of death notices from all available daily editions published in Milwaukee, 1844-1930. To celebrate the move to the Salzmann library, updates now include entries from 1931-1950 (and later). The data will be updated here every month or so.

What’s the point of all this? The data is available to local researchers.

Octagon House History Book

Author and historian, Ellen L Puerzer has a new book out. I’ll let her explain:

To anyone interested in octagon houses (50 were built in Wisconsin of which 27 remain)

My book has been published. It contains photos and histories of the 900-some octagon houses that were built in the US and Canada.

Information about ordering the book can be found here. Some sample pages are shown on the website and it looks like a great volume listing all of the surviving octagon houses and many that are demolished.

Downtown Milwaukee Building History Updates

There have been quite a few recent updates to the OldMilwaukee.net Downtown Building Database. This is a great resource for anyone interested in learning about downtown’s architectural history and includes buildings long demolished. I try to continuously update the database with newly found information and links to building information on other websites.

Some of the updates are links to images from the Wisconsin Historical Society’s newly updated Architecture and History Inventory (AHI). Make it a point to stop by their website to learn about other buildings in Milwaukee and the rest of the state.

A Few Good Websites

Here are a few newer websites about Milwaukee history that I have recently found.

The first is a great blog about the history of WQFM radio. I grew up listening to it in junior high school and high school and so this is a trip back to the past. The blog tells great stories and events from those days in the 70’s and 80’s.

Then there is Megan Daniels new website about historic preservation and architecture. You may remember her as the author of a newer Arcadia book on Early Milwaukee Architecture. Her blog is called Razed In Milwaukee.

While I’m at it I’ll point out the Wisconsinology blog I also found a few weeks back. It hasn’t been updated much recently but is full of interesting stories on things around the state.

Library Online Sanborn Maps

The Milwaukee Public Libraries has just added a new subscription to Sanborn historical fire insurance maps. These can be accessed with your library card from home. This is a great resource and includes maps from 1894, 1910, and 1951 which cover the entire city.

Borchert Field Website

A tip of the hat to the Borchert Field Blog which details everything of interest about Milwaukee baseball history and run by Chance Michaels. Dennis Pajot also is a contributor to the website as he is one of the experts on the history of Milwaukee baseball.