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Selected Genealogy Resources

Print Resources

The library collects materials directed towards courses taught and research done at Montana State University. At times this overlaps with genealogy research and publications. Access the online catalog by selecting the "Library Catalog" tab on the library's home page. Conduct a search by entering your topic in the text box e.g. "genealogy," and click the "Subject" button. A subject may be a topic, an individual, a geographic name, a company, an institution, a government agency, etc. Select one of the entries.

The local newspapers in Renne Library are listed in this guide, but no court, marriage, birth or death records are held in the library. The census sources are also listed in this guide. Most of the library materials listed below are in the Reference (Ref) area or in Special Collections (Special) on 2nd Floor. A few are found in the open stacks and noted as such.

In the Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections, a limited number of manuscript collections are available, mainly pertaining to Montana agriculture families, and accessible through the online catalog. Photographs form parts of these collections, and a separate photograph collection, which includes an extremely limited number of Montana individuals, is available in Special Collections.

Biographical Sources & More

  • A Bibliography of American County Histories – Z1250.F54 1985 in Reference
  • Bibliography of Montana Local Histories (1977) – Z1305.B54 in Reference, Special, and stacks
  • Bibliography of Montana Local Histories (1982 update) – F731.P38 in Special
  • Black Genesis (1978) – CS21.R57 in Reference
  • Constitution, members and officers – F726.S6 v.1 1899 in Reference and Special
  • Guide to Manuscripts in Montana Repositories – Z1305.M79 1973 in Reference
  • Guide to Records in the National Archives – AE 1.108:R 24/3/ or GS 4.6/2: Am3 in documents reference area
  • Harvard Guide to American History, rev. ed. – Z1236.H27 1974 v.1-3 in Reference and stacks
  • Librarian's Guide to Public Records – CD3029.L52 1995 in Reference
  • Montana's Genealogical and Local History Records (1981) – Z1305.R52 in Reference and Special
  • National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (1959-present) – Z6620.U5N3 (1959-1993) in Reference & online (1959-present)
  • Native American Genealogical Sourcebook – E98.G44N37 1995 in Reference
  • A Preliminary Index to Biographies in Montana subscription histories and other selected works (An index to people found in books listed below) – F730.P73 1983 in Reference and Special
    - History of Montana (Burlingame & Toole) – F731.B95 v.1-3 in Ref, Special, & stacks
    - Encyclopedia of Northwest Biography – (not at MSU Libraries)
    - Illustrated History of the Yellowstone Valley – F737.Y4I29 1907 in Special
    - History of Montana (Leeson) – F731.L48 in Reference & Special
    - An illustrated history of the state of Montana (Miller) [listed as "History of Montana (Miller)" in the index] – F731.M64 1894 in Special & open stacks
    - A newspaper reference work: men of affairs and representative institutions of the state of Montana listed as "Men of Affairs" in the index – F730.B87 1914 OVERSIZE in Special
    - Progressive Men of Montana – F730.P7, part 1-3 in Ref, Special, & open stacks
    - Montana, the land and the people (Raymer, 1930) Listed as "History of Montana (Raymer, 1930)" in the index – F731.R26 v.1-3 in Special & open stacks
    - History of Montana (Sanders, 1913) – F731.S2 v.1-3 in Special & open stacks
    - Montana, Its Story & Biography (Stout) – F731.S875 v.1-3 in Special & open stacks

United States Census [^]

The census rolls (containing actual names and other census schedule information) are released after 72 years, so for Montana 1870-1880, 1900-1920 are available in Special.

Most of the original 1890 census rolls burned, so are not available anywhere. There are two indexes in Special Collections to the Montana census rolls for 1870 and 1880, only: Montana 1870 Territorial Census Index and 1880 Montana Territorial Census Index.
Other state census rolls are not available at MSU.

The index listed below gives the details of what parts of the 1890 rolls are available. Census population statistics for U.S. and Montana are listed in MSU's online catalog; do a subject search under United State-Census or Montana-Census.

  • Federal Population Censuses 1790-1890 – GS 4.2:P 81/2/790-890-5 in Ref documents
  • Federal Population Census – GS 4.2:P 81/2/900 1900 in Ref documents
  • Federal Population Census – GS 4.2:P 81/2/910 1910 in Ref documents

With these indexes, you can find the appropriate roll for the state, county, and name that you want. Soundex is the card index system by which the surnames from the census schedules are indexed, and it is explained in the appendix of these books. For U.S. Census Information online, see Cyndi's U.S. Census page or CensusFinder for links to census information as early as 1790.

Encyclopedias [^]

Genealogist's Encyclopedia (1969) – CS9.P48 in Reference

Periodicals [^]

  • Index to Vital Statistics from Bozeman, MT Newspapers, 1870-1910 – Microfilm 586 in Special
  • MONTANA, The Magazine of Western History: comprehensive index, 1951-1990 – F726.M742 1993 in Reference and Special
  • Montana Historical Society Newspaper Project: A Union List of Montana Newspapers in Montana Repositories – F726.M728 1987 in Reference and Special
  • Local newspapers held at Renne Library are:
    • Bozeman Courier 1871-1954 in Special (Includes Avant Courier, Bozeman Avant Courier, and other name variations of the Courier).
    • Bozeman Daily Chronicle 1911-present in Spain-Sedivay Resource Center (Micro/AV).
    • Bozeman Weekly Chronicle 1883-1919 in Special
    • Gallatin County Republican 1900-1905 in Special
    • Gallatin County Tribune 1954-1973 in Special

Gallatin County Resources [^]

  • Bozeman Public Library – 220 W. Lamme St., Bozeman, MT 59715   |  Phone: 406-582-2400
  • Bozeman Stake Family History Center - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 2915 Colter Ave., Bozeman, MT 59715-6142 (corner of S. Third & Henderson)   |  Phone: 406-586-3880, ext. 15 for an appt.  |  Hours: Tues. - Thur. 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. & 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.; closed between the week of Christmas and New Year's Day.
  • Gallatin County Historical Society - 317 W. Main St., Bozeman, MT 59725   |  Phone: 406-522-8123

Find Articles & More [^]

All MSU Libraries indexes and databases can be accessed online from on or off campus. Genealogy headings are under Specific Disciplines or may be located by database name through the Alphabetical Listings. Students, faculty, staff and others directly associated with MSU are allowed off-campus access to our database collection by logging in. If you need assistance with this process, call the Reference Desk at (406) 994-3371.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index (varies) - Citations to biographical dictionaries and other sources.

Web Resources [^]

There are some excellent and thorough listings of resources available through the Internet. Search Yahoo, Google, or any other search engine for genealogy. A sampling of available sites is listed below.

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