Microfilm
The Barbour Collection
The Barbour Collection consists of the vital records of Connecticut towns prior to 1850. For a list of the microfilm holdings in the Barbour Collection, click on The Barbour Collection.
Dawes Rolls
We also have the complete set of applications for the Dawes Commission on microfilm.
The Dawes Commission accepted applications for membership into the Five Civilized Tribes
from 1898 to 1907. These tribes include the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole.
These microfilm rolls are copies of the genealogical papers Native Americans submitted to prove
their membership in these tribes. Over 101,000 names are included in the rolls and information
given sometimes includes valuable supporting documentation, such as birth and death affidavits,
marriage licenses, and correspondence. Today, the five tribes use the Dawes Rolls for determining
membership in their tribes.
The Draper Manuscripts
The Draper Manuscripts cover a period between the French and Indian War and the War of 1812 (ca. 1755-1815). It is primarily a collection of L. C. Draper's papers consisting of research notes, correspondence, interviews about the old pioneers, many conducted in person by Draper, extracts from newspapers, muster roles, transcripts of official documents, and much more.
The territory covered is just as impressive - twenty-one states east of the Mississippi River, Iowa, Missouri and parts of Canada. The geographic concentration included the western Carolinas and Virginia, some portions of Georgia and Alabama, the entire Ohio River valley, and parts of the Mississippi River valley. The manuscripts and letters are an incredibly rich source of information on the lives of the people in these areas.
Draper made nine trips through the southeastern and middle states, filled several thousand notebook pages with interview notes and copies of archival records and newspaper articles, and he acquired many significant original manuscripts. He carried on a voluminous correspondence on Daniel Boone, George Rogers Clark and many of their contempories.
During his many years of correspondence with individuals about the formative years of the American Republic, he also acquired many original source documents. The papers include 575 early maps and manuscripts. His interviews ranged from the heroes of the time to the unknown little settler. The manuscripts contain few systematically recorded family histories or genealogies, but researchers may find some pertinent original early documents as well as innumerable biographical references scattered in his correspondence and notes. He included names of parents and grandparents, neighbors, descriptions of land, Indian raids, migrations and daily life habits.
There are 491 volumes on 134 reels of microfilm in the series. They are divided into 50 separate series, labeled A through ZZ, with the letter I and II not used. The majority of the series into which the volumes are arranged have titles appropriate to the core topic, period, or format. Some are titled by the geographical area covered, such as Illinois Papers, Kentucky Papers, or Northwest Virginia Papers. Others bear the names of men whom Draper had targeted for biographies, including such heroes as Boone, Simon Kenton, and Tecumseh. There are many rare personal papers included such as correspondence exchanged by the Clark brothers and their parents, a letter from Robert Patterson to his wife Elizabeth expressing his concern for her and their young daughters should he not survive the
Indian warfare of 1786, and a letter written in 1816 by an aging Daniel Boone reflecting his religious beliefs.
Draper willed his personal collection of manuscripts to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. This series of 134 reels of microfilm contains all of the original manuscripts held at the Wisconsin State Historical Society.
With such a mass of material, how does one ever know which of these reels of film is needed? The easiest way to begin is to check the "Guide to the Draper Manuscripts" by Josephine L. Harper. In this book, Ms Harper gives a brief synopsis of each volume and lists many of the names mentioned therein. There is also an index - though not all inclusive - and an Appendix of Revolutionary War Pension Applicants and another listing of over 550 Maps.
Because they are so costly, copies of the Draper Manuscripts are seldom found in smaller libraries. To our knowledge, the only other area library holding the complete set is Kansas City, Missouri.
To see the indexes of the microfilm collection, click on Draper Manuscripts.
Indian Census Rolls
We have about 170-180 rolls (of a total of 692 rolls) of Indian Census for assorted tribes
from the Great Plains for the years 1885 to 1940. Patrons can check the library's online
catalog to see which tribes and what years we have. Search by title for Indian Census Rolls.
From the NARA website:
Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 contain census nformation that were usually submitted each year by agents or superintendents in charge of Indian reservations, as required by an act of July 4, 1884 (23 Stat. 98). The data on the rolls vary to some extent, but usually given are the English and/or Indian name of the person, roll number, age or date of birth, sex, and relationship to head of family. Beginning in 1930, the rolls also show the degree of Indian blood, marital status, ward status, place of residence, and someTimes New Roman other information. For certain years--including 1935, 1936, 1938, and 1939--only supplemental rolls of additions and deletions were compiled.
Miscellanious Wichita Area Newspapers
For a listing of the microfilm holdings of newspapers in the surrounding area click on
Miscellanious Wichita Area Newspapers.