John & Rosalind Redfern Genealogical Center of the Midland County Public Library
LOCAL RECORDS
Locally generated records available to researchers include:
The Midland Historical Museum, located directly south of the Midland Public Library, maintains an active file of obituaries published in the Midland Reporter Telegram newspaper. This indexed collection includes dates from 1960 to present. All extant issues of the newspaper, dating as early as 1929, are available on microfilm in the Periodical Department of the library.
PERIODICALS
The research center holdings include hundreds of titles of periodicals, both current and defunct. Most are indexed in Periodical Source Index (PERSI) and Genealogical Periodical Annual Index. All periodicals indexed in Swem's Virginia Historical Index are in the collection.
BOOKS
The collection contains over 16,000 volumes related to all aspects of genealogical research. These can be accessed through the on-line catalog by author, title or subject. Included in the collection are:
The center holds a substatial collection of books that relate to military personnel and veterans benefits. The most significant of these is a 127 volume set of the War of the Rebellion: Offical Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.
MICROFILM
Census Microfilm: Few sources match census records for specific genealogical information. The research center holds over 3000 rolls of Federal census population schedules, dating 1790 - 1920, and a few special schedules are held in book form and/or compact disk.
Non-census Microfilm: Major collections on microfilm include:
Microfiche: The microfiche collection contains approximately 5000 fiche. Among the records available in this medium are: John Brown Turner Collection (DE) List of records available from the Illinois State Archives South Carolina Low-Country Church Records A variety of genealogical publications
TEXAS RECORDS
The center has Texas Material dating from the Spanish colonial period to about the middle of the 20th century. The list below contains a sampling of information available for each of the three major time periods. Colonial Period Benavides. A Name Guide to the Bexar Archives, 1717-1836 Taylor. Index to the Spanish Archives of the General Land Office. University of Texas. Residents of Texas 1782-1836. Winfrey. Indian Papers 1825-1916 Republic Period Jenkins. Papers of the Texas Revolution McLean. Papers Concerning Robertson's Colony Texas State Library. Calendar of Mirabeau Lamar White. 1840 Citizens of Texas Statehood 1867 - 1869 Voter Register 1850 - 1920 Federal Census, population schedules for entire state Index to Probate Birth Records Index to Texas Deaths 1903 - 1977 Texas Birth Indexes 1903 - 1941 Military Service Records: Union and Confederate Troops Early Texas County Marriages Texas Land Title Abstracts
COMPUTER DATABASES
Computers are available for searching the approximately 100 CD-ROM disks that contain records from the following programs: Family Search Ancestral File International Genealogical Index Family History Library Catalog Social Security Death Index Military Death Index (limited) Automated Archives Census indexes dating from pre-colonial to 1880 Indexes to marriage records for a number of states 1831 - 1841 Ireland Census Index Volunteer U. S. Soldiers Military Records 1784 - 1811 General Land Office Automated Records: Pre-1908 Homestead and Cash Entry data for: Arkansas Florida Louisiana Michigan Territorial Vital Records Utah Territory 1800 - 1906
Hours library are open September - May Mon - Thur 9:00 a.m. -
9:00 p.m. Fri - Sat 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. June - August Monday
9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Tues - Sat 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Free
Parking Available Midland County Public Library 301 West Missouri
- Midland, TX 79701 (432) 688-4320 - Fax (432) 688-8996
Contact the Genealogical Library at: Librarian