Welcome to the Wisconsin - Reference Books

Wisconsin's Early French Habitants - Jo Bartels Alderson and Kate Alderson Rennert. This new work is an original and impressive undertaking. It concentrates on an often overlooked portion of North American history-the French exploration and "settlement" of South Central Canada and North Central U.S., namely the state of Wisconsin. The French word habitants in the title is closest in meaning to the English words residents or settlers; and the authors give brilliant insight to the lives led by these early French habitants. The book follows the path of French explorers like Champlain and La Salle, and establishes, in a very comprehensive format, the true weight of French influence in North America.

Not only is this book useful as a history replete with French exploits in Wisconsin but it provides a basis for ancestral research in that region as well. The second part of this text supplies the reader with genealogies that are both extensive and well documented. Additional notes are provided with some family histories. The third major section of this work is a list of French names in early Wisconsin. The list is subsequently divided into headings which include: "The Old French Cemetery at Prairie du Chien," "First Settlers in Green Bay" and "Before the War of 1812, Principal Families in Green Bay." There is also a special section of the book which closely follows Wisconsin's "Huguenot Connections." A lengthy bibliography is included. 1998, 208 pp., biblio., maps, paper, $19.00 #ZA411

Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley Counties of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago, [Wisconsin] - J.H. Beers & Co. Most of the nearly 1,000 subjects were still alive at the time of the original publication, so the majority of the biographies focus on the mid to late 1800s. Many of the subjects are first or second generation immigrants, and usually the sketches include the country of origin, the names of parents and siblings, and the date and place of immigration. The subject's spouse and children are always recorded, and whenever possible a little biographical information about them is included as well. The heart of each sketch, however, is the recounting of the subject's path to prominence and distinction. (1895) reprint, 1239 pp., 2 vols., illus., index, paper, $75.50 #B116

Civil War Veterans of Winnebago County, Wisconsin Volume 2, I-T. - David A. Langkau. "This work is not intended to be a roster or listing of names. It is meant to bring substance and meaning to the lives of those who fought for their beliefs in the Civil War. My intention is to find parts of the history for each individual and to identify the final resting place of every Civil War veteran who is buried within the county. These volumes represent my findings prior to 1993." ntries are listed alphabetically and include the following information when known: rank, company, division, birth, death, parents, spouse, family line, children, activities during the war, prisoners of war, post-war occupations, and sources. 1994, 384 pp., paper, $30.50 #L053

The Chronicles of Milwaukee (Wisconsin): being a narrative history of the town from its earliest period to the present - A. C. Wheeler. It describes the initial settlement by whites, the slow growth of the community, altercations between whites and Indians, murders, establishment of a newspaper and a harbor, the hard times of 1837, road and bridge building, etc. (1861) print, 303 pp., index, paper, $24.50 #W311