Genealogy
Search the world’s most popular consumer online genealogy resource at your library. Ancestry Library Edition sources include censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, military records, court and legal documents, directories, photos, maps, and more.
Ancestry Library Edition is temporarily available to use from home.
Fold3 Library Edition
Convenient access to U.S. military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. With content from the Revolutionary War onward, Fold3 is a resource for historians, genealogists, researchers, military enthusiasts, teachers, and battle reenactors.
Research Database
Below is a list of online research databases. All databases (not including Ancestry Library Edition) are available any time with your library card.
America's Obituaries & Death Notices - Collects records from more than 3,900 newspapers nationwide, making them available through one fully searchable database. This comprehensive resource features nearly 63 million listings. (NewsBank)
HeritageQuest Online - Comprehensive treasury of American genealogical sources with coverage dating back to the 1700s. The collection consists of six core data sets: U.S. Federal Censuses, Genealogy and local history books, Periodical Source Index (PERSI), Revolutionary War Records, Freedman’s Bank Records, The LexisNexis U.S. Serial Set.
Texas Digital Sanborn Maps Delivers detailed property and land-use records that depict the grid of everyday life in more than 12,000 U.S. towns and cities across a century of change. The maps provide a wealth of information, such as building outline, size and shape, windows and doors, street and sidewalk widths, boundaries, and property numbers.Wylie News Archive
- Back issues of the Wylie News are now available on the Portal to Texas History. Search or browse back issues of the Wylie News and other Texas newspapers. The Portal to Texas History is created and maintained by the University of North Texas Libraries' Digital Projects Unit.
Reserve Items
The Smith Public Library has a small number of books and other items unique to the city of Wylie. These items are stored behind the Help Desk. To use one of these items you will need to leave your library card or some form of government-issued identification (driver’s license, passport, etc.) at the desk. These items may not leave the library.
Fulkerson, Beb. (1990). Wylie Area Heritage. Wylie, TX: B. Fulkerson. 183 pages: illustrations.
This book will be of particular interest to those researching the settlement and growth of early Wylie. Part IV contains biographical sketches of well-known citizens, including information on their descendants.
Briggs, Sandy. (1997). Windows to the Past: A Pictorial History of Wylie. Marceline, MO: Wylie News. 96 pages: illustrations, portraits.
The introduction to this work features a brief history of the city itself (from the 1800s to 1997) and of the development of newspapers in the Wylie area. The earliest photographs date back to the mid-to-late 19th century. Subjects include early settlers, prominent citizens, students, veterans, local businesses, churches, and town gatherings.
Fulkerson, Beb. The Town of Wylie: Excerpts from Her Column in The Wylie News.
These two volumes contain clippings of Beb Fulkerson’s column, “The Town of Wylie,” from The Wylie News. The paper featured local, state, and national news along with advertising. Fulkerson wrote historical sketches, interviewed long-time residents, and collected articles for the column.
Transcription of the Wylie Cemetery in Wylie, Collin County, Texas.
The cemetery is located south of Hwy 78 at the intersection of S. John Akin Lane and E. Master Ave.
Other Helpful Websites
Family Search
Find a Grave
Local Genealogy Societies
Collin County Genealogical Society (CCGS)
Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc.