Welcome to the Wichita Genealogical Society Web Site!

Our Mission is:

"to facilitate the gathering of genealogical and family history information for the researcher and
to support the Local History and Genealogy Department of the Wichita Public Library"

The Wichita Genealogical Society (WGS) is an important link between you, the researcher, and gaining information, sharpening your research methodologies, seeking and understanding sources, and applying your genealogical knowledge.

Whether you are researching Sedgwick County, the surrounding counties, or nation wide, you may want to consider joining the Society. WGS has regular meetings which offer helpful lectures and workshops to benefit your genealogical research. To learn more about WGS click About WGS. To learn more about joining WGS click Membership in WGS.

This site contains some documents in PDF format which requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. For a free download of this reader, click on the icon below.

pdf reader

For a note about browsers and navigating this website, click here.

Check out the upcoming WGS-Ancestry.com "Discovering Who You Are" Conference on October 16th.

There are a few more spaces left. Look for our Research Trip below, what a deal!

Please note the change for the August 21 and September 18 meeting information.

Also, the subject of the November 20 meeting is being verified, so is temporarily removed from the calendar. Watch this space for further notice.

Upcoming Events

(for more detail click Calendar )

Where:
Lionel Alford Branch Library
3447 S. Meridian
Wichita, Kansas
Map to Alford Branch Library

When:
Every third Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

  • Aug 18-21, 2010 - FGS Conference (Knoxville, Tennessee)

    • For more information, click FGS

  • August 21 - Quarterly Meeting - "Railroads in Kansas" by William S. Worley from the Blue River Branch of Metropolitan Community Colleges in Independence, Missouri and the University of Missouri-Kansas City

    • Bill specializes in Kansas and Missouri History and holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Kansas. He is a member of the Speakers Bureau of the Kansas Humanities Council.

    It is hard to imagine Kansas without railroads. Many communities started because of railroads like the Kansas (Union) Pacific, the KATY, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe. This presentation tells the stories of the rail giants, the town boosters, the passengers, the workers, and the freight that shaped Kansas' past and continues to shape our future.

  • September 18 - Guidelines for Reading Handwriting on Old Documents

    • Reading older documents takes patience and practice. The original writer did not write with the intent that researchers would be able to read handwriting several years later. In some cases the writer's objective may have been to create an impressive looking document. Whatever the reason for writing, the scribe obviously had some latitude in using his own abbreviations and punctuation. We will examine and compare words, letters and characters to help understand what was written on the documents.

  • September 25 - October 3 - Research Trip to Allen Co. Public Library

    • All Aboard The Wichita Genealogical Society announces the 2010 trip to the largest genealogy public library, The Allen County Public Libraray, in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

    Tour dates: September 25 - October 3, 2010.
    Cost: $665.00 Double Occupancy - $925.00 Single

    For more information click About the Allen Co. Public Library Trip . To reserve your space, complete the Trip Registration Form and mail to:

    The Wichita Genealogical Society
    c/o Sage Joyner
    11822 SW 50th
    Towanda, KS 67144

  • October 16 - WGS/Ancestry.com Conference "Discovering Who You Are"

    • WGS is hosting an important Conference with speakers from Ancestry.com and the National Archives and Records Administration. Click here for the Conference details.

  • November 20 - Quarterly Meeting -

  • December - No Meeting -