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 to your 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.
October has been declared "Wichita Family History Month". To see the Proclamation, click Proclamation
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The Genealogy 101 Class is full.
The The October 2013 Quarterly meeding has a date change.
The Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies has a date change.
Beginning in January, 2013, the Board Meetings will start at 6:00 p.m. in the WPL Board Room.
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.
A series of 8 weekly classes on topics in Intermediate Genealogy starts March 28 at the Alford Branch Library from 6:00 to 7:30 P.M. The objective for this course is to give participants a more in depth look into selected topics that will give them the tools to use as they search for their family history. More about the classes can be found by clicking on Gen 201 Classes
The Wichita Genealogical Society announces the 2013 trip to the largest Public Genealogy Library west of the Mississippi in Independence, Missouri.
Cost: $230.00 Double Occupancy - $300.00 Single
Price includes Transportation, 2 Nights at the Hilton Garden Hotel in Independence, 2 hot breakfasts, and 2 lunches
For more information click About the Midwest Genealogy Center Trip . To reserve your space, click MGC Trip Registration Info.
Learn which states were Public Land States and what that means. We will review Tract Books, Plat and Field Notes, as well as, Case Files.
Lori DeWinkler will present "If These Walls Could Talk"
Lori has always been interested in local history. She is a paranormal investigator and was a tour guide for Haunted Wichita in 2011 and for Ghost Tours of Kansas in Wichita in 2012.
In July of 2011, she and Darin Peterson, another paranormal investigator, started the group "Moonlit Ghost Hunts". She wrote a booklet, "Haunted Delano", which features the history of buildings in the Delano area of Wichita. She is currently working on a book about historic tales across Kansas, sharing the history of both people and places.
A series of 7 weekly classes on Beginning Genealogy starts June 6 at the Alford Branch Library from 6:00 to 7:30 P.M. More about the classes can be found by clicking on Gen 101 Classes
Speakers will include archivists, curators, and directors of Libraries, Museums, Archives, and Special Collections throughout Kansas.
The Conference will be held at The Dyck Arboretum, 177 W. Hickory St. in Hesston, Kansas from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM For more information click on KCGS
The law reflects society's values; affects personal & group behavior and records location and content. The form and terminology of records are important and should not be overlooked or misinterpreted.
The printed genealogies are great for finding out families. But how can we decide if the book has the correct information? The opinion may be valid and based on solid evidence, or it may have tumbled from the wrong ancestral tree.
Darren McMannis will present "Treasure Quest: Finding The Buried Treasure In Your Family's History"
Look Closely. Seeking clues from the research you've already done, you'll find adventure by digging in unexplored (and unexpected) new places, such as coroners' reports, police reports, funeral home and cemetery records, probate records, and living descendents. The treasure your ancestors left you simply awaits your discovery.
Darren has been active in genealogy since 1992. He is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists & the International Association of Family History Writers & Editors. He serves on the Board for the Harvey County Genealogical Society and the Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies. Darren has spoken at several genealogy conferences, photographed & indexed over 42,000 headstones in Harvey County, and has compiled over 1,000 pages of history on 3 of his family lines.
The Wichita Genealogical Society announces the 2013 trip to the largest genealogy library in the world, The Family History Library, in Salt Lake City, Utah.Cost: $700.00 Double Occupancy - $950.00 Single
For more information click About the Family History Library Trip . To reserve your space, click Trip Registration Info.
This lecture will give an overview of resources for determining if one of your ancestors lived in or was born in Virginia. We will focus on how information or clues can help determine when someone arrived or left Virginia.
October is Family History Month. Subject- TBA
Former Hesston College faculty colleagues Dr. Sharon Hill Cranford and Dwight Roth will present their research into their shared ancestry. Dwight, white Mennonite and Sharon, African-American will discuss their improbable meeting and subsequent discoveries. Book signings and Q & A to follow.