MHGS Announces Programs

January 2012
"Party Lines, Smudge Pots and LP Records --- Stepping Back in Time" presented by Annette Schmidt, MHGS Recording Secretary and Board Member
Saturday, January 28 at 10:00 a.m. at Midwest.
In the first month of the new year, it's the perfect time to reflect and wax nostalgic about the "good old days." Join Annette for a lively interactive discussion involving some of our fondest, most foolish and funniest memories from the past. It's pop culture gone retro!

February 2012
"Evaluating Sources" presented by Margaret Lucas, MHGS Librarian and Board Member
Saturday, Feb 11 at 1:00 p.m. at Midwest.
It's going to be more than just a discussion on primary and secondary sources, but also on evaluating sources, finding out how to determine the difference between information, knowledge and sources; the difference between a theory and proof of that theory; justifying a conclusion based upon indirect or conflicting evidence; how to intelligently argue with pieces of information--that is, looking for inherent flaws, biases, and contradictions.

March 2012
Before there was a Sedgwick County, before there was a Wichita, there was a First Presbyterian Church… "Preserving History Through Its Archives" with Gary Huffman, Archivist at First Presbyterian Church
Saturday, March 3 --- exact time to be announced at later date --- will meet at the First Presbyterian Church, 525 North Broadway Street.
The history of First Presbyterian Church is interwoven with the history of the county and the city. Many of the early church members were movers and shakers in the community. Come visit so you can share in a rich community resource.

KCGS Annual Meeting and Conference

2012 KCGS Conference will be June 23, 2012, in the Kanza Room of the Memorial Union at Emporia State University, co-hosted by Flint Hills Genealogical Society. The Speaker will be Julie Miller of Colorado. She will present the following lectures:

The 5 Steps of Genealogical Proof

Make the Census Work for You

When Grandpa Went Off to War: U.S. Military Records

An Ounce of Prevention: Making a Genealogical Disaster Plan

Quiring Monument Purchase Orders

Midwest Historical & Genealogical Society has acquired purchase orders from Quiring Monument that includes orders for memorial stones from Wichita Monument, Marsh Monument, Quiring Monument, Creekmore & Son, Bruce Memorials (Klugman). These purchase orders cover the years 1919 through 1944, 1951 through 1973 and 1965 though 1991 and a great deal of information that could be helpful to the genealogist is found on some of these. The purchase orders from the five companies have been merged and indexed for your convenience in searching.

Kansas Ancestor Fair

Welcome!

Join us in celebrating Family History Month at the Kansas Ancestor Fair, October 8th, 2011 at the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka, Kansas!

Whether you're just wondering where to start, or are an experienced researcher, we'll have lots of information and learning opportunities for everyone. Representatives from Ancestry.com will be on-site, providing mini-sessions and tips for using their website.

Celebrate Family History Month

Celebrate Family History Month with Midwest Historical & Genealogical Society and All of Its Partners

What do you get when you combine genealogy, trolley rides, and partnerships? An absolutely delightful day of fun and discovery on Saturday, October 22nd!

"Ride to the Past" will get you to places you might never have been. Not only does October Jubilee promise to be a great day at Midwest by shopping the used book sale, seeing the display of vintage bikes from the Coasters Bicycle Club, and learning about our latest and greatest collection being unveiled at the library, you can also hop aboard a River City Trolley that will stop at the Kansas African American Museum and the Genealogy Department at the downtown public library, just across the street from the Wichita-Sedgwick County Museum.

Being underwritten by the Wichita Genealogical Society, the trolley will run in a loop from Midwest to the Kansas African American Museum and then on to the downtown Wichita Public Library and its Genealogy Department (downstairs) before it loops back to Midwest and begins all over again. WGS's Trolley Tour called "Ride to the Past" is offered FREE of charge for 2 1/2 hours starting at 1:00 from Midwest.

Both the Kansas African American Museum and the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum are waiving admission prices for those entering with trolley tour stickers which will be issued when you step aboard. Our friends from WGS have a special afternoon planned in the Genealogy Department at the library with special exhibits on display along with family history packets and tours. So stop along the way and enjoy yourself!

Start your day early at Midwest, grab a bite to eat (we hope to have a vendor on site), and then in the afternoon hop aboard the trolley. Celebrate Family History Month in a way that's never been offered before!

Forgotten Settlers of Kansas

Volume 27 of Forgotten Settlers of Kansas is now available for sale. It is indexed on Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies web site in combination with Volume 26, at http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/kcgs/FS26%20A-E.htm . The cost of Volume 27 is $25 per book or $15 for a CD. Visit our web site for an order form - http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/kcgs/fsorder.pdf

Genealogy Inspired Crafts

"Genealogy-Inspired Arts and Crafts Projects " — Saturday, September 24th @ 1:00 p.m.
Helen Bortz, presenter — former Midwest president, current MHGS Webmaster, and long-time crafter and dedicated genealogist.

An interesting array of ideas for arts and crafts projects, inspired by and created from Helen's own family research and photo collections, will be presented. Whether you're an amateur crafter or the most experienced artist, this program will show you ways to take your genealogy discoveries and memorabilia and turn them into visually appealing designs to enjoy, share with and make for your family and friends for generations to come. Preserve your treasures with an aesthetic twist! This presentation is open to the public at no charge.

Organizing Your Photos

Organizing Your Photos

Saturday, August 27, 2011

10:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.

If your daughter asked you for her high school graduation picture, could you find it? How about your parents’ wedding picture — or last year’s Christmas pictures?

Do you know how many pictures you have? Have you inherited pictures?

Let’s get those pictures ORGANIZED!! We will be looking at organizing printed pictures, slides and digital pictures and how we can organize them so we can find them anytime.

You can keep your albums as they are, you can digitize them, and you can do both or a combination. Plus you WANT to get your pictures out of “magnetic” photo albums that were popular in the 1970s and 1980s!

Do you want to find out WHERE to start, HOW to keep them (in albums or digitizing) and HOW to find a particular picture?

Join us Saturday, August 27^th at Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society at 10:00 a.m. for a 2-hour program on “Organizing Your Photos.” After a short break for lunch, scanning of photographs will be available from 1:00-3:00 p.m. ($0.10/each for MHGS members; $0.15/each for non-members — all at 300 dpi; limit of 250 pictures per person. (Margaret and Francene, see separate attachment for more information.)

Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society will also be hosting a “Scanning Saturday” on July 30^th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

A follow-up program on “Editing Your Digital Pictures” will be held IF there is interest.

2011 Kansas Ancestor Fair

Saturday, October 8, 10am - 3pm. 2011 Kansas Ancestor Fair, at the Kansas Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Street, Topeka, KS. Mini-sessions, preservation consultants, "Ask-the-Experts" consultations, informational displays by local chapters of lineage societies and organizations with historical/genealogical interests. Co-sponsored by Topeka Genealogical Society, Kansas Historical Society, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, and the Topeka Family History Center of the LDS Church. All events are free and open to the public. For questions, email president1@tgstopeka.org.

Kansas Newspapers

Kansas Newspapers

I am writing to ask for your help in promoting the digitization of Kansas' historical newspapers. In 2009, the Kansas Historical Society received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress to begin the process of making newspapers from across the state available for free, accessible from anywhere, and keyword searchable. So far, twenty titles from across the state have been digitized and are currently available. Would you please consider adding a link to the Chronicling America website (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/#Kansas) on your own website? You can also visit our project website, http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-digital-newspaper-program/16126, for more information. Sincerely, Jocelyn Wehr Library and Archives Division Kansas Historical Society 6425 SW 6th Avenue Topeka KS 66615-1099 785.272.8681 ext. 284

Social Networking for Genealogy Societies

While thousands of genealogists and family historians have discovered new ways to expand and improve their genealogy endeavors using social networking, there is a dire need for genealogy societies to understand and begin using these same communication tools. This webinar will give genealogy society leaders and members an overview with real examples of how genealogy societies are successfully leveraging social media websites and applications to attract new members and expand their member services.
If you think Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites are “just for kids” then think again. Most businesses and non-profits are learning how to attract new customers and members merely by having a “presence” on many of these sites. In this webinar you’ll learn about the latest websites and tools available for free and how some genealogy societies are already using them. These same societies are not only attracting new members but they are also effectively marketing their events and services to the genealogy community and beyond.
This webinar will be presented by FGS board member and nationally-recognized genealogy educator Thomas MacEntee. MacEntee is a professional genealogist specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogical research and as a means of interacting with others in the family history community.
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/401693254

KCGS Annual Meeting and Conference

KCGS Annual Meeting and Conference will be held June 18, 2011 at the United Methodist Church, 612 Poyntz, Manhattan, Kansas. Speaker will be C. Ann Stanley of Jacksonville, FL. For registration information log on to http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/kcgs/KCGS_2011-5.pdf

Reno County Genealogical Society

Reno County Genealogical Society officers for 2011 are:

President - Vivian Gobin

Vice-President - none

Treasurer - Kendall Griggs

Corresponding Sec. - Jay Moore

Recording Sec. - Shelia Sage