2015 KCGS Annual Meeting and Conference

KCGS Annual Conference will be held June 20, 2015 with Wichita Genealogical Society as co-hosts in Wichita, KS. Please visit our website for program and registration information. 
Featured speaker will be Kathleen Strader Brandt Professional Genealogist / Consultant / Speaker. You can see Kathleen's work on TLC and NBC: Who Do You Think You Are? with Tim McGraw (appears on episode), Reba McEntire, Ashley Judd, and Chris O'Donnell; on PBS: Finding Your Roots; CCTV Biz Asia; and, in AARP and Jet Magazine.  Ask about the You Are A Pioneer series as presented at Stephens College, Columbia, MO, Feb 2014, and is referenced in Genealogy Online for Dummies, 7th Edition, 2014. Engaged in forensic genealogy, she is a licensed Private Investigator (MO). She recently compiled and authored Colored Marriages of Saline County, MO., released April 2014.

KCGS VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD

HONOR YOUR MEMBERS

WITH THE KCGS VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD

Encourage membership and volunteerism in your Society by promoting this unique and rewarding benefit your members!  As a member of the Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies, your organization can offer an exciting award package to your members that involves recognition from your local Society, State recognition from KCGS, and National recognition through KCGS from the Corporation For National & Community Service and the Points of Light Foundation.

There are 3 levels of recognition.  1) You can recognize local volunteers no matter how many volunteer hours they give in a year's time.  2) At the State level, KCGS will recognize (at no cost) all your volunteers who give at least 48 hours in the year to genealogy and family history projects (that averages just 4 hours a month).  3) Through your certification, KCGS will offer the National Award (3 Levels - Bronze, Silver, & Gold) based upon the following PSVA award criteria:

Hours By Award              BRONZE              SILVER               GOLD
Kids (5-10)                       26-49                     50-74                     75+
Teens (11-15)                   50- 74                    75-99                    100+
Young Adults (16-25)    100-174                 175-249                  250+
Adults (26 and older)    100-249                250-499                 500+

Thus, your adult members can easily earn the National PVSA Bronze award package by completing 100 hours of Volunteer Service between January 1 and December 31.  This would average out to only about 2 hours each week.  There is also a special Lifetime Achievement Award when 4,000 volunteer hours are reached, no matter how many years it may take.

The full Awards package consists of a personal Thank You letter from the KCGS President, a personal Congratulations letter signed by the President of the United States, a personalized Certificate of Achievement, and an official President's Volunteer Service Award pin.  You will distribute these awards to your volunteers and recognize their service to your organization however you see fit.

How Does This Work?

1.  As a member of KCGS, simply send your organization name & contact information in a note to Darren McMannis, the KCGS Volunteer Awards Coordinator (Email Volunteers@KCGS.us).  In return you will receive an electronic and paper master volunteer record-keeping form, a press release you can use in your local newspaper, and sample ideas for getting the word out to your members.

2.  Start encouraging your members to record their volunteer time.

3.  Encourage new members to join in order to take advantage of this Award program.  Those in your county who are active in genealogy or history but who are not current members may be prompted to join in order to participate.

4.  Develop volunteer projects for your members to participate in.  KCGS will keep you supplied with new ideas, and step-by-step volunteer guides for a variety of projects (newspaper transcription, cemetery documentation, etc).

5.  In January of 2016, collect all volunteer record sheets, certify that the work being reported is "reasonable and consistent" with their involvement in society projects, and certify that each individual meets the National requirements if receiving the National award:

• Recipient(s) must be a United States citizen or a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States.
• Awards are issued for volunteer service only; additional levels of participation with the organization (i.e., charitable support) are not a factor considered for the award.
• Court-ordered community service does not qualify for the award.
• Volunteer Service must be with projects directly or indirectly connected to the overall purpose of your local Society or Museum, or in achievement of the purposes of the KCGS; primarily, in promoting genealogy and family history research, collection and preservation of genealogical and historical records, assisting others in their research, educating others in any aspect of family history, etc.

6.  Submit a summary and certification to KCGS for each award recipient along with payment for the National Awards package.  The actual fee is determined by the Points of Light Foundation and is currently $ 5.50 for the Award letter, certificate, and pin.  The cost is $ 8.00 if you prefer the Medallion & Ribbon instead of the Pin for your members.  KCGS will pay shipping fees.  Also, KCGS will provide you with several ideas and sample letters to assist you in raising donations, if needed, to pay for the cost of these awards.    While you cannot charge the recipient for this cost, this can be provided for in many other ways.

7.  KCGS will send you the State & National awards when they arrive, along with a Press Release to honor your volunteers, as well as any corporate sponsors of your local volunteer efforts during the previous year.

That's it!  Even if you're not entirely sure you will want to participate in the full National Presidential Volunteer Service Award at this time, you will at least want to encourage your volunteers to record their time so that you and the KCGS can recognize their annual efforts.

In an age when the typical Genealogy & Historical Society is struggling and being forced to adapt to new technologies, getting your County resources compiled and online is essential.  The Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies wants to help your organization remain viable and thriving in today's world, preserving the past for all future generations.  The KCGS Volunteer Awards program is one way we can support you in your mission and at the same time promote recognition of the tremendous contributions made by all of the Genealogy and Family History volunteers in Kansas.

Donald O'Toole

Donald O'Toole, husband of long time KCGS secretary, Shirley O'Toole, passed away December 30 in a Topeka Hospice. He had been ill with the virus that is spreading throughout Kansas.   Don touched the lives of all of us at KCGS as well as other citizens while he served as a pilot in the Kansas National Guard.

Services for Don will be held January 10 at 10 a.m. at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard, 6700 S.W. Topeka Blvd., (the main entrance of Forbes Field) Topeka, Kansas.

Please keep Shirley and the family in your thoughts and prayers.

Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies Moves Web Site

Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies has moved their web site to http://www.kcgs.us/ . Information on the 2014 Annual Conference is posted there. To be held in McPherson, KS, the speaker this year will be Valerie Eichler Lair.

2013 KCGS Conference and Annual Meeting

KCGS 2013 Conference and annual meeting, June 18 . "Research on the Range", Dyck Arboretum, Hesston, KS., 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Registration is required to guarantee lunch and a syllabus.
Speakers will include:

Art Binford	Friends University	Quaker Collection
Ashley Diaz	Emporia State University	ESU Archives at William Allen White Library
Jane Jones	Harvey County Archives	Local Historical Society Collections
John Thiesen	Bethel College	Mennonite Library & Archives Records
Lenora Lynam Lorna Nelson	Lindsborg Old Mill Museum	Swedish & Lutheran Records
Michelle Enke	Wichita Public Library	Wulfmeyer Genealogy Collection at WPL
Patty Nicholas	Ft. Hays State University	Volga German Records at Forsyth Library
Randy Roberts	Pittsburg State University	PSU Archives at Axe Library

1940 Kansas Census

The index of the 1940 Kansas Census on FamilySearch is now completed. Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies is very pleased that their member societies responded to the call and signed on to help get the tremendous task accomplished in such a short time. (We were the second state to be completed).
Thank you to every society and every individual member who helped. If you enjoyed working on the project, any of the other states would appreciate your indexing some of their images. We all know the benefits of helping other researchers!

KCGS Annual Meeting and Conference

June 23, 2012

2012 KCGS Annual Meeting and 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.
Our 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

Registration and additional information

1940 Census

Kansas was among the first five states to have the images of the 1940 census released on April 2, 2012. By 5:00 p.m. that day the indexing began and has continued relentlessly. It is now nearly 5:00 a.m. on April 5 and we have completed the indexing of 15% of the images. Thanks to all who are helping with the project. Take time to browse for your family but keep up the excellent work on the Indexing Project! Get all of your friends involved by having them create an account at https://indexing.familysearch.org/newuser/nuhome.jsf?3.12.12 and selecting Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies as their choice in the "group list".

1940 Federal Census Release

Word was received this morning by Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies that the imagines for the Kansas census would be among the first five states to be uploaded. That means that indexing can begin either late Monday or early Tuesday. If you haven't already singed up please go immediately to https://the1940census.com/?cid=fsHomeT1940Plt and create an account, list Kansas as your favorite state to index, then download the free software that will be used for indexing. In your profile select Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies as your group.

Indexing is quit simple and can be done in the comfort of your own home, day or night. You can do as much or as little as you desire and no one will say anything regarding your choices. The index you submit will be proof read by a second individual and even a third if necessary. If you can't read the hand writing you simply send that image back stating it is unreadable.

Volume 28 Kansas Forgotten Settlers

Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies, Inc. has announced the release of Volume 28 of Kansas Forgotten Settlers. You can find the index on line at http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/kcgs/FS26%20A-E.htm. Check it out and order your copy today!
Applications are also available on line and KCGS would welcome your submission.

1940 Federal Census

You have, no doubt, heard by now that the 1940 Federal Census will be released by the NARA on April 2, 2012. The digitized images will be available immediately after and indexing will start as the state images are put up. Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies has agreed to coordinate the indexing efforts of all Kansas enumeration districts. If every genealogist in Kansas were to index just one district and review one district Kansas could easily be the first state to have a completed index. Let's work toward that goal!

How many times in your research have you used "Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness" or ask that a photo be taken by a "Find-A-Grave" volunteer? Now is your chance to help out other researchers. Although the images are not yet available you can sign up to help by visiting https://www.familysearch.org/1940census and entering your name and e-mail and by placing Kansas in the box that says "Favorite State to Index".

Sign up now and be ready to start on the first day the Kansas images appear.

More information will be released in the following weeks by our state coordinator, Helen E. Bortz.

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

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

KCGS Annual Meeting and Conference 2011

Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies will hold it's annual meeting and conference June 18, 2011, with Riley County Genealogical Society as the co-host, in Manhattan, KS. The featured speaker will be Anne Staley, Jacksville, Florida.

Footnote Subscription

For the rest of the month of June Members of KCGS may purchase an annual member-ship in Footnote for half price. Just $39.95 is all it costs until July 1st and then the price for our members would go up to only $49.95 for one year. Regular price is $79.95 for one year.
Also for the month of June, KCGS will reap 20% of our total sales. That wouldn’t hurt either.
If you have wanted a chance to see what Footnote.com has to offer, here it is.
Here is the special personalized landing page for our members to go to to enroll. http://go.footnote.com/Kansas%20Council%20of%20Genealogical%20Societies_society/?xid=749

Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies Conference

June 19, 2010 - Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies Annual Meeting and Conference, Co-hosted by Sumner County Genealogical Society. Wellington High School, 1700 E 16th St, Wellington, KS. Speaker will be Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective.
A Spokesperson with Credentials and Media Presence

For public relations professionals who need the perfect spokesperson for their genealogy or photo-related product, brand, or launch, Maureen Taylor is an ideal solution. She has a wealth of experience as a genealogist, historian, and photo expert. Plus, she has a face for TV, a voice for radio, and numerous interviews with top-tier media to her credit.

Maureen knows photographs. As the Photo Detective, her focus is photography—from the little details that date a 19th-century picture to dealing with digital overload. As an author, sought-after speaker, and corporate spokesperson, Maureen shares her photo expertise with all who want to learn more about preserving their past.

Her interviews, books, and articles reach millions each month. Her passion for photography and genealogy resulted in Maureen researching Meredith Vieira’s family tree for a segment of The View and Timberly Whitfield’s family for Hallmark’s New Morning Show.

In addition, her numerous television, radio, and print media interviews include Better Homes & Gardens, The Boston Globe, Claritin’s Moment of Clarity, Creative Memories Lasting Moments, Dear Myrtle, DIY:Scrapbooking, Life Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, MSNBC, PBS Ancestors,and Satisfaction Magazine. She also shares her tips and techniques in energetic lectures on family history and photography that encourage participants to ask questions about a wide range of concerns from finding their roots to caring for great-grandmother’s scrapbook.

In 1999-2001, Maureen represented Genealogy.com. In 2003, Maureen acted as a consultant for Picasa, Google’s software for organizing and sharing photos. Her work as a national corporate spokesperson on marketing campaigns has included:

• Satellite TV and radio media tours
• National and local television appearances
• Interviews with national magazines

Message from KCGS President

Dear members,

I have been thinking about how we can make your state society more useful to you. Your KCGS board is always open to ideas that will help us become more viable.

Do your societies post or publish or both the obituaries from your area? Do you use your websites to post indices of your publications? Do you solicit queries for research? Do you take advantage of the free websites Helen will help you set up?

We have this KCGS website with this blog for members to use. Helen, our webmaster asks us to send her our contributions so that she can get them posted correctly. Responses are welcomed as well. We would like to post obits and other news of our members, for example. Here is an opportunity for idea exchange and so on. Not only would we like everyone to read it, but also to contribute to it.

We also have a space on Facebook that we encourage members to join. We are encouraging all societies to go digital as much as possible. Newsletters can be sent that way and websites can be used for soliciting research requests and for advertising the publications we have for sale. I am not comfortable with journals going digital because there are still genealogists who do not use computers or who have slow internet connections and who would rather have a hard copy to read that they do not have to download and print, but the increasing cost of postage and printing may make that necessary, too.

As president I would like to attend some society meetings for feedback and to bring communications. I need dates and places ahead of time so I can plan my trips.

I put out the newsletter whenever there is something to communicate and we are publishing the Review as well. Both Ruth and I would welcome contributions to those publications from our readership. My supply of society newsletters from which I can draw information, has diminished severely. I do not know if that is because fewer are being published or perhaps just not being sent to us. What I receive come mostly from the same societies located here in the eastern part of the state. Our newsletter should be a place where members can get the word out about new publications, special programs, and projects, etc. Putting out newsletters electronically is cost free and can be done as often as we need to. If you would like to email me yours, my address is jcrosson@wamego.net

We have learned that we cannot continue to advertise in the national journals as our funds are limited. We would like all member societies to help us advertise our Forgotten Settlers project in their own publications. A camera ready ad can be had for the asking. This project is not so much for earning income for the state society as it is for advertising to the world our Kansas heritage, for encouraging those with Kansas ancestors to be able to give them recognition.

Please feel free to give us any feedback and most of all ideas of how we can become more of a helpful entity.

Sincerely,
Janeice Crosson
President KCGS

News from the Kansas State Historical Society

Provided by Sara Keckeisen -

As you may have heard or read in the newspaper, the Kansas Historical Society (like all state agencies) was recently required to reduce budgetary expenditures to help the state achieve a balanced budget. At the Historical Society, that has meant a reduction in our professional staff (here in Topeka and at some of our historic sites) and in some of the services we are able to provide. We are, however, still striving to provide researchers, both in person and distance-researchers, with accurate and efficient reference help, and our facilities are still open their regular hours (Tuesday-Saturday from 9:00am-4:30) but we did lose one reference librarian in the recent cuts and we have had to raise our research fees. We can now do one obituary search (when the death date and place are known) for a $15.00 research fee. All other research requests for in-state patrons are $20.00 and for out-of-state patrons are $25.00. These fees are payable in advance and include 30 minutes of research and up to 5 pages of photocopying if we find anything. As of now, per-page photocopy charges and postage charges for copies above the 5 included copies are remaining the same. More complete information can be found on our website: http://www.kshs.org/contact/ask_question.htm or feel free to call the Reference Desk at 785-272-8681, ext. 117. There is still no charge to use our collections in person.

Part of the budget cuts has affected our ability to purchase new books and materials for the library research collections. So donations are more important and appreciated than ever! If you have been working on compiling a newspaper index or compiling cemetery inscriptions or transcribing vital record information from county records, please keep us in mind. We would love to have a copy of our work, even if it is not Kansas-related. If you have identified photographs of Kansas-related people and places, we’d love to consider them for our photographs collection. Nowadays, loaned-for-copying or donated photographs are digitally scanned (as well as having a preservation copy made) and most are uploaded to our swell Kansas Memory website (www.kansasmemory.org). You can find photographs on everything from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to the St. Marys, Kansas pharmacy in the 1920s to the Greensburg tornado on this searchable database. And the images available there grow every day.

I want to highlight a couple of outstanding cemetery books that have recently been cataloged. Viola Schwind Gouvion’s St. Francis Hieronymo Parish Cemetery, St. Paul, Neosho County, Kansas not only covers interments there between 1852 and 2008 but Ms. Gouvion went beyond recording dates of birth and death and cemetery plot locations. She also, for many of the burials, went to the newspaper obituaries and funeral home memory cards and has published those additional sources of information in her book. This is such a valuable additional piece of research and will save the researcher precious time. This book also features an index.

Likewise, Von Rothenberger has compiled a 936-page compilation of Osborne County, Kansas Burials 1866-2000. His alphabetically-arranged work includes additional information for each name where it could be determined, like military service, cause of death, parents’ and childrens’ names, and burial locations. This massive work will be invaluable for Osborne County researchers. Bibliographical information on both of these books is available on our on-line catalog, ATLAS, which you can explore on your home computer.

KCGS on Facebook

Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies announces the development of a space on Facebook as another means of networking with genealogist interested in the happenings of Kansas Genealogy. Visit the space, sign up to become a "Friend" and help spread the word.

Kansas Forgotten Settlers Volumes

The KANSAS COUNCIL OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES has published volumes containing the application and pedigree charts of those individuals who qualified for one of these certificates.

Each volume is soft bound and is 8-1/2" by 11"(while supply lasts) or on CD. Each volume contains the names of approximately 100 KANSAS pioneers. Each application contains the name of the pioneer, birth date and place, death date and place, pioneer's father's name, mother's maiden name and spouse's name as well as the names of the parents of the spouse. The date and place of settlement in KANSAS is also stated. The individual making application for a certificate also sends in his/her pedigree chart. Each volume is fully indexed and contains 200 to 230 pages.

Index of Volumes One through Ten
Index of Volumes Eleven through Twenty
Index of Volumes Twenty-one through 25
Index of Volume 26

KCGS will not make copies of individual pages of the Forgotten Settler Volumes. If interested order the volume(s) you need on the order form below or visit your local library.

Order Your Volume(s) Today
Complete Forgotten Settlers Order Form
Return with payment to
KANSAS COUNCIL OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES
PO BOX 3858
TOPEKA KS 66604-6858

View lists of Forgotten Settlers of Kansas

Territorial Certificates

Pioneer Certificates

Early Settler Certificates

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