The Wichita Genealogical Society is sad to announce that our 2020 Genealogical Conference is cancelled. Originally scheduled for Oct 3rd, this was our 9th annual conference. Current and projected health concerns, plus meeting venue restrictions made this decision necessary. We pride ourselves on conducting informative, comfortable, and fun conferences, and want to give you only the very best.

 

We are working to bring monthly virtual programs to you until circumstances allow us to resume in-person meetings, classes, and interest groups. 

While it is early, don't forget to mark your calendars for our October 9th, 2021 conference when we will host Lisa Louise Cooke, the creator and host of Genealogy Gems https://lisalouisecooke.com/. Lisa is one of the most sought-after presenters and brings an unmatched energy and level of information to her audience.

 

Monday, June 15th, the Federation of Genealogical Societies announced that the annual in-person conference scheduled for Sep 2-5 is cancelled. Here is a portion of their press release:

 

 

 

The full announcement can be found here:  FGS Cancelled. They are developing a 'virtual' conference. If you have already registered, read their announcements and information carefully. Any registration is being automatically converted to a virtual conference.

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1. The public is not allowed access to any of the stacks.  Book retrieval is done by staff members.
2. All returned books are placed in quarantine for an as yet determined length of time.
3. The current meeting limitations are 1 person/50 sq. ft, masks and advance registration of all attendees.  These limitations could change to 1 person/35 sq. ft later this year, but the date is unsure.  We don’t know if registration and masks will still be required.
4. The storage of quarantined books and the re-purposing of the conference rooms as computing centers (with the required spacing) means that none of the conference rooms are available.  There are a few rooms available at Evergreen Library, but they will close in September for a building refurbishment. 

• Our next presentation, scheduled for July 18th and covering research of ancestors who served in the military in the 1800s, will be made accessible via our website https://wichitagensoc.org/ in July.
• We are looking at ways to provide our quarterly, historical presentations virtually, as well.
• We will make a decision on our October conference in early July. 
• We are investigating the use of Zoom for our monthly SIG meeting.

 

 

The Wichita Genealogical Society has released a 3-Part video class titled Getting the Most from Find A Grave today, Saturday, May 16th. With great features for genealogists, Find A Grave can help you organize, report, and share ancestor resting place information.

 

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The following facilities and conferences have been impacted by the Covid-19. See the associated updates.

 

The Wichita Libraries are opening May 26 with limited access. Unfortunately, the Research Pavilion in the Advanced Learning Library is still closed. Visit https://wichitalibrary.org/covid-19 for details of the library opening.

 

Have free time on your hands? Now is a perfect time to look deeper into your interests. Here are a couple free opportunities.

Digital Public Library of America
Are you aware of the Digital Public Library of America (www.dp.la)? It is a non-profit organization with a wide collection and offerings for genealogists. This includes The Family Research Guide to DPLA - https://dp.la/guides/the-family-research-guide-to-dpla. The following statement from DPLA describes this guide:

DPLA is totally free to use and open to all – no library card, subscription, or sign-up required! Our collection, with items from many institutions, offers a unique research resource for family historians and genealogists.

Ancestry Library Version
The Wichita Public Library is temporarily providing access to the Library Edition of Ancestry from your home or other remote location. This is normally only available from a library PC in the ALL or a branch. You still need a library card number to login and access this great service. For those who already have a subscription to Ancestry, there is still added benefit to using the library edition. While it cannot access your trees, it does provide many records that are only available on the World Edition. Take a look.

With your internet browser connect to: https://catalog.wichitalibrary.org/Polaris/Search/misc/esources.aspx, click on Ancestry Library Edition and follow login instructions. This link is also available from the libraries COVID-19 page:  https://wichitalibrary.org/covid-19. 

Note:  This remote access could change when the library re-opens.

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Mark your calendar for our 2020 Monthly Meetings. We have an interesting and informative schedule of programs for you. As you know, the WGS programs are held in the Conference Center at the Advanced Learning Library. They begin at 1:00 p.m. and last from an hour to 90 minutes, depending on the speaker and topic. Join us!

Date	Program	Presenter	Note
July 18	Finding Your Civil War Ancestors	Margaret Kline	Virtual
August 15	Women Writers on the Santa Fe Trail	Leo Oliva	Quarterly
September 19	To be announced	–
October 3	Annual Conference at Metroplex – CANCELLED	Melissa Tennant
November 21	Lucy Tayiah: The First Woman Chief of the Kaw	Pauline Shap	Quarterly
December	No monthly meeting – Happy Holidays

Stay informed about Wichita Genealogical Society activities.  Sign up for a monthly email of current and upcoming events.   Click on the green Sign Up button and a new page will come up.  Complete the form then click on the blue Sign Up button to send.    But wait...for the confirmation email that will arrive in your mailbox. Confirm that you want the WGS email sent to you (it has to do with anti-spam laws) and you should be set.  Thank you for subscribing.