May 28 General Meeting
Our next meeting will be Saturday May 28 at 10 a.m. - in the Carmack Room at the Johnson County Central Resource Library.
Julie Crain Miguel will be our presenter. Her topic is
You've Traced Your Ancestors Back to a Different State - Now What?
Julie Crain Miguel has been working on her own genealogy since 2011. She presented previously for JCGS in 2019 at the Genealogy Day Resource Fair, and at the 2020 Fair helped with one-on-one assistance. Julie also presented a program online in January 2021.
She is a member of Johnson County Genealogical Society, the Association of Professional Genealogists, the James Ross Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, and Soule Kindred. She is most proud of finding her maternal grandmother's family, and getting her mother into the DAR. She loves meeting new cousins, and has had a couple of Zoom meetings with cousins, some of who she had never met before.
You can attend the May 28 meeting in person, or watch on Zoom. Current JCGS members receive the meeting Zoom link automatically.
JCGS monthly meetings are open to all. Non-members are welcome to join us in person. Members may join us in person, or as a member benefit, watch via Zoom (a link will automatically be sent a few days before the meeting).
If you would like to become a JCGS member, you can join online today - see the blue sidebar on the left.
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Looking Back: JCGS 50 years ago - Dec 1973
Pioneer Trails
The December 1973 Quarterly reported on a presentation given to JCGS about 'pioneer trails'. Mabel DeHaven was the presenter. And a map is included in the Quarterly, showing twenty-two of these trails, nine of which run through portions of Missouri and Kansas.
How many of these trails would you know? To view the list and the map, go to the Members/Downloads section and get a copy of the December 1973 Johnson County Genealogist Quarterly.
Such trails are important to us as genealogists because many of our ancestors likely followed these trails when migrating from eastern US towns and farms to new homes in western states. Ms. DeHaven suggested two references for a genealogist wanting to know more about 'pioneer trails'. Here is one of them:
Corinth Congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church
The 1861-65 Civil War upended a Westport church. Members established a new church in Kansas territory, in the woods near today's 69th Street/Mission Road (KS). When a church building was finally constructed, it featured a door for men and a separate door for women. That church building was torn down during the 1930s, and a commemorative marker placed on the grounds of the Corinth Cemetery. Other interesting details, including a list of founding members, can be found in the December 1973 Quarterly article by Shelia Burks (pages 120+).
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Carmack Room Re-opens for JCGS Meetings
After waiting out a two-year renovation project at the Johnson County Kansas Central Resource Library, Genealogical Society members were able to hold a meeting and presentation at the library's Carmack Room.
The March 26 meeting allowed JCGS to conduct a hybrid-style meeting while testing out new audio-visual equipment. Participants used conference furniture instead of chair seating. Notice the glass wall separating the Carmack Room from the library bookshelves.
Some 60+ JCGS members participated in the meeting via Zoom, including our presenter Elizabeth Burns.
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Looking Back: JCGS 50 Years Ago - Sept 1973
The Sept 1973 Quarterly had some interesting articles.
Emigration from New England
Two emigrant groups from New England states came to Kansas looking for farmable land during the 1855 spring/summer season. These emigrants arrived in Westport, purchased wagons and oxen, and then struggled west towards Lawence, Topeka, and Manhattan . The Sept 1973 Quarterly describes some of their accomplishments and disappointments.
Does your family descend from those 1855 homesteaders? The Sept 1973 Quarterly lists the names of those 1855 emigrants, so check it out!
JCGS Starts a Bicentenial Project
Looking ahead to America's bicentenial year 1976, JCGS leadership started a project to locate and read gravestones in all Johnson County cemeteries. As a starting point, JCGS decided to search for cemeteries within two proposed flood-control reservoirs to be built inside County boundaries. JCGS Quarterly Editor Sheryl Burks asked for volunteers from the membership to do cemetery canvassing of pioneer graves in the low areas bordering today's Tomahawk Creek and Indian Creek.
The proposed Tomahawk Lake Reservoir would have flooded part of present-day Leawood and Overland Park. The proposed Indian Creek Reservoir would have flooded part of Olathe. As it turned out, Johnson County voters overwhelmingly rejected this flood-control project in 1975. Today, Tomahawk Creek and Indian Creek continue to drain undammed into the Blue River and eventually the Missouri River.
Genealogy Desk Has Reopened !
The Genealogy Desk at the Johnson County Central Resource Library reopened on Feb 22.
Margaret Baker, Pam Miller, and Darryl Jerome made up the genealogy desk volunteer team for opening day.
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Upcoming Events
We have a wide variety of events happening every month at JCGS.
From Monthly Meetings to Special Interest Groups to Genealogy Treehouse Chats, we're sure you'll find something that may be of interest to you.
Need One-on-One Help?
JCGS volunteers are available Monday - Saturday from 9-5 at the Genealogy Desk at the Johnson County Central Resource Library for general questions. For those looking for a little extra help with either Basic Genealogy or DNA & Genetic Genealogy we also offer free one-on-one sessions that can be booked in advance.
If you would like to sign up for an appointment please use the appropriate button below to view the available appointment times and make a reservation. If you would prefer to not use SignUpGenius, you may also email
libraryvols@jcgsks.org with your requested date and time.
Basic Genealogy sessions are available most Tuesday mornings. This is not for brick wall or advanced research help.
DNA & Genetic Genealogy sessions are available most Friday mornings.
March 2022 Issue - Have You Checked It Out ?
Using Amazon Smile to Benefit JCGS
We are unveiling a great new idea for JCGS. With no extra effoert at all you can now have AMAZON
donate money to our society.
We have created a tech tip for you to follow in order to set this up. No gimmicks, just free money for us. It's like picking up loose change. It works exactly like your regular Amazon account but you must log in at smile.amazon.com. Go to the tech tip area found under members
here to view the directions.
