Genealogy Jackpot

[Windy in Kansas]

Kansas folks may have just hit the genealogy jackpot. The Hutchinson News which reports from across much of the state has just made 760,722 archived pages of newspaper available for searching by keyword and date.

Need an obituary---look it up. There is a charge but anyone that knows this newspaper knows that it contains a lot of information from 1872 to 2008 with current content searchable differently.

The local library has the old issues available on microfilm should one not wish to pay the fee. Searching from the comfort of ones home at any hour is a lot more convenient than using a film scanner and paying for copies or figuring out the software each time to save to flash drive.

Digitized images----they are a good thing.

[jlxian]

Great news, Windy. I have some "brick walls" that ended in Kansas, and maybe I can find out some little tidbits to keep going on them.

I agree --- digitized images are a WONDERFUL thing. What did genealogists do before them????? I guess they were very patient and waited on the mail and made lots of trips.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by jlxian

Great news, Windy. I have some "brick walls" that ended in Kansas, and maybe I can find out some little tidbits to keep going on them.

Anything I can do to help from here? If you have specific dates I can rent about any KS newspaper on microfilm to get info from them. Willing to help. Could also visit courthouses for you if they are nearby.

Remember too that Kansas took an agriculture census frequently a century ago or longer so they can fill in gaps that regular census records don't provide. Possible to get info from tax records as well. Some I explored even told of the family had watches, musical instruments, etc. One could tell how the crop year was as the numbers of livestock changed from year to year.

[jlxian]

Thanks for the offer Windy. I must admit I've been burned out on genealogy for some time now, and need a kick in the rear to get going again. I don't have any information with me at this time.

The ag census makes me drool --- just imagining what information could be in there!

As I said, I've been just plain stagnant as far as genealogy goes for a few years now. I tell myself I don't have time anymore. Maybe someday I'll take it up again. I'd like to, that is for sure.

Do you have a link to the digitized images?

[Windy in Kansas]

For the digitized newspaper archives: http://foxyurl.com/sRI Not really too bad of a cost if a person has quite a lot to do. Just a reminder that many libraries or associations offer genealogy data bases.

Just a reminder too that anyone near Kansas City is not far from the Central Plains version of the National Archives. http://www.archives.gov/central-plains/ It should provide some good searching on many subjects.

jlxian do you remember what KS counties would contain your interests or where your brick walls might have stopped? I'm in Hutchinson which is Reno County.