Wayne County Genealogical Society

The only Wayne County organization focusing solely on Family History

Meetings
Membership
Research
Library
First Families
Publications
Family Pathways Newsletter

Meetings

Second Tuesday of each month (except July and December), at 7 p.m. in the Educational Building of St. John Lutheran Church, 501 S. 7th Street, Richmond, IN. Most meetings feature a speaker on a genealogical or historical subject, and include a business meeting. In July, the local members meet for a picnic, and a year end banquet is held in November. Meetings are open to all persons who wish to attend.

Membership

Anyone interested in genealogical pursuits in Wayne County may become a member. The WCGS quarterly newsletter "Family Pathways" is sent to each society member (cost of newsletter is included in the dues). For information about the current membership classes and dues, inquire by email or writing the Wayne County Genealogical Society.

Genealogical Research

WCGS Research Committee volunteers do research in regard to specific requests for information, on a first come-first served basis. (At times, there may be some backlog in doing the research, depending upon the number of requests for information currently on hand.) Request requirements and the current costs of doing research may be obtained by email or writing the Wayne County Genealogical Society--Research Committee.

Library

WCGS operates a Family History Library, located in the basement of the Educational Building at St. John Lutheran Church, 501 S. 7th Street, Richmond, IN. To confirm the current days and hours of operation, contact us via email or by writing the Wayne County Genealogical Society.

Library Hours:
Monday ONLY:
9:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Closed on all holidays and during inclement weather.

Other hours by appointment.
For library appointments ONLY, call:
765-962-8383
If you reach an answering machine, please leave a message. Your call will be returned COLLECT if your number is long distance.  Please remember, these folks are all volunteers!

Wayne County "First Families" Group

WCGS members who can prove their lineage back to a person who was a resident of Wayne County in 1825, may apply for acceptance into the "First Families" Group. This may be accomplished by obtaining a "First Families" application, and providing the required information, documentation and costs. For the current costs, application and requirements, write to WCGS "First Families" via email or by writing the Wayne County Genealogical Society.

Publications

WCGS members have published the following books, which may be obtained by ordering, from WCGS--Book Sales.  Contact us via email or by writing the Wayne County Genealogical Society.

For any genealogical purpose regarding Wayne County, Indiana, contact

Wayne County Genealogical Society
P O Box 2599
Richmond IN 47375-2599
or
Email: familypathways@comcast.net

Family Pathways Newsletter

Download a sample Family Pathways Newsletter, Volume XVI, No. 1, Spring 2006

The following is an excerpt from Family Pathways Newsletter, Volume XVII, No. 1, Spring 2007

We Are Chosen

We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again, to tell the family story and to fell that somehow they know and approve. Doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the storytellers of the tribe. All tribes have one.  We have been called, as it were, by our genes.

Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our story. So, we do. In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the ancestors, "You have a wonderful family; you would be proud of us." How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love there for me? I cannot say. It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who am I and why do I do the things I do. It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference and saying I can't let this happen. The bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh. It goes to doing something about it. It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish. How they contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family. It goes to deep pride that the fathers fought and some died to make and keep us a Nation. It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us.

It is of equal pride and love that our mothers struggled to give us birth, without them we could not exist, and so we love each one, as far back as we can reach. That we might be born who we are. That we might remember them. So we do.

With love and caring and scribbling each fact of their existence, because we are they and they are the sum of who we are. So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family. It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call and take my place in the long line of family storytellers. That is why I do my family genealogy, and that is what calls those young and old to step up and restore the memory or greet those whom we had never known before.

(Unknown Author)

Organization

Wayne County Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 2599
Richmond, IN 47375

Meetings

2nd Tuesday of the Month @ 7:00 p.m., except July and December

St. John Lutheran Church
501 South 7th Street
Richmond, IN

Contact

Duane Reed, President
familypathways@comcast.net

Additional Resources

WayNet's Genealogy Section

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