Fort Hays State University Forsyth Library

United States Kansas Ellis Archives and Libraries Fort Hays State University Forsyth Library

Fort Hays State University Forsyth Library Contact Information E-mail:  refserv@fhsu.edu Address: 502 South Campus Drive Hays KS 67601 Telephone:  785-628-5283 Hours:  Sun 1pm-12am, Mon-Thu 7:30am-12am, Fri 7:30am-7pm, Sat 10am-5pm. Google map:  FHSU Forsyth Library Internet sites and databases: Forsyth Library, resources, services, get help, about us. Primo FHSU Library Catalog online. Search by keyword, title, author, or subject. Also available in WorldCat. Collection Description Their Western Collection includes western Kansas history, oral histories, a great genealogical collection from local genealogical and historical societies, and many denominational sources for Hutterites, Mennonites, Catholics, and Lutherans. Alternate Repositories If you cannot visit or find a source at the Fort Hays State University Forsyth Library, a similar source may be available at one of the following. Overlapping Collections National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service & pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, bounty land, homesteads, ethnic sources, prisons, fed employees. National Archives at Kansas City federal censuses 1790–1930; military service indexes, pension indexes, passenger lists, naturalizations, photos, vital records, land, and Indian records. American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln NE, AHSGR ancestor lists, cemeteries, homesteads, an AHSGR German hometowns list, passenger lists, obituaries, surname charts, and Russian village files. National Orphan Train Complex, Concordia, museum, history, rider registry, research, and events. 66 v. (20,000 records) of orphan train riders, photos, 9,700 name computer database. Hays Kansas Family History Center can offer research suggestions, and can order genealogical microfilms from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Similar Collections University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library, Lawrence, manuscripts, photographs, maps, histories, newspapers, periodicals, film and videotapes that document the "Kansas Experience" of pioneers, railroads, and American Indians.</ref> A depository for publications of Kansas and Douglas County. Neighboring Collections Hays City Clerk has some municipal records. Ellis County Clerk, Hays, births 1886-1911, marriages since 1868, and deaths 1885-1912. Ellis County Clerk of the District Court, Hays, has divorces, civil, criminal, naturalization, and probate records. Ellis County Register of Deeds, Hays, land records since 1871, county school records, and military discharge papers. U.S. District Court District of Kansas, Wichita, recent federal civil, criminal, and bankruptcy cases. Ellis County Historical Society, Hays, museums and Volga Germans Haus. Hays Public Library includes a Kansas local history room. Repositories in surrounding counties Barton, Graham, Ness, Osborne, Rooks, Rush, Russell, and Trego. Iola Public Library, for all Kansas including family folders, special indexes, and published records for many counties of Kansas.</ref> Johnson County Library, Overland Park, both a Kansas and a genealogy collection, mostly books, and periodicals with family folders. Also covers Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky.</ref> Kansas Genealogical Society, Dodge City, has the best set of family folders and genealogical periodicals in Kansas.</ref>. Also, clippings, obituaries, and an online catalog. Kansas Heritage Center, Dodge City, cowboys, oral history, Fort Dodge history, & the Old West.</ref> Kansas Historical Society, Topeka, clearly the best place to start researching Kansas ancestors including newspapers, county records, biographies, genealogies, land records, and railroads. Statewide births and deaths prior to 1894; City of Topeka births and deaths 1885-1912. Riley County Genealogical Society Library, Manhattan, pre-Civil War records are excellent for Kansas. Early settlers are documented by obituaries, family folders, and some good indexes.</ref> Topeka Genealogical Society Library, 12,000 books, 700 periodicals strong on Shawnee County and northeast Kansas. Also includes almost every U.S. state, and many foreign nations. Kansas State Library, Topeka, largest book library in Kansas with county histories, ethnic sources, guides, inventories, and family genealogies.</ref> This is a main depository of historical documents about Kansas residents. Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Topeka, since 1911 births, stillbirths, deaths; since 1913 marriages; and since 1951 divorce records issued for a fee only to immediate family members or representatives. Wichita Public Library Genealogy Center, has many genealogies with an emphasis mostly on books, periodicals, and special publications for southeast KS, and corners of MO, AR, and OK.</ref> Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas Archives baptism, confirmations, marriages, deaths, parish records. Kansas United Methodist Archives, Baker University, Baldwin City, church records, newspapers, manuscripts, memoirs, obituaries, archives, reports. Mennonite Library and Archives, Bethel College, Newton, Mennonite-related books, periodicals, and genealogical materials. Repositories in surrounding states: Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence MO, one of America's best genealogical centers: censuses and indexes, 80,000 family histories, 100,000 local histories, 565,000 microfilms, 7,000 maps, and newspapers. Surrounding states are well represented. Kansas City Public Library Missouri Valley Special Collections, The Missouri Valley Room has a great genealogy collection for Missouri and Kansas with biographies, periodicals, genealogies, diaries, photos, scrapbooks, and newspapers of the Kansas City area. Sources