Kansas City/Missouri Research

Greater Kansas City Area Research

Major Genealogical Libraries

Mid-Continent Public Library
www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/genlh/researchers.htm
In nearby Independence, Missouri, a new genealogy facility is due to open, but will not be open until after the conference.  The Mid-Continent Public Library is recognized as one of the country's major repositiories. Their holdings include census records, family histories, city directories, and state and county records.  The collection also includes the Draper Manuscripts, St Louis fur trade records, Canadian, Southern Plantation and Native Amerian records. MCPL will be open the following hours during the NGS conference:
9am - 11pm Monday May 12
9am - 11pm Tuesday May 13
9am - 11pm Wednesday May 14
9am - 9pm Thursday May 15
9am - 6pm Friday May 16
9am - 5pm Saturday May 17
Shuttle buses will be available free of charge on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from the Hyatt Regency Crown Center over to MCPL.  There will also be a reception on the evening of Wednesday 14 May. 

National Archives Central Plains Regional Archives
www.archives.gov/central-plains/
In conjunction with the NGS Conference, Tuesday May 13th will be Research Day at the National Archives.  At this time transportation is not provided.  The archives is located approximately 20 minutes from the Hyatt Regency Crown Center, research hours are 8:00am - 4:30pm.
Additionally the National Archives will sponsor a reception on Thursday May 15, 5:00 - 7:00pm at the National World War I Museum  located just two blocks from the Hyatt Regency Crown Center. You must register for this event.  Currently this event is sold out - but a wait list for space is available.
The Natiional Archives Central Plains Region holds the retired records of federal agencies in Iowa,Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Their 46,000 cubic feet of records range in date from the 1820s to the 1990s. They hold records of many agencies, including United States District Courts, the National Parks Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Bureau of Prisons, to name but a few.  In addition to making original textual and audiovisual records available for research, they are a center for genealogical research with a vast microfilm collection. NARA sponsors public programs, history conferences, and exhibits.  NARA's Central Plains Region partners with universities, genealogical societies, and veterans groups on a regular basis.  They also offer training to interns and others interested in archival methodology.  NARA works to preserve and make available the historical documents created by federal agencies.  Visit them online at: http://www.archives.gov/central-plains/kansas-city/

Kansas City Public Library
Central Library, 14 W. 10th Steet, Kansas City, Missouri 64105.  http:www.kclibrary.org.
The Kansas City Public Library is comprised of ten branches throughout Kansas City, Missouri. The Central Library is located in the refurbished First National Bank Building, 10th and Baltimire, in downtown Kansas City and offers free high-speed WiFi computer access. Across the street is a parking garage with the facade of giant book bindings. On the fifth floor is the Missouri Valley Special Collections, which houses Local and Regional Histories and Genealogy. To access their website, go to www.kclibrary.org and click on "Local History", or go directly to www.kchistory.org. The site contains The Local History Index, a searchable index for magazines, newspapers, portions of books, photographs and arcival collections. The site also includes images of photographs, postcards, maps and advertising cards.  The images on the website are a low resolution, but a high-resolution image can be ordered online through te "Order" llink.  The core genealogy collection of the library came from a local lumber magnate and genealogist, John Barber White, who donated his collection to the library. It contains many New England and Midwest genealogies.  Another collector of Midwestern history donated city, county and state histories from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. 
The open stacks book collection in the reading room is a good source for basic genealogy and Kansas City history. Also in the open book stacks are many pre-colonial and colonial books, Quarterlies of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and the Daughters of the American Revolution magazines dating back to 1892. There are many yearbooks from Kansas City high schools; Blue Book Social Registers, 1880-1930's; maps and atlases. MVSC has a unique collection of vertical files; 43 volumes of newspaper clippings dating from 1900; city directories of Kansas City, Missouri from 1859 and Kansas City, Kansas from 1894; Archival and Manuscript collections.  The John F. Ramos Collection is a multi-faceted collection of African American history that includes books on civil rights, jazz, and slavery; microforms of the American Negro Historical Society Collection, 1790-1905; Freedmen's Aid Society Records, 1866-1932; and notable African Americans. Family histories, county and town histories and other rare or fragile titles are shelved in closed stacks. In order to view the materials in these collections, patrons should bring a library card or an official identification card. There are more than 60,000 titles in the library's online catalog, which can be searched at the library's website.  Topics covering the history of Kansas City are railroads, Civil War and border wars, Native Americans, trails and westward expansion. On the third floor of the library is the Reference Room which houses the major newspaper microform collections. If you plan to spend all day at the library, the Nine Muses Cafe located on the first floor, offers salads, sandwiches and sweets. 

Special Interest Museums

World War I Monument and Museum, the Liberty Museum
www.libertymemorialmuseum.org
This museum is located just 3 blocks from the Hyatt Regency Crown Center conference hotel.  Anyone with a World War I ancestor will want to view the exhibits at this recently opened museum.  The National Archives will co-host a reception at this facility on Thursday, 15 May in the evening.
National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, 100 W. 26th St., Kansas City, Mo., 1-816-784-1918, www.nwwone.org

Steamboat Arabia Museum
In 1856 the Arabia was on its way up the Missouri River filled with goods to restock general stores in small towns along the way when it sank and remained hidden by the river for more than a century. The museum displays the recovered freeze-dried items, a vast array of goods from the time.
Arabia Steamboat Museum, 400 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo., 1-800-471-1856, www.1856.com  Not in walking distance from the hotel, take a taxi or other transportation.

National Historic Trails Museum
For those of you interested in the trails that headed to Oregon, California, or other points west, will enjoy the National Historic Trails Museum in Independence.

President Harry Truman's Home
www.nps.gov/hstr/
The National Park Service offers tours of President Harry Truman's home in Independence.  Just down the road guests can visit the Truman Presidential Library (www.trumanlibrary.org) museum and research facilities.

Hallmark Cards
The world headquarters for Hallmark cards adjoins the Crown Center shopping area, which is connected to the hotel by "the link," an indoor elevated walkway.  There are a variety of restaurants and shops in the Crown Center Mall.

Other Research Facilities in Missouri

Missouri State Archives
www.sos.mo.gov/archives/
Located in Jefferson City, Missouri, the Archives is about a two hour drive east from Kansas City.  The Archives has microfilmed records from all 114 Missouri counties. In addition, it has numerous original records available to researchers.  The Missouri State Archives website includes Missouri death certificates dating from 1910 to 1956.

State Historical Society of Missouri
http://shs.umsystem.edu/index.shtml
In Columbia, Missouri, two hours east of Kansas City, the Historical Society has the largest newspaper collection in the state. Its web site provides a list of microfilmed newspapers, manuscript collections, photographs, and guides. The reference library has more than 460,000 volumes. The main card file has more than 400,000 entries covering author, title, and subjects. Another card file for Missouri surnames consists of more than 600,000 entries.

Irish Museum & Cultural Center (in historic Union Station).
Union Station is across the street from the Liberty Memorial/WWI Museum and the Hyatt Regency Hotel at Crown Center. Within walking distance AND connected by a skyway system. www.irishmuseum.org.  The Irish Museum & Cultural Center (in Historic Union Station) also has a genealogy room with several computers and they have subscriptions to online genealogy services as well as a well-stocked library. They offer the use free to the public. 
 
There are a number of great restaurants in Union Station and Union Station's re-vitalization is really lovely -- the building itself is an architectural treasure. The Bodies exhibit is also open now at Union Station through the summer.


 Kansas

Kansas State Archives and Library
www.kshs.org/places/state_archives/index.htm
Located in Topeka, Kansas.

Iowa

State Historical Society of Iowa
www.state.ia.us/government/dca/shsi/about.index.html
Located in Des Moines, just three hours north of Kansas City.

 

Other Places of Interest

1950s All-Electric House, 6305 Lackman Rd., Shawnee, Kan., 913-715-2550, www.jocomuseum.org

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, 1616 E. 18th St., Kansas City, Mo., 1-816-221-1920, www.nlbm.com

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak St., Kansas City, Mo., 1-816-751-1278, www.nelson-atkins.org

American Jazz Museum, 1616 E. 18th St., Kansas City, Mo., 1-816-474-6262, www.americanjazzmuseum.org

 

SPORTS

Baseball:

Kansas City T-Bones
www.tbonesbaseball.com

 

 

Restaurant Suggestions for Kansas City

Room 39 - http://www.rm39.com/