Riley County Genealogical Society

10/12/2026

RCGS is rolling out a brand‑new website and updating our email addresses from rileycgs.com to rileycgs.org. Our new site features a contemporary layout, expanded content, and improved navigation to better support family historians and researchers. Moving to .org also ensures our online presence reflects who we truly are—a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing family history.

Please update your contact lists with our new .org addresses and take a look at our redesigned website at https://rileycgs.org/ and don’t worry—unlike that elusive record you’ve hunted for years, our new website will be easy to find, and our old .com addresses (and the old site) will still reach us for quite a while.

09/28/2026

Learn how to protect your family's history! The Chapman Center and Riley County Genealogical Society are hosting a free Photo Preservation and Digitization Workshop on Sunday, October 18, from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM at the Manhattan Public Library Auditorium.

This hands-on session will teach you how to archive and scan historic photos at home. You are invited to bring up to five standard-sized family photographs to digitize on-site, and get a first look at the museum's new Digital Collections.

The program features the Center's Dr. Mary Kohn alongside Riley County Historical Museum curators Melanie Highsmith and Dawn Munger. It is completely free and open to the public.

09/22/2026

The Annual Pie Party on Sunday September 20 on the Platt House Lawn. Music by the Tall Grass Express. A lovely afternoon!

09/22/2026

Ever wondered what it's like to research after the library closes?

On November 13, the Midwest Genealogy Center's annual Lock-In gives you the chance to spend an evening exploring records, breaking through brick walls, and connecting with fellow family historians after regular hours. Kick off the night with a keynote presentation by Kathleen Brandt, then stay for extended research time, Genealogy Jeopardy with Kim Alberg, and access to MGC's world-class genealogy resources.

Whether you're just getting started or have been researching for years, the Lock-In is a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in family history after dark."

Register here: https://www.mymcpl.org/genealogy/programs/mgc-lock-in

09/22/2026

Join us at 10 am, Saturday, September 26, 2026, for our monthly meeting at the Central Resource Library, 87th & Farley, Overland Park, KS.

Quilting and Genealogy: Stitching Together the Fabric of Our Lives
by John Manning

Most people wouldn’t immediately think about connecting genealogy with quilting. When we talk about genealogy, we usually picture stacks of records—birth, marriage, and death certificates; immigration stories; military service; occupations; and all the places a family has lived over time. But quilts can tell stories too. They’re an often-overlooked source of family history. The fabrics, patterns, stitching, and even handwritten inscriptions can reveal personal narratives that never made it into official documents.
So when you look at it that way, it makes perfect sense: genealogy and quilting can work hand in hand, each adding depth and color to the story of a family’s past.

John Manning, the lead researcher at Country School Genealogist LLC, has over thirty years of research expertise. With a distinguished 40-year career as a US Army officer and federal employee, he brings deep expertise that enriches genealogy research and family history narratives. John is actively involved in writing, lecturing, and providing consultations on a range of genealogy topics, including Irish ancestry, military records, and the settlement of our forebears in the Great Plains states.

For more information, visit jcgsks.org or email [email protected].

09/22/2026

THIS WEEK! For more information about our programs, please visit https://www.mymcpl.org/genealogy/programs
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09/20/2026

It looks like everything is on schedule for our Annual Pie Party today!

09/16/2026

Fall into the autumn season with the newest issue of Zephyr! Browse through the pages to find these articles: “Reflecting On Our 150-Year History: 1976-1999,” “Lasting Impression in History,” “Kansas 1776: A Dynamic Landscape,” and more! Also in this issue is our regular section “On This Day in Kansas History.” We hope you’ll enjoy this issue of Zephyr, and we look forward to bringing you more captivating articles, information, and updates from the Kansas Historical Society in future editions. To access this issue or register to receive future issues, visit bit.ly/kshszephyr

09/14/2026

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Email from Riley County Genealogical Society   The Riley County Genealogical Society is a Designated FamilySearch Affiliate Library. FYI September 2026 September Pie Party Join us for our Annual Pie P