Ozarks Genealogical Society Library

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Contact Information
E-mail: OGS Office contact form

Address:


 * 534 West Catalpa St (PO Box 3945) Springfield, Missouri 65808-3945

Telephone: 417-831-2773

Hours and holidays: Wednesday 1:00-4:00 p.m.; Saturday 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. ; Closed holidays and holiday weekends.

Map and public transportation:
 * Google map: Ozarks Genealogical Society Library
 * Public transportation: City Utilities bus route Line 7 - S. Campbell stops on Campbell about two blocks east of the OGS Library. Also, Line 9 - S. Fort stops on Grand Ave near Walmart about four blocks north of the OGS Library (use the Google map to help find the library).

Internet sites and databases:


 * Ozarks Genealogical Society about, membership, publications, workshops, research, calendar, library and contact.
 * COOLcat catalog online. Combined catalog of the Ozarks Genealogical Society Library, The Library Center, the Library Station branch, and the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Library, among others. Search by keyword, title, author, subject, magazine/newpaper title, or call number. Also available in WorldCat.
 * Index to Special Collections genealogical family files (.pdf). This file is every-word searchable, but case sensitive.
 * 5-generation charts index to OGS member charts (.pdf).

Collection Description
Ozarks Genealogical Society (OGS) has a substantial genealogy collection for southern Missouri, Missouri in general, other states, a large collection of genealogical periodicals, maps, family histories, and over one dozen special collections compiled by area researchers. Special Collections records focus on family histories with an emphasis in the southwest Missouri geographical area. The OGS catalog is combined with the Springfield-Greene County Library Center COOLcat catalog online—nevertheless, most of the OGS collection is available at the OGS Library.

The Ozarks Genealogical Society, Inc. was formally organized in September 1969 by a group of individuals who were brought together by their common interest in researching family history. OGS was chartered in 1979 as a not-for-profit organization in the State of Missouri.

The goals of the Society are to encourage the research and preservation of family history, foster solid genealogical research practices, and preserve records of historical and genealogical interest. All the work of the Ozarks Genealogical Society is done by volunteers.

Areas of service include staffing the OGS Library; presenting programs; maintaining the Library building; researching, typing and editing records for publications; acting as officers and committee chairpersons; and responding to queries. Members and nonmembers are invited to submit materials for possible publication in the quarterly, Ozar'kin, or special publications. The Ozarks Genealogical Society has been serving researchers in southwest Missouri and the border counties of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas for 30 years.

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, a great American genealogy collection: censuses, MO federal land sales, penitentiary, St. Louis fur trade, Civil War, passenger lists, plantations, American Indians, city directories, newspapers, Draper Manuscripts, and KY taxes.
 * National Archives at Kansas City federal censuses 1790–1930; selected military service indexes, pension indexes, passenger lists, naturalizations, photos, adoptions, vital records, land, and Indian records.

Similar Collections


 * Springfield-Greene County Library Center has substantial genealogy for southern Missouri: censuses, religious and church histories, city directories, U.S. Civil War, online death certificates 1910-1958, births, marriages, land, probate, cemeteries, clippings, newspapers, American Indians, maps, and periodicals.

Neighboring Collections


 * Springfield-Greene County Health Department, Springfield, has births 1920-present; deaths 1980-present.
 * Greene County Archives and Records Center, Springfield, births 1883-1902, marriages since 1833, deaths 1883-1902, divorces 1837-1950 , probate 1833-1990, deeds 1833-1960s, civil and criminal court cases 1833-1991, coroner 1830s-1970s, military discharges, school, taxes, road books, and petitions.
 * U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Springfield, recent civil, criminal, or bankruptcy cases.
 * Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, Springfield, official archives, research center, and museum of the Assemblies of God.
 * Missouri Pacific Historical Society, Bucklin, railroad heritage including some employee records. This railroad had several affiliate railroads.
 * Ozarks Afro-American Heritage Museum, Walnut Grove, a repository of local Afro-American culture, with an ever-growing collection.
 * Republic Historical Society online center for historical research in Republic, Missouri.
 * Springfield Missouri FamilySearch Center has premium online services for free, offers research guidance.
 * Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Library, Republic, helps find ancestors who served in the U.S. Civil War.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties: Christian, Dade, Dallas, Lawrence, Polk, and Webster.
 * Community of Christ Library and Archives, Independence, books, periodicals, letters, and diaries of the of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints/Community of Christ.
 * Concordia Historical Institute, St. Louis, Department of Archives and History of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
 * Episcopal Diocese of Missouri Archives, St. Louis, a library, extensive document and photograph collections, and parish registers.
 * 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.
 * Missouri Bureau of Vital Records, Jefferson City, central registry of Missouri births and deaths since 1910; marriages and divorces since 1948.
 * Missouri History Museum Library, St. Louis, has regional history sources, St. Louis, Missouri, the Mississippi and Missouri Valleys, the Louisiana Purchase, American West: indexes, guides, catalogs, photos, genealogy workshops. Many records of Missouri settlers from Illinois.
 * Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, has court, land, military, death records, federal censuses, county and municipal records, photos, penitentiary, and manuscript records. Birth and death record index since 1883 is online; birth records 1883-1895; marriages 1827-1937.
 * Missouri United Methodist Archives, Fayette, historical materials on Methodism in Missouri emphasizing ministers.
 * Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis Office of Archives and Records parish christenings, confirmations, marriages, and deaths.
 * St. Louis County Library, a Missouri collection including the National Genealogical Society, and St. Louis Genealogical Society collections, online databases, federal censuses, births, deaths, cemeteries, church records, military records, naturalizations, newspapers, wills, African American records, and yearbooks.
 * St. Louis Mercantile Library, early newspapers, railroads, inland waterways, county records, biographies, and genealogies. A premier library for Missouri research.
 * St. Louis Public Library has an Obituary Index for the years 1880–1927; 1942–1945; 1992–2006, family histories, passenger lists, Heritage Quest, and Gateway Family Historian publication.
 * Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library, St. Louis, comprehensive source for Judaica. 23,000 books.
 * State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, census, maps, newspapers, online tools, oral history, photos, historical manuscripts, and reference materials.
 * Repositories in surrounding states: Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
 * Allen County Public Library, Ft. Wayne IN, has a premier genealogical periodical collection including Missouri, genealogies, local histories, databases, military, censuses, directories, passenger lists, American Indians, African Americans, Canadians.
 * Dallas Public Central Library, outstanding genealogical collection with records for more than Texas, including Missouri, Oklahoma, the South, Mid-Atlantic, and New England states.
 * Newberry Library, a large Chicago repository with genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records mostly from the Mississippi Valley, Missouri, eastern seaboard, Canada, and British Isles.