Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogy Center

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Contact Information
E-mail: [mailto:ge@mymcpl.org ge@mcpl.lib.mo.us]

Address:


 * 3440 S. Lee's Summit Road
 * Independence, MO 64055-1923

Telephone: 816-252-7228

Hours: Mon-Thurs 9-9; Fri 9-6; Sat 9-5; Sun 1-5


 * Holiday closings

Directions and maps

Internet sites and databases:


 * Midwest Genealogy Center Internet site, map, collection, directions, floor plans, genealogical resources, catalog.
 * MCPL catalog online search by words or phrase, author, title, subject, or series, and in WorldCat.
 * MGC genealogy databases, America's GenealogyBank, Obituaries &amp; Death Notices, Ancestry, Archive Finder, Biography and Genealogy Master Index, Footnote, Sanborn maps, HeritageQuest, ProQuest Obituaries. Additional databases useful for genealogical research are available in other categories, including history, biography, geography, and newspapers.
 * MGC history databases, 279 databases, of which 272 are available remotely with a MCPL library card.

Collection Description
Significant holdings include all federal censuses 1790-1930 and many indexes, federal land sales in Missouri 1818-1903, the Draper Manuscript Collection, Kentucky tax records, Missouri State Penitentiary Records 1836-1931, papers of the St. Louis fur trade, Records of Antebellum Southern Plantations, indexes and Compiled Service Records of MO Union and Confederate Civil War soldiers, Civil War Union and Confederate unit histories, selected passenger arrival lists, Native American sources, partial state vital records for AL, AR, CA, GA, IL, IN, KY, OR, TX, WA, Massachusetts original town records, city directories, the Independence Examiner, and Kansas City Star and Times, other newspapers (primarily Missouri), American Biographical Archives, Black Biographical Dictionaries, UMI Genealogy and Local History Series, and the United States Serial Set.

The Midwest Genealogy Center, a branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library, opened in 2008 with 52,000 square feet on two floors. The collection covers the entire United States and includes over 80,000 family history books, 100,000 local history items, 565,000 microfilms and microfiches, and 7,000 maps. The center also has an extensive newspaper clipping file and thousands of family name files. Their collection has been built up with donations from the Daughters of the American Revolution, Independence Library's Missouri county histories, American Family Records Association (AFRA), Missouri State Genealogical Association, Heart of America Genealogical Society, Gann Family Association, and a former Family History Center. The Midwest Genealogy Center averages about 325 patrons a day.

Tips

 * Schedule an appointment with at genealogy expert at 816-252-7228 or e-mail [mailto:ge@mymcpl.org ge@mcpl.lib.mo.us].
 * Groups are welcome, but please give advance notice.

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

Overlapping Collections


 * Mid-Continent Public Library parent library system of the Midwest Genealogy Center, Jackson County, Missouri.
 * Mid-Continent Public Libraries branches, 30 branches in Jackson, Clay, and Platte counties, Missouri.
 * 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


 * Allen County Public Library, Ft. Wayne IN, has a premier genealogical periodical collection, 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.
 * Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 450 computers, 3,400 databases, 3.1 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, censuses, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, and Mormon records.
 * Newberry Library, Chicago, genealogies, local histories, censuses, military, land, indexes, vital records, court, and tax records mostly from the Mississippi Valley, eastern seaboard, Canada, and Britain.

Neighboring Collections


 * 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.
 * Jackson County Courthouse, Kansas City, local civil, criminal, and probate records since 1828.
 * Jackson County Health Department, Independence, Jackson County birth certificates since 1920.
 * Jackson County Historical Society, Independence, title abstracts, diaries, letters, 2000 books, business ledgers, census, city directories, court, election, tax, vital records, plat maps, newspapers, periodicals, photos, subject indexes.
 * Jackson County Medical Examiner, Kansas City, suspicious deaths.
 * Jackson County Recorder of Deeds, Kansas City, marriage and land records since 1827.
 * Kansas City Health Department, Kansas City birth certificates; deaths 1874-1909.
 * 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.
 * United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Kansas City, recent federal civil, criminal, and bankruptcy court records.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties: in Missouri: Cass, Clay, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte, Ray, in Kansas: Johnson, and Wyandotte.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), St. Louis, federal government employee and military personnel records starting 1917.
 * Ozarks Genealogical Society Library, Springfield, has Missouri and other states, a large periodical collection, and special southern Missouri family records.
 * 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, yearbooks, and can order microfilms from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
 * 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.
 * Springfield-Greene County Library Midtown, for southern Missouri: censuses, church histories, directories, Civil War, online deaths 1910-1958, births, marriages, land, probate, cemeteries.
 * State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, census, maps, newspapers, online tools, oral history, photos, historical manuscripts, and reference materials.
 * Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Library, Republic, find ancestors who served in the U.S. Civil War.
 * Repositories in surrounding states: Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
 * Harrison County Historical Museum, Marshall TX, a key repository for Missouri  and Texas settlers. A major center for MO Confederates. Family folders, books, letters, diaries, journals, surname lists.