Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society (LLCGS) in the capital city of Lincoln, Nebraska, is an active group who provide education and guidance in genealogical research.  They also promote the collection and preservation of records of historical and genealogical value.

The society holds monthly membership meetings that are open to the public.  In addition to their regular meetings, they also have educational programs or discussion groups.  By clicking on Events on the home page, you will find information about the programs.   Meetings are open to the public.

In addition to their meetings and education programs, the society publishes a monthly newsletter for their members.  Their genealogical collection is housed in the Ella Johnson Crandall Memorial Library at Union College in Lincoln.  It is open to the public.  Their collection is not limited to Nebraska resources.  The college is located at 3800 South 48th Street in Lincoln.  Union College is a Seventh-Day Adventist college and closed on Saturdays.  The library hours are:

Sunday  1 pm - 10:30 pm
Monday-Thursday  8:30 am - 10:30 pm (closed during school year on Tuesdays 10:20 to 11:30 am)
Friday  8:30 am to 1 pm

If you are in the area of Lincoln, Nebraska, try to attend one of their meetings or educational programs.  It will be worth your while to also spend time at the library.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Nebraska Courthouse Web Pages

Nebraska in 1895
Genealogical research in Nebraska should not be limited to the large collections, such as Ancestry.com, or even to USGenWeb pages for Nebraska.  You should always check online for Nebraska courthouses, using a Google search.  Almost all of the courthouses have web pages.

If you are planning to visit a courthouse, look for the location information and hours.  In some cases, there will be more detailed information pertaining to the county offices.  You can also call a specific office regarding their records, if they are within the courthouse or need to be requested from a storage area, or if they have been archived in another location.

I have found interesting information on Nebraska county courthouse web pages.  For example, Hamilton County has an excellent collection of maps.  These include village plats, county roads and an excellent cemetery map of the county, all of which can be downloaded in PDF.

Nearby Hall County has a link on their county courthouse web page for maps and atlases for Hall County which include the years 1885, 1890 and 1904, along with early maps of Grand Island/Hall County plus early maps of Nebraska.  There are also links to important histories of the county.  Whoever designed their web page has the genealogist in mind.