From the 3rd floor
of the Webb City Public Library
Webb City Area Genealogical Society
What task could be more agreeable than to tell of the benefits conferred on us by our ancestors, so that you may get to know the achievements of those from whom you have received both the basis of your beliefs, and the inspiration to conduct your life properly? – William of Malmesbury, c. AD 1125
It is surprising, but there are still some folks who do not know there is a genealogy room on the third floor of the Webb City Public Library, nor do they know of the historic treasures stored there.
The third-floor genealogy room is the home and creative work place of the Webb City Area Genealogical Society, founded 1990. Joplin Globe columnist Frankie Meyer once described us as the most active, progressive genealogy group in southwest Missouri. We are proud of her designation and try to live up to it.
One of our bigger goals has been to collect and archive historical and genealogical materials that are specific to the history of Webb City and surrounding areas.
For example, a relative of George W. Moore, an early mayor of Webb City, allowed us to make a copy of his c. 1905 photo/scrapbook. As it is a wonderful time capsule of Webb City during the first decade of the 20th century, we had the copy hardbound, and it is now on our shelves for public perusal.
We have also acquired:
A new computerized system has improved our ability to view old newspaper pages, including those of the Webb City Register and Webb City Sentinel (1902 to 2012), Carl Junction Standard, (1898-1982), Carthage newspapers dating from 1866 through 1950, the Sarcoxie Record (1898-1976), and even a rare bit of the Oronogo Index (1901-1906).
The newspapers have been indexed (mostly) by our volunteers to more easily search for your ancestors’ births, deaths, and marriages.
We continue to maintain a subscription for all the databases of Ancestry.com.
However, our most requested volumes are the Webb City High School annuals, which we have from 1905 to the present. Notably, most research materials we have in the genealogy room cannot be found on the internet, particularly those concerning Webb City.
If a visit to Webb City isn’t practical, researchers need only to call or e-mail requests to us.
The genealogy room is open to the public from 12 to 4 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Contact us at webbcitygen@gmail.com, (417) 673-0398.
Webb City Area Genealogical Society meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month at the library. Come join us.
Webb City’s Carnegie library is over 100 years old, but it’s not exactly on the beaten path. You’ll find it in a residential area at First and Liberty streets. Hours are: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Extended hours on Tuesday and Thursday are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The library is closed on Sunday.
And, as always, please contact us if you have information or photos of the Webb City area you wish to share.