Genealogy Quick Look Collections
The following collections have been indexed in the Genealogy Quick Look. Many more resources are available through the Midwest Genealogy Center.
AFRA Pedigree Tables
The American Family Records Association (AFRA) received ancestor tables from the Missouri State Genealogical Association, Periman Pathways Family Association, and others and gave Mid-Continent Public Library permission to scan them, which are now digitally accessible. However, the member information on these charts is not up to date.
Book Indexes
Volunteers and staff at the Midwest Genealogy Center have provided indexes to some of the books on our shelves.
Independence Examiner Newspapers
Years Indexed: 1900-1959
The Examiner, which includes Independence, Blue Springs, and Grain Valley, was started in 1898 and ran weekly until 1905, when it became a daily publication called The Independence Examiner and a weekly publication named the Jackson Examiner. This collection, having been indexed and listing all names mentioned in the article, includes various records primarily from 1900 through 1959 with some years being incomplete.
MCPL has The Examiner on microfilm from 1905 to the present. If you cannot find your person indexed in Quick Look, or if they died after the years indexed, you can send a request via email at mgc@mymcpl.org. Please include the person's name and death date.
Kansas City Social Registers Blue Books
Years Indexed: 1910-11, 1924-62
The Social Registers contain names of the most prominent citizens in Kansas City, Missouri. This collection compiles the records of Kansas City social directories for the years 1910 to 1911 and intermittently from 1924 to 1962. Most entries include the names of their children and the maiden names of wives.
Kansas City Star and Kansas City Times Newspapers
Years Indexed: 1975-2006
The Kansas City Star, originally called the Kansas City Evening Star, was founded in 1880 and changed to the Kansas City Star in 1885. The Kansas City Times was a morning newspaper published from 1867 to 1990, when it was discontinued. Some obituary records from the Star and Times are indexed in this collection from 1975 to 2006, with some years being incomplete.
The full text of the Kansas City Star from 1880-current and the full text of the Kansas City Times 1921-1990 are available online through NewsBank for MCPL Access Pass/Library Card holders.
If you do not have an MCPL library card, visit Legacy.com for Kansas City Star obituaries from 1998 to the present. In addition, if you cannot find your person indexed in Quick Look, or if they died outside of the years indexed, you can send a request for the obituary via email at mgc@mymcpl.org. Please include the person's name and death date.
The Midwest Genealogy Center also has the Kansas City Star / Kansas City Times on microfilm from August 20, 1871 through the current year.
Meramec Valley Obituary Collection
Years Indexed: 1900-2018
The Meramec Valley Genealogical & Historical Society, in an area just west of St. Louis, MO, was formed in 1986, and members began collecting obituaries, funeral home information, and other death notices ranging from 1900 through 2018.
Midwest Genealogy Center Archival Indexes
Volunteers and staff at the Midwest Genealogy Center have created indexes to in-house archival collections. Included in these archival indexes are Bible records, cemeteries listings, family research, and more.
Missouri County Patron Directories
Years Indexed: 1875-1925
Missouri atlases or plat books, well known for discovery of landowner names, also list “patrons” who paid to have their names listed in the directory or add their biographical information. This collection lists almost 40,000 names of Missourians in over 80 books published before 1925.
Saints' Herald
Years Indexed: 1860-1968
Herald (formerly The True Latter Day Saints' Herald and The Saints' Herald), the official periodical of the Community of Christ, is published monthly in English in Independence, Missouri. Founded in 1860 in Cincinnati, Ohio as the official newspaper of the “Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” (RLDS church), it is the oldest continuously published Mormon periodical and has connected members in branches scattered across the globe. These files were created and shared by the Library-Archives of Community of Christ, Independence, MO.
The Call Newspaper
Years Indexed: 1988-2001
The first issue of the Kansas City Call, a weekly newspaper, was published on May 6, 1919. The Call is one of the most widely circulated black newspapers in the United States and includes coverage of events in the African American community in Kansas City and the nation, including news of local churches, sports, graduations, marriages, and deaths and covers the years 1988-2001.
MCPL has The Call on microfilm from 1922 to the current year (except 1934). If you cannot find your person indexed in Quick Look, or if they passed outside of the years indexed, you can send a request via email at mgc@mymcpl.org. Please include the person's name and death date.
U.S. Railroad Retirement Board Pension Claims
Years Indexed: 1936-2010
The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board administers a federal retirement benefits program covering the nation's railroad workers. This collection is a searchable index of the Inactive Claim Folders that deal primarily with the administration and payment of Railroad Retirement Board Pension Claims of deceased workers. The Railroad Retirement Board continues to retain ownership of claim files deemed active. This physical collection of documents is housed at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at Atlanta.
The Inactive Claim Folders are only on persons whose employers were covered under the Railroad Retirement Act. Employers such as streetcar, interurban, or suburban electric railways are not covered under this Act.
Zion's Ensign Index
Years Indexed: 1898-1932
Zion's Ensign was a weekly religious newspaper, initiated in 1891 in Independence, Missouri and was eventually taken over by the Board of Publication of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, concluding in 1932. In addition to the Saints' Herald, Zion's Ensign reported on sermons, letters, testimonies, religious news, especially of the RLDS church, and included congregational reports of births, blessings, marriages, death notices and obituaries.
This index was compiled and shared by the Community of Christ Library-Archives and includes:
ZION'S ENSIGN BIRTHS AND BLESSINGS INDEX, 1898-1916
ZION'S ENSIGN MARRIAGES INDEX, 1891 - 1916, VOLUMES 1 – 27
ZION'S ENSIGN OBITUARIES INDEX, 1891 - 1932, VOLUMES 1 – 44