Rice County, Kansas: Lyons, Sterling, Geneseo, plus... |
They Are Being Held Against Our Will
When your family is from small town America, we scour all repositories for ancestral data, relics, the family bible, anything! These repositories include the local museum, the County Historical Society, college/university special collections, etc. Really everywhere!
I will be chronically the a3Genealogy experience with Lyons, Rice County, Kansas repositories. This is actually one of the biggest conundrum for the a3Genealogy researchers and small town researchers across America. Our quest is for a lost Brown Family Bible. But we have discovered "closed vaults" as far south as Mississippi, across the Midwest and off western to Montana. So let's start with the facts.
Sidney Brown of Ellsworth Kansas, married Aunt Leona Strader. We called her Aunt Can. Aunt Can had the family bible at 206 E. Lyon St, but she died in 1980 and my grandparents Ruth and Harold "Pappy" moved into her big house, across the street from the park:
Yes, that gray thing was the "big house." You should have seen the tiny place on Pioneer St.
We put out an alert !!!⚠ In 2002, we were notified that there was a family bible seen at the antique store.
Is this the Brown family bible you were looking for?
Yes, Yes, please go back and buy it. We will pay all costs.
But two days passed and the bible was no longer there after market day. That was 21 years ago. Lyons has an older population. Every several years I call around again looking for the Bible. I'm hoping by now it has been located in an attic or basement and donated to the 1) library 2) the Lyons local museum 3) or the local antique store.
https://lyons.scklslibrary.info/materials/special-collections/ |
I had a tinge of hope:
"We don't have family bibles that I know of. I'll ask the "person in charge."
2. Local Antique Store, Bits & Pieces
106 East Avenue South
Lyons, KS 67554
(785) 472-8876
Open Fridays 1:00pm 785-472-8876
Possible: that's actually an Ellsworth Tele
Left message: Waiting to hear from owner.
3. Coronado Quivira Museum
Mr Verl Manwarren.
105 West Lyon
Lyons, KS 67554
620-257-3941
Here's proof the ancestors are not hiding they have been kidnapped.
"We have a vault filled with Bibles and other things. No there is no finding aid, they are catalogued by donor. No the pubic cannot go in the vault there are stacks of books in there. No we can't pull out bibles for review, there are too many of them, some in German, some...." No we have no way of determining who was donated in a particular year.
Really?
A rule of a3Genealogy and our 501c3 Tracing Ancestors: Be a part of the solution.
Me: "Well can we assist by helping the Museum create Finding Aids?" There are probably family trees in the front of some of those bibles.
Mr. ManWarren: "We are under the jurisdiction of the Rice County Historical Society. Oh by the way, my sister thinks "she remember Oda Mae Strader of Sterling Kansas.
Note: Leona (aka Ona and Can) did have a sister named Oda Mae Strader. Oda Mae (Aunt Odie) may have lived and gone to college in Sterling (Cooper College) before marriage. but, there was one other Strader family in Kansas from that area.
4. Rice County Historical Society
Rice County Historical Society Executive Director: Charlene Akers
105 West Lyon
Lyons, KS 67554
620-257-3941
Mr. Manwarren forgot to inform me that the Rice County Historical Society was in the same edifice as the Coronado Quivira Museum. So after hanging up, I called back. The Executive Director of the Historical Society had already been briefed, which is great. Plus, this was my second call to her after she told me a couple days before to call the Museum. Again I offered our free services to assist with creating a finding aid.
We have a system. Take an image of cover, open bible, take pic of any family history or identifiable info. Next bible, repeat. Go back to office and use spreadsheet or database to create with image and info.
Review of the Population
In 2000 it is said that Rice County, Kansas had a population of less than 9500 (9390). Lyons Kansas, my paternal family homeplace since the 1890's, had a population of 3732 people in 2000. Keep in mind that was from the 1546 households and 1032 families for that census year. Personally, I think that was inflated, we knew everyone. But, that is a smaller number than the attendees at my Kansas City, Kansas high school.
Be sure to share your Small Town Research stories. We can all learn, or at least be soothed by, or become hopeful, by other stories.
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