Membership ::: Western Michigan Genealogical Society - A genealogy society in west Michigan especially Kent County and the surrounding counties of Ottawa, Muskegon, Newaygo, Montcalm, Ionia, Barry, and Allegan.

Membership advantages include a subscription to our quarterly publication MICHIGANA with free query placement, use of the private files of the Society stored in the Local & Family History Room of the Grand Rapids Public Library. We are affiliated with the Michigan Genealogical Council and participate in all of its activities. The WMGS is also a member of the National Genealogical Society. Feel free to inspect our Constitution & By-laws, which includes a list of our current Officers.

*If you are a WMGS Member, and wish to have your family data posted online for others to (hopefully) find you can send a GEDCOM file to us. Send it as a file attachment by eMail to DataMaster@wmgs.org. Questions? Please email the Datamaster.

If you would like a WMGS name badge, look here for how to order yours.

PROGRAMS, SEMINARS and EDUCATION

Interesting programs on a wide range of genealogical and historical subjects are presented at our monthly meetings. Nationally known speakers are scheduled for seminars which the WMGS periodically sponsors. (see Gotancestors.com)

WMGS offers beginners' classes in genealogy, usually in the spring & fall. Various other informative workshops are offered occasionally.

A newsletter is published 3-4 times a year, updating members on society events and projects.

RESEARCH

The WMGS Search Committee works in cooperation with the Grand Rapids Public Library and will, for a set fee, do genealogical research. For more information write to:

WMGS Search Committee
Western Michigan Genealogical Society
c/o Grand Rapids Public Library
111 Library Street NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503-3268
Email - wmgs@wmgs.org

PROJECTS

WMGS has undertaken many genealogical projects in the past, and continues to do so. Indexing certain histories, census, obituaries, and church records from western Michigan are some of our past and continuing endeavors.

The records of the Michigan Veterans Facility located in Grand Rapids have also been microfilmed and placed in the Grand Rapids Public Library. We maintain a surname file of the thousands of persons in our members' family records.

PUBLICATIONS and SALES

WMGS offers for sale a number of publications especially concerning: State of Michigan, Kent County and many of the surrounding contiguous counties; how-to books covering getting started, various states and countries; maps, etc. Our selection of genealogical charts includes ancestral charts of varied types and number of generations, family record sheets, and worksheets for research, correspondence, county vital records and 1800 through 1920 census. If you have questions about volunteering, email to volunteer@wmgs.org.

The above items are available for purchase at our monthly meetings, beginners' classes and by mail order.

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS.

COLLECTION

The Local History and Genealogical collection is held in the Main Branch of the Grand Rapids Public Library. It is the third largest collection in the state of Michigan. The strength of the genealogical holdings is the Michigan Historical Collection, which covers all of Michigan with a strong emphasis on western Michigan.

The collection also includes materials on New England, other colonial states and the Western Reserve states. Most of the major periodicals and bound archival or state papers are here, plus many printed census indexes and all of the Federal census for the state of Michigan. Numerous published family genealogies are also available.

Books given to or purchased by WMGS are subject to Library approval, and shelved with the Library's collection. New materials are added continuously. All gifts, donations and fees to the WMGS are used to pay expenses and improve the genealogical collection of the Grand Rapids Public Library.

List of Purchases for the collection

We invite you to become a WMGS member.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

*Includes Kent County and the counties immediately surrounding; namely Ottawa, Muskegon, Newaygo, Montcalm, Ionia, Barry and Allegan Counties. There is some extension beyond these counties into other areas of the Western Lower Peninsula.