You can
contact us at:
PCGS
PO Box 632
Bolivar, MO
65613
info@pcgsmo.com
417-777-2820
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
President
Cay Sergent
Vice President
Morris Westfall
Secretary
Leta Gass
Treasurer
Julie Trout
Director-at-large
Betty Doyle
When you
see this icon, click to leave our site and go to the
online map.
Visit PCGS to pick up your free commemorative map of
Bolivar!
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UPCOMING
MEETING:
October 3, 7 p.m.
Program by
Susan Kelly from OzarkWatch magazine
*Members, please arrive by 6:45 for our annual
group picture
Honoring
Our Veterans
This November 11, the Polk County
Genealogical Society (PCGS) will be honoring
veterans with a display of carnations on the
front steps of the building. Individuals will
have the opportunity to purchase a carnation to
honor a veteran. A card will be attached to the
carnation with the veteran’s name and service
information. Then PCGS volunteers will place the
carnations on the steps of the PCGS Research
Facility early on November 11. Any veteran,
whether living or deceased may be honored. The
veteran does not need to be from Polk County.
OTHER PAYMENT OPTIONS
Send a check
to PCGS, PO Box 632, Bolivar, MO 65613
Stop by with payment.
Forms are also available at the PCGS Research
Facility at 120 East Jackson in Bolivar. The
cost is $10 per carnation and veteran honored.
Payment is due by
October 25.
FamilySearch Affiliate
Library
Being a FamilySearch Affiliate
means that patrons can access in our facility
over 400 million digital images only available
at FamilySearch centers and affiliates. We are
excited to join this exclusive group of research
centers. Come visit us and check out the new
service!
Follow us on
social media for genealogy
hints, tips,
and ideas and PCGS updates.
https://www.facebook.com/pcgsmo
https://www.instagram.com/pcgsmo/
https://twitter.com/pcgsmo
https://youtube.com/@pcgsmo
https://www.historypin.org/en/person/65041
Check out our Facebook
page for weekly trivia questions!
New on our website:
Circuit Court
Files updated, August 2024
Obituary Files updated, August 2024
Ancestors page updated, August 2024
MEMBERS ONLY
section added--email us for details
President's
Corner
Gratitude is one
word that comes to mind frequently these days. In
relation to PCGS, we owe a great debt of gratitude
to so many individuals. Many people make the work
here possible and support the mission of the
organization. It is like a pebble thrown into a
pond and the ripple effect spreads out over the
surface area far from where the small pebble was
initially thrown. Perhaps Mother Theresa said it
best in her quote: "I alone cannot change the
world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to
create many ripples."1 Together we
accomplish so much. More than we ever could as
individuals. We are glad that you as members
choose to join with us and support our mission of
preserving history and supporting genealogical
research.
Our members support us first by paying membership
dues. Dues help to pay the bills from supplies
needed to the postage required to send out a
newsletter. Your support as members also tells us
that you care about the preservation of Polk
County’s history and genealogy.
Monetary donations are also given throughout the
year. All of these, no matter the size, help to
pay utility costs, insurance, repairs, and the
list goes on. These donations are essential to
keep the society operating.
Our volunteers work many hours on various projects
as well as helping those who request help via
email, telephone, or come in the door. Without
them, none of this would be possible. Their
faithful service makes all the difference in the
work of PCGS.
Some offer their support by caring enough to
preserve the history of the area.
When they see something that needs to be
preserved; they work to get the material into the
proper place. Others support by just caring about
the work and keeping informed about events and
activities.
Some provide needed supplies such as hand
sanitizer, paper towels and soap.
Each gift makes a difference and helps in some
way.
Gifts of genealogical research are
made. These might include family research or
private papers. All help in increasing the
materials available.
Ultimately all of the above support our mission
statement: Polk County Genealogical
Society, Inc. promotes genealogical research by
providing educational and research
opportunities, offering community services in
related fields, and collecting,
preserving, and publishing genealogical and
historical records.
Gratitude - yes, we are grateful for all that
everyone does to make our mission possible.
Without the support of many, our work would not be
possible.
Cay Sergent, PCGS President
1 Goodreads. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 6, 2021, from
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/49502-i-alonecannot-change-the-world-but-i-can-cast
Requesting
research from PCGS:
Visit our
Resources
page - see the price chart for
research.
*THE
BEST WAY to request a lookup is to
email us with your request before
sending payment and we will let
you know if we can help you with your
search. Remember to please be
specific with your request, giving the
full name of the person you are looking
for, with any relevant dates and Polk
County place locations. Email
info@pcgsmo.com
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Please remember to be
patient with the volunteers--at PCGS the
volunteers know the collection and have
helped hundreds of people just like you find
that probate, obituary or long lost family
history. They also have a love of the craft
and travelers. We have all visited those
places where the staff grunts and points to
the genealogical section. Not here at PCGS!
You will always be greeted with enthusiasm
and helpfulness. Be generous--share your
data with the facility and leave as large of
a donation as you can. Those donations and
your support are what keep our doors open
and the lights on, four days a week year
round. We look forward to your visit!
Susan Sparks, Past President
Did you know?
PCGS is 30 years old!
The PCGS Research
Facility (original Carnegie Public Library)
is 109 years old!
The
Polk County Genealogical Society was
established in 1994. Interested
parties first met for an
organizational meeting in February
1994. The first program and business
meeting was held in April 1994 at the
Bolivar UMC fellowship hall (now the
Open Hearts Methodist Church). At the
time, the Society was a special
interest group of the Friends of the
Polk County Library and was supported
financially by the Friends. The first
name of the Society was the Bolivar
Genealogy Group, but the name was soon
changed to the Polk County
Genealogical Society.
In 1996, the Society
became independent of the Friends of
the Library. The first publication for
sale by the Society was published in
1998. There are now over 80
publications available for purchase at
the Society’s library. The Society
incorporated in August 1999 and became
a not-for-profit corporation in
January 2001. The Society does not
receive any funding from local or
state entities. All money comes from
donations of individuals, research
fees, and sales of society
publications.
In
October 2001, PCGS purchased the
Carnegie library building located on
the town square of Bolivar, Missouri
and completed renovation of the ground
floor in the summer of 2002. The Polk
County Genealogical Society Library
was opened to the public in July 2002.
The lower floor houses the research
collection. While the Society focuses
on Polk and surrounding counties,
there is material from across the
United States, including a large
selection from Tennessee and Kentucky.
Researchers also have access to
Ancestry.com, Fold3.com (a military
site), and Newspapers.com. The only
fee charged is for copies. The
all-volunteer staff is available to
help at any time.
The upstairs was renovated in 2005 and
houses the collections that have been
given to the Society. Finding aids are
created for these collections which
helps researchers find information
valuable for them without having to go
through the whole collection. Also,
this floor contains the old Polk
County records dating back to 1835.
Court docket books, probate record
books, and court cases are housed on
this floor.
The
Society continues to promote and
encourage the preservation of local
and family history through informative
programs, classes and special events.
The Polk County Genealogical Society
Research Facility’s regular hours are
Monday, Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monthly
meeting are held the first Thursdays
of each month at 7 p.m. (Exceptions to
our regular schedule and open days are
listed on our website www.pcgsmo.com.)
PCGS has welcomed visitors from all
over the United States and Canada and
hope to continue to do so for many
years to come!
INCLEMENT
WEATHER POLICY:
If Bolivar schools are
closed because of weather, the library will also
be closed. If Polk County is under a Winter
Weather Warning, the facility will be closed.
There will be no night meeting, either, if
school is closed on a Thursday.
If bad weather develops on a Thursday afternoon
before the regular monthly meeting, members can
call 417-777-2820 to find out the status of the
meeting. Winter Weather and Tornado Warnings
will mean automatic cancellation of meetings.
Click here for school closings
list at ky3.com
CLOSING
DATES FOR 2024:
Monday, January 16 (MLK
Jr. Day)
Monday, January 29 (PCGS Staff Training Day)
Monday, February 19 (President's Day)
Monday,
May 27 (Memorial Day)
Wednesday, June 19 (Juneteenth)
Thursday, July 4 - Sunday, July 7
(Independence Day break)
Monday, September 2 (Labor Day)
Monday - Sunday,
November 25 - December 1 (Thanksgiving
break)
Monday, December 23 through Sunday,
January 5 (Christmas break)
We will open at 10
a.m. on Monday, January 6, 2025
GEOCACHING--Geocaching
is an activity in which the participants use a
Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other
navigational techniques to hide and seek
containers (called "geocaches" or "caches")
anywhere in the world.
PCGS is now part of the geocaching community.
For more information, please
see this website Grandma's Little Stash
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=48059b6f-fd44-4c45-88ae-07c7d0d0be53
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