Come into our Baker Genealogy Center (in the Topeka Room on the second floor) where you can trace your family tree using our genealogy print collection, our dedicated genealogy computers and microfilm reader-printers. Our staff are always ready to assist you and help you get started in your search for your family’s history. 

When you visit the library you will have access to our Ancestry subscription which includes

Census Collection and Voter Lists from the United States and around the world

• U.S. Federal Census Collection including
• UK Census Collection & Canadian Census Collection
• U.S., Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940

Birth, Marriage & Death Collection

• Birth, Baptism & Christening
• Marriage & Divorce
• Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries
• Social Security Death Index
• England & Wales, Birth, Marriage, Death Indexes, 1837-1915

Military Collection

• Draft, Enlistment, Service & Casualties
• Soldier, Veteran & Prisoner Rolls & Lists
• Pension Records
• Awards & Decorations of Honor
• News & Histories
• Disciplinary Actions
• Photos

Immigration & Travel Collection

• Passenger & Crew Lists
• Citizenship & Naturalization Records
• Border Crossings & Passports
• Immigration & Emigration Books
• Ship Pictures & Descriptions

Other collections included with our on-site Ancestry subscription are:

• Newspapers & Publications
• Pictures
• Stories, Memories & Histories
• Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers
• Schools, Directories & Church Histories
• Tax, Criminal, Land & Wills
• Reference, Dictionaries & Almanacs
• Ancestral Charts and pintable US, UK, and Canadian Census Forms
• Recently added new content such as U.S. City Directories 1821-1989 (beta) 

You can also visit us at our Local History Blog to use our collection of genealogy databases, helpful links, and printable forms.

Source tgstopeka.org

We have recently added a new Genealogy resource to our Web page.  Take a look at the Mount Auburn Cemetery Files. This is an alphabetical listing of burials in Mt. Auburn Cemetery from as far back as 1888.  Provided by an initiative of the Topeka and Shawnee County chapter of Keep America Beautiful.  Many thanks for this great resource!  Read about the project here at Capital Journal Online http://cjonline.com/news/2012-01-14/history-comes-alive-topeka-cemetery

You can see what other local cemetery and genealogy resources we have in our online catalog or visit us in person here at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library  to look at titles like Cemetery Records of burials, 1859-1880 Topeka Cemetery, Topeka, Kansas and Shawnee County Cemeteries Vol 1-4, Topeka Genealogical Society

Many of us are anxious to get a look at the 1940 Census.  The release date is set April 2, 2012.  You can get a preview at NARA’s website now.  They have copies of the blank 1940 forms, information about what’s different, and instructional videos.  You can access previous census records now and will be able to access the 1940 Census after its release date from home at one of our Genealogy and Local History links like Heritage Quest  or here in the Library from our Ancestry.com access.

Saturday, October 8 from 10am to 3pm at the Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Ave., meet Christia Cowan from Ancestry.com and learn about genealogical research and resources.

• Representatives from Ancestry.com will be on-site
• Mini-sessions on a variety of topics including getting started, courthouse records, orphan trains, children’s genealogy, and Ancestry.com search tips and clues
• Informational displays by genealogical, historical & lineage groups
• “Ask the experts”  Preservation questions
• “Ask the experts” Genealogy questions
• Ancestor Photo Display – participate by sending us copies of your favorite ancestor photos for display during the fair check here for details

This event is sponsored by the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, The Kansas Historical Society, The Topeka Genealogical Society, and the Topeka Family History Center of the Latter Day Saints Church.

Cook This Not That

Cook This Not That Kitchen Survival Guide

I’ve always enjoyed the Eat This Not That series of books by David Zinczenko & Matt Goulding. They are small, attractive, and easy to use food comparison books.  One of the newest offerings is Cook This, Not That Kitchen Survival Guide.

I was immediately surprised by the Who blew up the Food chart in the introduction that compares common foods like  pizza by the fat and calorie counts of the average restaurant, supermarket, and home cooked versions.  Prepared supermarket foods were often as high in fat and calories as restaurant foods, sometimes even higher.

Like the others in this series Cook This is filled with many attractive color photos of the dishes being compared.  One of the things that make this book so special is the easy to follow recipes for the home-cooked dishes alongside the restaurant alternatives with a comparison of how much calories, fat, sodium, and cash $$  you save by making the dishes at home.

Cook This Not That doesn’t just stop at giving you recipes, there are a number of grids that tell you how to build a healthy dish by mixing and matching ingredients such as the Crock-Pot Matrix or Wok Matrix that have you choose:

• protein
• vegetables
• braising liquid or sauce
• flavor enhancer
• garnish

This isn’t so much a diet cookbook as a primer about how much healthier taking the time to cook at home is in comparison to the convenience foods wherever you find them.  You can find copies of Cook This Not That in our Express and New Books sections.

Remember you can always browse and checkout titles at the Overdrive site from any computer and download them to your device later.

Instructions for using Overdrive’s Epub books

1. Go to your App store and get the Overdrive App. or update your existing Overdrive App.
2. From the updated App. pick Kansas Virtual Library
3. Click on the Get Books button
4. Browse, checkout,and download Free epub and audiobook titles directly onto your device.

Go to our Digital Downloads page for instructions, troublshooting, epub and audiobook class schedules, or to set up an appointment with an eBook specialist.