Lineage Society Application Time Has Begun !

First Families Eligibility
Any current member of WCGS who is a direct descendant of one or more individuals who settled within the area designated as Williams County on or before December 31, 1860 is welcome to apply for membership of First Families of Williams County.

Century Families Eligibility
Any member of WCGS who is a direct descendant of one or more individuals who settled within the area designates as Williams County between January 1, 1861 and 100 year prior to current year is welcome to apply for membership of Century Families of Williams County.

Civil War Families Eligibility.
CWFWC celebrates our ancestors that served in the Civil War.  The ancestor can be either a direct lineage or a collateral lineage and must have Williams County ties.  The ancestor needs to have been born in, lived in, died in or be buried in Williams County OR have served in a Williams County Regiment.  The collateral lineage would be a sibling to a direct ancestor and would need to provide documentation of the direct lineage and the proof of the sibling relationship.  Military service documentation needs to also need to be proven.

What is needed

• Completed application including each step of descent from the ancestor to yourself
• Documentation to support the lineage to the ancestor
• Application fee of $20
  WCGS membership fee $15 
  Applications available online and at the The Local History & Genealogy Center at the West Annex in Bryan, OH.  Have Questions? Please contact Lineage Chairperson, Kim Smith at LINEAGESOCIETY@WILLIAMSCOUNTYGENEALOGY.ORG .
  
  

Williams County Lineage Societies
NEWEST Lineage Society announced at the June 17, 2019

Civil War Families of Williams County – CWFWC
Do you have an ancestor who served in the Civil War?

You could qualify for Civil War Families if your ancestor served in a Williams County Civil War Regiment or served in another states Civil War Regiment and has ties Williams County. Williams County ties would be that they would have had to have been born, lived, died or been buried in Williams County. 

Civil War Families page with application:  Click Here

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WCGS Honorary Member Roena Bayes

Our Williams County Genealogical Society is very fortunate to have a wonderful relationship with the Local History Center.
An Annex to the Williams County Public Library, the two story facility houses several collections of great interest to historians and genealogists alike. A Microfiche collection of local Newspapers is accessible on site as well as an extensive collection of area High School Yearbooks. Hundreds of family history books and scrapbooks have been donated. Other items are filed in the family drawers by surname. The reading room is also host to materials belonging to our Genealogical Society such as First Family Submission Files, Family Pedigree Charts, Card Index, and numerous publications indexing Censuses, Births/ Marriage/Death and other records, Cemeteries by Township, Military and Biographical Histories, Obituary Collections, Past WCGS Newsletters, etc.
A recent benefit of the close partnership between WCGS and the Local History Center is a new machine called “The Kic” which stands for ‘Knowledge Imaging Center’. This is a special image Scanner capable of multiple output options including e-mail or flash drive.

The research center is located on the north-east corner of the Court House Square, at the corner of North Main Street and East High Street with entrances at 102 N. Main and at 103 E. High Street.

Main Street Entrance

Williams County Ties is a special series of biographical sketches.

West Unity Friends Burial Ground –

Programs open to the Public!

Click on “Events” above anytime to see our Calendar and join the fun in person!   WCGS Programs are open to the public, they are usually held in the Harmon Room of Local History Center. Our meetings are held at 6:30 pm, the second Monday of the month, at the Williams County Public Library West Annex, Bryan Branch, 105 East High Street, Bryan Ohio. (No summer July or August meetings).

Our Newest Publication NEW! Land Records of Williams Co. OH Beginning 1823, Marty Richie $35.00, S and H $3.00, OH Residents Tax $2.54 Please Mail Your Order To: WCGS PO Box 293 Bryan, OH 43506

Williams County Genealogical Society’s Publications chairperson,  Pamela Pattison Lash has provided this research on Divorces in Williams County.  For more of Pam’s research visit her blog at:  http://williamscountyohiogenealogy.blogspot.com
“The County of Williams“   William Henry Shinn	1905 History Biographical Index

Here is a link for listing of Williams County Obits from area papers.   Wms. Co. Public Library site

The holdings of the WCGS are located in the Local History Center of the Williams County Public Library, Bryan Branch, East High Street, Bryan Ohio