West Nebraska Family Research & History Center

01/17/2024

Due to the weather last Monday, we were closed but will be open next Monday. If you have any questions or would like to make an appointment, please call 308-635-2400. Judi, Launa, or Lori will get back to you as soon as possible

01/03/2024

Hello everyone! West Nebraska Family Research & History Center is looking for motivated individuals who would be interested in helping at the center! If you would like to volunteer, please call 308-635-2400

01/20/2022

Nebraska State Genealogical Society Family Recognition Files

West Nebraska Family Research and History Center applied for and was chosen as the new home for the Nebraska Genealogy Society's Family Recognition Files. Nebraska State Genealogy Society's Family Recognition Certificate program was started in 1981 as a way for early Nebraska families to be recognized and honored for their contributions to the development to our great state.
To be eligible to receive recognition through this program, the descendent must fill out an application and submit proof of residency for their family member who will be named on the certificate. There are three levels of recognition, and each cover a specific time period.
1. First Family Recognition is for families that settled prior to 1867.....prior to
Nebraska's statehood.
2. Pioneer Family Recognition is for families that settled here between
1868 and 1879.
3. Century Family Recognition is for families that settled here at least 100
years prior to application.
The award certificate is issued by the Nebraska State Genealogical Society and is signed by the society's president. The certificate then goes to the Nebraska Secretary of State's office for their endorsement and is signed by the current Nebraska Secretary of State.
The actual paper application and physical files are housed here at the Center and can be viewed during normal business hours. The Nebraska State Genealogical Society will have only digitized files that are available through their website at https://nsgs.org. There are currently 763 files available to be viewed.

NSGS is a state wide genealogical organization located in Nebraska. If you are interested in genealogy or family history in Nebraska, please join us. We also have smaller societies within our group.

11/28/2021

Since the day West Nebraska Family Research and History Center opened its doors, we've looked at the building to our south. It's a two story building, and the name on it is E E Maxon. It's a building that even tho it's very old and has been here since 1917, the history on it seems to be elusive. If any of you know any history on this building, we'd welcome anything you might share.

08/19/2021

Have you ever wondered what your parents or even your grandparents looked like in their earlier years? You might be totally surprised that Grandmother was a sassy looking teenager or that Grandpa was a James Dean look alike. We have yearbooks from panhandle schools including the 'Junior College', the School of Nursing, and even larger colleges from the eastern part of the state. Some have personal notes that give a new insight as to how it was to be a teenager during those years.

06/14/2021

Have you ever wondered where, in our area, your Grandparent's or even Great Grandparent's home was located? Is their house still standing, or is it now a local business? You may be able to locate that address so you can go check it out. At West Nebraska Family Research and History Center, or Nebraska Ancestors, you may learn that address and perhaps their phone number and what others are living in the home. We
have old telephone books, school annuals, and city directories.

There may be many things at West Nebraska Family Research & History Center that you are not aware of. We have a large collection of Memorial/Funeral cards that were passed out at funerals. I've mentioned before that we have a vast obituary collection. We have been clipping and pasting obituaries from local newspapers and placing them in binders since day #1 in 2004. Not only do we have those binders, but we have been gifted binders from individuals. They include:
Edythe Streeks
Leona McMasters
Eleanor Preston
Clara Mae McConkey
Gloria Thompson
Charlotte Ward (obituary cabinet and cards)

05/11/2021

NebraskaAncestors

West Nebraska Family History and Research Center now has a brand new home on the world wide web, and a new domain name to go with it. You can reach us at
https://NebraskaAncestors.org. It's a new site, and new content. Plus

WE'RE OPEN AGAIN!!

Monday's with Judi...............9:00-3:00
Tuesday.....................................by Appointment
Wednesday..............................by Appointment
Thursday's with Launa.........9:00-3:00
Friday's with Ruth & Al........9:00-300
Saturday.....................................by Appointment
Sunday........................................by Appointment
**For appointments call 308-225-3424.........Leave a message if no answer

04/06/2021

If you are a military enthusiast, you might find some wonderful information in our library. There are national publications, but also some local information. There are also local newspapers from WW1 and WW11. Like most libraries, books may be checked out with your library card.

02/26/2021

Scottsbluff, Nebraska, ca1903.

02/01/2021

Do you have ancestors that may have survived in the N**i concentration camps of Eastern Europe during WW11? Some families don't know if their loved ones perished or survived the Holocaust. West Nebraska Family Research and History Center has a set of four volumes of REGISTRY OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, that was published by the United States Memorial Museum. They list the names of survivors as discovered by March of 2000. The State of Nebraska has only two sets of REGISTRY OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, and we are privileged to have one of those sets. Persons included are anyone displaced by the racial, ethnic, or political policies of the N**i's and their allies. January 27, 2021 was the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

01/16/2021

This beautiful lady came to West Nebraska Family History and Research Center when her 'home' was converted to a different business. We don't know who she is or when or where this was done. She's painted on canvas and it looks very old. If you look closely, you'll see the coloring is just beautiful and even shows off her earrings. Maybe someone has a photo of this lady in their family pictures and we hope they will share her name and a tell about her.

11/08/2020

Does this look like anyone from your family? This portrait was from a room in the Peters Hotel in Broadwater. The woman that brought it to West Nebraska Family History and Research Center knew where it had come from, but not the couple shown. If we can find their family, we'd love to get them home.

10/19/2020

This portrait has been hanging at West Nebraska Family Research and History Center for a number of years. We have no idea who he might be or where this might have been painted. It was painted by Faye Hoffman Church who is known for her paintings and especially her portraits. If this is your family, or if you know who he might be, we'd like to get him home to his family.

10/17/2020

Its been suggested that these two ladies are the same person. We'd appreciate your opinion and your comments. It would be nice to put a name or names on these.

10/15/2020

We have been contacted to help with this research. If you recall this event and can add context to the file we will submit to them please let us know and/or contact Warren Pietsch.

10/09/2020

We are fortunate to have been given a wonderful donation from The University Of Nebraska. We now have photo's of the graduating classes from West Nebraska General Hospital School of Nursing as well as Regional West Medical Center. The photo's are from the classes 1952 thru 1988 minus 1963 which is missing from the set. I'd venture the guess that very few people living in our area could find no connection with at least one of these nurses. They could be the nurse in your family, the nurse that helped deliver your baby, one that did bedside nursing of your loved one, one that was with you in the operating room, or one that gave you your flu shot in your doctors office. Not only do we have these graduation photo's but also year books from the school of nursing.

09/23/2020

Rich Dermer was a nurse who worked at RWMC and a man who died too soon. Rich had been doing family research for years and had a vast knowledge of Germans from Russia in his collection. Following Richard's death, his research was donated to WNFRHC and has become one of our most used, most valuable collections to other researchers. If you have any Germans from Russia in your family, come and look at Rich's collection. You may find not only family histories, but important documents, photo's, and stories.