History of RCGS

Riley County Genealogical Society was originally formed as the Manhattan Genealogical Society in 1961 with small group of interested people and a handful of books. They met in the home of Mrs. Herbert W. Woldt who graciously shared her home and library as a meeting place for the Society.

As interest in the Society grew, it was decided to schedule regular meetings. New members added copies of their family tree to the library and the size of the library grew.

After 18 months the members decided that their material should be distributed in the form of a newsletter. With that the Society needed to elect officers and establish token dues. As a result, Riley County Genealogical Society (RCGS) was born in 1963 and the newsletter was named KANSAS KIN.

RCGS continued to meet in the Woldt home until 1977 when it moved to the Goodnow House Barn under the auspices of Kansas State Historical Society.

By 1980 RCGS again needed to find a larger space to house the 6000-book collection. The Platt House on Claflin became available and was leased from Riley County. Volunteers made renovations and improvements to the house with donations of money and hard work and the Society moved into its present location.

RCGS PAST PRESIDENTS

Name	Years Served	Name	Years Served
Erik P. Conard	1963	Miriam Field	1992 - 1993
Loren Simmons	1964	Cecil Eyestone	1994 - 1996
Earl H. Teagarden	1965 -1972	Jane Brown	1997 - 2000
Laurene Villard Pittman	1973 - 1974	Sherry Butler	2001
Virginia Atkinson Chatelaine	1975 - 1976	Wann Towers	2002
Elaine Washburn Olney	1977 - 1978	Dorothy Dickerhoof	2003 - 2004
Mildred Loeffler	1979 - 1981	Fred Delano	2005 - 2006
Annie Cunningham	1982 - 1983	Jim Bradley	2007 - 2009
Jay Harvey Littrell	1984 - 1985	Dorothy Dickerhoof	2010 - 2011
Naomi Johnson	1986 - 1987	Rebecca Rose	2012 - 2013
Evelyn Brown	1988 - 1989	Judy Regehr	2014
Della Wray Blythe	1990 - 1991	Barry Michie	2015 - 2022
		Ginny Petersen	2023 - 2024