Thursday, September 27, 2007

New Resource for Researching Kansans

Now, I don't have a huge amount of Kansas ancestry, but my great-great grandfather Levi Lantz (of hula fame) did live there the last couple of years of his life and is buried in the Amish Cemetery in McPherson. The Kansas Memory Project is launching a huge photo project on October 16. I'm including the press release here:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 26, 2007

LARGEST ONLINE COLLECTION OF IMAGES AND DOCUMENTS FROM KANSAS HISTORY TO BE LAUNCHED OCTOBER 16

Former Kansas Governor John Carlin to be on hand at launch event

TOPEKA, KS—The Kansas Historical Society announced that former Kansas Governor John Carlin, who served as Archivist of the United States from 1995-2005, will return to Topeka for the launch of Kansas Memory on October 16. Kansas Memory is the Historical Society’s newest online offering, featuring the largest collection of photographs and manuscripts from Kansas history on the Internet, and can be accessed at kansasmemory.org. Carlin and other state dignitaries will be on hand at the Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Avenue, for a launch event at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 16. The launch coincides with American Archives Month.

Kansas Memory offers unprecedented online access to Kansas history and includes thousands of items from the Kansas Historical Society’s collections of photographs, letters, diaries, and other historic items. Users can browse, search, or share images, and will eventually be able to purchase high-resolution versions online. The “My Memory” section allows users to customize a personal space, save searches, and create scrapbooks of items. Although it would be impossible to add every single item in the Kansas Historical Society’s collection to Kansas Memory, the Historical Society will actively continue to add images as part of its goal to make Kansas history more accessible to everyone. Visitors to the site can listen to dramatic readings in the Kansas Memory podcasts and subscribe to web feeds for the latest content.

Teachers will find the multi-faceted browse feature especially helpful as it includes topics that help meet Kansas and U.S. history standards. Kansas Memory was developed in part with funding from the Information Network of Kansas.

During the month of October, Kansas Press Association member newspapers will have access to a special collection of photos from Kansas Memory for use in their publications. This partnership between the Association and the Kansas Historical Society celebrates National Newspaper Week, October 7-13.

For more information on Kansas Memory, visit kansasmemory.org or call Pat Michaelis, Kansas Historical Society State Archives & Library Director at 785-272-8681, ext. 270.

UPDATE: P.S. - Some of Levi's children and grandchildren remained in Kansas after his death.

1 comment:

Moultrie Creek said...

I'm thrilled to see more of this kind of project. The Florida Memory Project with its fabulous old photos is a delightful resource. I hope this is a trend that continues.