Museums

I've written before about our weekend mini-vacations here in a post called Weekend Ramblers.  And I've written about a historical museum in Miller County, MO that we have visited several times and my husband is a life-time member of. However, in my positivity journal this month, I have written a list of museums we (either my birth family or my husband's birth family or our married family) have visited because we enjoy history, some show exhibits of people we find interesting (see my history nut blog) and some pertain to our genealogical research. 

In my journal, I will only be listing the Museum's name, city and state.  Read the labels down below the post which might give you some clues to the various surnames that we found exhibits on or genealogical information at or places that were important to our ancestors. I don't want to make this post too complicated, but if you see a leaf emblem behind the name, that indicates a important place for His 🍁 or Her 🍀 family. 

So this list of 112 museums stands for now upon publishing, but as we visit other museums or remember more, then I'll come back later to update this list. How many museums and historic sites have you visited, especially those that pertain to your family tree? 

1.  1859 Jail, Marshal's Home & Museum, Independence, MO. 
2.  Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library, Springfield, IL (2015) 🍀
3.  Alexander Majors Historic House & Park, Kansas City, MO.
4.  Arrow Rock State Historic Site, Arrow Rock, MO.
5. Bates County Historical Museum, Butler, MO.  🍀
6. Battle of Lexington - State Historical Site, Lexington, MO. 
7. Battle of Westport Museum and Visitor Center, Kansas City, MO.
8. Belton Historical Museum, Belton, MO. 
9. the Big Well, Greensburg, KS
10. Bolduc House Museum, St. Genevieve, MO.
11. Boot Hill Museum, Dodge City, KS
12. Bothwell Lodge - State Historic Site, Pettis Co, MO.
13. Buffalo Bill Center, Cody, WY
14.  Bushwhacker Museum, Nevada, MO. 🍀
    
15. Christian County Historical Museum, Taylorville, IL (2015) 🍀
16. Cole Camp Museum, Cole Camp, MO. 
17.  Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden, CO
18.  Constitution Hall and Territorial Museum, Lecompton, KS. 🍀
19. Corrie ten Boom Virtual Museum, Haarlem, Holland
20.  Dalton Defenders Museum, Coffeyville, KS. (1992) 🍀
21. Dalton Hide-out Museum, Meade, KS. 
22. Dwight D. Eisenhower Museum, Abilene, KS. 
23. Felix Valle House - State Historical Site, St. Genevieve, MO. 
24. First Missouri State Capital, St. Charles, MO. 
25. Focus on the Family Welcome Center, Colorado Springs, CO
26. Fort Bliss Army Museum, El Paso, TX
27. Fort Larned National Historical Site, Larned, KS.
28. Fort Osage, Sibley, MO. 
29. Fort Scott National Historical Site, Ft. Scott, KS.
    
30. Frontier Army Museum, Ft. Leavenworth, KS.
    
31. Glen Miller Birthplace Museum, Clarinda, IA
32. George Washington Carver's National Monument, Diamond, MO. 
33. Grant's Farm, St. Louis, Mo. 
34. Grandview Historical Society Train Depot Museum, Grandview, MO.
35. Grinter's Place, Kansas City, KS.
36. Hallmark Visitors Center, Kansas City, MO
37. Hannibal Historical Museum, Hannibal, MO. (2015)
38. Harry S. Truman's Birthplace, Lamar, MO. 
39. Harry S. Truman's Library and Museum, Independence, MO. 
40. Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Dearborn, MI
41. Illinois State Military Museum, Springfield, IL. (2015) 🍀
42. John Brown Museum, Osawatomie, KS. 🍀
    
43. Johnson County Museum, Overland Park, KS 
44. John Wornall House Museum, Kansas City, MO. 
45.  Kansas City Historical Museum, Kansas City, MO.
46. Kansas City Toy Museum, Kansas City, MO. 
47. Katy Depot and Railroad Heritage Museum, Sedalia, MO.  
48. Kaw Indian Mission, Council Grove, KS
49. Kit Carson Home and Museum, Taos, NM 🍁
50. Laura Ingalls Wilder Homes, Independence, KS and Mansfield, MO. 
51. Lawrence Visitors Center, Lawrence, KS. 
52. Legler Barn Museum, Lenexa, KS.
53. Lewis and Clark Boat House and Museum, St. Charles, MO.  
54. Lexington Historical Museum, Lexington, MO
55. Lincoln's New Salem-State Historic Site, Petersburg, IL
56. Lincoln University Museum, Lincoln, IL
57.  Logan County Historical Museum, Lincoln, IL (2015) 🍀
58.  Lone Jack Historical Museum, Lone Jack, MO.
59.  Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm Home, Olathe, KS
60. the Magic House Children's Museum, St. Louis, MO. 
61. Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, Hannibal, MO (2015)
62.  Miami County Historical Museum, Paola, KS. 🍀
63. Miller County Historical Museum, Tuscumbia, MO. 🍁
64. Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site, Pleasanton, KS. 🍀
65. Missouri State Museum and Jefferson Landing State Historic Site, Jefferson City, MO.
66. Missouri Town 1855, Kansas City, MO. 
67.  Morgan County Historical Museum, Versailles, MO. 
68. Museum of the Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO. 
69. National Airline Historical Museum, Kansas City, KS.
70. National Agricultural Hall of Fame Museum, Bonner Springs, KS 
71. National Battlefield of Wilson's Creek, Republic, MO. 🍀
72.  National Frontier Trails Center, Independence, MO. 
73. National WWI Liberty Museum and Memorial, Kansas City, MO. 
74. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO.
75.  New Santa Fe Historical Society Trailside Center, Kansas City, MO.
76. No Man's Land Historical Museum, Goodwell, OK (Mom worked here during college years for Dr. McQuarter) 🍀
77. Old State Capital, Springfield, IL. (2015) 🍀
78.  Osawatomie Historical Museum, Osawatomie, KS. 
79. Pablo Agricultural Center, Blue Mound, IL (2015; permanently closed) 🍀
80.  Papinville Historical Museum, Papinville, MO. 🍁
81. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK
82. Pony Express Museum, St. Joseph, MO. 
83. Precious Moments Chapel and Visitors Center, Carthage, MO. 
84. Providence Hospital Medical Museum (Bethany Hospital memorabilia), Kansas City, KS 🍀
85. Ralph Foster Museum, Point Lookout, MO
86. Ray County Historical Museum, Richmond, MO. 
87. Ripley's Believe it Or Not Museum, Branson, MO
88.  Santa Fe Trailside Center, Kansas City, MO.
89. Sappington House-State Park, Arrow Rock, Mo. 
90. Science Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
91. the Science Center, St. Louis, MO.  
92.  Shawnee Indian Mission, Fairway, KS. 🍀
93. Shoal Creek Living History Museum - Hodge Park, North Kansas City, MO.
94. State Capital Museum, Jefferson City, MO.
95. Strang Carriage House, Overland Park, KS.  
96. Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum, Ashland, NE. 
    
97. Strawberry Hill Historical Museum, Kansas City, KS
98. Stauth Memorial Museum, Montezuma, KS
99. St. Joseph Hospital Medical Museum, Kansas City, MO. 
100. Thomas Hart Benton -- State Park, Kansas City, MO.
101. Tippecanoe Battlefield & Museum, Battle Ground, IN.
102. Trail of Tears - State Park, Jackson, MO.
103.  Truman House, Independence, MO. 
104.  Union Station Science City Museum, Kansas City, MO.
105. War Eagle Air Museum, Santa Teresa, NM.
106. Watkins Woolen Mill - State Park, Lawson, MO. 
107. Western Historical Trails Center, Council Bluff, IA. 
108.  Westport Historical Society Museum, Kansas City, MO. 🍀
109. Wonders of Wildlife National Museum, Springfield, MO.
110. Wonderscope Children's Museum, Red Bridge Road, south Kansas City, MO. 
111. Wyandotte County Historical Museum, Bonner Springs, KS
112. Young-Truman Home, Grandview, MO.
     

MUSEUMS WE WOULD LIKE TO VISIT:

1.  Mather House Museum, Port Jefferson, NY (for Earline Spinney's clock collection) 🍀

2. Morton County Historical Museum, Elkhart, KS  🍀

3. Santa Fe Trail Center Museum, Larned, KS. 🍁

4. Wyckoff House, Brooklyn, NY 🍁

Updated: 3/31/2023

A Bull Story

We traveled "down home" recently where my husband's ancestors have resided for the past 150 years. During our traveling to and fro, I was thinking of when his grandparents were alive and living in the tenant farm house on the land they inherited when Grandpa's former landlord and lady passed. We drove to it and stopped and walked around the property for a moment to stretch legs and let the dog race around, having a sniffing good time while we were there.

When my hubbin and I were newly married, we decided we needed a weekender "down home" to visit his grandparents. In those days, his extended family circle -- dad, mother, brothers and sisters, paternal uncles and aunts and some of their descendants visited quite often, at least once a month, so it wasn't unusual to find them all down and crowded into grandma and grandpa's two story white farm house. It was just a matter of putting dibs on a bed so we'd have a place to sleep. 

While we were there, we decided to spend an romantic afternoon shopping in the capital city some 30 miles away. The weatherman had predicted snow which wasn't to begin until later that evening, so not to be deterred, we left early in the day, going down the back roads, across a cement low water bridge with a trickle of water running across it from the creek, and through an almost vanished village to the highway. We didn't leave the city until the white flakes began drifting down and then suddenly anxious, my husband decided we better get back to his grandpa's. 

As we turned off the highway, going down the same back roads we had traveled earlier in the day and over the crest of the last steep hill sloping down towards the creek, we nearly had a head-on with a huge bull jogging towards us. Now in the country, it's not unusual to find cattle on the roads; you carefully drive around them and go on, then report it to the farmers round and let them go pick up their errant animal. Because this was on a somewhat slippery gravel slope, we skidded down towards him, intent on going round him, but he was having none of it. He blocked us at every turn of the wheel. Only when we came to a complete stop, did he run around our car and disappear up the hill behind us. It was getting dusky gray by that time and we slowly rolled down to cross the creek. I sincerely believe that bull was sent to protect us, because when we arrived at where the bridge had been, the trickle had become a five foot deep raging river. The cement could not even be seen under all that dark churning, foaming water, only the two roads leading out of it on either side. We could have easily have been swept away in our little chevette had we hit that water. 

It took us two hours to turn our small car around and creep back up the icy hill. The bull was nowhere to be seen when we finally made it back to the top. We expected to see, but did not find any broken down fence along that stretch of road on either side.

Fortunately, there was a blacktop further down the highway once we got back to it that we were able to take to go round to his grandparents from the other side. They were really worried about us and scolded us for not stopping to call them to let them know we were leaving the city. This was in the days before mobile phones and we were thoughtless. I'm just thankful we made it back to the safe arms of the family home and hadn't taken a cold dip that day! Brrr! I thank the Lord for his goodness and protection!

Reunion and Cemetery Checklists

I. GENEALOGICAL TOOLS:

1. 3-ring binder notebook for forms and a hole punch. 
2. A basic spiral notebook or yellow legal pad. 
   
3. Plenty of sharpened pencils and an eraser.
4. Filing box. 
5. Print Fill-in-the blank Family Forms .  
6. List information needed. (Research Checklist).
7. List records (documents) and photos you have at home. 
8. List of courthouses, genealogical centers, genealogical groups, libraries, and websites.
9. Change for photocopy machine. 
10. A pair of white gloves for fragile documents. 
11. Magnifying glass.
12. Camera with new batteries or fully charged smart phone.
13. A computer laptop with a family history program is nice, but not necessary. 
14. An electric extension cord in your notebook bag. 
15. A wand scanner. 
16. Recording device for oral interviews.
    

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II. FAMILY CEMETERY:

1. Assorted sizes of soft nylon paint or dust brushes.
2. Bug Spray. 
3. Camera plus new batteries or fully charged smart phone.
4. Cemetery Map
5. Clipboard and Paper; extra pens/pencils
6. D/2 Gravestone cleaner (only kind of stone cleaner AGS recommends). 
7. Find-a-grave App on fully-charged cell phone or I-pad. Car charger cable.
8. Hand pruner
9. Large Spray Bottle and several bottles of water.
10. Lawn or camp chair. 
11. Leather gloves.
12. List of tombstones we want to visit and/or take photos of
13. measuring tape
14. Messenger bag to carry everything in to the cemetery
15. orange cuticle sticks (gently scrapes out dirt particles from carved areas)
16. Road map or GPS
17. Sexton's business card
18. Sturdy walking shoes.
    
19. Sun Protection = Straw Hat, sunscreen and/or umbrella hats
20. Trash bags
21. T-shirt rags
22. Unbreakable mirror or an automobile metallic windshield accordion-fold sunscreen (helpful to shine light to create shadows on the tombstone when taking photos)
    

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What to bring to your next family reunion:

III. PARK

1. A first aid kit.
2. Bug spray.
3. Business cards.
4. Camera - extra batteries and/or fully charged smart phone. Charger cord.
5. Cash to donate to help defray costs of annual family cemetery care, renting the park shelter and stationery/postage for reunion reminders.    
6. For Pool, if open to public = entry money, modest bathing suits, flip flops, beach towel, sunscreen, water bottle. Optional = nose plugs, ear plugs, swimming cap, flotation devices, and money for the snack bar.
7. For Potluck = main meal, sides, dessert, iced drinks in cooler, picnic tablecloth and table clips, disposable dinnerware, paper towels or napkins, waterproof matches, plastic trash bags.
8. Ideas = Want more ideas? Click on Pinterest board  over on the side menu for more!  
9. Lawn chairs.
10. Musical Instruments = if you can play a kazoo, pick a banjo, guitar or a fiddle or sing, by all means, bring it on!
11. Name tags.
12. New Address? = Bring a sticky address label with it for me! 
13. Record Station for Family Historians (Separate Table away from Potluck to share Records and Photos. No Food or Drinks Allowed Here). Family memorabilia - photo albums  or scrapbooks of memorial service leaflets or newspaper clippings that announce baptisms, births, deaths,  graduation, honors, marriages, sporting events, etc.
14. Samples of your handiwork, recipes, seeds or plant starts to share. 
15. Sign-up sheet on clipboard and pen.
16. Sun and Heat Protection = Caps, fans, hats, sunscreen, water bottle.
17. Toiletry items = paper towels, toilet paper, water in a jug, and wet wipes (in case the park’s johnny-on-the-spot runs out or if the water hydrants are shut off like in previous years).
18. TV Trays (if city double books the shelter by mistake again) = Food and Drink park.
19. Toys and Games = badminton rackets, balls, bats, Frisbees, Lawn Dominoes, Lawn scrabble, squirt bottles and Toss games. See Pinterest board for more ideas.
    

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IV. REUNION SCAVENGER HUNT GAME [I provided a printed list of fifteen or so items and a sack for their treasures. I allowed individuals to hunt and encouraged older children who could read to help the littles who couldn't. When they brought their items to me for show and tell, they selected a piece of candy for participation (ring pops were very popular). I had them throw away any trash they picked up and return the natural items back to the park.]

Find:

1. An autograph of a living relative
2. A ball of mud (or dried dirt)
3. A chewed leaf
4. A feather
5. A pinecone
6. A poem (or a memorized scripture verse like John 3:16)
7. A heart-shaped rock (or a striped rock or a rock with a hole)
8. A shell
9. A song
10. A spoon (or fork, drinking straw)
11. A stick
12. A Whistle
13. Something blue (or any other color)
14. Something fuzzy (or slimy)
15. Something metal
16. Something that makes a noise
17. Something plastic
18. Something rough (or smooth)
19. Something round (or another shape)
20. Something you think is a treasure
21. Something wooden
22. Two kinds of seeds (nuts)
23.Two different types of leaves
24. Rainbow colored scavenger hunt.

Charity Scrivner Holder, New Santa Fe, Missouri

We recently attended the New Santa Fe, Missouri Christian Church Historical Marker Dedication on the Old Santa Fe Trail (f. 1821) and met new-to-us cousins. My guy is the bearded fellow. 

I discovered a couple of years ago that a John and Charity (Scrivner) Holder were buried in the New Santa Fe Christian Church cemetery on Find-a-grave.com and contacted a member of the New Santa Fe Historical Society's Trail Center. I wanted to know if there were any relatives still in the area and sure enough, she introduced me, via email, to one. He's in his 80s and we have communicated via email ever since. He's been undergoing chemo, so we haven't been able to meet until now and what a good time we had getting acquainted in person, along with his wife.

He told us a little about himself and about Doris Collier's Scrivner genealogy which David has since purchased. We figured that Charity and John were my husband's 4th great-aunt and uncle. David is a direct descendant of the Scrivner family of Cole County, MO. through his paternal line [Norman Rush, Nanny Marie (Rush) Rush, Cora Lee (Sullens) Rush,  Nannie Cynthia (Scrivner) Sullens,  William J. Scrivner and so on, back through time]. 

I grew up southeast of New Santa Fe, MO. and attended VBS at the Christian Church there one summer. My mother attended a rummage sale there  also, and bought a big shiny slide for us kids. Dad set it next to our red swing set in the back yard. We had it for many years until mom decided we were too old for it and sold it. 

New Santa Fe on the Santa Fe Trail was usually the first camping stop after leaving Independence, MO. that morning.  Pioneers pulled their wagons up to the 4 o'clock house, got out, made camp, and walked or rode a horse into "town" to purchase the last necessities they needed before crossing the border (present-day State Line Road) into the Kansas territory the next morning. After  1858, the next stop was ten miles across a flat prairie to the Mahaffie Farm (the Stage Coach line didn't officially open until 1863).  

Growing up there, I never knew the area was part of our ancestral family history, more than I ever imagined. For instance, I learned that the 1838 forced removal of the Pottawatomi from Indiana (Trail of Death) crossed just north of the home of my 3rd great-grandparents in Christian County, Illinois when they were living there at the end of a hot and dusty September and that these same trail-weary and cold Indians and their government agents (approximately 1000 people altogether) plus horses, cattle and wagons camped on the western side of the Big Blue River after crossing it at the beginning of November. Today that camping spot is in present-day Minor Park and is south of Red Bridge Road and east of Holmes in Kansas City, MO.  There is a marker on the bluff above the river that marks the spot near their crossing on the Santa Fe Trail and a DAR marker further up the hill, west of the railroad tracks, marking the swales of the Trail. The Trail angled southwest across present-day Minor Park Golf Course, across present-day Holmes Road to the 4-0'clock house situated between present-day St. Thomas More Catholic Church and Avila University.  

I never knew that my 3rd great-grandfather probably camped there one night with a group of militia men on their way to  Miami County, Kansas one hot August night in 1856. Or that the Congregational missionary, Rev. Samuel Adair, was a first cousin to Lucinda (Henderson) Mahaffie and brother-in-law to a man who despised my 3rd great-grandfather because he was a Justice of the Peace in that part of the territory and he couldn't be bought to join his cause nor look the other way. Nor did I ever dream that my future husband's relatives lived in the parsonage across the road from the New Santa Fe Christian church. 

Here's the new marker for the New Santa Fe Christian Church. If you wish to read more about the history of the church, please click here to read Diane's story and here for the video she compiled to play in the narthex of the hosting congregation which had purchased the "new" New Santa Fe Christian Church building to worship in. 

"Santa Fe Christian Church
In 1869, families living in the southwestern part of the county (Jackson County, MO) organized the Santa Fe Christian Church in the town of New Santa Fe. Some pivotal charter members included: William A. McKinney, William Rippeto, Joel Lipscomb, Marcus Gill, John M. Wells, and Isaac Weeks.
The congregation originally met at the schoolhouse in New Santa Fe. A white-framed church was dedicated on the land in 1892.
By the 1960s, the church was one of the last buildings standing in the town of New Santa Fe. In November 1969, a fire damaged part of the church. The newer members held a meeting without including everyone and voted to raze the church. An injunction to stop the demolition was filed in February 1971 and was approved; however, the church was bulldozed before the order could be enforced.
Most of the original church is under the current parking lot on the southeastern edge of the cemetery. A small part of the chimney and the outline of the baptismal font are still visible today inside the cemetery's gates. Santa Fe Christian Church 
Marker placed by the Historical Society of New Santa Fe." 

Update! More to Read: 
1. "Santa Fe Christian Church's Final Homecoming Celebration" By Mary Wilson. Jackson County Advocate Newspaper Blog. Grandview, MO., Friday, October 13, 2017

Here's my contribution to the event -- a coloring sheet of the old church that had been torn down:

Update: Bill Crotty passed away 13 February 2019. His Findagrave memorial 

and Obituary. 

Article written by Dolores J. Rush, Updated: 9/20/2022.