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

How Are We Related to Jessica Biel Timberlake?

Robertson Roberts                                        Daniel H. Allen (1807-1878)

+ Vianna D (_____)                                      + Nancy (Loveall) (1809- 1856)
           |                                                                          |

Rufus Bolton Roberts (1835-____)      +      Sarah (Allen) (1836-____)

                                                       |                                                    

William David Roberts (1857-1922) -- Mary Francis (Roberts) (1861-1922)

+ Hannah Jane (Miller) (1861-1921)         + James Robert Bittle (1858-1843)

          |                                                                          |

James Conaway Roberts (1893-1962)       Alice Isabelle (Bittle) (1877-1951)

+ Flora Zobeda (Brazier) (1895-1990)      + Ephraim David RUSH (1869-1942)

          |

Norma Jean (Roberts) (b. 1929)                 

+ Garth L. Conroe (1927-1997)

          |

Kimberly (Conroe)

 + Jonathan Edward Biel

          |

Jessica Claire (Biel) (b. 1982)

+ Justin Timberlake (b. 1981)

          |

Silas Randall Timberlake (b. 2015)
Phineas Timberlake (b. 2020)

Jessica Claire Biel Timberlake, Miller County Museum, Tuscumbia, MO.

Season 9, Episode 5, "Who Do You Think You Are." 

More To Read:

1."Jessica Biel Timberlake". Miller County Historical Society, Tuscumbia, MO; March 2017. Vol. 9, Issue 1. Front Page. Miller County Museum website.

2. Garth Lon (Lawn) Conroe, b. 7-25-1927; LA Junta, Otoe Co, Colorado. d. 12-12-1997; Saluda, Chaffee Co, Colorado. US. Navy, plumber. Ancestry.com. 

3. Aunt Peggy Ann Conroe Findagrave #61103589

4. Jessica (Biel) Timberlake YouTube playlist. 

6. Edward Lincoln Biel Findagrave # 119265674

7. Mary Francis Bittle Death Certificate # 13199

8. Kimberly Conroe, Ancestry.com DNA Match

9. The Rush Report: The Descendants of William Rush, Westmoreland Co, Virginia (1615-??) and Descendants of Henson Rush, Adair Co, Kentucky (Abt. 1794-1848) and Miller County, Missouri. Allied Families: Loveall, McAlister, Williams, Winters and also: Bittle, Farley, Johnston, Mertell, and Spalding. Compiled by Gaynelle Jenkins Moore. March 2003. Research Assistance By David Wayne Rush., p. 117. 

10. The Loveall Report: The Descendants of Rev. Henry Loveall, an Able and Worthy Preacher, Baltimore Co, Maryland (1694-aft. 1772) and Descendants of Jonathan Loveall, Sr. Maryland, Pennsylvania and Kentucky (abt. 1744-aft. 1833) and Allied Families: Bittle, Jenkins, Mertell, Roberts, Rush, Smith, Sullens, Williams, Winters. Compiled by Gaynelle Jenkins Moore. April 2010. p. 129. 

11. The James Robert Bittle Family Tree. Compiled by Ada Maxine (Shackleford) McDonald. Jefferson City, MO., p. 34.


Researched by David W. and Dolores J. Rush, Updated: 8/7/2025. 

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.

Miller County Historical Society Museum

Anyone with an interest in the history of Miller County (org. 1837) in central Missouri or in the pioneers who lived here ought to visit the Miller County Historical Society’s Museum. It is located next to the new courthouse in Tuscumbia.

The Miller County Historical Society began in 1979, with the museum opening in 1980 in the jail adjacent to the old County Courthouse. It moved, in 1991, to the former Anchor Milling native stone building as their exhibits expanded. The museum has recently been remodeled and a new wing added on for a genealogy library. Two historic log cabins have been moved to the grounds next to the museum and Nancy Thompson joined the museum as director.

They love donations of materials from the history of Miller County like objects and pictures for exhibits, and genealogy scrapbooks for the library. They have added many books, records such as probate, marriage, and obituaries and set up computers for online research too. Much of the county’s historical information has been made available on their website as well. Exhibits include the Civil War, quilts, the Osage River port and steamship history, Lee Mace and the Ozark Opry, an old country store, an old-fashioned schoolroom, and so forth.

The museum is run by volunteers and depends solely upon fund raisers, donations, and the society’s membership fees to run the museum. My husband is a life-time member. The cost of touring the museum is FREE.

Call, write, or see their website for current schedule and other information.

Miller County Historical Society Museum, PO Box 57, 2005 Hwy 52, Tuscumbia, MO 65082, 573-369-3500

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 Have you ever considered using calling cards or business cards to document your ancestor?

I was rummaging through some old business cards I had and found two that I can say with certainty fall into the historical document list as these people are no longer in the leadership role these cards portray. 

You are seeing correctly! I removed the personal telephone information from these two business cards, but all the other information for the Historical Society Museum is correct.

Dr. Harold Joe Pryor (1943-2021) 

~~ <> @ <> ~~

You might be interested in reading other posts that mention the Miller County Missouri museum:

• Portions of the Museum can be seen in episode 5 of season 9  of the television series  "Who Do You Think You Are" with actress Jessica Biel Timberlake.
• Museums
• (off-site) Miller County Museum's Facebook page and YouTube Channel


Written by Dolores J. Rush. Updated: 7/24/2021. 

Butterfield Overland Mail Company

Click on photos to enlarge.

To keep up with the pace of territorial expansion of the United States and to establish mail routes through it, in March 1857, an Act of Congress authorized the Postmaster General to hire a company to convey letter mail from a point on the Mississippi River to San Francisco, California for six years. So on the morning of September 16, 1858, the first overland mail from St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco, California, under contract with John Butterfield's Overland Mail Company, began its first westward trip of approximately 2,651 miles. 

Mr. Butterfield (1801-69) persuaded the Postmaster General that the most practical route from St. Louis would be west to Jefferson City, then southward through Springfield to Arkansas where it would merge with a wagon coming from Memphis, Tennessee. On the first leg of the trip, Mr. Butterfield personally accompanied two leather mail pouches from the post office to the train, leaving St. Louis at 8 o'clock in the morning, traveling all the way to Tipton, Mo, arriving at 6:00 pm. Waiting for his father at Tipton, young John Butterfield rushed down the old Boonville Road, arriving at the station on the northeast corner of the square in Springfield four hours ahead of schedule around 3:15 pm on Friday, September 17, 1858. Beginning again at 4:00 pm, dashing along the Wire Road, the mail wagon arrived in San Francisco 24 days later.

Each relay station was ten to twenty miles apart along the route and teams were harnessed and waiting in advance of the wagon's arrival to save time. Jumping off, the driver's grabbed a bite to eat, transferred the mail bags and drove off down the line. Stations in Missouri were: near Tipton (1858), Syracuse (1859-1861), Florence, Cole Camp, Warsaw, Fairfield, Quincy, Elkton, Bolivar, Brighton, Springfield, Cassville, and Seligman.

This is the Butterfield Stage Road Sign near Olean, Missouri. 

More to Read:

1. Butterfield Overland Mail. by Waterman L. Ormsby, special correspondant for the New York Herald. Huntington Library Press, 1850; reprinted 2007.
2. The Butterfield Overland Mail markers along the route. 
3. "Butterfield Overland Mail Co.." By F. P. Rose. The Battle of Pea Ridge 1862. Pea Ridge National Military Park, P. 31-37. Repository: Midwest Genealogy Center, Mid-Continent Library, Independence, MO

4. Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove: A Battlefield Guide with a Section on Wire Road. By Earl J. Hess, Richard W. Hatcher III, William Garrett Piston, and William L. Shea. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Neb., 2006. Pp. 229.

5. Butterfield Overland Mail Route

6. The Driver's Guide to the Butterfield Overland Mail Route: Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. By Kirby Sanders. Heritage Trail Partners, 2008. Vol. 1.

7. Trails West

8. One of the drivers for the stagecoach line -- James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok

9. Historic American Roads: From Frontier Trails to Superhighways. By Albert C. Rose. Crown Pub, NY; 1976. pp. 55, 58, 61, 66 (includes a map of the route used)
10. "Butterfield Overland Trail Heads Towards Historic Status." By Bill Bowden. Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette,  11 Aug 2020. 

11. #137. Gordon's Ferry on the Kern River. California.

Places to Visit:

1. Jefferson Landing Museum, Jefferson City, MO.

2. Markers along the route -- See Historical Marker Database

3. Morgan County Historical Society Museum, Versailles, MO.

4. Wire Road near the Battle of Wilson's Creek National Park, Republic, MO.

Written by Dolores J. Rush. Updated: 8/26/2020.