News and Announcements
This is the website for the Wheeling Area Genealogical Society. It is a place for news, announcements, and coming events in the Wheeling area.
Friends of Wheeling – November 21, 2020
Message from WAGS President
Date: November 13, 2020
To: Future and Current Members
From: Scott Bradley Owen, President
Re: Volunteer Support and Membership Financial Help Needed
Most everyone is aware of the “changes” occurring in our society and in the United States. Due to the reduction of freedoms and conveniences associated with in-person meetings, etc., our organization, no different than most, must adapt its mission and purposes for a “new reality.” This “new reality” has made it difficult to survive as an all-volunteer non-profit. As technologies continue to improve, less human relational activities have occurred. Having a government clamp down on freedom to meet only adds to difficulties to promote volunteer-based organizations.
As such, the Wheeling Area Genealogical Society [WAGS] will not survive if volunteers are not available and willing to help for the long run. We, with limited resources, have attempted to overcome many limitations. We have done our best to honor the hard work of our founders. Now, our website, and others’ websites, have become our defacto home. However, we still need human volunteerism to power the future needs of our stakeholders.
Therefore, we ask that you consider volunteering, providing generous financial support, and/or doing both. We must “pass the baton” to another generation of volunteers to continue preserving our [and perhaps your] area’s rich individual and family legacies. As a reminder, our “home base” is the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling, West Virginia. When this physical location is closed, we must operate via our website. This is only possible due to the hard work of Louis Yurkovitch et al. When you register, your contact information will be available so we can update our membership. If possible, please indicate your availability and interests to provide “hands on” help.
Please visit our website, and pass this along to many friends by cutting and pasting the below link:
WAGS Website Registration Link
We sincerely thank you for your continued assistance in preserving the legacy of the Wheeling, West Virginia region’s genealogical legacy, our educational lectures, ancestral research, and past and present volunteerism.
WAGS Celebrates 50th Anniversary!
WAGS First Newsletter – March 1992
Article from Wheeling News-Register, September 13th, 2020.
Due to the Covid19 pandemic, all WAGS and CTGS meetings are cancelled until further notice. Please watch this website for notices when they will start up again.
Upcoming History and Genealogy Events Calendar (New)
WAGS 2020 West Virginia History Hero
Lou Yurkovitch was honored in Charleston, W.V. at the annual “West Virginia History Heroes” event on February 20, 2020. He a former president of the Wheeling Area Genealogical Society and continues to serve as a member of the board of directors and as the organization’s webmaster and information technologist.
Lou continues to serve the local genealogical community by teaching genealogy classes. He also helps promote local and regional history, both in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and the Upper Ohio Valley in Ohio.
We congratulate him on his designation as this year’s local “West Virginia History Hero”!
Scott Owen,
President, W.A.G.S.
WAGS 2020 Speaker Series
March 14 – The Catholic Church in Wheeling (Jon-Erik Gilot)2020 Civil War Roundtable Speaker Series
February 24 – The Experiences of two Ohio National Guard Regiments During the Summer of 1864 (Jon-Erik Gilot)
To see past videos – please become a WAGS member. To join WAGS please click HERE and fill out this application. Dues are only $10 per year. Membership includes access to past videos, past newsletters, and a current newsletter every 3 months.
Thanks to Erin Rothenbuehler of the Ohio County Public Library we now have direct links to the Library’s Genealogy Resources.
Ohio County Public Library Genealogy Database Resources (New)
Ohio County Public Library Genealogy Newspaper Resources (New)
Wheeling Area Genealogical Society Coming Events
Friends of Wheeling Coming Events
Cumberland Trail Genealogical Society Coming Events
Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable Coming Events
Thanks to the Generosity of Don Pickenpaugh and the Cumberland Trail Genealogical Society, We now have Maps Showing Land Patents, Cemeteries, and Old Schools in Belmont County. You Can View Them Here.
WAGS New Website is Live!! Please Register Here.