A recent exchange at the county Records Department shows just how small the world really is, today.
In the Hoisington Cemetery, there is a grave for Grace Wonsettler Rude, along with graves of her children.
A request for information about that family plot came to the Barton County Records Department recently from Lima, Peru, Records Manager Amy Miller reported.
Miller explained the man who made the request, “was from Miami, Florida, where he lived for 30 years and he has since moved to Peru where his wife was born.
“He has been researching the Kee family for most of his life. 
“Lydia Kee is his relative and she descended from Gov. William Bradford of the Mayflower,” she explained.
“Lydia married Dr. John Wonsettler and moved to Indiana from Ohio where their only daughter Grace Wonsettler Rude was born.
“The family then moved to Iowa and, just prior to 1880, came to Barton County. Grace is buried in the Hoisington Cemetery with her children.”
That was only one of the requests over the past month, when the department “had 228 visitors call, write, e-mail or walk in from Kansas, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon and Lima, Peru,” Miller reported.
Other recent requests included:
• There were 339 requests for birth records, death and cemetery records, probates, marriage licenses, divorces, criminal, civil, limited, traffic, and naturalization records.
• Department personnel updated the records of burials, quit claims, lot deeds and markers for Hillcrest and Golden Belt memorial parks for the month of August.
• Staff created log sheets from the microfilmed mechanic lien documents for 1992-1993, and entered them into the Barton County computer system. There were 329 case files that contained 2,322 documents.
• Closed 2004 files for Court Services were prepped by staff and began scanning the files. 
In addition, staff continued work on the 2000 limited cases, by creating log sheets and filming the case files.