County staffers continue to help families from around the nation learn about their genealogy, Amy Miller reported.
Miller, who oversees the County Records Department, reported that in addition to many other request for information, this past month the records staff also worked with a family from Oregon on the county’s past.
“A woman from Portland, Ore., e-mailed a genealogical request. 
“The woman’s great-grandmother and her two great-aunts lived in Lakin Township and appeared in the 1880 census.  “One of her great-aunts and her great-grandmother taught school in or near Ellinwood and the other great-aunt kept house according to the census,” Miller explained. 
Unfortunately not every search ends up positive, Miller added. “She was looking for her great-grandmother and great-grandfather’s marriage license, but staff was unable to find documentation in Barton County records of the great-grandmother’s marriage certificate.”
The records staff stays busy helping everyone they can, Miller added. Regarding the department’s work in November, for example, Miller reported: “Records had 192 visitors call, write, e-mail or walk in from Kansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oregon.
“There were 297 requests for probates, birth records, criminal, civil, domestic, death and cemetery records, limited actions, marriage licenses, traffic, state tax and naturalization records.
And the staff also work on updating current records, too. “Department personnel updated the records of burials, quit claims, lot deeds and markers for Hillcrest and Golden Belt memorial parks.”
Miller noted that the day-to-day records work continues, even as the research is conducted, adding that also in November, projects included:
“Records from the County Clerk’s office were registered and moved into the north records storage room.  In addition, outdated records for the County Clerk’s office were removed and destroyed according to Barton County records management policies.
“Records staff verified the indexing information of the 1999 civil and the 1982-1999 limited supplements.  This process included verifying the cartridge and frame numbers, case codes, case types, case numbers, plaintiffs and defendants, filing dates and year filmed.”