JOCOHS member Roscoe James hold the cake with WCMGS President A.J. Heck September 22,2025
The West Central Missouri Genealogical Society (WCMGS), founded in Warrensburg in October 1968, has announced that it will formally disband in 2025 after more than five decades of service to genealogical researchers in west-central Missouri and beyond.
The society was organized to assist individuals in tracing and preserving family histories, with a particular focus on the ten-county region of Bates, Benton, Cass, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis, Saline, and St. Clair. In December 1969, WCMGS published the first issue of its quarterly journal, The Prairie Gleaner. For 46 years, the publication provided newly compiled genealogical and historical information, along with queries from members seeking connections to their past. At its peak in the early 1980s, membership surpassed 500 and included subscribers in all 50 states and several foreign countries. The final issue of The Prairie Gleaner was published in October 2015.
Thanks to two generous bequests, the society remained financially stable. However, in recent years, declining membership has led the board of directors to make the difficult decision to close the organization.
Throughout its history, WCMGS meetings were held in five different locations as the society’s collection of books and periodicals expanded. In 2015, the Johnson County Historical Society (JCHS) in Warrensburg graciously agreed to house the society’s library and archival holdings. These materials will remain available to the public and will continue to serve future genealogists and researchers.
WCMGS President A.J. Heck presents JOCOHS Treasure Bill Wayne with an over-sized check. Heck later presented the JOCOHS with a real one.
In concluding its mission, WCMGS has made financial grants to historical societies in each of its ten counties of interest. Approximately $135,000 was distributed among Johnson, St. Clair, Bates, Cass, Henry, Benton, Pettis, Saline, Lafayette, and Jackson counties to support ongoing preservation and genealogical work at the local level.
On behalf of JCHS, President Joyce Dorrell expressed appreciation for the longstanding contributions of the West Central Missouri Genealogical Society.
“We are deeply grateful for the decades of dedication and service provided by the West Central Missouri Genealogical Society,” Dorrell said. “It is my sincere wish to ensure that their invaluable resources remain available to future genealogists here in Johnson County and throughout our region. Their legacy of service will live on through the researchers who continue to build upon their work.”
For more information about accessing the genealogical collections, please contact the Johnson County Historical Society at curator@jocomohistory.org
Johnson County (MO) Historical Society 
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