Mary Miller Smiser Heritage Library
Built in 1982 to house and protect the collections begun by Mary Miller Smiser and a strong corps of volunteers* on a shoestring budget, the library now has modern facilities (including web access) for genealogical research and study of the county’s rich history and people. The archives of county government are also accessible here.
* Volunteers are very welcome. Please contact the Library at 660-747-6480 1-4 PM Tuesday 1-8 PM Thursday 1-4 PM Saturday or at curator@jocomohistory.org.
Collections — Included in our research library are newspapers, county records, family files, maps, school yearbooks, tax records, probate files and many other resources for researchers who are discovering their family history or the history of the region. This is not a lending library, but it is often possible to make photocopies (or digital photos) of the original source.
Databases – among the information compiled by the volunteers of the JCHS are: Warrensburg Residence Database; Warrensburg Business Database; Index of Plat maps from 1877 and 1898; Obituaries
Research Procedures – Members (details for joining below) have free and unlimited use of our facilities for research with the assistance of our trained volunteers.
◦Non-members visiting during our open hours pay a usage fee of $5 per afternoon.
◦Copies are $1.00. Color photos are higher.
◦If unable to visit our library, research requests are welcome. Each information item searched is $10, which must be paid before our volunteers begin the search. To contact our volunteers email to: curator@jocomohistory.org or use regular mail if you prefer.
Hours: 1-4 PM Tuesday 1-8 PM Thursday 1-4 PM Saturday
To Contact us: email: curator@jocomohistory.org
Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/jocomohistory – frequent new pictures & articles.
Postal address: 302 N. Main, Warrensburg, MO, 64093
Phone: 660-747-6480
Johnson County (MO) Historical Society 
My husband’s grandmother, Mallie McCown, boarded at St. Cecelia’s Catholic School for Girls in Holden, MO in early 1900’s. I can’t find any info on it. I have a picture of her with the other girls and the sister who was their teacher. Can you tell me anything about the school?
Thanks for your inquiry. I’m emailing our research volunteers and someone will get back to you.
Do you have any information on Robert Collins? (1834-1918)
Hello, I am looking for an obituary or information about Banner Foster Sprinkel (1861-1933) and his wife Mary “Bessie” (Carmichael) Sprinkel (1868-1898). They are buried in Holden Cemetery. Might you have any additional information?
Yes, we have his 1933 obituary: Banner F. Sprinkel died at his home in Holden Monday, April 17, after a stroke ten days before. The funeral was held yesterday at the Methodist church and was largely attended. The services were conducted by the pastor, Rev, Geo. D. Witthaus; burial in the Holden cemetery. Deceased, son of Peter and Mahala Sprinkel, was born October 26, 1861, in Thornville, Ohio, and came with his parents to Johnson Co., Mo., when he was a lad of eight. July 27, 1887, he married Bessie Carmichael, and to them were born four daughters and one son. Their son died at the age of five months. Mrs. Sprinkel died Nov. 20 1898, and the home has been kept since then by the sister of the deceased, Miss Carrie Sprinkel. There are left to mourn the four daughters, Mrs. Elsie Demasters of Holden, Mrs. Blanch Nolan of Chariton, Iowa, Mrs. Martha Rice of Warrensburg and Miss Bessie Sprinkel who is a teacher in the Osawawatomie, Kansas, high school. He is also survived by another sister, Mrs. Orpah Cayton of Texhome, Okla., who attended the funeral, and by eleven grandchildren. In his late teens he professed Christ and for more than half a century he was an active member of the Holden Methodist church. He served in numerous official capacities and on more than one occasion was a representative in the lay conference. He followed the avocation of farmer all his life until a few years ago when he moved to Holden and engaged in the insurance business for a time. He was manager of the shipping association a few years and served as justice of the peace and police judge. Mr. sprinkel will be missed in the community as much as in the church. He stood foursquare for righteousness and gave his aid to movements for community betterment. -Holden Progress
Hi my name is Mary Adele Black-Smith and I am searching for the parents and siblings of my great, great grandfather, Reuben D. Black born about 1809 in either Ohio or Kentucky. Reuben D. Black migrated to MO and resided in Johnson Co. from about 1853 to 1893 when he passed away. He and his wife Hannah Bigger-“Black are buried in the cemetery in Columbus. Reuben and Hannah had 2 sons, John Adolph Black born about 1852 in Alabama and Joseph B. Black born about 1856 in MO. Do you have any information (newspaper articles, wills, etc. on Reuben D. Black? I have not been able to find anything on the internet.
We have a family group sheet, some information written by a descendant, James Anderson in 2015. Also the cemetery record, obit for his widow, and census records.
How can I go about getting a copy of what you have for Dr. Reuben D. Black who died in Jhnson County, MO in1893> Mary Black Smith
Yes, we have some info about the family of Dr. Reuben Black. A Mr. James Anderson, of Idaho, was here a about a year ago and donated his research material, most of which is from Ancestry.com. If you don’t want to join ancestry.com, you may gain access to their website at your local public library. Post-1910 Missouri death records are available free online at the Missouri Secretary of State website. Click on Missouri State Archives, then Death Records. Good Luck.