Boone County Genealogical Society

06/06/2026

84 years later: WWII soldier’s remains brought home | FULL STORY ⏬

06/06/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Boone County Unveils America250 Mural Celebrating Local and National Heritage

BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. — The Boone County Commission is proud to announce the completion of Boone County’s America250 Mural Project, made possible through a $5,000 grant awarded by the West Virginia Department of Tourism as part of the statewide America250 initiative commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The mural serves as a lasting tribute to Boone County’s rich history, culture, and contributions to the State of West Virginia and the nation. Designed and painted by renowned West Virginia artist Blake Wheeler, the project reflects both local pride and the spirit of America’s semiquincentennial celebration.

This completed mural exceeded every expectation we had for this project. This beautiful work of art will serve as a landmark for residents and visitors alike while preserving and celebrating the history that makes Boone County unique.

The Boone County Commission extends its sincere appreciation to the West Virginia Department of Tourism for funding this project through the America250 Mural Program. The Commission also recognizes Penn Virginia Operating Co. LLC for providing the project site, Appalachian Power for providing equipment and manpower assistance, local mining companies for donating materials, and the many community partners who contributed to the project’s success.

Special recognition is extended to Boone County Maintenance Director Kerry Dickens and the Boone County Maintenance Department. Through their dedication, coordination, and strong relationships with community partners, the vision for this project became a reality.

This project truly demonstrates what can be accomplished when public agencies, private industry, and community members work together toward a common goal. The mural stands as a lasting legacy project that will be enjoyed by generations to come.

The Boone County Commission invites residents and visitors to stop by and experience the mural firsthand as part of West Virginia’s America250 celebration.

Additional information regarding the mural, including the significance of each artistic element depicted within the artwork, will be released at a later date. The Boone County Commission will also provide details about the West Virginia Department of Tourism’s America250 Mural Trail, which connects mural projects across the state and encourages residents and visitors to explore West Virginia’s history, culture, and communities through public art.

05/20/2026

Hey everyone! Did you know you can download or print MGC's six-generation chart, family unit chart, and all our Family History Forms? Plus, we’ve got a fun family tree coloring sheet for the kids! Ready to explore your family story? Download yours today! https://www.mymcpl.org/genealogy/research/family-history-forms

05/18/2026

04/19/2026

As we approach America250, interest in U.S. history continues to grow and for many, that curiosity begins with family history.
This once-in-a-generation moment offers genealogy and family history organizations a meaningful opportunity to help others explore their personal connections to the nation’s past.
To support that work, we have created a free America250 toolkit. It includes an introduction to America250, partnership ideas, outreach strategies, and program concepts designed to engage a wide range of audiences.
Download the toolkit. https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/america250/

03/24/2026

03/24/2026

Did you know that the War of 1812, Indian War, and Mexican War bounty land applications at the National Archives have begun to be digitized? They just started the project, so the applications for surnames A-C are currently unavailable to researchers in person.

Those for surnames starting with D will soon be inaccessible as well. While all of the applications will eventually be digitized, the timeline is uncertain. Once they're pulled from the shelves, they won't be viewable until they show up online, which could potentially take a while!

If you need access to bounty land applications for surnames beyond C, now is the time to order! There is an index up to the letter L on Fold3 that can help you determine if your ancestor can be found in these records.

Contact us to help you find your ancestor’s bounty land information at the National Archives! www.CivilWarRecords.com

03/09/2026

Picture a medieval village in the year 1350. Everyone knows everyone. The blacksmith's daughter marries the miller's son. Completely normal, right?

Except the blacksmith and the miller? Their grandmothers were sisters. Nobody remembers this. Nobody keeps records going back that far. But genetically, mathematically, it happened.

Now multiply that scenario across centuries. Across thousands of villages. Across entire continents.

Here's what should happen when you trace your family tree backward: You have 2 parents. They had 4 parents combined. Those 4 had 8 parents. The numbers double every generation, climbing exponentially into the past.

Go back eleven generations, around 300 years, and you should have 4,094 direct ancestors. Go back to the year 1400, and the math says you'd have over one million ancestors. Push back to 1100, and you'd need over one billion people in your family tree.

But here's the problem. There weren't one billion people alive in 1100. Not even close.

The math breaks. And when the math breaks, something fascinating reveals itself.

What's actually happening is called pedigree collapse. The same person appears in your family tree dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of times. Your ancestors weren't marrying strangers from across the world. They were marrying neighbors, people from nearby villages, often distant cousins they didn't even know were related.

This wasn't scandalous. It was inevitable. Most humans lived in isolated communities of a few hundred people. Travel was rare and dangerous. You married locally or you didn't marry at all.

So instead of 4,094 unique ancestors eleven generations back, you probably have between 500 and 1,000 actual individuals. Still significant. But a fraction of what simple multiplication suggests.

And here's where it gets profound: If you're of European descent and you go back to around the year 1000, you're not descended from a select few Europeans. You're descended from nearly every European alive then who left descendants.

Every single one. The kings and the beggars. The knights and the peasants. The merchants and the farmers. If they lived around 1000 CE and have living descendants today, they're your ancestor. Multiple times over.

We're not distant relatives. We're practically siblings, separated by a few centuries.

02/02/2026

https://archive.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=180460&Type=Death

Percha Francis Jarrell, homicide, does anyone know what happend?

01/27/2026

Genealogy isn't just a hobby.

It's a cognitive gym.

Every research session exercises your brain in ways you don't realize:

Puzzle-solving when you connect family branches.

Document analysis when you decipher old handwriting.

Memory training when you hold generations of stories in your head.

Spatial reasoning when you map migration patterns across continents.

Critical thinking when you interpret DNA results.

Problem-solving every time you hit a brick wall.

Language skills when you learn enough German or Italian to read ancestral records.

Most hobbies engage one or two mental skills.

Genealogy engages nearly all of them at once.
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