Mission Statement

The Grand Prairie Genealogical Society is an Educational and Cultural organization whose purpose is the fostering of education in genealogical research, encouraging new interest in research and compiling, collecting and encouraging the preservation of research materials.

Society Goals

• To bring together people who are interested in researching family history and to encourage, educate and promote fellowship and cooperation.

• To further the development of genealogical research through the exchange of ideas.

•  To educate, create, foster and maintain interest among the people of Grand Prairie and the members of the Society in their history.

•  To assist and support the Grand Prairie Memorial Library genealogical section by collecting, copying and donating original source materials relating to the history of this area and to genealogical interests in general.  The genealogical collection is located at the Main Branch, 901 Conover Drive, Grand Prairie, TX  75051.  The phone number is 972.237.5700.  

•  To encourage those officials in charge of public records and genealogical collections to preserve them and make them readily accessible to interested persons through printed media and the Internet

History

The Grand Prairie Genealogical Society was formed in the fall of 1967 by several patrons of the Grand Prairie Memorial Library. The first years formed a solid foundation for this organization now celebrating more than 55 years.  The "DAR Patriot Index" was the first book our organization gave to the library, who placed them in a barrister bookcase, for security.  By 1970, the collection of research materials had grown significantly and a proposal was made to the library that a separate section be established.  By 1971 GPGS had purchased a reader, 40 rolls of microfilm and various books for the library.  Over the years, the Genealogical Society and it's members have compiled and published a number of books. Donating research materials to the genealogical section continues to be a major focus for the Society. The Society and the library have worked together to expand local research facilities and materials. In addition to the materials provided to the library, the Grand Prairie Genealogical Society has sponsored a number of workshops. The first was "How to get started in Genealogy" held on Saturday, February 3, 1968. A few in other years have included "Family Tree Climbing Can Be Fun" in 1977, A Civil War Workshop in 1988, "Organizing & Managing a Genealogical Project" in 1990, "Texas Our Texas" in 1997 and "A Day with Lloyd Bockstruck" in2005. We have also enjoyed countless informative programs by Librarians, Professional Genealogists, Authors and a wide variety of other speakers at our monthly meetings.  As technology provides greater resources for research, the Grand Prairie Genealogical Society faces new challenges for resources, equipment and training.