About RCGS & How this web site works

​This web site was launched in 2016 with a two main objectives:

• For Society Members, we now provide the full content of many unique RCGS publications within password-protected "members-only" web pages. By providing a new password in each Society newsletter, members can see indexes, atlases, plat maps and directories that were previously available only by purchasing bound "dead tree" versions of RCGS publications. ​
• For the General Public, we now have a range of economical ways to access records of their Rock County ancestors found in our extensive Library and copyrighted publications. Previously, researchers needed to buy RCGS  publications, sight unseen, with no assurance whether it contained their ancestors. By posting limited "surname-only" versions of many Rock County indexes, researchers can now make an informed decision about whether to:​
  

               Buy the full RCGS published index with greater confidence
              Buy a copy of just the index page containing their ancestor's surnames for a small charge
              Hire expert RCGS staff to advance your research with original records at an hourly rate

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WHO WE SERVE
The Rock County Genealogical Society (RCGS) is a nonprofit organization governed and staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers. Rock County, Wisconsin was a stopping-off point for many westward bound pioneers, so our larger community extends far beyond Rock County, Wisconsin to family history hobbyists across nearly all 50 states. We have also assisted Rock County researchers from England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Norway and Sweden.

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RCGS is a Wisconsin nonprofit society whose  all-volunteer staff focus on community services, record preservation, publication & education.

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OUR LOCATION
The RCGS Research Center & Reading Room are located in the Milton House at 18 South Janesville St., Milton, Wisconsin

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Volunteer opportunities exist in a number of areas - and, you need no experience - we'll provide training. You can assist visitors at the Milton House Museum Research Center, or you can index names from an old book, atlas or plat map, or you can proofread other volunteers' transcriptions.

Volunteer with RCGS

Contact the RCGS ​
​Volunteer Coordinator

OUR MISSION

• To safeguard and preserve historic records and operate a research library for family historians,
• To educate & entertain through newsletters, monthly speakers’ programs, field trips and workshops,
• To index unique historical works that are otherwise unavailable to researchers & publish these indexes, and
• To provide value to our community through our library research volunteers, our publications, and our educational offerings, with special emphasis and additional services to our Society membership through their member benefits.

OUR STRUCTURE
​The Rock County Genealogical Society is a membership-based, nonprofit tax-exempt organization devoted to assisting family researchers whose ancestors were born, married, worked, lived and died in Rock County, Wisconsin. There are no paid positions; everyone from the elected community board members, to our newsletter editor, our librarian and staff researchers are volunteers. For all of us, our mission is a labor of love - genealogy is a bit addictive, and we've all caught the bug.

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HOW DOES RCGS MAKE ENDS MEET?

RCGS owns or has access to hundreds of historical books and over 200 copyrighted birth, marriage, death, probate, plat map and other indexes, as well as obituary collections, probate records, cemetery and burial record listings, diaries, bibles, newspaper indexes and atlases. Our volunteers also staff the Rock County Genealogical Society Library, located in the Milton House Museum Reading Room and Research Center, where we oversee public access to the holdings. 

We are sometimes asked, "why don't we provide all our publications for free?" The answer is pretty simple: even non-profit organizations have expenses. Without modest revenue, the RCGS could not exist, because we would be unable to pay our seminar speakers, maintain (or replace our photocopier), add titles to our library or assist our Milton House partner meet its overhead and other obligations.  To hold costs down, everyone at RCGS is an unpaid volunteer; we work for the love of genealogy.

So how does RCGS generate income? The Society has three main sources of income:

• RCGS Membership Dues help keep the lights on and replace photocopiers and aging PCs.
• Fee-Based Family Research provided by RCGS Library volunteer researchers for a fee, and
• Sale of RCGS Publications including unique, exclusive indexes, atlases, plat maps and more.

For nearly 40 years, this approach has helped sustain the Society, pay speakers' fees, acquire additional Library holdings and cover our office overhead - and we hope to continue serving our members and the community for another 40 years.