‘A touchstone’: Seward County Genealogy Society restoring historic home for community

SEWARD, Neb. (KLKN) – The Seward County Genealogy Society is breathing new life into a historic home.

Located off North First and Roberts Streets, the house dates to the 1800s.

“Today’s news is tomorrow’s history,” said Joan Shurtliff, a member of the Genealogy Society.

The house is now nicknamed after Jessie Langworthy, who once owned the home in the early 1900s.

The Genealogy Society is raising funds for Jessie’s home, with the hope that it will become a place of connection in the community.

“I’d like it to be a touchstone for them to be able to find out exactly who their ancestors were and what the county was about, is about and how it got to be where it is now,” Shurtliff said.

The group is trying to preserve each era the home has been standing for, including a little piece from each owner.

“I think family is important,” Shurtliff said. “With all of the things happening in education, through genealogy, you can learn a lot about history.”

For future generations, they’re inviting the community to buy a brick and leave the name of something to remember.

“It’s remembering more than just the people, it’s the places too,” Shurtliff said. “It’s all important, and it all is interrelated into how the county was formed, and how it came to be what it is today.”

The Genealogy Society is hoping to have the house restored by July 4 of this year.