August 25 - Next WCGS Virtual Meeting and Presentation -- Three to the Third Power with Connie Knox

WCGS members and followers should check your email for instructions on how to register for our July virtual meeting. If you are not a member and want to be included, visit our Registration page.

You must register for the meeting before August 24.

Date/Time:  Tuesday Aug 25, 2020 at 6:30pm ET

Speaker: Connie Knox, Genealogy TV

Topic: Three to the Third Power: A Trifecta Strategy for Genealogy Research
What is three to the third power? How can that relate to genealogy research? In this discussion we’re going to explore a new concept created by Constance Knox, a professional genealogist and owner of Genealogy TV. She’s calling it the “Trifecta of Genealogy Research Strategies.”

This virtual meeting and presentation is open to all members and newsletter recipients. If you are on one of those lists, you will receive an email with registration instructions closer to the date. If you want to be included in this event visit the WCGS Join page at our website.

When you join you will have access to all of our virtual meetings through the end of the year. This is in addition to the member benefits listed on our membership page.

This meeting will be held virtually using the GoToWebinar application and generously hosted by the North Carolina Genealogical Society.

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Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Virtual Conference Oct. 14 - 17, 2020

I see a lot of speakers on the AAHGS 2020 Virtual Conference roster that I recognize including:
Desi Campbell
Crista Cowan
Nicka Smith
Renate Yarborough Sanders 
and our own Diane Richard

There are so many more. Check out the speaker list here.

Agenda is here.

Registration page here. Early Registration ends Aug. 15,2020.


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Free Access to Ancestry.com Library Edition Extended

Ancestry Library Access extended thru the end of August. Access with Wake County issued library card through Cameron Village Regional Library or your NC Govt and Heritage Library card.

Update from Proquest Here


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Oy! Security breaches that need your attention

It has been a tough couple days security wise in the genealogy world. Do your due diligence. Make sure you change/have secure passwords and attend to any other changes you need to make.

A security vulnerability in the Mackiev product, Family Tree Maker, has been reported and is summerized in a report at Infosecurity Magazine. View report here.

A melicious attack has occurred at Gedmatch this past weekend. The site has been up and down since the discovery and is currently set in a "down for maintenance" state.
This statement was publisned on the Gedmatch Facebook page on Monday.

"On the morning of July 19, GEDmatch experienced a security breach orchestrated through a sophisticated attack on one of our servers via an existing user account. We became aware of the situation a short time later and immediately took the site down. As a result of this breach, all user permissions were reset, making all profiles visible to all users. This was the case for approximately 3 hours. During this time, users who did not opt in for law enforcement matching were available for law enforcement matching and, conversely, all law enforcement profiles were made visible to GEDmatch users.

This was the extent of the breach. No user data was downloaded or compromised.

We have reported the unauthorized access to the appropriate authorities and continue to work toward identifying the individuals responsible for this violation.

Today, as we continued to investigate the incident and work on a permanent solution to safeguard against threats of this nature, we discovered that the site was still vulnerable and made the decision to take the site down until such time that we can be absolutely sure that user data is protected against potential attacks. We are working with a cybersecurity firm to conduct a comprehensive forensic review and help us implement the best possible security measures.

This is clearly disappointing for our company, as user privacy and data security are our top priorities. We apologize to our GEDmatch users and our law enforcement customers for the concern and frustration this situation has caused.
Thank you for your continued support of GEDmatch.

If you have questions, please reach out to us at gedmatch@verogen.com. We will update you as soon as we have more information to share."

You will want to check in when the Gedmatch site becomes available again. Of the number of kits that I manage, all but 2 were set as research prior to the breach.  After the breach when I could check in briefly, all were set as active visible kits. The LE opt in that was reported to be compromised, had reverted back to my pre set choices, but my research settings have not reverted to my preference at the present.

Check your kits, folks.



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Upchurch and Allied Families Newsletter for July 2020

If you are a follower of UAFA, you will really enjoy this issue of the newsletter. It is packed with content. Read here.


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Use Fold3's Revolutionary War Collection free thru July 15

Find your Rev War Patriot in the records collection at Fold3. Registration is required. Free access thru July 15, 11:59pm.

Fold3 link


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Wake Wednesday - Map of Wake County - Fendol Bevers 1871

Someone was asking about the specific location of the Wake County Home the other day. I knew I had seen it on a map in the past so I went looking. I spent a few minutes looking through the digital map collection at UNC and found the map I remembered.

In the process of finding that map, I ran across this one which is a gold mine for Wake researchers. The Fendol Bevers map from 1871 includes a wealth of information. The abstract that accompanies the map decribes it this way:

Map drawn from actual surveys of Fendol Bevers, County Surveyor. Inset of City of Raleigh, Table of Population and other information by townships, description of townships reported in margins. Townships designated in color. Map shows townships, landowners, churches, retail stores, schools, mills. Townships shown include Raleigh, New Light, Oak Grove, Barton's Creek, Wake Forest, Little River, Cedar Fork, House's Creek, St. Matthew's, Mark's Creek, White Oak, Swift Creek, St. Mary's, Buckhorn, Middle Creek, and Panther Branch. The Raleigh & Gaston Railroad and the North Carolina Rail Road are shown.

click to view larger

I could spend days with this map, maybe months... researching all the local interest here. Just look at all the names and locations. Locations of homes, churches, farms and millls. Are your ancestors represented here. Can you share stories of some of these old places? If so, please let me know. I know there are folks that would love to here these stories.

In the meantime, enjoy a pleasant afternoon browsing the map and reminiscing about places and days gone by. View the map it its beautiful entirity here.


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Wake County Genealogical Society Virtual Meetings and Membership Special Offer

The Wake County Genealogical Society has decided to have only virtual meetings for the remainder of 2020!  

If you have been thinking about joining, now is the time so you don't miss a single meeting.  And as a bonus, if you join before the end of August your new membership will run until the end of our next membership year, August 31, 2021. 

Of course you will also have access to all the other membership benefits! 

Check out our WCGS events calendar for the rest of the year.

Join now!




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The Latest Upchurch and Allied Families Newsletter

is a fitting tribute to Phil Upchurch. Those who follow Allied Families will want to read.

Link to the latest newsletter is here.


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Robert "Phil" Upchurch of Allied Families 1928-2020

We must note the passing of Phil Upchurch the founder of Allied Families. Among his many accomplishments, he was a genealogical leader in our community. He left a legacy to many Wake county researchers. Our condolences to his family and friends.

Link to his obituary.

Free Fold3 Acess for Memorial Day.

Details here.
https://go.fold3.com/freeaccess

Upcoming WCGS Virtual Meeting - May 26

WCGS members and followers should check your email for instructions on how to register for our May 26 virtual meeting. If you are not a member and want to be included, visit our Membership page to join and be included.

You must register for the meeting before May 26.

Date/Time:  Tuesday May 26, 2020 at 6:30pm ET

Speaker: Judy Russell

Topic: How Old Does He Have to Be? - Is this man John the father or John the son? Could that man be my ancestor who married in 1802? Knowing a person's age is often the key to distinquishing two people of the same name.  But if no record gives the birth data, how do you know who someone was? The law can often give the answer.  Please join us for a pre-recorded webinar with Judy G. Russell, also known as The Legal Genealogist!

This virtual meeting and presentation is open to all members and newsletter recipients. If you are on one of those lists, you will receive an email with registration instructions closer to the date.

This meeting will be held virtually using the GoToWebinar application and generously hosted by the North Carolina Genealogical Society.

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