Wake County Genealogical Society Blog

Friday, September 17, 2021

WCGS is seeking 2 Volunteers for Communication Outreach team - Facebook page and Blog Author

The Wake County Genealogy Society is looking for volunteers to fill two positions within our Communications Outreach team. Both these roles function to serve our existing membership and make our services known to potential members interested in genealogy in general and in research specific to our locale.

1) An administrator for the Wakecogen Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/wakecogen/

2) A blogger to take over posting to the Wakecogen blog: https://wakecogen.blogspot.com/

Both positions include curating and sharing content including:

Genealogy skills

Research resources and methods
Topics of local and family history interest
Wakecogen events publicity
Late breaking news and schedule changes

No experience is necessary

We will work with you to show you the ropes. If you are interested in being an active voice in the WCGS online community and developing stronger connections within this great group, please contact our volunteer coordinator Saundra Cropps via email, info@wakecogen.org

We look forward to adding you to our team!

Thursday, September 9, 2021

Visit the Wake County Genealogy Society Website for Updates

The Wakecogen Blog is taking a break. Visit the Wake County Genealogy home page or Wakecogen Facebook page for event updates and late breaking news or schedule changes.

If you are registering for WCGS virtual meetings through the end of 2021, start here.

If you are registering for GenHelp through the end of 2021, start here.

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Wake Wednesday: What did Wake County look like before all the development?

Just look at this wonderful postal map of turn of the century Wake County. It will certainly help you visualise a quiter, more pastoral Wake County. I used this map recently to determine the location of a cemetery in the relocation zone of Falls Lake. Things look so different now.

Roads displaced by Falls Lake

This map is available online from the North Carolina Collection at UNC. This is a rural delivery route map circa 1910 - 1919. It covers the whole county and provides a context that is just not available to us today. Take a look. Keep a link handy.

Source: Wake County c.1910-1919, US Postal Delivery Routes

I bet you will be visiting this map as often as I will.

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

WCGS - Wake Genealogy Watch - Fall 2021 - Newsletter now available

The Fall 2021 Issue (Vol.5 Issue 1) of our award-winning newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch, is now available online for reading or download. You can visit the WCGS website or access through this link - Wake Genealogy Watch, Fall, 2021

This issue contains the following topics:

Cynthia Gage shares some great strategies for finding family information in small town newspapers. It is truly a great untapped resource.
Get more great research ideas and suggestions from our GenHelp panelists who regularly (monthly first Thursday) provide ideas which are fresh and out of the box.
We have a very full rosters of volunteer opportunities outlined in this issue including a Content Curator position for the Journal team.
A quick mention of changes at the Wakecogen blog that may affect you if you are subscribed to receive updates to your email.
Christopher Hunt Robertson shares a profile of local railroad magnate, Alexander Boyd Andrews (1841-1915)
An overview by Cyndi Deal of the two Cemetery Surveys that have been conducted since the mid-1930s with some exciting news about the most recent survey.
A packed virtual event calendar that includes a presenter well known on the national genealogy circuits.

Photo Note: If you choose to read a printed version of this newsletter, some of the photos will be difficult to view due to size constraints. Please refer to the online edition where you can enlarge the photos to accommodate better viewing.

Click this newsletter page link to view this and all past newsletter content.

We welcome your feedback, input, and submissions for inclusions in future editions. Please address all concerns to newsletter@wakecogen.org.

Visit the WCGS Blog for more events, late breaking news, tutorials, updates, and other special posts.

Wake County Genealogical Society Meetings for 2021 - Virtual

Next WCGS Meeting (all meeting virtual through the end of 2021) -

September 28 @ 6:30pm

Topic: Y-DNA and Family Research
Speaker: Janine Cloud, FTDNA Group Projects, Events Coordinator

For twenty years, Y-DNA has been used to confirm and connect to paternal ancestry. In this talk, Janine Cloud will discuss the types of testing available, along with how Y-DNA reveals information about your patrilineal ancestors. She'll also cover research strategies for both individuals and groups.

Longtime genealogy enthusiast Janine Cloud has been with FamilyTreeDNA for ten years, during which she's served as Information Specialist, Customer Service Manager, and established the Group Projects team she now manages. She's given talks on genetic genealogy both in person and virtually at international, national, regional, and local events, including RootsTech, NGS Family History Conference, and Family History Down Under.

Register at this link.

Upcoming Meetings:

October 26 @ 6:30pm

Topic: Finding the Law
Speaker: Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL

Registration link

December 7 @ 6:30pm

Topic: Finding Clues to Your Ancestors Hidden in Social History
Speaker: Lisa Lisson

Registration link

**WCGS will meet virtually through December 2021**

Visit the Wakecogen Events page for more details.

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Mark your calendars for the last WCGS events of the summer

The late summer event offerings from WCGS are just around the corner. There is still time to register. Please visit our Registration page.

Next up -

August 24, 6:30pm - WCGS virtual meeting
Topic - Research and Resources at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
speaker - Dr. Lee Arnold, Senior Director of the Library & Collections, Chief Operating Officer

Founded in 1824, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) is one of the largest family history libraries in the nation, has excellent collections on local and regional history and offers a manuscript collection renowned for its 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century holdings. HSP houses many national treasures, such as the first draft of the United States Constitution, an original printer’s proof of the Declaration of Independence, and the earliest surviving American photograph. But the true strength of the Society' collection is the overall breadth and depth of materials that together offer a rich, complex portrait of U.S. history and society from the 17th century to the present.

Next GenHelp Session - September 02, 6:30pm
Got a burning research question that you just can't seem to find an answer for? For research tips and clues, sign up for our next virtual session.

Both these event are free and open to all.

Register for both!

Thursday, August 12, 2021

WCGS GenHelp - Events for 2021 - Free Help for Genealogists - September thru December sign up

More virtual help sessions are planned for 2021. The next session is July 1 at 6:30pm EDT. See additional dates below.

The goal of the monthly virtual sessions continues to be to provide free genealogy assistance to hobbyists. Mark your calendars for the first Thursday of the month at 6:30pm ET.

It is not necessary to be a member of WCGS to participate and there is no cost. You will have an opportunity to ask questions and share knowledge during the 90-minute session. The session will be moderated. Please note this program will not include research requests or queries; all assistance will be given only within the time constraints of the monthly virtual session.

Dates remaining for 2021:

Thursday, October 7, 2021 @ 6:30pm

Thursday, November 4, 2021 @ 6:30pm

Thursday, December 2, 2021 @ 6:30pm

Time: 6:30pm ET (this is an open session; you may enter the Zoom at any time during the 90-minute session or drop once your question is answered)

Please submit your queries in advance. It gives the panelists a chance to mull and ponder and come up with better suggestions for you. Submissions should be sent to jhawkgenealogy@gmail.com

Please note this program will not include research requests or queries; all assistance will be given only within the time constraints of the monthly virtual session.

Click here to register to for GenHelp. Scroll down to the GenHelp registration section.

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

Upchurch and Allied Families Newsletter - July 2021

Here is the latest from UAFA for those who are following along.

July 2021

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Volunteer Opportunity - Content Curator for the WCGS Journal Team

Have you ever wanted to be a real live History Detective? (cue music!)

We have a super exciting request for a volunteer Content Curator from our Wake Treasures Journal editor, Donna Shackle. Details:

Are you interested in Wake County history and family stories? Do you enjoy the thrill of the hunt? Do you love hanging out in libraries, archives and other repositories of local historical lore? If so, we have a volunteer opportunity for you.
Our journal editor, Donna Shackle is looking for a Content Curator to work closely with the WCGS journal team. This person would canvass libraries, repositories, and other sources for content for the journal. They don’t need to worry about transcription, although that’s a bonus. Our journal requires content be focused on Wake County unless a neighboring county lacks a genealogy society and material must be previously unpublished. If you are interested in this position, please contact Donna Shackle via email - Journal@wakecogen.org

This looks like so much fun. I wish I didn't have so many ongoing commitments. I think I would be all over this one!

PS- I have had the History Detectives theme song stuck in my head since we started talking about this!

Friday, June 18, 2021

Olivia Raney Library update as of June 17

WCGS member, Barbara McGeachy, just shared this information with us on ORL's opening status.

From Barbara:

I just called the Olivia Raney Local History Library and talked with Ann.
The library is now fully open. They have new hours:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
Closed Saturday and Sunday.

No reservation is required.
They are a FamilySearch affiliate library. They have 4 public PCs that allow access to this.
They have 2 microfilm readers.

They encourage only genealogy and history research patrons. If a patron just wants to print a document, they ask that the patron go to the Richard B. Harrison Library.

If you have a genealogical question, you can email lib.orl.researchquestions@wakegov.com
If you are planning to do research, send them a list of books or materials you plan to use and they will have them ready for you. Use the same email.

This is wonderful news. Thanks to Barbara for sharing with WCGS.

Thursday, June 17, 2021

There is still plenty of time to sign up for our upcoming summer events!

To sign up for our June 22 virtual meeting (topic - Finding Your Family on Ship Manifests with speaker, Mark Arslan) and to sign up for the next virtual GenHelp session on July 1, visit our Registration page.

Members, if you are interested in exploring your German Genes and heritage, you will want to sign up for the latest WCGS Special Interest Group , "German Genes." The inaugural meeting will be this Saturday, June 19, 10:30 - Noon. Contact coordinator, Sue Olmstead.

If you are not yet a member and want to join to participate visit our Join page through the link below. Willkommen!

Test 6/16

This should hit the new follow.it feed for all subscribers.

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