Wake Genealogy Watch - Spring 2020 - Newsletter is Live

The Spring 2020 Issue (Vol.3 Issue 3)  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, Spring 2020

This issue contains the following topics:
• Facebook for Genealogy - a survey of the many groups found within the walls of Facebook relating to all topics of research, historic context, techniques and even genetic genealogy. Harness the power of Facebook for your research.
• Cynthia Gage shares a very useful tip about tracing newspaper articles to their original location for the most complete coverage and details.
• Reunion planning guides and tips.
• A heads up on an upcoming workshop featuring Thomas Jones. It is close enough for a road trip. You may want to mark your calendar.
• A query request from one of our readers.
• Another very full calendar of events.

 As always we welcome your articles, comments, or other items for the newsletter, so please contact Cyndi at newsletter@wakecogen.org if you have something to share.

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 back to the online edition where you can enlarge the photos to accommodate better viewing.  This recent issue of the Newsletter may be downloaded from the WCGS Newsletter page.  Enjoy!

Or, 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. 


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Reminder: Rootsweb Mail Lists Deadline - March 2

Just wanted to remind everyone who was active on Rootsweb Lists that they will cease to be active on March 2nd, in 7 days.

There after they will be accessible as read only content.


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Wake Wednesday - Search Digitized Unindexed Wake Records - New Tool At FamilySearch

This just passed through my Facebook feed. It will certainly provide new placed to look for ancestors and could really be a game changer. Hope you have a little time to kill...

Read details at FamilySearch

This link pulls up Wake County records, but...

You can take it anywhere you want to go here.

A free log in is required for access.


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Free Webinar Wednesday Night, Feb. 19 - Cold Calls, First Contact

Get more from your first contact, whether it be fleshing out family stories or connecting with your DNA cousins. Great Free Webinar Wednesday night.

Southern California Genealogical Society 2020 Jamboree Webinar Series -
De-Thorning Interviews: Cold Calls and First Contact
Wednesday, February 19, 2020, 9:00 PM (Eastern Time)

ABOUT THE PRESENTATION
This lecture will demonstrate the tactful approach to interviewing individuals, making cold calls and making first contact with individuals via emails and social media. Learn how to be comfortable gleaning oral family history stories from people you know and have never met before. Examples of these types of contact will be given.
1. Approaches, Considerations & Cautions
2. How to Prove If True

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Professional genealogist Tammy Priolo BASc, PLCGS 25+yrs. Consults, researches, writes, lectures & workshops nationally & internationally. Many genealogical volunteer positions including nine years with the FHC in North Bay Ontario. Member of APG, GSG, OGS and Advisory Board Member Ancestry.ca Sign Up - https://genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com/2020/02/free-webinar-from-scgs-wednesday.html


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RootsTech 2020 Presentation Schedule

The schedule for RootsTech2020 is posted now online at their website. I was pleasantly surprised that many of the presentations have PDF files of their syllabi posted in the descriptions.

It may be entertaining and worth your while to take a look.

RootsTech2020 Presentation Schedule


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News and Events from Friends of Oberlin Village

I received the following in an email from EOV this week:

Dear Friends of Oberlin Village,

Please join other Friends of Oberlin Village for our  Feb. 24 meeting, beginning 6 pm, in the fellowship hall of Wilson Temple United Methodist Church, 1023 Oberlin Road.  All are welcome.  This month's meeting will include a "Voices from the Past" presentation by Earl Ijames, Curator, NC Museum of History.

Also of possible interest are upcoming events:

Preservation North Carolina's (PNC's) documentary "Oberlin -- A Village Rooted in Freedom"  is slated to be shown on UNC-TV on February 20th at 10:00 P.M.  Dive in to the history of Oberlin, one of North Carolina’s largest freedmen’s villages established after the Civil War, and witness Preservation North Carolina’s effort to save two landmark properties for its new headquarters.

Because PNC realizes that that is not an ideal time for many viewers, they have made arrangements to provide preliminary screenings. These preliminary screenings will not be abbreviated versions --- they will show the documentary in its entirety. Here's the schedule:
February 17, 6:30 P.M., Oberlin Baptist Church, 806 Oberlin Rd.
February 19, 6:30 P.M. --- N.C. Art Museum, 2110 Blue Ridge Road

For a trailer, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0gb9sFtxYk&feature=youtu.be

Watch anywhere, anytime at unctv.org and PreservationNC.org!   

Cheryl Williams and the Education Committee are looking for volunteers to staff an information table at each screening (need 2 volunteers 20 min before and after).  If you can help, contact Cheryl who can arrange for you to get the table, brochures, etc.  ctulette@live.com or (919) 592-2333.

Virtual MLK: 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s' "Fill Up the Jails" Speech

Saturday, February 15, 10:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m.
NC State University Centennial Campus Hunt Library
1070 Partners Way, Raleigh, NC 27606  (Most parking is free on the weekend)

Event is free and open to the public

NC State researchers, led by Dr. Victoria Gallagher, will immerse community members in one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s most iconic speeches. King delivered this speech, originally titled “A Creative Protest” but later referred to by King and others as “Fill Up the Jails,” on February 16, 1960 at White Rock Baptist Church in Durham. The Virtual MLK (vMLK) event will take audiences back in time by leveraging the Hunt Library's 270-degree visualization capabilities, allowing them to virtually walk around the historic sanctuary, hear a re-creation of King’s speech, and virtually sit with congregation members.

The day includes family activities, choir performances, and a community conversation on advocacy.
For a detailed schedule and to register for scholar-guided tours, click here.

FOV has received the following invitations

African-American Cemeteries

Saturday, February 22, 2020, 2 PM, free admission with reception to follow
Eagle Lodge #19, 142 W King St, Hillsborough, NC   

Orange County’s Cultural Resources Coordinator Peter Sandbeck will present a program with slideshow on how to identify, protect and preserve the many abandoned or otherwise mostly unknown African-American cemeteries in the county. They all have a story to tell, and no one knows more about them than Peter Sandbeck.

Screening of documentary "February One"

Wednesday February 19, 2020 7 PM

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh

3313 Wade Ave, Raleigh, 27607

Join us for the viewing and discussion of the documentary February One recounting the courageous sit-ins led by the college students known as the Greensboro Four. The video uses first hand accounts and rare archival footage to document  the volatile winter of 1960 in Greensboro, NC. The students’ actions not only challenged public accommodation laws in North Carolina, but served as a blueprint for the wave of non-violent civil rights protests that swept the South and the nation throughout the 1960’s.

For more information: arm@uufr.org

Please note that this will replace the presentation "Revisiting Raleigh’s “Black Main Street”: Vintage Photos and Lasting Impact of the 3rd Ward" that was announced at the January FOV meeting due to illness of the presenter. 

Hope to see you a week from Monday at our next meeting,

Becky Boston

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Wake Wednesday - John Hunter, born a slave, lived 112 years

For those of you who missed the COR Museum African-American Symposium last Saturday, or the N&O article that preceded it, you missed some great local history. I will refer you back to the N&O article that chronicles the discovery of John Hunter's history and Ernest Dollar's efforts to unite that history with living family members.

John Hunter was an enslaved person on the Spring Hill Plantation, owned by Theophilus Hunter. John was well loved and lived a very long life. His obituary claimed 112 years. He was interviewed in the 1870 for an article in the Raleign Sentinel. His memories include Fayetteville Street while it was surrounded by wilderness and wild animals, the blood thirsty dragoons of Col, Tarleton, and local buildings burning in 1812.

We are lucky that Ernest Dollar, COR director, discovered John and his history so that his story can be share again now.

See the article and the video at the N&O.


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Mark Your Calendar - Thomas W. Jones Workshop in Asheville June 20, 2020

We received this notice from the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society in Ashville very recently:

I am contacting you on behalf of the Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society (OBCGS) in Asheville, NC.
We are offering a professional workshop, “Beyond the Barriers” on June 20, 2020 that may be of interest to your members. The speaker is Dr. Thomas W. Jones, a board-certified genealogist, who is nationally known as a writer, a knowledgeable and entertaining presenter and editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.

The most interesting topic lineup includes:

• Building a Credible Lineage Despite Missing information, Conflicting and Incorrect Records and Undocumented Publication
• Finding ‘Unfindable’ Ancestors
• The Jones Jinx: Tracing Common Surnames
• Systematically Using Autosomal DNA Test Results to Help Break Through Genealogical Brick Walls

Early bird pricing is available prior to May 15.

Further details, pricing and a registration form are available here.


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Event - Feb. 8 - 4th Annual African-American History Symposium - Transformation from Slavery to Freedom

Visit the City of Raleigh Museum Saturday, Feb. 8 from 1-3pm. COR will present the 4th Annual African-American History Symposium, a free event. 

From the City of Raleigh Museum Facebook event page:
The fourth annual African American History Symposium will explore the transformation from slavery to freedom through two lectures. Collector Craig James will discuss images from his personal collection of early African American photographs. James’ library of rare photos captures the transformation from slavery to freedom and the emergence of a new black identity. A native North Carolinian, James is descended from slaves from the Spring Hill Plantation in Pender County. Among his collection are images of his family, “Nursey” James, who was born into slavery and lived into the 20th century. Also speaking will be City of Raleigh Museum director, Ernest Dollar, will share new research on the enslaved community of Dix Park and the efforts to locate living descendants. During research on the museum’s latest exhibit, From Plantation to Park: The Story of Dix Hill, Dollar discovered John Hunter, born in the 1760s, and traced eight generations of his family to New York. In November 2019, John’s family traveled back to Raleigh to learn about their historic roots and the future of the new park.

Parking and Directions for COR


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Fold3 Black History Collection Free Access

I received this in an email from Fold3 today:

In recognition of Black History Month, Fold3® is making the records in its Black History Collection available for free through the end of February.

Whether you're searching for your ancestors or looking for primary documents to help with other research, the Black History collection gives you access to more than a million documents, records, and photos that help to capture the African-American experience during five eras of American history: Slavery, The Civil War, Reconstruction & Jim Crow Laws, World War I & II, and the Civil Rights Movement.

Fold3 Black History Collection - free access through the end of February


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Wake Wednesday - Check out the Joel Lane House before it gets a new coat of paint!

See the red pigment from the original construction 250 years ago. See the pit saw marks in the boards. Most surprising see the two small bullet embedded in the wood. Wonder when that happened?

source

Click through to WRAL to read the article by Heather Leah.


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Local Event - Feb 16 - Dedication Ceremony - Memorial to the Enslaved of Joel Lane Plantation

We have received notice that there will be a dedication event for a Memorial to the Enslaved of Joel Lane Plantation on February 16.

Details are as follows:

Dedication Ceremony: Memorial to the Enslaved of the Joel Lane Plantation, 1769-1800

On Sunday, February 16, 2020, we will gather in the Joel Lane Museum House gardens for a time of contemplation and remembrance, as we dedicate a memorial to the people who were held in slavery by Joel Lane and his family. More details.

Time: Sunday, February 16, 2020,

2:00-2:30pm
Light refreshments will be served following the ceremony.

Location: Joel Lane Museum House Herb Garden, at the southeast corner of the JLMH grounds, located at 160 S. St. Mary’s St., Raleigh, NC 27603. Parking is available on the streets surrounding the museum.

Admission: Free; All are welcome.

Contact Information: tel: (919) 833-3431; email: joellane@bellsouth.net



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Reminder - Transcription Session Saturday, Feb 8 at Cameron Village Regional Library

Join us at CVRL this Saturday morning, Feb. 8.

WCGS Transcription Session @ Room 202,Cameron Village Regional Library, 1930 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27605. 10:30am - 12:30pm. Details and Contact info.

Transcription events are scheduled for the second Saturday of each month through the end of 2020. These events are not educational workshops, but time set aside for us to work together on transcription projects to benefit either the WCGS journal, Wake Treasures, or your own research. You can bring your own photocopies or digital files of documents or records needing transcription. We will also provide photocopies and digital files of Wake County-related records needing transcription. These transcriptions will be used in future issues of Wake Treasures. 

See you Saturday! Get a dose of local history and leave a Wake Legacy at the same time!

Dates for 2020 Transcription events ** The second Saturday of each month from 10:30-12:30 in Room 202, Cameron Village Regional Library, 1930 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27605** Location change!

Mark your calender - Jan. 11, Feb. 8, Mar. 14, Apr. 11, May 9, Jun. 13, Jul. 11, Aug.8, Sep. 12, Oct. 10, Nov. 14, Dec. 12

You may be interested in these useful transcription tools:

Handy, easy rules sheet from our Wakecogen Projects page.

Instructional video by our former editor, Diane Richard. To view "Accurate Transcription for Historical Records", click on the title and scroll down to the viewing window.  

FamilySearch has an extensive wiki on Transcribing Historical Documents here.

Guidelines for Reading Old Documents includes some of the standard text often seen in old wills, deeds, etc.

11 Tips for Reading Old Handwriting has suggestions for parsing out those letters that don't look quite like today's cursive or printed letters.

Various ways letters were written over time:

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Rootsweb Email Lists are going away soon.

If you are a user of Rootsweb email lists and you have visited recently, you have encountered this message header at the landing page...

Beginning March 2nd, 2020 the Mailing Lists functionality on RootsWeb will be discontinued. Users will no longer be able to send outgoing emails or accept incoming emails.  Additionally, administration tools will no longer be available to list administrators and mailing lists will be put into an archival state.  Administrators may save the emails in their list prior to March 2nd. After that, mailing list archives will remain available and searchable on RootsWeb.    - source

If you are already a frequent user, this will come as sad news. If you are not familiar with the Rootsweb lists yet, visit their index page to see the wealth of information there and know that these are discussions that will cease soon. If you see a list where you want to collaborate, you better get a move on.  Effective March 2, they will no longer be interactive. 

WCGS member, George Thomas, sees this as a huge loss and encourages all Wake County and North Carolina researchers that wish to have "your thoughts recorded (and searchable) on the rootsweb lists", to act fast. 

Your only chance is between now and between now and March 2. After that, mailing list archives will remain available and searchable on RootsWeb.

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