Who waits at the window with a candle against the darkness?? Are they watching for intruders or watching for a tardy loved one to finally return to them? The tiny two story house with the Dutch roof is a curiosity tucked in a corner of  Mordecai Historical Park. This is not its original home as it has been moved before calling the park home. Is this why the watcher eternally waits with a candle burning in the window?  The story is here along with the fascinating history of this early "tiny house." Who waits in the upstairs window? Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  | Digital Resources  |  History Resources  |  More Links and Resources  |  Contact

Join us for the next Virtual Meeting from WCGS! Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022 @ 6:30pm - Virtual (combined November-December) Topic :     Finding and Understanding NC Court Records Speaker:   David McCorkle Courts have always dealt with crimes and disputes, but in the past they also handled much more routine items that can be of great interest to your genealogical research.   These include many functions now performed by other government offices such as proving deeds, probate, petitions, taxes, appointment of local officials, licenses, bastardy, manumission – the list goes on.  To complicate things, the type of courts and what areas they were responsible for has changed over time. This discussion will help you know what you can find along with how and where to find it.    A North Carolina native, David is President and founder of NC Historical Records Online (NCHRO), with a mission to provide public online access to images of original records and other re...

This haunt specific to Oakwood cemetery is known by many names, including the ‘Spinning Angel of Oakwood’, ‘The Ratcliffe Angel’ or ‘The Guardian of Oakwood.’ This solid stone angel usually stands quietly in the corner of Oakwood Cemetery closest to Watauga Street. She is said to let the Halloween celebrations go to her head. Literally. Supposedly, every Halloween at midnight, her head spins exactly 12 times and then stops. Are you planning a visit to Oakwood on Halloween this year? Read more about the stone angel who stands vigil over the grave of Etta Rebecca White.   source Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  | Digital Resources  |  History Resources  |  More Links and Resources  |  Contact

WCGS webmaster, Cynthia Gage received the Award for Excellence in Web Presence . Having worked on the backend of our website a good bit this year, I can tell you that the website mechanics are a bit fiddly at times and Cynthia always manages make her job look easy as she presents WCGS content in a very orderly and polished fashion. Congratulations to Cynthia. The two coordinators of the Wake Cemetery Survey c.1978 Digitization Project received Certificates of Appreciation . Cyndi Deal received a certificate for directing the digitization portion of the project.  Original Survey project director, Irene Kittinger received a certificate for her original role. Many more participants deserve recognition for their roles in the project both recently and in the past. WCGS considers that these certificates really represent the group effort. Visit the WCGS webpage and The Wake Cemetery Survey Project to see the results of all our hard work. Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Websi...

Gov. Daniel Fowle, first governor to reside in the Executive mansion and first to die in residence is apparently busy haunting the mansion!   At least two govenors and their families have had "encounters" with him and one would regularly wish him " Good Night ." Read more from the Association of Paranormal Study.   Gov. Danial Fowle Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  | Digital Resources  |  History Resources  |  More Links and Resources  |  Contact

" Looking deeper into the letter published by John Powers, all remembered Mary Locust as being an old lady of color who passed as free. Witnesses confirmed her children were as she had stated, and she was neither Black nor White as they had always heard her mother was “Indian.”  Lewis Barker stated that Mary Locust went from Wake County with his brother Thomas Barker to the Yadkin River, where he, Lewis Barker, saw her some other time.” People were clearly in motion."  -  George Thomas Today's guest post has George Thomas looking at the power of Reverend John Powers to sway the powerful Gov. John Sevier from far away Logan, Kentucky to do the right thing in regards to the Lucost/Locust family. The Locust family were formerly free people of color in Wake County, North Carolina and enslaved by Sevier at some point after they arrived in Tennessee.  John Powers was a Methodist preacher and, as it turns out, a member of the Barker Family. John was "the son of Mrs. Thomas ...

Unknown spirits  haunt the  old NC State Capitol building . Ghostly happenings reported by a night watchman and others included screams, doors slamming, books hitting the floor, keys jingling and footsteps on the stone floors.  More here . Did something happen in the Library! It feels spooky. source Stay Spooky! Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  | Digital Resources  |  History Resources  |  More Links and Resources  |  Wake Cemetery Survey c. 1978 online  |  Contact

Join Wake County Public Libraries for a virtual program series about all things North Carolina.  Haunted Carolina Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 6:30pm I Didn't Know That! Untold Stories of North Carolina Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 6:30pm Raleigh's Hidden History: Exploring the Past in Front of You   Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 6:30pm The "Lost Colony" of Roanoke Was Never Lost Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 2:00pm Understanding the People Who Dwelled in the Great Dismal Swamp Monday, November 7, 2022 at 6:30pm Staff Picks: North Carolina Authors Monday, November 14, 2022 at 6:30pm Appalachian Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 6:30pm Vist this information page to register-  https://guides.wakegov.com/nchistory

As George has traced Wake migration west, he has uncovered some really fascinating stories. Today's guest post is a case in point. The continuation of the Barker families migration finds Thomas Barker in Middle Tennessee where he is part of a letter writing campaign to right a wrong done to a family known to him and his family and associates. The wrongdoer - none other than John Sevier, at the time serving as the first govenor of Tennessee.  Barker and his family figure prominently as witnesses in the lengthy open letter written by John Powers to Gov. Sevier in August of 1804. The open letter was published in the Tennesee Gazette of Nashville, Tennessee  Read the letter for yourself and continue on to find out what becomes of Mary Lucost's family, previously free people of color, who were enslaved by John Sevier on migrating from North Carolina to middle Tennesee.  Source This one is a must read folks.  Mary Lucost, the Barker Family, and Col. John Sevier (Pt 5) Foll...

How about some local ghost lore to usher in the month of Halloween? The Ghost of Poole Forest is a perfect one to start with. It reads like a perfect spooky period piece set in post civil-war Wake county.  William Poole, a wealthy bachelor who loved his land and white horse in life, rides the 75 acre pine forest (near Rock Quarry Road) on said horse in death after 1889.  Read the story here .  I imagine Mr. Poole's ghost is haunting extra hard these days with all his "precious pine trees" disappearing county wide!  William Poole's House, photographed long after his death. The house was demolished in the early 20th Century. Photo from the NC State Archives. source Stay Spooky! Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  | Digital Resources  |  History Resources  |  More Links and Resources  |...