Register for the next Virtual Meeting from WCGS! Topic:  Genealogy Escape Room ™  – The Case of William Sydney Porter: Oh Henry!  Speaker:  Thomas MacEntee Tuesday,  Dec 5 , 2023 @ 6:30pm - Virtual Audience Level: Beginner.  The more, the merrier, join us for a fun evening of Genealogy Sleuthing led by Thomas! Imagine you are trapped in your state archive and the only way out is to solve a series of genealogy research puzzles. Are you up to the challenge? Are you ready for Genealogy Escape Room™?  Based on the popular escape room concept, Genealogy Escape Room™ turns the typical webinar format upside down! Each registrant will receive a Case Review File used to solve a series of online research tasks BEFORE the live webinar takes place. The webinar is the "reveal," where a step-by-step review of each puzzle, task, and clue all the way to the final "key" to open the door.  Genealogy methodology concepts will be summarized before announcing who esca...

The last Wakecogen meetup on Oct. 21 to the Grand Lodge of  North Carolina certainly proved the point that Masonic records are an excellent resource to fill in the details and context of your male ancestors' lives. If you are trying to build a fan club, these records should certainly be part of your arsenal. They might also help pin down locations for your predecessor.  Our hosts for the outing, Jonathan Underwood (Grand Secretary) and Matthew Robbins (Assistant G. S.) have graciously provided us with access to information to contact the Grand Lodge for lookup requests as well as the various repositories of records that are available online.  Thanks go to Jonathan and Matthew and the Grand Lodge. Links to Masonic Records Whether you are looking for someone in Wake County or elsewhere in North Carolina*, you should check these resources. We were given a handout with several links. The handout is available  here . Hope you find something that helps your research! * Te...

I got really curious about the California Restaurant from a published Thanksgiving menu that I had written about previously. I have looked high and low for that menu so I could share it here, but no luck. I will share it if I find it. If you find it first, help a girl out, please? I did some research and reading about the California.  I found some really interesting facts about it, especially the evolution from fruit store to restaurant then to clothing store. It was featured in a write up on the Goodnight Raleigh blog.  The history of the California is really fascinating, especially if you have these surnames in your tree:   Vernakes, Stathacos, Adler. You can view this great story here. Still looking for that menu, by the way. Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  |  Society Surnames ...

Malicious mischief is afoot. Change your genealogy passwords. Do Not reuse passwords. There has been a hack at 23 & Me. This is a good time for a review of all your genealogy passwords. Count on Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist to tell you exactly what steps to take. She breaks each step down in this blog post . "...But here’s the bottom line: no company can protect us from our own folly. Using a password across multiple websites in this day and age of data hacking is just that: folly. (And yeah, I’ve done it too. My pointing finger here is pointing right back at me too.)" - JR better view here Change those passwords. Don't reuse at multiple sites! Try using two factor authentication for even more security. Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  |  Society Surnames  |  Digital Resources  |  History...

Masonic Lodge records are an excellent source to fill in the details and context of your ancestors' lives. Join WCGS for our next in person meetup.   The tour will be led by  Matthew Robbins,  Assistant Grand Secretary. A Tour of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina 2921 Glenwood Avenue Raleigh, NC, 27608 Saturday, Oct 21 at 10am Chartered in 1771 by the Duke of Beaufort and reorganized in 1787, the Grand Lodge of North Carolina was formed before North Carolina joined the Union and before George Washington was elected president of the United States. The Freemasons of North Carolina can claim a rich and successful heritage. Its members, including governors, legislators, teachers, professors, merchants, and farmers, have been at the forefront of the State's successes since before the Revolutionary War. Its members presided over the formation of the State and the adoption of the Bill of Rights, the extension of educational opportunities to State citizens via the establishm...

Update - read the additional article linked at the end of the post. A very small town in Wake County, barely even a crossroads, went by the name of Log Pond early in its history. Even if you can find stories of  this community or find it on a map today, its name hints at the history of this part of Wake County before the Civil War.  The location of this pond was pivotal for the community. It may have supported some logging trade and a mill in the area. it provided rest and respite for the horses of travelers passing through the area. When railroads began criss crossing Wake County, this small but useful pond was an attractive location for the builders as a reloading point for the steam engines that chuffed through the town.  All this changed this tiny dot of a crossroads forever and the resulting town, sleepy though it still was, has now surpassed all bounds to become one of the larger suburban communities in our county. But where is the pond now? Please follow this link...

I am returning to Reminiscences of Grandmother Mary Ann Towles in Wake Treasures, Volume 1, number 4, Winter 1991 , p15, for this vivid remembrance of General LaFayette's visit to Wake County in 1825. Can you imagine what an attraction his visit must have been? Mary Ann's memory in her words: I was eight years old when General LaFAYETTE visited Raleigh and everyone went to see him. Uncle carried (m)y brother and me. It was a proud day for me when he shook hands with me, and laying his hand on my head, said, “God bless you.”  source  You can read more on General Lafayette's journey thru Wake County and the rest of NC at NCpedia . If you want to see some artifacts and other first hand accounts of General Lafayett's trip, visit the Little House Museum in Rolesville . Contact the museum for more info. Journal access is a great perk of your Wake County Genealogical Society membership and a handy tool for those researching in Wake County remotely. Members have 2...