Wake County Genealogical Society Blog: October 2024

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Wake Wednesday: So Many Mysteries at the High House - Buried Treasure, Missing Cemetery and a Ghost!

Thanks to Heather Leah at WRAL for bringing this spooky story from Cary to our attention.

Her story recounts the legend of High House (as in High House Road in Cary) and the buried treasure of Fanning Jones. it is a great read.

https://www.wral.com/buried-treasure-in-cary-the-ghostly-legend-of-the-abandoned-high-house/19933263

As I read this riveting story, near the end of it I was directed to another article written for the Friends of Page-Walker Hotel in Cary. This one is equally interesting and a bit broader in scope. It is fascinating if you live in Wake County. Even more so if you have Jones, Alford, Liles, Williams and other associated Cary area families in your tree. Grab a coffee or hot tea and check it out.

https://friendsofpagewalker.wildapricot.org/Cary-Me-Back/9342448

High House in Cary and likely members of the
Williams family in the late 1800s.

Thursday, October 24, 2024

2024 Wake County Genealogical Society Virtual Meetings - next - December 3, 2024

Join us for the last virtual meeting of 2024!

Tuesday, Dec 3 @ 6:30pm - Virtual

MA, CG, FUGA

An ancestor who spent time in a military prison camp is likely to have records that other soldiers do not have. The purpose of this lecture is to focus on the records created by Union and Confederate prisons about prisoners of war and where they can be found.

Join us! Free and virtual!

*Please register by 4pm day of meeting.

*Please save your passcode and link for ease of entry at start time.

*Presentation starts promptly at 6:30 pm.

Link to register at the Wakecogen website events page.

Registration is now open!

Upcoming Events - view events page for details

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 @ 6:30pm - Virtual

Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025 @ 6:30pm - Virtual

Topic: We CAN Successfully Research Pre-1870 Enslaved & FPOC Ancestors

Speaker: Diane L. Richard, owner MosaicRPM, GenWebinars, Tar Heel Discoveries

Tuesday, Mar. 25, 2025 @ 6:30pm - Virtual

Gravestone Symbolism

Robin Simonton, Executive Director of Historic Oakwood Cemetery

Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website -

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Wake Wednesday - Where to put the permanent NC State Capital

Would Wake County be very different if the choice of the state capital location had been different?

How? Would roadways and growth centers be effected? Would a location five miles away make a difference?

This is an interesting thought to ponder. I am sure it would have mattered more to the generations who came before us as their transportation and access to commerce would be most affected.

Hunter vs. Lane

The story of selecting the site of the permanent state capital is covered in this great article about inns and tavern from NCpedia. Isaac Hunter and Joel Lane are both represented here, as are several other important inns and taverns from the early days of colonial North Carolina.

"Inns and taverns played an important role in the economic and geographic development of colonial North Carolina. These establishments-also known as "ordinaries" in eighteenth-century America because they often catered to the full spectrum of social classes-were frequently one of the first businesses to appear in newly designated county seats, offering food and lodging to travelers and visitors to court...."

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Follow our newest Facebook Page - wakecogensoc

Big Move Alert!!

We are switching our Facebook page from the business page* format to a regular group page in about a week and a half.

For a while, followers who land at the old page will be directed to the new page link. Since you are here, you can follow the link below or search "wakecogensoc" from the Facebook search field to signup for the new page. All posting will only appear on the new page after November 1, 2024.

You can enjoy all the fresh content, event updates, and interactions that you have come to expect from WCGS at our new page. Come check us out! Join us.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wakecogensoc

search "wakecogensoc" at Facebook

*Reasons for move:

The FB business page model has evolved over time to a format that no longer suits our needs for events, announcements and interaction. Their storefront focus does not allow easy interaction between followers and pushes posting and business goals on a daily basis. We do not use our page in any business sense. Leaving all these hoops and hurdles behind will free up time for us and make posting and collaboration easier for our followers. It is a Win/Win.

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

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

We are lucky that Ernest Dollar, City of Raleigh Museum director, discovered John Hunter and his history so that his story can be shared today. In 2020, a short documentary was made about the discovery and connection to Theophilus Hunter and his Spring Hill Plantation. You can watch that documentary here.

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's 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.

Learn more by viewing Josh Shaffer's article from 2020 and the video at the N&O.

If you wish to read the interview with John Hunter that appeared in the Raleigh Sentinel in December 1876, you may find it at This NCDigital link. I tried searching several ways, but the text is quite blurry as shown in the photo attached to the N&O article. It may require some issue by issue browsing. Luckily in 1876 the Sentinel was only published twice weekly.

To read about the Hunter family reunion at Spring Hill Plantation in 2021 as told by John Hunter's descendants, see the article in Wake Genealogy Watch, Winter 2022, pp. 2-3.

John Hunter marker at Spring Hill

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Wake Wednesday - Apex StoryMaps Celebrate 150 Years

I had seen these story maps before and I just love the concept of telling the stories and history of a place and attaching them to a map. The concept and tools to create are provided by ARCGIS.com. ArcGIS is a geographic information system (GIS) platform that helps users create, manage, and analyze geographic data, or maps. The StoryMaps concept "transforms your geographic information system (GIS) work into interactive content that informs and inspires."

The most inspiring collection of story maps that I have seen to date were produced by the town of Apex to celebrate their 150th year celebrated in 2023. Please follow the link to the Apex 150th celebration to see what a wonderful tribute they have created. Apex 150 - Past, Present and Potential

There are seven communities hightlighted in this series so be sure to scroll through to the bottom of each one for the links to the others.StoryMaps include Apex Annexation Tour, Fairview Community, Friendship Community, Green Level Community, Low End Community, New Hill Community, and Olive Chapel Community. I promise you will be glad you did.

A snippet from a Story Map illustrates stories
with their respective locations.

If you are as charmed with this method of story telling as I am, you will be glad to know that a basic StoryMap plan for personal use is free. There are limits to customization, but you may still find that this is a tool you want to use to tell your family story. Details and pricing are here for the curious and creative.

Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website -

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Wake Wednesday - Premium List of the NC State Fair 1899

Are thoughts of cool breezes and crisp fall air calling to you? Got a taste for fair food yet?

While it is way too warm for that now, you can still get in the mood. Stay inside and have a browse this fun old bit of ephemera from the turn of the century, the Premium List of the NC State Fair 1899 - 39th Annual State Fair.

There are some beautiful advertising graphics inside, as well as great historical context for Wake County and the rest of the state at the time. You can page through this volume much like browsing a physical book.

Don't miss the ads for Briggs Hardware, Raleigh Cotton Mills, St Mary's School, Southern Railway, and a host of others less well known that we surely need to keep in our memory. Fun!

source

These old premium book are a great source of historical context for you ancestors life way back when.

Browse all from the history of the NC State Fair (1853-1859, 1869 - now). Visit NCDigital and search for "State Fair Ephemera". You will find a large collection and a fascinating time travel adventure.

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