Wake County Genealogical Society Blog: 2025

Tuesday, November 25, 2025

The Fourth Thursday in November - Just Why is That?

This blog post by Kim Bernard at the UNC Law School blog spells out the details for us. You will find her post here -
https://library.law.unc.edu/2024/11/the-history-of-the-thanksgiving-holiday/

When you are finished reading, enjoy these vintage Thanksgiving card images I have collected over the years.

Happy

Thanksgiving!

May you be surrounded by
wonderful food, friends and family!

Give a Gift That Honors the Past and Preserves the Future

Are you looking for a meaningful way to honor someone special—a family historian, a loved one who cherished their heritage, or someone who helped you discover your roots?

The Wake County Genealogical Society (WCGS) invites you to make a donation in your loved one's honor and receive a beautiful, customized certificate to share with them.

Why Support WCGS?

Genealogical societies are the heart of family history preservation. They:

Maintain vital records and historical documents
Provide research assistance and educational resources
Connect people with their heritage
Preserve local history for future generations

Your donation directly supports these efforts in Wake County, ensuring that the stories of our ancestors remain accessible for years to come.

How It Works

It's simple:

Make a donation of any amount at wakecogen.org/donation.php?dc=1
Email President@WakeCoGen.org to request your free customized printable certificate. Note - Certificate arrives as a pdf file that you print.
Present the certificate to honor your loved one or family historian

Perfect For:

Birthday or holiday gifts for genealogy enthusiasts
Honoring the memory of a loved one
Thanking a relative who has documented your family history
Celebrating a genealogical breakthrough or discovery
Recognizing a mentor or researcher who helped you

A Gift That Keeps Giving

Unlike traditional gifts that may be used and forgotten, your donation creates a lasting impact. You'll honor someone meaningful in your life while supporting the preservation of history and helping others discover their own family stories.

Ready to make a difference?

Visit wakecogen.org/donation.php?dc=1 today and honor someone who values the past as much as you do.

For questions or to receive your customized certificate, contact President@WakeCoGen.org.

Friday, November 21, 2025

2025 Wake County Genealogical Society Virtual Meetings - next - Dec. 2, 2025 ** note time change

There is still time to register for this presentation. Note the change in start time.

Click to enlarge text

Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025 @ 7 pm – Virtual ** note later start time

Topic: Become a Power User of DigitalNC.org

Speaker: Taneya Koonce

Unlock the full potential of DigitalNC.org! This invaluable resource offers North Carolina researchers access to a vast collection of historical newspapers, yearbooks, photographs, and more. In this session, you'll learn expert techniques to navigate the site efficiently, uncover hidden gems, and maximize your discoveries. Whether you're searching for ancestors, exploring local history, or piecing together family stories, mastering DigitalNC.org will take your genealogical research to the next level. Don't just browse—become a power user and make every search count!

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 7 pm.

Link to register at the Wakecogen website events page.

Registration is now open!

Get the video recording to watch on-demand for 30 days and access to our webinar handout library with your WCGS membership!

** At presenters discretion.

Upcoming Events

View events page for details

Tuesday, Jan 27, 2026 @ 6:30pm - Virtual
Getting Started in Genealogical Research
Presented by Renate Sanders

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2026 @ 6:30pm - Virtual
NC Archives Digital Services: Using the Website Digital Collections and Online Catalog
presented by Anna Peitzman

Tuesday, Mar 24, 2026 @ 6:30pm - Virtual
Who's your daddy? Exploring North Carolina Bastardy Bonds
presented by A. Danielle Pritchett, MLS

Tuesday, Apr 28, 2026 @ 6:30pm - Virtual
Researching Your Mom: Don't overlook researching your immediate family!
presented by Diane L Richard

Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Wake Wednesday - North Carolina Inspired Thanksgiving Cooking

I am posting early so you have plenty of time to browse. Here is a Thanksgiving cooking collection shared by the NC State University Libraries - Special Collections. I am sure you will find some old treasures, new favorites and a few surprises in the mix. Have fun planning your North Carolina Thanksgiving dinner!

Governor Terry Sanford with turkey "Chef Boy" on leash.
University Archives Photograph Collection. Agricultural Extension and Research services (UA023.007), Special Collections Research Center at NC State University Libraries.

Blog post from NCSU - A Thanksgiving Feast from the Special Collections Research Center

Note there are several collections here. You may find a lag in loading time, but it should be worth it.

Extension Service miscellaneous pamphlets (S544.3 .N8 N657),
Special Collections Research Center at NC State University Libraries, p.14.

I agree with all above but definitely include the celery, nuts, sage and onion!

Hope your Thanksgiving meal is the best!

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Upchurch and Allied Families Association Newsletter - November 2025

For those following along, here is the latest Upchurch and Allied Families Association Newsletter.

November 2025

View past UAFA newsletters here

Monday, November 17, 2025

Have You Tried Researching With Ancestry Library Edition? Here is How!

A reader recently received the following message in an email from Wake County Public Libraries. Access to Ancestry.com Library addition is a great plus to your library services and its availability at any of the 23 library locations is a huge bonus. If you are an occasional researcher or just don't want to invest in a personal subscription at the moment, this is an excellent way to keep your research options open! Call your local branch for details.

Message from WCPL:

As families gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, many of us may find ourselves sharing stories about our grandparents, great-aunts, great-uncles and generations that came before us. This season of gratitude is the perfect time to explore your own family history, and at Wake County Public Libraries, we can help make that journey possible.
With your Wake County Public Library card, you have free access to one of our many online databases known as Ancestry Library Edition. This is a genealogy resource of military, court, land, probate, vital and church records, directories, passenger lists and more. This resource is available on-site on library PCs only. With your library card, you can uncover stories that bring your family’s past to life and deepen your appreciation for the people and places that shaped you.
We are more than just 23 library locations filled with books; we are gateways to discovery, connection and heritage. This Thanksgiving, as you gather with friends and family, take a moment to celebrate both the stories you know and the ones waiting to be found. Visit your favorite Wake County Public Library and give this resource a try.
Ancestry Library Edition is one of our many databases. While this database is only available in the library, most others can be accessed from home with your library card. Check out the full list of databases and descriptions on our Research Page.
From all of us at the library, Happy Thanksgiving! May your holiday be filled with warmth, love and the joy of discovering where your story began.

Thursday, November 13, 2025

WCGS Holiday Dinner at Relish - Dec 4 - 3 Seats Left - Sign Up by Nov 30

Join Wake County Gen Soc Dec 4 for our Holiday Dinner At Relish Craft Kitchen - 3 seats left!

The Wake County Genealogical Society annual holiday dinner is open to everyone, members and non-members alike! This year's dinner will be on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 6 pm at Relish Craft Kitchen, 5625 Creedmoor Rd, Raleigh, NC 27612.

We are not limited to a fixed menu at Relish. Everyone can order to their preference. Here is a peek at the menu.

Up to 30 of us will be seated in a semi-private raised area which is up three steps.

Members and non-members are all welcome so bring your spouse, friends, etc.

Reservation link and details - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044CA9A72CAAFA7-58203190-wcgs

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Wake Wednesday - The loss of the Original State Capitol Building in 1831

Fire gutted the original State Capitol building on June 21, 1831. How did a previous fire, an iron pot and zinc roof shingles factor into Raleigh's near demise as the center of our state government? How did this event seal Raleigh's place as Capital City in North Carolina history?

Read the terrifying and fascinating account in detail at NCPedia here:

The Fires of 1831: Fayetteville and Raleigh in Flames

The remodeled North Carolina State House about 1831 by W. Goodacre. - source
Looking not very much different from today with the exception of its wooden roof.

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Wake Wednesday - Has Raleigh always been the capital of North Carolina?

Not the original capital of North Carolina, in the early days of the colony, Raleigh wasn't even in the running. You will want to check out this NC Archives blog series for the evolution of the state capital in all its iterations.

Great maps, great stories....A Capital Affair. Read here.

Source

Monday, November 3, 2025

Friends of the Archive November 2025 Meeting Video - available now

The Friends of the NC Archives held their yearly meeting this past Saturday, Nov 1. After their business meeting, they offered four presentations and a Q&A session, all focused on their theme of Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of the Armed Forces.

If you were not able to attend, you are in luck. The proceedings were captured on video and can be viewed at the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources YouTube page.

Here is the link - https://www.youtube.com/live/PsZO7OCcS4g

The business meeting run for the first 30 minutes and then the focus presentations commence. Here is the schedule from the event so that you can approximate the timing on each individual topic.

Thursday, October 30, 2025

Shiloh Community Celebration Recap - Oct 18, 2025

Editing to add more photos - 11/2/25

Despite much competition in the way of scheduled events for the day, we had a great turn out for the Shiloh Celebration on October 18. The audience was interested and engaged in the history of the Shiloh Community founded in the late 1820's by Free People of Color. They were equally excited to learn of the Free Black Patriot, Jesse Harris that many in the community can claim as kin. The weather was beautiful. It was an all round perfect day. Here are some photos of the day.

Click image to view larger.
Photos by Belle Long of Wake County Historical Society and
Barbara McGeachy of Wake County Genealogical Society.

Photo Details clockwise from upper left - Our audience awaits; Belle Long of Wake County Historical Society opens; Lynette Barber and Will Ellis provide beautiful music; Mills Cemetery presentation by Saundra Russ Cropps; Jermaine Pulliam - Deputy Grand Master of Prince Hall, dist.19 presides over the wreath ceremony at Rev. James H. Dunston's grave; Esther Dunnegan presents Shiloh Church history.

The following photos were taken by Taniyah Justice photos, a descendant of both Jesse Harris of Shiloh and Jesse Harris Revolutionary Soldier. Taniyah is also the great-niece of WCGS Board member Saundra Russ Cropps. Taniyah's interest in family history is rare in a young person, but she is just the sort needed for future preservation of family history. Many thanks to Taniyah for her participation as photographer and videographer.

Photos by Taniyah Justice

Clockwise from upper left - Ms. Nathanette Mayo, Presider; Audience; Mayor T. J. Crawley; Rev. David L. Jones, Pastor, Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.

Photos by Taniyah Justice

Clockwise from upper left - Cyndi Deal introducing Shiloh: The Founders' Legacy; Saundra Russ Cropps introducing Jesse Harris: A Free Black Revolutionary War Soldier of the NC Continental Line with connections to Wake County and the Shiloh Community; The Mills family plot in Shiloh Cemetery.

The event was jointly planned by the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, Wake Historical Society, the Town of Morrisville, and Wake County Genealogical Society.

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Wake Haunts! Happy Halloween

If you missed out on the Wake Haunts series from last year, read about all of local ghosts here! Get by these spooky locations as soon as you can. The most recent that I have visited is the Andrew Johnson house. Not too spooky on a hot Sunday afternoon in August, but I still wonder...

Which window and who is waiting there?

source

Happy Halloween. Stay ghosty!

Access all Wake Haunts posts.

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Wake Wednesday - Raleigh's First Suburbs ca.1900

Something is pulling my attention to Raleigh/Wake County around the turn of the century (1900's). It was a time of accelerated growth and prosperity. Perhaps it is that parallel that with today's frantic growth pace that has me looking backwards.

I started looking at the historic neighborhoods that built up in the early 1900's:

Glenwood - c.1905. It's development a direct result of the streetcar line providing access north and west.
Boylan Heights - c.1907. Built on 180 acres of the William Montfort Boylan Mansion on the western outskirts of Raleigh.
Cameron Park - c.1910. Built on land that half a century earlier was Cameron Plantation.
Bloomsbury - c. 1914. It's construction signaled the transition from streetcar access to automobile access as Raleigh expanded ever outward.

Trolley time in Raleigh (source)

As I did more research, I became amazed and a little unsettled at the historical, cultural and sociological details that are unearthed when you start to read about them. What started as a curious and nostalgic look at some quaint Wake communities lead to a whole different perspective on Raleigh as it emerged into the 20th century. (The links above will take you directly to individual historic profiles for each neighborhood.)

I was going to do several posts on these lovely nostalgic neighborhoods and their role in the changing mores of Wake County. As luck would have it, my research led me to someone else with the same interest in these communities who had already covered this topic in full detail and really honestly. So rather than "re-invent the wheel," I will now direct you to the well written blog post, City of Oaks by blogger David Fleming. While I am mainly interested right now in the Raleigh communities that sprung up right after 1900, David has covered the development of Raleigh in its entirety. This will necessitate some scrolling on your part to bypass the original layout of Raleigh and the stagnation of growth around and after the Civil War years. The part that I am most interested in about a quarter way down the page just after he discusses Josephus Daniels.

He starts with pretty much the same jumping off point that I had arrived at - the building of the streetcar line on Glenwood Avenue and how it both enabled and depressed parts of Raleigh's population. Like I said, some of this is unsettling, but he does present a thorough unvarnished look the racial divide and class isolation that grew through the first half of the 20th century.

David's post is filled with wonderful photos, maps, historic perspective and even some useful statistics. If times allows, read the whole article and take in the massive amount of work that David has done here.

I am sure grateful for his efforts. I could not begin to present the subject as well as he did.

Update:

I have recently found another reminiscence from a Mr. Howard Lake on an old Rootsweb post. The post is here if you want to read it in the original format. Caution - black background, multicolor text, and frequent font changes in the original. It is a shame to lose such valuable content that preserves how things were -

My Uncle Samuel Holland (1917-1990), who grew up at 202 Linden Avenue, built a little trolley car from the street down the hill where the Baha'i Unity Center is now located. It would roll down the tracks and then be hauled back up by a rope. All the neighborhood children used to play on the trolley.
Raleigh itself had real trolley service. One line went from downtown to Bloomsbury Park at the end of Saint Mary's Street. Nothing remains of Bloomsbury Park, except the post for the merry-go-round that was restored and is now enjoyed by children at Pullen Park. Bloomsbury is now a residential area, and was between Aldert Root School and the intersection with Lassiter's Mill Rd. This explains why there is that weird switch in the names of the roads, a frequent occurrence in Raleigh. It used to be the jumping off place for the city limits, but is now some 8 miles inside Raleigh. Just to finish up my blabbing, we have been blessed with an excellent economy for the last 50 years. Our unemployment rate is about 2%, and has rarely gone over 5%.

Raleigh's early years of the twentieth century was the creation of three planned suburban neighborhoods, Glenwood, Cameron Park, and Boylan Heights. All three of these suburbs were platted between 1906 and 1910 on lands situated to the north, west, and southwest of the 1907 expanded city limits. Although the neighborhoods were designed to attract Raleigh's newly arrived or those newly ascended to the middle class, they vary in their layout, architecture, and topography. From the outset, these neighborhoods had water and sewer services, electric power and access to streetcar transportation which were vital amenities to the new city dwellers.

In addition to the white suburbs, black residential expansion continued at an unprecedented rate in the south and east sections of Raleigh. South Park, bordered by Bledsoe, Wilmington, Hoke and East streets, was platted in 1907 by the white-owned Raleigh Real Estate and Trust Company. Soon after, in a twelve month period, 122 lots had been sold and were in various states of improvement. Farther to the north and east, around St. Augustine's College, two other black suburbs were created in the early 1910s. Battery Heights and College Park attracted skilled workers and a rising middle class sector. The domestic architecture consists of one and two story frame Triple A's and shotguns, cottages and I-houses decorated in a variety of styles. Although South Park, Battery Heights and College Park were in outlying areas, by 1920, streetcar service along Hargett Street was extended and an increased use of automobiles attracted would-be homeowners.

Besides providing improved access to the outlying residential areas, the Carolina Power and Light Company (CP&L) sought to expand its ridership base. In 1911, the utility extended northward the Glenwood Avenue route to the Carolina Country Club which bordered a one hundred acre park. Bloomsbury Park opened in 1912 and featured an electric powered carousel, a roller coaster and a penny arcade. The general manager of CP&L reported, "we now have a long railway line for joy riders which terminates at the park and we are hopeful that the combination will prove most beneficial to us". By 1915, however, Bloomsbury Park had ceased operations, terminated by CP&L. The carousel was bought by the city and placed in Pullen Park. What was left along both sides of the rail lines was mainly farmlands filled with cultivated fields, fallow expanses, and woods that had been ogled by every paying passenger up to that time. In mid-decade, continued residential expansion occurred when large plots of land were purchased by Thomas Ruffin, James H. Pou, and others. Situated north of the Five Points intersection, the lands would beckon to prospective homeowners for several more years until the outbreak of World War I temporarily suspended development.

As towns became cities and citizens longed for the open spaces and trees of pre-industrial communities, recreational parks became a part of the urban landscape. Pullen Park, a gift of eighty acres from businessman Richard Stanhope Pullen in 1887, became a site where Raleighites could picnic, boat, skate, and enjoy nature. Bloomsbury, also at the end of a trolley line and built in 1912 by the Carolina Power and Light Company, was advertised as the Electric Park Amusement Company and provided diversions associated with amusement parks today, such as roller coasters, penny arcades, and merry-go-rounds. A carousel, built by the Dentzel Carousel Company of Philadelphia (1903-9) and featuring the handcarved animals of Salvatore Cernigliaro, was among the most popular features of Bloomsbury Park.

According to one writer, "Raleigh was stung by the report that Charlotte had beat it to electric car service." Dr. S. J. Jacobs of Iowa purchased the existing streetcar charter and announced ambitious plans. Arrangements were made for Edison General Electric Company to furnish electrification and four elegant trolley cars to be purchased from Philadelphia. Disputes developed between the owners and construction company, and some electric wires were removed. To resolve matters, Baltimore bondholders became involved, and Raleigh residents bought $50,000 in bonds to finance construction of the streetcar system. When he became unable to pay a bill for machinery, Dr. Jacobs quietly left Raleigh and never returned.
The Raleigh Street Railway Company, however, began scheduled runs on September 1, 1891. The system covered the same general route as the mule-drawn system. From downtown, the tracks ran west along Hillsboro Street (now Hillsborough) as far as St. Mary's College, north on Blount Street to Brookside Park near Oakwood Cemetery, and down Fayetteville and Cabarrus streets to the depot southwest of downtown. When the company failed in 1894, James H. Cutler of Boston, who already had streetcar interests in Asheville and other southern cities, acquired more investors and reorganized the company as the Raleigh Electric Company.

Carolina and Power & Light Company, organized in 1908 in Raleigh, incorporated Raleigh Electric and its streetcars, other area utilities, and the newly built Buckhorn dam and plant on the Cape Fear River. Only Fayetteville Street, of all the streetcar routes, was paved at the time. Frank Shearin, a conductor, recalled, "People in the residential areas used to complain about the dust." To solve the problem, CP& L bought a 4,000-gallon capacity tank car to water down the roads. This was only one example of how CP& L invested the necessary funds to modernize Raleigh's streetcar operation.

By 1915 the system boasted twelve miles of trackage. It served the state technical college (now N.C. State University) and reached the State Fairgrounds, ran along New Bern Avenue to the east, and in (1912) arrived at the new 100-acre Bloomsbury Park out Glenwood Avenue to the north. As a student at N.C. State in the early 1930s, Willie York (developer of Cameron Village Shopping Center and other properties) recalled riding streetcars downtown to the California Fruit Store to meet girls from Meredith College.

In June 1888, the Raleigh Street Railway Company opened Brookside Park just north of the city near Oakwood Cemetery, connected to the mule-drawn streetcar system by a spur track. Baseball was a major attraction, along with a merry-go-round and picnicking. The same year, the city opened Pullen Park on the western edge of the city. Brookside Park was developed to a greater extent than Pullen, probably because it was privately owned and on the streetcar line. By 1912 Raleigh was growing fast and there was no room to expand Brookside. CP& L, at that time owner of the city's electric streetcar system, opened Bloomsbury Park on 100 acres located three miles out Glenwood Avenue. Using 8,000 lights, the park was nicknamed the "electric park." The park's features included an octagon-shaped pavilion where orchestras played for dances; a Dentzel carousel with a Wurlitzer organ, costing $12,000; a roller coaster; and a penny arcade.

Thank you Mr. Lake. We've got to keep these old memories alive!

Update: View early maps of Raleigh's first Suburbs from the Wake Register of Deeds Consolidated Real Property Index that was highlighted in last week's Wake Wednesday post. Find these areas on Google Maps by looking up street names and compare the changes that you see today!

Glenwood (not found in BM1911, BM1915, BM1918)

Boylan Heights1, Boylan Heights2

Cameron Park1, Cameron Park2

Bloomsbury

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