This post is one I originally wrote for the  Fall 2020 issue of the Wake Genealogy Watch newsletter . The topics are still pretty fresh. I hope you find something useful here.  - Cyndi Deal DNA for genealogy is a big topic and there are no shortcuts on the learning curve, but there is so much DNA education at our fingertips right now. With so many great genetic genealogy webinars available on line, why not sharpen your skill set?  (Bonus - All but two of these are free!) - CD Beginner  You Can Do DNA (series 2024) , presenter - Diahan Southard.   (Updated and expanded to a series in 2024.  Parts 1-4 are here, Part 5 can be viewed on YouTube) New to DNA? Start here. This covers test types, test companies, testing strategies, best explanation of ethnicity estimates ever, and basic concepts in a very beginner friendly format.  What Exactly is a Centimorgan? An Introduction to the Science of DNA Testing , presenter - Ran Snir.   W...

  Don't forget to sign up for these two events. Both are free and open to all with registration. Our next virtual meeting and presentation is next Tuesday, Jan 28 at 6:30pm . If you are not making full use of the free content available with registration at FamilySearch, you are missing out. Join us as Jill Morelli guides us through the most up-to-date search methods at the international site. You will be glad you did. Sign up  here . If you are local, there is still time to register for the Wakecogen Meetup on February 10 at 10am . We will tour both the NC Archives and the NC State Library (in same building) and lunch at the legislature cafeteria right next door is optional. Tours are free with registration and open to all. There are 30 spots available. Full details are here .  We look forward to seeing you on Zoom and in person! Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Pub...

I found this great account of John Lawson's 1700 exploration of the area that would become North and South Carolina, in a book written back in 1922 - History of Wake County, North Carolina, by Hope Summerell Chamberlain. It is a fantastic book, fast paced and pleasant enough that I am frankly captivated. You may see more posts inspired by it pages in the future. Chamberlain describes Lawson's voyage : "The first historian of North Carolina, the explorer Lawson, although known to have passed through the central part of this State, cannot actually be proved to have trod the soil of Wake County. One authority on our local history thinks that he did, and indeed it seems more than possible. Lawson made a journey through western and middle Carolina in the year seventeen hundred or thereabout. His course was a long loop coming out of South Carolina and crossing the Catawba and the ''Realkin" (or Yadkin) and other streams, continuing in a northeasterly direction a...

Here are the details for the WCGS virtual meeting of 2025. This promises to be a popular topic! Please join us. Tuesday, Jan 28 @ 6:30pm - Virtual Topic:  Be a Super Sleuth! Accessing and Using Images on Family Search Speaker:  Jill Morelli, CG, CGL Did you know that Family Search is placing their recently digitized material online in less that 24 hours after it is scanned? Did you know that they were placing them, not in the Catalog but in Images? This makes the images tab (under Search) as the most up-to-date repository of records--not the Catalog. These records are also not yet indexed and so they cannot be accessed using a surname search. What is a Super Sleuth to do? We will learn how to access these records and perhaps how to use other tools to find your ancestor in the document easier. You will want to see what FS has put on line in the geographic area where you are researching! Treasures await!   Join us!  Free and virtual! *Please register by 4pm day of meet...

Update -- See the helpful tip from Barbara McGeachy that she learned at an Olivia Rainey Library tour. 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. Barbara McGeachy has passed along a handy tip she learned from a class taught by Hannah Cox of Olivia Raney Local History Library. During a recent OLLI presentation, it was noted that searches within a county do not always turn up all cities within the county. One should conduct a "county name" search and a "county, city name" search. as in the illustration.  Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Surv...

The Winter 2025 issue (Vol. 8, Issue 2) of our award-winning newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch , is now available online for reading or download. Visit the WCGS website or click the link here: Wake Genealogy Watch, Winter 2025 .  This issue features: Genealogy New Year's Resolutions: Three engaging group activities to make 2025 your year of genealogy! Barbara McGeachy introduces an important record service for finding Union Soldiers’ pension records. Details about the Feb. 10 WCGS Meetup, including a tour of the NC Archives and State Library. A heartwarming story of a WCGS member reuniting a family with their lost Bible—read the nationally published account! Instructions for joining our new Facebook group. We’ve moved—don’t miss our updates! Tips from Olivia Raney Library on preserving local memorabilia. Meet Jessica Conklin, our newest Board Member. Lynne Deese highlights a local woman military veteran buried at Rale...

The Wake County Genealogical Society's first in-person outing of 2025 will be a popular tour of the NC Archives and the State Library, organized by President Barbary McGeachy. February Meetup Details: Event:  Tour of NC Archive and State Library Date:  Monday, Feb. 10, 10 AM - Noon (lunch optional) Location:  109 E. Jones St., Raleigh (meet in the lobby) Lunch:  Optional at the cafeteria in the basement of the legislature building, featuring hot food, salads, and sandwiches. Security check required; no special ID needed. Source: Wikipedia This tour is open to everyone, with 30 spots available. Sign up here: Signup Genius .  Each tour lasts 45-60 minutes, concluding by noon. The Archives tour is optional; participants can choose to visit only the library first. Research is not permitted on this day as both facilities are closed to the public on Mondays. The NC Archives has original documents and some books but it's only about North Carolina.The staff will exp...