Wake County Genealogical Society Blog: March 2025

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Yet More Beginning Genealogy Classes Offered This Spring - Raleigh Senior TechEd

Raleigh Senior TechEd will present a comprehensive three-part series on Beginning Genealogy, perfect for those just starting their family history journey. Let instructor Jennie Gunther guide you through the fundamental aspects of beginning genealogical research.

Course Details

Dates and Times:

Genealogy 101-A: Tuesday, April 29, 2025, 3-5 PM
Genealogy 101-B: Tuesday, May 6, 2025, 3-5 PM
Genealogy 101-C: Tuesday, May 20, 2025, 3-5 PM

Location: Overture Centennial, 600 Bilyeu Street, Raleigh, NC 27606 (Theater Room)

Cost: $10 per session

Genealogy 101-A: Basic Genealogy Research - Relatives

This initial session of a 3-part Beginner Genealogy series introduces the 3R’s of genealogy research – RELATIVES, RECORDS & RESOURCES. Class will cover: how and where to start; beginning the family tree with known information; interviewing Relatives; basic recording forms to document ancestral family history. Topics include: preparation of a Family Group Sheet, a Pedigree Chart, and basic organizational methods & resources. Attendees may bring any family information to start their tree.

Genealogy 101-B: Basic Genealogy Research - Records

Part 2 of the Beginner Genealogy series continues the study of basic concepts of genealogy research. This class will focus on Records that provide clues and facts to genealogists tracing their family history. Topics covered include: Census records; Military records; Land records; Church records; immigration records and others. Some hands-on exercises will be included to search online databases. Prerequisite - 101-A

Genealogy 101-C: Basic Genealogy Research - Resources

This is part 3 of the Beginner Genealogy series and supports the topics covered in parts A & B. This class will explore various Resources available to researchers – both “on-the-ground” physical sites, and online databases and training websites. Handout: a spreadsheet of useful website links. Prerequisite - 101-A and 101-B

Registration

To register, visit www.raleighseniorteched.org. Payment can be made online via PayPal or by check at the class. All are welcome, including those from outside the Overture Centennial community.

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Wake Wednesday - Holleman's Crossroads - an Opportunity for Time Travel

At one point in the not-too-distant past, Holleman’s Crossroads was a prime example of rural Wake County past – a tiny crossroads, a few farms, a store and a couple of churches. Progress, behaving the way it does has all but wiped the tiny community off the map. Even the sign marking the tiny community at the junction where four roads – Avent Ferry, Rex, Bartley Holleman and New Hill/Holleman - meet has been lost to an accident at some point. Compare these two images.

source

Google street map c.2021

The first image was quintessential pastoral Wake County. It could have been ten years ago or fifty. The second shows the same location overgrown, the barn barely visible over what looks like massive mounding honeysuckle vines. You can just see one remaining signpost standing silent sentry while the other lies mangled in the ditch.

Who drives by this spot nowadays? Likely folks that live in the new homes in the area advertised on Zillow, and those headed out to Sherron Harris Lake for some weekend fun. I hope they drive slowly and thoughtfully so they can feel the heartbeat and whisper of the old community which stood at this spot since early times and was bifurcated in the 1960's when Sherron Harris Lake was created.

J.W. Collins on Fendol Bevers Map c. 1878

Sherron Harris Lake bifurcated the community as seen on this current Google map

Fortunately for us, enough had been researched and written about this Holleman's Crossroads that much of the old footprint of the community still exists if only as paper and files.

Holleman's Crossroads was previously known as Enno and Collins in the past.

Here are some links you may enjoy browsing if you have ties to this community that has been swallowed by progress and Shearon Harris Lake and nuclear plant.

Enno on 1904 school map

Collins Crossroads on 1914 Soil Map

SB Holleman's Store and home in Buckhorn Township c.2008 Historical Places Registration form.

Site plan for Holleman's Crossroads c. 1967 at time of Shearon Harris development

Bethel Cemetery -

at Find a Grave; in Buckhorn Township in the Wake Cemetery Survey Image File Collection

Collins Grove Cemetery -

at Find a Grave; Cemetery Census; in Buckhorn Township in the Wake Cemetery Survey Image File Collection

Bethel was the earliest church in the area followed by Collins Grove. For detailed history on these churches and more see this article by Barbara Koblich at the Holly Springs Suburban Living Online Magazine.

The Holleman's Crossroads area of southwestern Wake County has been settled since the days of the Revolution. The Rollins, Cotton and Avent families settled and stayed for generations prior to the arrival of the Collins and Hollemans.

I hope you enjoyed this bit of time travel back to a place that represents rural Wake County!

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Wake Wednesday - Women who shaped Wake County and more

In honor of Women's History Month, check out these notable women of Wake that have been featured in the WCGS blog. Let's all ponder and appreciate these women with ties to Wake county that have left their mark, made lasting contributions, and left the world a better place.

Take a moment to acknowledge the women making history in your own family tree.

Margaret Wake Tryon - Mother of Wake County

Anna Julia Cooper - Educator, orator, early black feminist

Dorothea Dix - Early champion of mental health

Elizabeth Reid Murray - Author and historian of Wake County

Ella Josephine Baker - Mother of Civil Rights

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Latest Newsletter is live now. Wake Genealogy Watch - Spring, 2025, 8.3

The Spring issue (Vol. 8, Issue 3) 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, Spring 2025

Features in this issue include:

• Barbara McGeachy shares recent acquisitions at the NC Archives!

• We share an exciting update about the Wake Cemetery Survey hard copies.

• Enjoy a recap of our most recent WCGS Meetup, the Archive and Library tour.

• Learn how to use a BIRLS file and how to obtain files on your 20th century veteran kin.

• Details of the local beginning genealogy classes taught by Barbara McGeachy this spring.

• Learn how to wring every drop of information out of the index files we find online.

• Read biographical profiles on renowned Wake County Civil War photographers, Esley Hunt and Joshua P. Andrews.

• Explore the use of AI for simple editing tasks to make you more time for your writing efforts.

• A super-sized calendar of events including our own, NGS, NCGS, America250 and more!

Photo Note: If you choose to read a printed version of this newsletter, some of the photos will be difficult to view due to size constraints. Please refer to the online edition where you can enlarge the photos to accommodate better viewing.

Click this newsletter page link to view this and all past newsletter content.

We welcome your feedback, input, and submissions for inclusion in future editions. Please address all concerns to newsletter@wakecogen.org.

Visit the WCGS Blog for more events, late breaking news, tutorials, updates, and other special posts.

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Wake Wednesday - Filter by Category in the Wake Cemetery Survey - Find African American Cemeteries and More

I just wanted to take a moment to point out the category feature on the Wake Cemetery Survey Project that you see above. It is there to help you search more quickly. Use these category groups to narrow your search:

General Information
African-American Cemetery
Church Cemetery
Community Cemetery
Family and Slave Cemetery
Family Cemetery
Indian Cemetery
Slave Cemetery
Unknown Cemetery

These categories refer to the smaller cemeteries. You will not find a category for the likes of Oakwood, or Raleigh City Cemetery. These are limited to searching one type of category at at time and we were only able to assign one category to each cemetery. Note that the category names were assigned with the word usage used in the original survey. *

The category feature is helpful feature to highlight right now as many observe Black History Month and honor their ancestors by researching their family history.

The Category search works by township. If you don't know the part of Wake County you want to look in, you can use the descriptions of the main page or the township map to help you pick the correct township tab to open.

Let's look at how this works with St Matthews township. Note that at some point in time, the files for St. Matthews township suffered some extreme water exposure and damage. Lynne Deese took great pains to remediate both the mold and the damage done. While discoloration still exists, the majority of the files for St Matthews are very readable thanks to Lynne's efforts.

On opening the St Matthews Township tab and choosing the African-American Cemetery Category, the search returns eleven cemeteries that were surveyed for the project.

See the full list here

Selecting the Slave Cemetery category, returns two cemeteries in St Matthews township.

link

Finally, searching the Family and Slave category for St Matthews does not return any cemeteries. There are a few townships that have cemeteries that fit this category, but the only way to know for sure is to check.

Here are a pair of Family and Slave cemeteries referenced in Buckhorn township.

link

Please visit the Wake Cemetery Survey at our website and explore using the categories feature in your own research.

Note that historical materials often include viewpoints, language, norms, and values of the original creators that may be harmful to our sensibilities today. The words used here are the categories used at the time of the original survey.*

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

March Programming at the State Library of NC - Focus on Women's History Month

We received the following update from Taylor Wolford the Outreach Librarian at the State Library of North Carolina:

We have a series of interesting events coming up the Government and Heritage Library for Women's History Month in March, and I was hoping you would share with members of the society these event details. If anyone is interested, I look forward to seeing them there!

Tea and Learn with SLNC and NCMA: A Women's History Month Webinar

March 10th, 11am-12pm. Virtual - Registration Required:

https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_0dtZLivVR4KcZ5ODWXkbwg

Join the SLNC Government & Heritage Library and the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) on March 10th from 11am-12pm for "Tea and Learn," a webinar event celebrating Women's History Month.

This webinar will cover notable North Carolina women artists, historical figures, and community leaders. A Q&A session will follow the presentation. Registration is required, and the webinar will be recorded and posted on the SLNC YouTube channel. This event is free and open to the public.

GHL Virtual Book Club: NC Women Making History

March 20th, 12-1pm. Virtual - Registration Required:

https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/an-q5VlPT02jr6CMaHfoNg

Join the SLNC Government & Heritage Library for a virtual book club celebrating Women's History Month on March 20, 2025, from 12-1 PM. We'll be discussing _North Carolina Women: Making History_ by Margaret Supplee Smith and Emily Herring Wilson, which examines the influence of women in the state's history, from prehistory through World War II.

Registration is required, and the event will not be recorded, so please join us!

Show & Tell with SLNC/GHL and NCMA: Celebrating NC Women

March 26th, 3-5pm. In person event.

Studio 2, East Building, North Carolina Museum of Art

Join the SLNC Government & Heritage Library and the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) Library on March 26th from 3-5pm for a "Show & Tell" event in honor of Women's History Month. Explore a curated display of print and online materials from the GHL and NCMA Library, highlighting the contributions of North Carolina women artists and community leaders.

Registration is not required, and this event is free and open to the public.

Address questions to taylor.wolford@dncr.nc.gov.

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