Wake County Genealogical Society Blog: March 2025

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

Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website -

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Beginning Genealogy Classes in Raleigh Starting April 14, 2025

Barbara McGeachy, President of Wake County Genealogical Society, is teaching a series of in-person classes in Raleigh. These classes are in partnership with the City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation. Classes will be held Mondays from 10:30 am to noon in the large meeting room in the Laurel Hills Community Center, 3808 Edwards Mill Road.

Each class is $16 whether you are a Raleigh resident or not. Sign up for each class independently, although the first class “Getting Started!” is a pre-requisite for most of the other classes.

Barbara will teach 7 classes in the spring and early summer. Class limit is 40 students. Please share this opportunity with friends and neighbors!

Class list - April Classes are listed now open for registration at the website.

Note that the first class on April 14 is a prerequisite to most of the others. If you are interested in the others, you should be sure to attend the April 14 class.

Beginning Genealogy Classes taught by WCGS President, Barbara McGeachy

Date	Title
Monday, April 14	Genealogy: Getting Started!
Learn how to research your family history. Start with yourself and work back in time. Start with records you already have. Find records on-line to fill in the gaps. Learn how to record names, dates, and locations. Learn how to keep track of what facts you find and where you found them. **This class is a pre-requisite for many other genealogy classes Enroll in this class
Monday, April 21	Genealogy: Hatch ‘em, Match ‘em, Dispatch ‘em
Learn how to find vital records (birth, marriage, and death) which are essential to genealogy. Pre-requisite: Getting Started Enroll
Monday, April 28	Genealogy: Making Sense of the Census
The census records all Americans every 10 years, from 1790 to 1950. Learn what information is in the census and how to find your ancestors! Pre-requisite: Getting Started Enroll
Monday, May 5	Genealogy: Where There’s a Will
Learn about estate records, a rich source of genealogical information. Wills list heirs; inventory lists describe all the person’s worldly goods and their value. Learn where to find your ancestors’ wills and other estate records. Pre-requisite: Getting Started Enroll
Monday, May 12	Genealogy: Read all about your ancestors!
Local newspapers were the internet and TV of their day! Find wedding descriptions, obituaries, family reunions, arrest records, and lots more genealogical data. Learn where to find old newspapers online. Pre-requisite: Getting Started Enroll
Monday, June 2	Genealogy: Should I take a DNA test?
Why take a DNA test? Where can you take a test? How much does a DNA test cost? What are the pros & cons of testing? No pre-req Enroll
Monday, June 9	Genealogy: Understanding DNA test results
Learn how to use the results of your DNA test. We’ll explain the ethnicity report and the match list. Any testing company has similar results. No pre-req Enroll

The classes listed above will be repeated starting September 8. Additional classes will also be taught in the fall.

Please share this opportunity with friends and neighbors! Class limit is 40 students.

Any questions? Email Barbara president@wakecogen.org

Enroll online at
https://ncraleighweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web/splash.html
Or stop by any staffed parks & rec center.

Online registration guide - click to enlarge. Search "genealogy"

Another way to find the classes online ( if you are on phone, tablet, or half screen on a PC)- From the link above, click the "Activities" tab.

Find the green "funnel" at the top right corner of the search page and click it.

Put "genealogy" in the keyword search and choose Laurel Hills in the location field.

Scroll down and click the green search button in the lower right corner.

Open the "Genealogy: Getting Started" tab. Enroll in each session individually.

Monday, March 17, 2025

Upchurch and Allied Families Association Newsletter - March 2025

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

March 2025

This issue includes coverage of the final stage of the Wake Cemetery Survey Image Project. In January, Carla Michaels of UAFA and I delivered the massive collection of hardcopies from the project to the NC Archives for preservation and safekeeping. Details and photos inside!

View past UAFA newsletters here

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Reminder: 2025 Wake County Genealogical Society Virtual Meetings - next - March 25

Reminder - there is still time to register for this presentation.
We look forward to seeing you at our next virtual meeting!

Tuesday, March 25, 2025 @ 6:30pm – Virtual

Topic: Gravestone Symbolism

Speaker: Robin Simonton, Executive Director at Historic Oakwood Cemetery, Author, Historian

Genealogists use gravestone information to document death information, but often a burial marker provides more than biographical information. Gravestones, like any record, should be analyzed, but doing so requires us to think beyond genealogical research. In this presentation, we will explore types of cemeteries, the anatomy of a marker, and the hidden information the marker provides.

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, Apr. 22, 2025 @ 6:30pm - Virtual

Going Postal presented by Cynthia Gage, WCGS member and former Webmaster

Tuesday, May 27, 2025 @ 6:30pm - Virtual

US Census: Non-Population Schedules presented by Barbara McGeachy, WCGS President, Olli Instructor

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025 @ 6:30pm - Virtual

Squeezing All the Facts Out of Your DNA Matches presented by Kate Penny Howard, Director of Human Resources and Genetic Genealogist, DNA Angels

Tuesday, July 22, 2025 @ 6:30pm - Virtual

Creating an Ancestor Sketch presented by Thomas MacEntee, author, educator, founder of Genealogy Bargains

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Wake Wednesday: The Formation of Wake County in 1771

This post is one I originally wrote for the Spring 2021 issue of the Wake Genealogy Watch newsletter. This is a great story in our history and the perfect day for it - March 12. It is also reinforces the importance of being aware of these frequent boundary changes when researching early family history in Wake County. - Cyndi Deal

Celebrating Wake County’s 250th Year

It would be remiss to ignore Wake County and its place in history of both state and nation as well as its importance to the many first settlers of the region. In researching the creation of Wake, I was most intrigued to find its creation firmly entangled with the fiery politics of the day.

Did you know that Wake owes its founding directly to the turmoil caused by the Regulator Movement of the pre-Revolution period from 1765 - 1771?

Life, survival, and politics was rough for the inland North Carolina colonists of this period. A drought and crop losses created a serious economic depression. They were forced to buy food and supplies from eastern merchants who were charging top prices for their wares and were quick to press charges when the colonist were not able to pay. The merchants and the judges, lawyers, and sheriffs charged with collecting these debts had no ties or allegiances to these struggling souls, only to the British sovereign who had no concerns but to collect all that was owed and collect quickly.

By 1765, King George III had promoted General William Tryon as governor. Tryon pressed the tax collectors, sheriffs, judges and increasingly, the military to ruthlessly pursue the collection of all debts. Tryon and the King’s agents were hampered by the fact that these farmers were in backcountry woodlands that were not easy to access, govern or maintain control. In addition to the perceived lawless stubborn nature of the colonist, there also a notable amount of corruption within the ranks of the merchants and the King’s agents.

Stress grew into hostility and protests. Tension in Hillsborough, the closest town for the colonist to press their grievances and seek legal redress, became volatile and reached a crescendo in September 1770 with an uprising that rocked the town and was forever after labeled the War of Regulation.

The ensuing violence prompted the colonial General Assembly to explore ways to dampen the violence and regain control over the rebellious and unruly colonists. One consideration was a plan to carve up the large counties in the middle of the colony which proved the most difficult to govern. This map from 1768 shows the expansive regions with limited access to government and legal services.

Source - Choose 1768 from year list

In December 1770, a bill to create a county carved out of portions of Orange, Johnston and Cumberland was presented to the House of Commons by Joel Lane, then a Johnston County Representative. The bill was enacted on March 12, 1771, and the new county was named to honor Royal Governor Tryon’s wife, Margaret Wake Tryon. The Assembly carved out three more inland counties after the formation of Wake. Those were Chatham, Guilford and Surry. The second map shows the new counties and resulting changes.

Source - Choose 1770 from year list

This effort to quell resentment and rebellion did not succeed. It surely sowed the seeds of the Revolutionary War in the very near future. Wake County owes it very existence to this tumultuous time in American history.

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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