If you have the surnames - Alford, Liles, and High - in your family lines, you will want to check out Eureka: Proving an Ancestor in Wake County, N.C . by Lodwick Houston Alford describing his efforts to discover and prove the parents of Green Alford , b.1787 near Wakefield, Wake County ( Wake Treasures , vol.10, nbr. 2, p. 17). I read his account hoping for a workflow strategy or inspiration to solve my own elusive ancestor. His efforts included: disambiguating between two similarly named men  proving/disproving the various family stories passed down for generations working with several local history librarians in the area using the Bastardy Bond abstracted records * published in the Wake Treasures   calling in another set of eyes when it seemed all possible lines of research had been exhausted The sum of all these efforts led to his success. This was a compelling report, one I could not stop reading even though it was NMF (not my family). He has given me some ideas to appr...

The Glen Royall Mill Village, established in 1899-1900, was a self-contained community built around the Royall Cotton Mill in Wake Forest, North Carolina. This historic district encompasses approximately 45 acres and includes 82 contributing buildings. It is "roughly bounded by N. Main St., E. Cedar Ave., CSX RR, and Royall Cotton Mill, Wake Forest, North Carolina" according to Wikipedia. Glen Royall Cotton Mill image at Wake Forest Museum The village is significant today for its status on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It was awarded its status in 1999. It is recognized as the only surviving mill village in Wake County outside of Raleigh.  Glen Royall fared much better than the last NRHP location that I wrote about. Unlike the defunct historic Maiden Lane neighborhood across from the NC State University campus that is replaced by apartments and parking lots, you can still walk the streets of Glen Royall Mill Village. This village is a reminder of an import...

Beginning Genealogy series taught by Barbara McGeachy April 14 - June 9, Six Classes at Laurel Hills Community Center Class Descriptions and Registration instructions here. May WCGS in-person Meetup - "Find your Family History" Saturday, May 31, 10am-Noon at Laurel Hills Community Center Further details will be posted at this link soon! NC Archive and Library Tour Monday, June 23, 10am-Noon Details and registration at this link.  Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  |  Society Surnames  |  Digital Resources  |  History Resources  |  More Links and Resources  |  Contact -  info(at)wakecogen(dot)org

Records for Insolvent Debtors in Wake County  -  individuals unable to pay their debts were abstracted from  the box of “Wake County “Insolvent Debtors 1800-1837 (broken series).” The box is located at the N.C. State Archives’ search room, with call number CR 099.914.11.  This series originally appeared in an older version of the WCGS newletter and was republished in the Journal Volume 18 Number 2 (Summer/Fall 2008) to enable access for researchers. This excerpt and additional information is available in our archived Journal content which is currently available to all. From the folder “Insolvent debtors 1800, 1803,” there is a document showing the following abstracted information:  “… We or either of us promise to pay Thomas Taylor Guardian to James Ridley … Seventy nine Dollars and Twenty Cents with Interest from the date, It being for value of him rec’d …” Dated 18 March 1800.  Witness                  ...

As I prepared to write about this historic "pocket-sized" neighborhood, I looked up Maiden Lane on Google Maps and found something else entirely. What had been a quiet neighborhood comprising less than three acres that had earned status on the National Register of Historic Places, was no more. Turn away from the NC State belltower on to Maiden Lane today, and you will find the quaintness and quiet is gone. It is replaced with the typical boxy, gray apartment buildings and surrounding parking lots that pass for progress in Raleigh today.  What a shame. What was recorded as a historic treasure in 2006 was mostly destroyed by 2024.  View on Google Map One cool feature of the street view on Google is that you can see older versions of the scene in front of you. Compare the identical spot on Maiden Lane. The top photo was captured by Google in 2007 and the bottom photo in 2022.  2007 - click to view full size 2022 - click to view full size The homes that were razed were mostly...

Browse North Carolina Baptist Church Records by Collection | ZSR Library Links to early Baptist churches that served NC. source There are several Wake County churches listed in this digital online special collection. You may find churches of interest in other NC locations too. Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  | Digital Resources  |  History Resources  |  More Links and Resources  |  Wake Cemetery Survey c. 1978 online  |  Contact  -  info(at)wakecogen(dot)org