This Reading Room Review is republished from the Wake Genealogy Watch newsletter, Fall 2023, p.3 . The Life and Times of Lucius Griffis (1839-1918): Including a Detailed Study of His Participation in the American Civil War (1861-1865), written by Brian Craig Griffis.  119 pp. Brian Griffis shares this glimpse into his Wake County family story with us. He researched for years to discover and round out the context of his ancestor, Lucius Griffis. - CD  Lucius was a Wake County native born and bred, a fatherless son who was  raised by two women. He was not much of a student and chose to pursue farming as soon as he could get away from the classroom.  He was a soldier, a deserter who paid the consequences and rejoined his unit, a soldier again drilling and marching all over the South without seeing any real battle action until a very pivotal moment. He was a husband and father of a family unit tragically broken by the war and its aftermath, a husband again twice over, a...

Did you miss the Summer 2024 feature about Major General Calvin Jones, M. D. of Wake Forest in the Wake Genealogy Watch newsletter? If so, here is your reminder to seek out the feature to correct that mistake! Ed Morris, the former executive director of the Wake Forest Historical Museum shares his vast knowledge on Jones and illustrates why he can truly be called an early Wake County renaissance man. Jones was a soldier, medical man, entrepreneur, educator, politician and founder of a school that would eventually become Wake Forest University. This is not guilding the lilly. There is much more to know. I don't want to spoil Ed's masterful telling of the story, so I will direct you to it with the encouragement to keep a sharp eye. You don't want to miss how Major General Calvin cleverly saved North Carolina from being a battleground state in the War of  1812. He was truly a masterful strategist! Dr. Calvin Jones  of Wake Forest. Portrait  photo by Ken Bennett, Wake Forest...

Invitation from Braswell Memorial Public Library in Rocky Mount: Please join us on Wednesday, August 27 th at 6 p.m. in our Warner Meeting Room to hear Mark Pace speaking as Patriot John Penn !   We are leading up to the momentous date of 4 July 2026 , which will be the 250 th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.   Come learn from John Penn, North Carolina’s signer of the Declaration, what the current state of the union was in the year 1788 ! https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/penn-john 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

Do you want to start delving into your family history? Are you interested in taking your genealogy skills to the next level? We have great news for you whether you are a beginner or intermediate family researcher. A new, expanded series of genealogy classes offered by Barbara McGeachy, President of Wake County Genealogical Society. Classes will start this September and run through November. Barbara's classes are offered 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 . Beginning Genealogy Classes taught by WCGS President, Barbara McGeachy Fall 2025 Genealogy Class list : Genealogy: Getting Started! - Monday, Sep 8 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 h...

Did you know that that portions of the earthworks built to fortify the city of Raleigh during the Civil War still exist?  Did you know you can find these earthworks remnants at places like New Bern Ave, Peace and West Streets, and other locations throughout the city? Did you know that the earthworks have their own blog.  Not just a post, but an entire blog!  2020 version of Bredenberg's fortification map Visit the blog -  Raleigh's Wall  - to see the wall on maps -  old and new - and hear stories uncovered as author/blogger, Alfred Roy Bredenberg, uncovered the wall and its history. He has also developed  an interactive map of the fortifications. Brededberg also writes a companion blog  Civil War Nuances  dedicated to stories and insights into the Civil War.   Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Sur...

I am republishing this post that was featured back in 2023 to celebrate the fact that Yates Mill will soon undergo a much needed restoration of its waterwheel (to be completed fall 2025). You can read the particulars of the restoration here at the Wake County Parks and Recreation website.  Enjoy this remembrance of mills past in our area. and be sure to take a minute to read Leslie Hawkins Meadows thesis on Mills in Wake County below  -  CD I am fascinated by the interconnectivity of early historic water mills in the thread of survival that runs through the story of Wake County from days of our early settlers up until the not so distant past. Much of this story has been erased in the repeated rounds of growth, development and building frenzies that Wake has experienced from the late 70's until today.  Sadly, in our county, there is only one mill active today and only partial remains of one other. As the colonial settlers of Wake County carved out homes and communiti...