Wake County Genealogical Society Blog: September 2025

Thursday, September 4, 2025

Reminder - Members! Show Your Wakecogen Colors! Grab a Member Name Tag by September 15..

Members, purchase by September 15!

You may have seen several of us “older” members wearing our WCGS name tags at genealogical events. We ordered them pre-COVID when we only had in-person meetings.

We are once again taking orders for name tags! Any member may order a WCGS name tag. We will take orders until September 15.

The name tag has your name and “Wake County Genealogical Society”. Lettering is white on a dark blue background. Name tags are $15. Specify either a magnet back or a pin back. Clearly write your name for the tag.

Order by Sept. 15. Pay by Check or Paypal

You can pick them up at any in-person WCGS event in October through December. Or you can ask us to mail your name tag for an additional $6 for postage and padded envelope.

Payment is required before we place the order on September 15th.

Payment by Check or Paypal:

Mail a check made out to Wake County Genealogical Society and send it to

Barbara McGeachy

3602 Burwell Rollins Circle

Raleigh, NC 27612

Or on PayPal, send the money to Wake County Genealogical Society Inc.

Any questions? Email President(at)WakeCoGen.org

Potential Grave Relocation - Rhodes Cemetery in Wendell

Shared to our Facebook page by Elizabeth Godwin via the News and Observer listing:

Potential Grave Relocation

In the matter of the proposed removal and reinterment of approximately 2 graves at the Rhodes Cemetery, 3130 Buck Stage Trail, Wendell, Wake County, NC (PIN 1784796727).

The cemetery contains 1 inscribed grave marker for Lenard L. Rhodes (1831-1862) and one potential uninscribed grave marker.

The request for removal and reinterment is anticipated to be considered by the Wendell Town Board of Commissioners in fall 2025.

Anyone with information regarding the cemetery or the next-of-kin of the deceased, please contact Olivia Heckendorf at oheckendorf@rgaincorporated.com or 609-366-7101.

IPL0260506 Aug 7,14,21,28 2025 (Link) The location is shown below. Note that the ad lists location as Wendell, while Google maps calls it Zebulon. The cemetery is shown by the orange pin on the developed lot at Buck Stage Road. This location in southeast of the intersection of Buck Stage with Mashburn Road and south of Hwy 97.

click image for large version

Lenard L. Rhodes (1831-1862) was married to Ann Eliza Pace. They are shown on the 1860 US Census in Wake county, NC, Wake, North Easter Division at Eagle Rock Post Office. They are shown in proximity to other Rhodes cemeteries that were reported and/or surveyed in the Wake County Cemetery Survey. Those can be viewed at the image collection on our website. The cemetery for Lenard was not included in the original survey. They may be kin to these other Rhodes families.

Source

The Rhodes - Lee Cemetery shows William A and Berilla buried there. View the survey here.

The other Rhodes Cemetery listed was reported but not surveyed. View the scant detail we have for it here.

If anyone can place Lenard's descendants, please notify them of this upcoming relocation of their ancestors.

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Wake Genealogy Watch - Fall 2025, 9.1 - Latest issue of our newsletter is live now!

The Fall 2025 issue (Vol. 9, Issue 1) 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, Fall 2025.

This issue includes:

A recap of our Find Your Family event in May.
Registration details for Barbara McGeachy’s expanded fall genealogy classes—now 11 topics (up from 8).
Practical how-to articles to guide your research.
A review of Belle Long’s same-name study on multiple Joel Lanes, with a link to her original work.
Ed Webb’s success story of using the BIRLS/FOIA process to successfully acquire his father’s BIRLS military record packet.
A video tutorial on using AI tools to turn ancestor profiles into narratives, bios, and research plans.
Cynthia Gage shares the NUMIDENT Social Security dataset for 20th Century Ancestors.
Information on ordering a WCGS member nametag.
A full calendar of upcoming events.

Dive in and explore all the resources and stories designed to enrich your genealogy journey!

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.

A Tale of Two Maps - Maps of Henry Mouzon 1775 and 1777

Have fun spending some time comparing and contrasting these two colonial era maps that are held by the Library of Congress. Both made under the direction of Henry Muzon. Both show the early colonies of North and South Carolina. Both are hand colored, although each is executed somewhat differently. One created in London, the other in Paris. They even share a title -

An accurate map of North and South Carolina,
with their Indian frontiers, shewing in a distinct manner all
the mountains, rivers, swamps, marshes, bays, creeks,
harbours, sandbanks, and soundings on the coast
with the roads and Indian paths as well as
The Boundary or Provincial Lines, the several Townships
and other divisions of the Land in both Provinces:
The whole from Actual Surveys by Henry Mouzon and Others.

Click through to see larger images, but more importantly, click the hyperlinked dates to view the original maps at the Library of Congress.

1775

1777

If you have time for nothing else, be sure to open the 1777 version to see Cornwallis's Route from Charleston to the Piedmont area of North Carolina. No doubt this was colored by someone other than the makers after the fact because these troop movements happened in 1780-81 time frame. Note also that Cornwallis is spelled Cournoualis. Interesting. I guess this reflects its French publication.

Another feature not to be missed in both maps is their wonderful hand drawn craftsmanship. You will see this if you do a tight zoom on the hand lettering in the upper left corner of either map.

Are you still up for a challenge? Can you can find the location of the land that became Wake County in 1771, but for some reason, is still designated as being in another county on these maps? I guess folks were a little busy with warring and other things at this point.

I hope you enjoy this deep dive into colonial, Revolution era maps. These are so totally fascinating that this could take several hot afternoons to satisfy your curiosity!

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