Tuesday, Dec 1, 2026 @ 6:30pm – Virtual Topic:   Reading Old Handwriting Speaker:    Barbara McGeachy, WCGS President, OLLI Family History Instructor The ability to read handwritten documents is an essential skill for everyone doing genealogical research before 1900. This talk covers challenges of handwritten documents, tips for overcoming the challenges, tools to help you read handwriting (including the best AI tools and techniques), and opportunities to develop your skills. 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. Please log in by 6:15 to be admitted from our Zoom Waiting Room. (New procedure.) Link to register at the Wakecogen website events page.   Registration is now open! **Get the video recording to watch on-demand for 30 days and access to our webinar handout library with your WCGS membership!**       ...

Excerpt from the Society of the First African Families of English America Facebook Announcement: On behalf of the Board of Directors and our distinguished Conference Committee, it is with great pleasure that we invite you to join us for the 2027 SOFAFEA Annual Conference to be held at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, located at 428 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia 23220 , on April 23–24, 2027. This annual gathering offers an opportunity to reconnect with fellow members, strengthen friendships, share knowledge, and celebrate our collective interest in history, heritage, education, and community. We also encourage you to invite your family members and friends to join us for this special occasion. Their participation will make the conference an even more rewarding experience and provide an opportunity for people of different generations to learn, explore, and enjoy the rich history of Virginia together. The conference venue, the Virginia Museum of History & C...

Are you finding yourself using FamilySearch's Full Text Search feature more and more often? Do you also find yourself stumped when faced with the options on the search form? When would Keywords work best and when would Names work best? The RootsTech 2026 video presented by David Ouimette, " FamilySearch Full-Text Search—Your Golden Path to Ancestral Discovery ," provides some great tips for knowing when either is the correct choice. Keyword or Name search? When to use each. Check out the video Which query to use?    Ouimette states, "Keyword search and name search, while similar when searching for names, have different purposes and return different results when used to find names of people." Use the keyword field to search on any names, words, or phrases in transcribed records. The whole transcript will be searched, and it may return names that the other search might miss. While it may pick up other variations of a name, keyword search is not likely to catch a ...

If you are interested in DNA for family research, you will want to invest 15 minute in this video. Well known genetic genealogist CeCe Moore answers  she answers questions gathered from internet readers  in this short, informative video  produced by WIRED Tech Support. The "Ask Me Anything" style video provides entertaining and accurate coverage of many concepts covered in our search for DNA relatives and ancestors. Watch it on YouTube . CeCe Moore answers questions about DNA on YouTube Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact - info(at)wakecogen(dot)org

This will be great day for a great community! Nov 7, 11am-1pm. Learn about the Shiloh-Weaver Legacy Project and connect with community members, descendants, researchers and volunteers.  I am so glad to see the momentum building for this project. See the recap of last year's Shiloh Day . Address questions about this event to NC Triangle AAHGS Chapter . View all past articles on Shiloh Community Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact - info(at)wakecogen(dot)org

It looks like FamilyTreeDNA is getting into the eerie holiday spirit. This past week they have been choosing some spooky topics including - Mummies!  Their recent article  Are You Related to Real Mummies? What Your DNA Can Reveal   describes scientific study done on actual mummies. The DNA testing results "reveal genetic links between ancient remains and living descendents today. The studies use ancient DNA analysis on Y-DNA and Mito-DNA to make these connections. If you read the Mummy article you will meet mummies from Egypt, Europe, Australia, Siberia and the Americas. This is a fascinating read.  Source: pixabay/saydung Follow the full FamilyTreeDNA series for more spooky genetic tales on vampires and witches, too. The links are in the Mummy article. Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact - info(at)wakeco...

Holt Anderson asked that we share this Marine Birthday event with our readers.  Any questions about this event should be directed to Holt or the other names via the email addresses in the RSVP. Click to enlarge for details Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact - info(at)wakecogen(dot)org

Our October Meet-up event at the Apex FamilySearch Center was well attended by ten inquisitive WCGS members. The award for farthest traveled goes to new member, Nancy Coombs who drove up from South Carolina!  Barbara McGeachy's take-aways: FamilySearch offers free 30-minute virtual consultations. Sign up at https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/online-genealogy-help All FamilySearch Centers provide visiting researchers access to their twenty paid subscriptions. If you subscribed to each as an individual, it would cost over $2,500! The list includes MyHeritage, Ancestry, Fold3, American Ancestors, Find My Past, Goldie May, Newspaper Archives, and lots more that I never heard of! ( See the full list here. Scroll down to Premium Websites.)  When you use Full Text Search and find something useful, download it immediately! Every time you search, you'll get different results because they continually update the site. The Apex center offers genealogy classes the first and 3rd Satur...

Have you spent much time working with your DNA matches using Ancestry Clusters? Ancestry Custom Cluster - UnknownMatch LD, gather = 20-70cms. Red square includes known clusters, Lower right cluster is consists of unknowns. The clustering tool* is part of the add-on Ancestry Pro Tools subscritption . If you are working to validate your research or break through any major brick walls, this tool can be very helpful. If you choose to use the cluster tool, you may want to take a passing glance at your large personal cluster map for familiarity, but then take a look at the custom cluster layouts to work with specific lines and questions. I confess that, as offered, I have found both of these tools a bit awkward. If you worked with the standard cluster map of your ancestors, you have likely realized how much information is provided on one screen. It is useful, but it is large and like eating the proverbial elephant. If you have followed the Ancestry suggestion when creating custom cl...

For those following along, here is the latest Upchurch and Allied Families Association Newsletter. October 2026  - Features include family history preservation and a focus article on Edward Gray Upchurch of Alabama and California, founder of the Commercial Tire Company (1924). View past UAFA newsletters here Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact - info(at)wakecogen(dot)org

**This announcement is information only. The event is hosted by the Wake Forest Genealogy Club . Announcement per WFGC: The Wake Forest Genealogy Club at the Senior Center is hosting a Family History Month Celebration this Wednesday, Oct 14, and on Wednesday, Oct 28.  We are holding an "open house" type deal for folks to come by and find out more about genealogy, do some genealogy help with them and encourage them to join the Genealogy Club at WF Senior Center.  We have free handouts for them and several volunteers to assist them with questions. Feel free to stop by -- the Wake Forest Senior Center on E. Holding Road in Wake Forest from 10am-1pm on October 14  and from 1-4pm on October 28.  Questions - contact Jennie Gunther (jengunther@bellsouth.net) for more details. Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact...

RootsTech is fast becoming the largest genealogy conference event of every year with topics focused on all aspects of genealogy research and family history preservation - from the basics to Artificial Intelligence, to DNA. Whether you need instructions in metes and bounds, help with unfamiliar family locations or ideas for creating a family history story that will draw in your whole tribe, you will find help at RootsTech.  Early bird pricing for in-person attendance is available now. Virtual attendance is free and includes access to their ever-expanding learning library (dating back to 2019 ). Visit the Rootstech 2027 page to check out the class and speaker lists. This year's keynote speakers are Jane Seymour (actress, philanthropist) and Cece Moore a well known genetic genealogist who has taught us much about DNA and its use in law enforcement as well as spending 13 seasons as the genetic genealogist for the Finding Your Roots show on PBS. You can read more about both keynote sp...

We’re pleased to announce the launch of the newly updated Wake County Genealogical Society website!  You’ll still find us at the same familiar address: www.wakecogen.org . The biggest improvement is one you may notice right away: the website now adapts more easily to the device you’re using, whether you’re visiting from a computer, tablet, or phone.  While the site has a fresh look and some updated organization, all the WCGS information and resources you rely on are still there: Upcoming WCGS meetings, programs, and educational events Access to past issues of the journal and newsletter Wake County Cemetery Survey Wake County Genealogy Watch Society news and information Members-only resources, including recordings and handouts from past meetings and programs Jump right in!   Our updated website also reflects the continuing growth of WCGS as an educational resource for genealogists. While preserving and sharing Wake County history remains an important part of who we are, ou...

Excerpts from  the Ancestry announcement  about this record set -  These records were "Created after the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade but prior to emancipation, these registers documented and tracked the former legally enslaved people in the British Colonies." They span years from 1813-1840 and "detail enslaved individuals across 20 former British colonies including Jamaica, Barbados, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and the Cape of Good Hope." "Unlike many documents from this era, the Former British Colonies Enslavement Registers include details like names, ages, family relationships, places of origin, and life events." There is a short introduction video at the announcement page hosted by Nicka Sewell-Smith. There is also a lengthy blog post at Ancestry that provides instruction on record types, information held in the records and tips of overcoming stumbling blocks within. The post also includes guidance on dealing with emotions that may come from t...

It was a busy weekend for learning and reconnecting with fellow genealogists last week when the NC Genealogical Society held court at McKimmon Center in Raleigh for the two day 2026 Fall Conference on September 18 and 19. The featured speaker was the Legal Genealogist - Judy Russell. She was joined by 24 expert genealogy researchers,  writers, archivists, librarians, and historians. There was much to share and much to be learned. Here are photos shared by members of the festivities and activities.  Clockwise from top left - Kathy Ruse and sister-in-law attend together every year;  WCGS members turn out for our alumni speaker Diane Richard; The WCGS info table in fine form manned by Cynthia Gage and Carla Stancil; Monica Fleming and Cynthia Gage compare notes with featured speaker Judy Russell.  Photos by Cynthia Gage, Carla Stancil, and Jennie Gunther.   Click image to view larger. Left to right lower images -Diane Richard commands attention as she sh...

The Family History Group hosted by Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is run by  our own WCGS President Barbara McGeachy. She wants to let you know that there is still time to join OLLI and take advantage of this study group this year. The topic for the first meeting was a presentation by Cynthia Gage on finding WW2 records in Federal Repositories. (Was it a preview of the upcomming WCGS meeting on Oct. 27?) Message from Barbara -  We are OLLI members researching our own family history - beginner to advanced. We meet once a month on the second Friday morning both in the McKimmon Center and on Zoom. We discuss our research, learn about upcoming local events, share tips, ask questions, and hear a presentation from a member or guest. This group is free to members of OLLI at NCSU. For details visit   https://olli.lifelonglearning.ncsu.edu/      More topics planned for the 2026-2027 season:      Mining digital records at federal repositories ...

The Friends of the Archives' Fall Virtual Meeting will include a special presentation: Remembering the American Revolution in the Cherokee Homeland. Details from FOA's event page: Commemorating the American Revolution poses particular challenges if one lives in far Western North Carolina. Here in the Cherokee ancestral homelands, the Revolution brought a bitter and destructive conflict over Cherokee land, with a portion of the Cherokee population entering the war as members of a British-allied coalition of Indigenous peoples. That war, in turn, belonged to a much longer struggle to protect Cherokee land and the wellbeing of Cherokee communities – a struggle that preceded the Revolution and continued long after 1776. In this presentation, Shana Bushyhead Condill (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Executive Director of the Museum of the Cherokee People, and Andrew Denson, professor of history at Western Carolina University, will discuss the challenges involved in remembering the...

Legacy Family Tree Webinars   has been sharing content with family history researchers for 16 years now. With a combination of free and paid content, many a budding genealogist has leveled up their skills. With nearly 3,000 webinars in their library todate (and still growing) they are leveraging their content in an new way designed to take member learners through a structured process. Note that there are more than 11 thousand syllabus pages available to Legacy members also shared within this program. This new presentation model consists of  curated content picked by experts presented in the correct order. Most modules include 4 to 6 webinars grouped on a focus subject. Watching all earns you a certificate of completion and all kinds of new skills. Just a few Learning Paths from Legacy There are currently 112 curated paths on every genealogically relevant topic you can think of. You also have the option to curate your own list as you need it.  From Artificial Intellig...