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...

For those following along, here is the latest Upchurch and Allied Families Association Newsletter. September 2026  - Features include a DNAarticle and Upchurches in the News. View past UAFA newsletters here 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

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...

The Chavis surname is prevalent in central and eastern North Carolina. In Wake County, the surname is found early in Granville, Wake and Orange counties as well as other parts of North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina. If you have the Chavis surname in your direct ancestor line, you may be interested in this DNA Surname Project that was recently mentioned in the Conference Keeper Newsletter. An excerpt follows: IS THERE A CHAVIS IN YOUR TREE? If you have the surname Chavis in your family tree, you may apply for free DNA testing at Family Tree DNA for the CHAVIS surname group project. Contact Sabine Preston at Tamesabine@gmail.com with subject Chavis testing and send family history or tree. Details of this and two other DNA projects offering free testing can be found on our Awards, Grants & Scholarships page.   The original text is shared in the newsletter linked here . This background for the Chavis family is featured on the Family Tree DNA Chavis surname page. Here ar...

There is still time to register for this very interesting and timely topic! Tuesday, Sept 22, 2026 @ 6:30pm – Virtual Topic:   Using Artificial Intelligence Tools in Genealogy Speaker:   David McCorkle Learn how to use AI tools to process genealogical evidence from various records in a more comprehensive and less time consuming manner. This lecture will cover document analysis, reading handwriting, processing images, and more, using real examples and the latest tools. This is an introductory lecture, so no AI knowledge is required. 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! **Get the video recording to watch on-demand for 30 days and access to our webinar handout library with your WCGS membership!**           ** ...

The first issue of this newsletter describing all the events coordinated by founder Desi Campbell is a celebration of history, discovery and rememberance. You will want to read this if you are doing AA research and interested in promoting family involvement and togetherness. You will find articles on homecoming, reconnecting family branches, walking the footsteps of ancestors, a summary of August reunions. FamFest updates, Harnett County's historical legacy, work of the Harnett County AA Heritage Center and more. click image to view larger The full newsletter can be viewed here.

Even if you can't squeeze this much genealogy into one weekend, you may want to register for the Fall 2026 Conference of the North Carolina Genealogical Society. The conference is in Raleigh at the McKimmon Center and there is a virtual attendance option. There are 22 in-person lectures. These will be Livestreamed. They are also available to view on demand for 60 days after the conference with either option. There are an additional 10 lectures that are available for streaming during the conference and viewing time. The overview of speakers, topics and special workshops can be viewed at the NCGS 2026 Conference page . This includes links to schedules, pricing and registration. There are some deadlines you need to be aware of: September 13 (Sun) – Last day to purchase lunches. There might be extras to purchase at the conference, but no guarantees. Otherwise you’ll need to forage outside the facility.    September 16 (Wed) – Last day to register online for in-person attendance....

This summer, WCGS member Linda Fogle and husband Ron attended a milestone reunion for Ron's paternal Fogle family. The reunion recognized the date his 2nd Great Grandparents settled in Bonham, Texas. Linda shares her first-hand account as well as some reports from others below. Especially noteworthy is the typed account of rememberances from the Fogle grandchildren gathered at the 100th reunion in 1976. The Fogles originally moved to the Bonham area in 1876 when Henry Fogle and his wife Mary Ann McCoy and their five children left their home in El Monte, California, to join a wagon train travelling to Texas, where Mary Ann’s father had bought land before his death in 1871. Two additional children were born after the family settled in Texas. Currier & Ives lithograph, c. 1870 Fogle descendant Amy Neville reported in the local newspape r: "... nearly 100 members of the Fogle family gathered this year to celebrate a remarkable milestone—the 150th annual Fogle Sesquicentennial...

Webtember is an annual, month-long online genealogy conference hosted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars. Held every September, the event features a large assortment of high-quality educational webinars led by international family history experts. The nice surprise is that the offerings are free to view for the full month of September with registration (as opposed to the usual 7-day view period). With 31 webinars on the schedule, there is a lot of high quality learning lead by favorite and familiar instructors, right at your finger tips from your favorite comfy chair. You will find a variety of topics including solid genealogy methodology, locality-based research, DNA topics including working matches and using third-party tools. The series starts Wednesday, September 9, so don't waste a minute.  You can view the full lineup here .  While you are checking out the Webtember content, browse a little further to check what they have in their library. I know you will find something...

Let's meet in-person at the upcoming NCGS conference in a couple of weeks! The Wake County Genealogy Society will have a table located in the America 250 lecture room on Friday and Saturday, September 18 and 19. The table will be manned during the breaks between presentations and some portions of the lunch breaks. Come by for a visit as well as a chance to participate in several fun activities (planned by Barbara McGeachy, Carla Stancil and Lori Winklestein). Let's chat and hang out. The planned activities include: A North Carolina trivia contest with some sweet prizes. Claim your free sticker that declares  "I have Wake County Ancestors" Enter a special genealogy book giveaway - the giveaway includes a book set and an individual book. Both are described below. ~ Wake: Capital County of North Carolina, Vol. I by Elizabeth Reid Murray and Vol. II by E. Todd Johnson & Elizabeth Reid Murray (hardcover with dust covers) The set will be kept together as one prize. Vo...

Marcus Boyd has been a WCGS member for several years. We are delighted to welcome him to the WCGS Board. He always brings something interesting to the table. He has some truly amazing talents for combining the latest tech with traditional genealogical content. I look forward to watching his story with us unfold. Marcus Boyd, WCGS Treasurer Hi Marcus. Please share some highlights of your personal genealogical journey including work, hobby and/or research experiences.  My interest in family history began in 2019, shortly after the birth of my first child. Around that time, I watched the fascinating documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, which brings the experiences of World War I soldiers to life through veterans’ firsthand accounts and restored archival footage. When I shared the documentary with my dad, he mentioned that my great-grandfather had served in the war—something I had never known. That revelation made me wonder, “What else don’t I know about my family’s history?” More than...