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.

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Wake Wednesday - Where to put the permanent NC State Capital

Would Wake County be very different if the choice of the state capital location had been different?

How? Would roadways and growth centers be effected? Would a location five miles away make a difference?

This is an interesting thought to ponder. I am sure it would have mattered more to the generations who came before us as their transportation and access to commerce would be most affected.

Hunter vs. Lane

The story of selecting the site of the permanent state capital is covered in this great article about inns and tavern from NCpedia. Isaac Hunter and Joel Lane are both represented here, as are several other important inns and taverns from the early days of colonial North Carolina.

"Inns and taverns played an important role in the economic and geographic development of colonial North Carolina. These establishments-also known as "ordinaries" in eighteenth-century America because they often catered to the full spectrum of social classes-were frequently one of the first businesses to appear in newly designated county seats, offering food and lodging to travelers and visitors to court...."

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