Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026 @ 6:30pm – Virtual Topic:    WWII Service: Discovering your Ancestor's Story using Online Resources Speaker:   Cynthia Gage As a genealogist, I feel that my role is to preserve not just the names of my ancestors, but also to learn the stories of their lives in order to fully appreciate the history that led to me. Military service is one of those important stories and luckily for us as researchers, many records exist. The service record is only one part of a veteran's story: the other is their experience. This presentation focuses on WWII service and will provide sources and techniques for gathering and analyzing information from both parts of the story. For those with Army servicemen, there are online sources which can help rebuild the service records that were lost in the1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. Join us! Free and virtual! *Please register by 4pm day of meeting. *Please save your passcode and link for ease of entry at st...

Long time readers of the Wake County Genealogical Society blog will have noticed a few changes over the last few weeks. Starting with a newish name (that is not so new...) and a new look. These changes were in preparation for a larger change necessitated by ever-pressing progress. This blog space is our new home! After nine years as editor of the Wake Genealogy Watch newsletter I find I must transition to a new delivery platform. This is necessitated by Microsoft's discontinuation of Publisher in October 2026. After testing several alternatives this year, I've determined that the most efficient solution is to move our newsletter to an online format. This change is happening now, ahead of the Sept. 1 start date of our new calendar year. Since this space is already up and running it will become the official new home of the online newsletter. Longtime readers won't notice too much change. You'll continue receiving the same quality content—articles, announcements, and event...

Our membership chairperson,  Carol Kimball Stahl provided this summary of last Saturday's Book Exchange: "As y'all know, the Book Exchange was held at Laurel Hills Park on Saturday, June 20. As you might surmise, there were likely some who would have come but for being one of the 150,00 people who attended the Canes' parade! Regardless, we did see some good results. Vouchers were given when someone brought books to be placed on the tables for sale. Each book generated a voucher. At the end of the day, 13 vouchers had been used. That use meant that 13 books found new homes! In addition to the voucher use, people could buy books for $5 or win the silent auction bid."  Many bought books outright. Between purchases and simple donations we generated enough funds to cover a speaker engagement or in-person activity. Photo - Steve Deal "Many familiar and new faces attended. Among those were Cini Gage, Cyndi & Steve Deal, Harriet Jenkins, Kathy Ruse, Jennie Gu...

President Barbara McGeachy was in attendance for the Fair held on Oct. 4. Here is her report - I had a great time this morning at the NC Archives & State Library Family History Fair in downtown Raleigh. We had a good turnout and lots of people signed up for our email list. The talks were recorded and are already available on YouTube on the "statelibrarync" channel as "2025 Family History Fair: African American Genealogy and History" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3jeTTB3C48 WCGS Table -Oct 4 -  NC Archives & State Library Family History Fair 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

We just can't help reminding folks. This is such a great boon to researchers. Be sure to check the highlighted collections below. All past issues of the WCGS Wake Treasures Journal are now available to all Wake researchers any time they need to browse! 24/7. All the time. There are 31 years of valuable Wake-centric content stored at this link. If you have not checked the offerings yet, you better take a peek to see just what you are missing.     WCGS Publications > Wake Treasures . From the journal landing page, you can browse issues by year  or check the subject index that is available for years 1-25 (1995 - 2015).  There is an impromptu index  that was created for another project. It was covers the years 2007—2022. I started with the year 2022 and works backwards.   While not complete, you may still find it helpful for discovery of content and location. It is available in searchable spreadsheet form here . I hope to get this list completed with...

There is still plenty of time to sign up for our next virtual Society Meeting. Mark your calendar for Tuesday, August 23, 6:30pm. Topic:  In Her Own Words - Lives of Women Through Diaries, Journals, Correspondence and More! Speaker:  Diane L. Richard Women are traditionally challenging to document in historical public records. Personally written diaries, journals, correspondence, and more can help fill in gaps about female ancestors. This talk goes well past journals and diaries as “women” had voices in myriad ways. This virtual meeting and presentation is open to all, but registration is required.   Visit the  WCGS Events  page to  access the registration link.   To learn Zoom tips for successfully joining the meeting, please read  Important ZOOM Tips . Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images ...