The Friends of the NC Archives held their yearly meeting this past Saturday, Nov 1. After their business meeting, they offered four presentations and a Q&A session, all focused on their theme of Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of the Armed Forces .  If you were not able to attend, you are in luck. The proceedings were captured on video and can be viewed at the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources YouTube page.  Here is the link -  https://www.youtube.com/live/PsZO7OCcS4g The business meeting run for the first 30 minutes and then the focus presentations commence. Here is the schedule from the event so that you can approximate the timing on each individual topic. Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  |  Society Surnames  |  Digital Resources  |  His...

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, began during the American Civil War when citizens placed flowers on the graves of those who had been killed in battle. After World War I, it came to be observed in honour of those who had died in all U.S. wars, and its name changed to Memorial Day. (source) While modern tradition has us observing Memorial Day on the last Monday in May, from 1868 to 1970 it was observed on May 30 each year. Most of the free search days at the pay sites will have expired by now, but you can continue to honor your soldier ancestors with research using these free resources. Enjoy. Discover the military stories of your Wake County and North Carolina ancestors with the help of this list. Raleigh National Cemetery page at Veteran Affairs.gov -  general information page - includes a  map and search tool, and information brochure on the history of Raleigh National Cemetery. Raleigh National Cemetery page at Find A Grave - includes 5,910 memorials....

I want to point you to this very good article from familytree.com on the meanings of the day and just how the traditions can further your research.  source " Memorial Day   was originally observed in the United States on the last Monday in the month of May. It was adapted from a holiday called Decoration Day that originated in the years following the Civil War. Memorial Day became an official federal holiday in 1971. The purpose of Memorial Day is to enable families to have a day off that they can spend honoring deceased relatives who served in the United States military. The traditional way to spend Memorial Day is to visit cemeteries and decorate the graves of relatives and ancestors who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines. A small American flag is placed near their headstones. It is also acceptable to place flowers in addition to the flag ." >> Read more here     Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |...