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.

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

Wake Genealogy Watch - Summer 2025, 8.4. Latest issue of our newsletter is live now!

The Summer 2025 issue (Vol. 8, Issue 4) 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, Summer 2025.

 This issue features:

• Details and Registration for three WCGS events that are fast approaching.
• Barbara McGeachy shares a special family heirloom written in WWII code.
• Tips to pull more clues from a WWI registration form that just what is included on the form.
• A special announcement about one of our own members.
• Learn about the excellent research guides available at NARA.
• Take a trick or two from this short and simple AI use case to make extracting information from your documents easier and quicker.
• A busy summer events calendar that you won’t want to miss!

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.

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

Latest Newsletter is live now. Wake Genealogy Watch - Spring, 2025, 8.3

The Spring issue (Vol. 8, Issue 3) 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, Spring 2025

Features in this issue include:

• Barbara McGeachy shares recent acquisitions at the NC Archives!

• We share an exciting update about the Wake Cemetery Survey hard copies.

• Enjoy a recap of our most recent WCGS Meetup, the Archive and Library tour.

• Learn how to use a BIRLS file and how to obtain files on your 20th century veteran kin.

• Details of the local beginning genealogy classes taught by Barbara McGeachy this spring.

• Learn how to wring every drop of information out of the index files we find online.

• Read biographical profiles on renowned Wake County Civil War photographers, Esley Hunt and Joshua P. Andrews.

• Explore the use of AI for simple editing tasks to make you more time for your writing efforts.

• A super-sized calendar of events including our own, NGS, NCGS, America250 and more!

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.

Visit the WCGS Blog for more events, late breaking news, tutorials, updates, and other special posts.  

Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Journal | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Society Surnames | Digital Resources | History Resources | More Links and Resources | Research Guides | Newsletter | Blog | Contact

 

Wake Genealogy Watch - Summer Edition 2024, v7.4 - Live Now at our website

The Summer 2024 Issue (Vol. 7 Issue 4) of our award-winning newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch, is now available online for reading or download. You can visit the WCGS website  or access through this link -  Wake Genealogy Watch, Summer 2024.

  Features in this issue include:

• Our updated slate of officers for the WCGS Board of Directors
  
  
• Past president Carla Stancil reflects on the progress and challenges faced by our society during her tenure.
  
  
• Ed Morris, retired executive director of the Wake Forest Historical Museum, shares his vast knowledge of Major General Calvin Jones, M.D. of Wake Forest. You will be amazed at his many accomplishments and contributions to Wake County.
  
  
• Cynthia Gage made some very special discoveries about her ancestors using the resources at places of higher learning. She shares her tips with us.
  
  
• A clean up and preservation guide to help you know what to do and who to contact for help saving your aging family cemeteries in need of care.
  
  
• A new resource to help you get started researching the Wake Cemetery Survey Image records. Come check out our quick tips for successful searches.
  
  
• Details of our Summer 2024 Events Calendar.

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.

Visit the WCGS Blog for more events, late breaking news, tutorials, updates, and other special posts.  

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

Wake Genealogy Watch - Spring Edition 2024, v7.3 - Live Now at our website

The Spring 2024 Issue (Vol. 7, Issue 3) of our award-winning newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch, is now available online for reading or download. You can visit the WCGS website  or access through this link - Wake Genealogy Watch, Spring 2024.

 

Features in this issue include:

• Read details of the recent unveiling ceremony for a new Historic Marker in Holly Springs.
• We are seeking a webmaster volunteer. Read the details and volunteer information here.
• Find RootsTech 2024 highlights including links to selected presentations, and the whole on demand schedule.
• Research tip – Finding Prisoners and other special populations in post-1900 Census Records
• Have fun exploring selected topics from the Wake Treasures Journal contents, now available to all. Featured collections are linked in this issue.
• Explore the Biofile image collection online at Allied Families. This vast collection comprises years of research on the Upchurch and their allied families in Wake County and their migrations elsewhere.
• Read about an AI image creation experiment using Bing Image Creator and other tools.
• Improve your photo preservation skills with this on demand video workshop from the Missouri State Archives.
• Learn about a very large donation of over 750 genealogy books that will benefit everyone with folks who migrated through Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.

 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 link to view this and all past newsletter content.  

 We welcome your feedback, input, and submissions for inclusion in future editions.  Please address all input to newsletter@wakecogen.org.

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 | Contact

  

Quick and Easy Ways to Remember Cousinship

Reprinted from Wake Genealogy Watch, newsletter of the Wake County Genealogy Society, Summer 2019, v2.4.

I can figure cousinship fine when I am at my desk with all kinds of handy charts, but never when I am out and about. Here are two easy tips.—CD

Trick 1: Count the number of Greats and add 1.
Shared 4th great grands + 1 = 5th cousins.

Shared 5th great grands + 1 = 6th cousins.

Grand parents + 1 = 1st cousins. (0 grands to add!)

For a another tip see this Family History Daily post.

 

Trick 2:

Draw it out, as Roberta Estes did for her blog post on calculating cousins easily. See Roberta’s post here for more tips.

 

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

Wake Genealogy Watch - Fall Edition 2023, v7.1 - Live Now at our website

The Fall 2023 Issue (Vol. 7 Issue 1) of our award-winning newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch, is now available online for reading or download. You can visit the WCGS website  or access through this link - Wake Genealogy Watch, Fall2023.

 Features included in this issue include:

• Several updates including news about our Homepage, Journal, and a new Board Position – Diversity & Inclusion Officer.
• The Reading Room features a review and link to an amazing family history book written by Brian Griffis. You will want to read The Life and Times of Lucius Griffis (1839 – 1918) to see what Brian accomplished with his strategy of searching way beyond the expected sources for his Wake County ancestor who lived through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
• Barbara McGeachy shares an important FamilySearch tip for location resources.
• Instructions to access the Upchurch Enrolled Family files online. These files hold reams of Wake County Genealogy content.
• A focus on the history and importance of mills in Wake County, including a link to a fascinating five-part thesis exploring what remains of mill culture in our area.
• Genealogy highlights and links to the Fall 2023 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI),
• North Carolina Maps, a collaborative digitization project that offers online content and inspiration for your research.
• A recent Wakecogen Blog feature on maps that provides a different look at map use and development in our early history.
• Highlights from our experiences with the NGS SLAM Open House in May.
  
  

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.

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

Wake Genealogy Watch - Spring Edition 2023, v6.3 - Live Now at our website

The Spring 2023 Issue (Vol.6 Issue 3) of our award-winning newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch, is now available online for reading or download. You can download the latest newsletter through this link – Wake Genealogy Watch, Spring 2023

Features in this issue include:

• RootsTech Roundup 2023: All the Tools, All the DNA, All the AI, All the Stories
• A review of our February Meet Up at Johnston County Heritage Center
• Brenda Carbon has shared a great case study exploring Ancestry’s new ethnicity SideView feature.
• Several Cemetery queries and cleanup projects in our area looking to make local connections
• Pointers to two really good blog posts that cover some basic yet fundamental concepts for working with Genetic Genealogy
• Our handy events calendar will help you save the dates, so you don't miss a single moment of WCGS excitement.

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 inclusions in future editions. Please address all concerns to newsletter@wakecogen.org.

Visit the WCGS Blog for more events, late breaking news, tutorials, updates, and other special posts.

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 | Contact

WCGS - Wake Genealogy Watch, Winter 2023 - Newsletter now available

The Winter 2023 Issue (Vol.6 Issue 2) of our award-winning newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch, is now available online for reading or download. You can visit the WCGS website  or access through this link - Wake Genealogy Watch, Winter 2023

Features included in this issue include:

• Details on a super OLLI class that will be taught by WCGS Member, Barbara McGeachy – Genealogy:  Starting with the Basics

• Links to a host of online resources that are outside the traditional research sites
• A super timeline/map visualization video packed with historical context for the American First Colonies (1565 – 1700)
• Family History Guides to each state that provide rich access to a world of records and research strategies from your pc or cell phone
• The latest Enslaved Persons research resources
• International research groups and blogs for Germany and France
• Wake County Civil War Pension File links and useful Wake County map links   
• Highlights from our December NC Government and History Library tour
• A Genetic Genealogy review of the latest tools to hit your match lists – AncestryDNA’s Parent SideView, My Heritage’s new match sorting options, and FTDNA’s new Discover tool and Time Tree. All exciting stuff!

• Our handy events calendar will help you save the dates, so you don't miss a single moment of WCGS excitement.

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 inclusions in future editions. Please address all concerns to newsletter@wakecogen.org.

Visit the WCGS Blog for more events, late breaking news, tutorials, updates, and other special posts.

  

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 | Contact

WCGS - Wake Genealogy Watch, Fall 2022 - Newsletter now available

The Fall 2022 Issue (Vol.6 Issue 1) of our award-winning newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch, is now available online for reading or download. You can visit the WCGS website  or access through this link. – Wake Genealogy Watch, Fall 2022

  Features included in this issue include:

• Meet our new President in Training, Saundra Cropps.
• Multiple Hints to help you get the most from the Wakecogen Homepage.
• Techniques to reunite your “not my family” photos with their proper relatives.
• Explore four easy to master tools to identify your autosomal DNA matches.
• Read about early Jamestown ancestors in the GenealogyBank.com series – Jamestown Who’s Who by Melissa Berry.
• WCGS membership benefits update.
• Upcoming events and more.

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 inclusions in future editions. Please address all concerns to newsletter@wakecogen.org.

Visit us at the Wake County Genealogical Society - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Publications | Digital Resources | History Resources | More Links and Resources | Contact 

WCGS - Wake Genealogy Watch - Spring 2022 issue now available

The Spring 2022 Issue (Vol.5 Issue 3) of our award winning newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch, is now available online for reading or download. You can visit the WCGS website  or access through this link - Wake Genealogy Watch, Spring 2022

  Features included in this issue include:

• WCGS Website news including several updates, some volunteer requests and a briefing from our program director, George Thomas.
• Get ready for the release of the 1950 Census with information pulled from NARA, History Hub and the US Census Bureau, including an interesting sidebar on how census data crunching needs drove early tech development.
• Visit Facebook nostalgia groups for novel ways to gather information and connect with others – old friends, cousins and researchers.
• We have a Wake Cemetery Survey Project update for you.
• We review a new website - Early American Sources.
• Handy Zoom tips will help you navigate meeting entry easier.                    
• Our events calendar highlights some really fun upcoming topics.

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 inclusions in future editions. Please address all concerns to newsletter@wakecogen.org.



Visit us at the Wake County Genealogical Society - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Publications | Digital Resources | History Resources | More Links and Resources | Contact