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...

The Winter 2026 issue (Vol. 9, Issue 2) of our award-winning newsletter, Wake Genealogy Watch, is now available online for reading or download. Visit the WCGS website or click here: Wake Genealogy Watch, Winter 2026 This issue includes: Recap and photos of our Fall 2025 events News from the NCGS Fall Conference A house history from WCGS member Gayle Williams focusing on history, genealogy and evolution of building materials through 200 years of maintenance and preservation A revisit of the WCGS Surname Search feature at our website A fantastic workflow for identifying and researching your Revolutionary Ancestors Our winter calendar of upcoming events A new cumulative index to all published issues of Wake Genealogy Watch Dive in and explore all the resources and stories designed to enrich your genealogy journey. Be sure to visit the last page for the link to the index! Photo Note: If you choose to read a printed version of this newsletter, some of the photos will be difficult to view du...

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 ...

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 photo...

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 eve...

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 c...

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 yea...

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  |  C...

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 ...

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 refe...

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 li...