Wake Wednesday: Don't Forget, Wake Treasures Journal Access now open access for all

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 the earlier content and that from 2023 soon.

Just to show the power of the files available in the Journal, here are some Freedmen’s Records* found in these volumes found by searching freedmen in the newer index:  vol. 17.1 (2007),  24.1 (2014), and 24.2 (2014).

Insolvent Debtors* can be found in these issues:  vol. 18.2 (2008) all townships, 22.1 (2012), 22.2 (2012), and 28.3 (2018).

Divorce records* are found here - vol. 18.2 (2008), 19.1 (2009), 20.2 (2010), 21.1 (2010/2011), 26.3 (2016), and 27.2 (2017).

* This is a sampling of some of the record sets and topics covered in the journal and is not complete. You will want to browse further in the earlier issues. Check out both indexes described above. Hopefully all issues will be in an index soon.

Once you start browsing within the individual issues, they are searchable by any name, location or topic within. Have fun looking for your ancestors!

 

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

Did you miss the last NC Archive & Library Tour? Here is your second chance!

Back by popular demand! Join us for a repeat of our February tour of the NC Archives and genealogy library in downtown Raleigh. We will offer a free tour of the NC Archives and the State Library, organized by President Barbara McGeachy.

June Tour Details -

• Event: Tour of NC Archives and Genealogy Library
  
  
• Date: Monday, June 23, 10 AM - Noon (followed by optional lunch)
  
  
• Location: 109 E. Jones St., Raleigh (meet in the lobby)
  
  
• Lunch: Optional at the cafeteria in the basement of the legislature building, featuring hot food, salads, and sandwiches. Security check required; no special ID needed.

This tour is open to everyone, with 30 spots available. Sign up here:                                             https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044CA9A72CAAFA7-56338096-tour

Each tour lasts 45-60 minutes, concluding by noon. The Archives tour is optional; participants can choose to visit only the library first. Research is not permitted on this day as both facilities are closed to the public on Mondays.

The NC Archives has original documents and some books but it's only about North Carolina. The staff will explain the types of materials in the archives and how to request them. They will have documents ready for us to look at. You can ask questions. The tour includes the vault which is normally closed to the public.

The State Library (Genealogy Room) has books and materials from other states in addition to N.C. The staff will explain the types of materials and how to request them. The library has many resources including vertical files (miscellaneous documents donated to the library), free access to databases including newspaper websites and Fold3, an overhead copy machine, and more. N.C. residents can get a free library card to check out books and to use some databases from home.

For questions, contact Barbara McGeachy at President@WakeCoGen.org

We look forward to seeing you on June 23!

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 Wednesday - Journal Treasures - Insolvent Debtor Abstracts

Records for Insolvent Debtors in Wake County - individuals unable to pay their debts were abstracted from the box of “Wake County “Insolvent Debtors 1800-1837 (broken series).” The box is located at the N.C. State Archives’ search room, with call number CR 099.914.11. 

This series originally appeared in an older version of the WCGS newletter and was republished in the Journal Volume 18 Number 2 (Summer/Fall 2008) to enable access for researchers. This excerpt and additional information is available in our archived Journal content which is currently available to all.

From the folder “Insolvent debtors 1800, 1803,” there is a document showing the following abstracted information: 

“… We or either of us promise to pay Thomas Taylor Guardian to James Ridley … Seventy nine Dollars and Twenty Cents with Interest from the date, It being for value of him rec’d …” Dated 18 March 1800. 

Witness                                                       Nicholas Tompson? 

D. Hinton                                                    Benj. Haver? (House?) 

                                                                    Rubin N? (his mark) Jackson 

The back of this document says “Thomas Taylor vs Nicholas Thompson Guard. Note.” and “Nicholas Thompson To James Ridley Note 79.20 cents.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another document in that folder shows that Burwell Evans swears he has no land, money, stock or estate, real or personal, in his possession … “of the value of the debt, with which I am charged in Execution…” 

He also swears that he has not directly or indirectly sold or disposed of land, money, goods, stocks, debts, securities, contracts or estate (as a method of receiving any profit or of defrauding any creditor or creditors to whom he is indebted). 

Burwell (his mark, a “B”) Evans 

Sworn in Wake County before Wm. Armstrong? on April 22, 1803.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A debtor in Fleet Street Prison,
London by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd.
First half of the 19th century. 
Source

Many more names appear in this transcription. There are four pages of abstracts for this collection and nine pages of debtors transcribed and listed by township for the year 1877.

The Wake Treasures Journal is currently available to all viewers. Check out the index and the back issues at our website. All can be accessed from the WCGS Publications page.

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@wakecogen.org

Register for the next two WCGS events - It's not too late!

 Don't forget to sign up for these two events. Both are free and open to all with registration.

Our next virtual meeting and presentation is next Tuesday, Jan 28 at 6:30pm. If you are not making full use of the free content available with registration at FamilySearch, you are missing out. Join us as Jill Morelli guides us through the most up-to-date search methods at the international site. You will be glad you did. Sign up here.

If you are local, there is still time to register for the Wakecogen Meetup on February 10 at 10am. We will tour both the NC Archives and the NC State Library (in same building) and lunch at the legislature cafeteria right next door is optional. Tours are free with registration and open to all. There are 30 spots available. Full details are here. 


We look forward to seeing you on Zoom and in person!

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

Next Wakecogen In-person Meetup - February 10, 2025 - Tour NC Archives and State Library with Wakecogen

The Wake County Genealogical Society's first in-person outing of 2025 will be a popular tour of the NC Archives and the State Library, organized by President Barbary McGeachy.

February Meetup Details:

• Event: Tour of NC Archive and State Library
• Date: Monday, Feb. 10, 10 AM - Noon (lunch optional)
• Location: 109 E. Jones St., Raleigh (meet in the lobby)

Lunch: Optional at the cafeteria in the basement of the legislature building, featuring hot food, salads, and sandwiches. Security check required; no special ID needed.

Source: Wikipedia

This tour is open to everyone, with 30 spots available. Sign up here: Signup Genius. 

Each tour lasts 45-60 minutes, concluding by noon. The Archives tour is optional; participants can choose to visit only the library first. Research is not permitted on this day as both facilities are closed to the public on Mondays.

The NC Archives has original documents and some books but it's only about North Carolina.The staff will explain the types of materials in the archives and how to request them. They will have documents ready for us to look at. You can ask questions. The tour includes the vault which is normally closed to the public.

The State Library (Genealogy Room) has books and materials from other states in addition to N.C. The staff will explain the types of materials and how to request them. The library has many resources including vertical files (miscellaneous documents donated to the library), free access to databases including newspaper websites and Fold3, an overhead copy machine, and more. N.C. residents can get a free library card to check out books and to use some databases from home.

For questions, contact Barbara McGeachy at President@wakecogen.org.

We look forward to seeing you on February 10!

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

Wake Wednesday - The mother of all Wake Wednesday posts!

Hi Wake Researchers. We have some very exciting news for all of you. Wake County Genealogical Society has recently decided to change the way we share our Wake Treasures Journal content with you at the Wakecogen website. I think you will enjoy this surprise. Here is the announcement from webmaster, Cynthia Gage:

"Wake Treasures Goes Public!

It is well-known how technology has changed the way information is disseminated.  The growth of online platforms are providing new ways of sharing and reaching a broader audience.  WCGS has seen these changes and over the years has expanded its outreach through our WCGS Facebook and WCGS Blog social-media pages.  We also modernized our website several years ago and then converted our newsletter distribution to an on-line digital format where issues can be stored and made available at the click of a mouse!  

In the past hard-copy publications provided the standard format for keeping information available, but these are only useful when they can be conveniently accessed.  Thus, the next step for WCGS involved making changes to our Wake Treasures Journal.  This summer, the Society voted to change our method for disseminating information usually found in the journal to other formats including our social media sites, our newsletter, and our website.  In the spirit of increasing our support to the genealogical community, the Board also voted to make all past issues of Wake Treasures available to both members and non-members alike!

 

Wake Treasures is the multi-award winning journal of the Wake County Genealogical Society.  Over the years the number of issues per year has varied from two to four.  From the Wake Treasures page you can download in pdf format, any or all of the Wake Treasures issues which have been published starting with the first issue in 1991 ... to 2022. 

To help your search, there is a Subject Index available for the first 25 volumes of the Journal.  We hope you are successful in finding your Wake ancestors in the record transcriptions and abstractions available in these genealogically rich issues."

Yes!! Journal access is now free and open to all, visitors and members alike. 

Please visit our website and check out all the goodness nestled in those pages. Each issue has a name index at the end. Be sure to check for your ancestor surnames there. Access all the content from the WCGS Publications tab on our home page.


It's like Santa came a little early and left a nice prezzy in your genealogy stocking!

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 

Surname Searching Wakecogen-style!

Members take advantage of the Surname file in your WCGS profile. Visitors follow the link at the end of this post to find others researching your surnames. (Not limited to Wake County ancestors or residents)

Add your Surname list to your WCGS Website account

By Cynthia Gage, WCGS Webmaster

Reprinted from the Winter 2018 Issue of Wake Genealogy Watch - the newsletter of WCGS:

Have you entered your surnames onto the Wake County Genealogical Society website?  This is a member benefit, and it’s a great way for others to find your names and get in contact with you while preserving your privacy.  And it’s easy to do! 

Here’s how!

Click on image to view larger!

After logging in, select the “Profile” submenu under the “Members Area”.  Then select the surname tab.  To enter a surname, click on the “+” button on the top right.  Fill in the requested information and save.  Besides the information shown above, the surname input screen has a field for alternate spellings and one for any other comments both of which will be available for visitors to see. 

As shown, it is recommended that there is only one surname, one county, and one state per line entry to optimize the success of visitors in finding your names.  However, the only required information on the surname input screen is the surname itself.  The rest can be left blank if you choose.  Once you have entered your surnames, you can always come back later and add more information by clicking on the pencil icon beside the surname.

Now that you have your names entered, here is what visitors will be able to see and do.   From the Surname page on the main website, visitors can search for the surname of their interest. 

Click on image to view larger!

In this example, two lines have been found.  For the first listing (Ingham), the surname which was searched (Ingram) had been included in the alternate spelling area when the member entered the data.  By clicking on the “eye”, the visitor will see all the details for the selection, including the alternate spellings and any other comments which the member entered onto the surname listing.  If the visitor wishes to contact the member associated with the surname, they can click the “envelope” to send an email.  Their message will go to the member’s email address on record.  Note that for the privacy of our members the email pop-up does NOT show the email address of the member.  However, the visitor is required to enter their email address in order to send a message.  Thus the member can review and then choose whether to respond to the message from their email server.

Click on image to view larger!

Since these messages will come to your inbox, be sure that WCGS has your correct email address, or you may lose out on receiving messages from others who are researching your ancestors!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at webmaster@wakecogen.org.

NOTE: For clearest images see original newsletter version here.

Visit the Surname page at Wakecogen Website!

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