Call for Authors: The SAGA Newsletter

The Southern Appalachians Genealogical Association (SAGA) was formed last month to serve the needs of researchers with ancestors from across that region in the states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Membership is open to anyone willing to support the Society’s objectives, which revolve around education, preservation, publication, and scholarship.

The Society’s quarterly newsletter will be published in February, May, August, and November of each year. The first issue is scheduled for publication in August 2013. Regular features will include member queries, member news, and news from around the region.

Longer articles are also needed. Topics of particular interest include: research in archives or libraries; using and finding specific records; methodologies and techniques for better research; genealogy technology; genetic genealogy; biographies and short case studies; and articles on the history and culture of the region (specific localities or events), as well as historical preservation activities. Ideas on other topics are welcome.

All articles should be well-documented using citation formats recommended in Evidence Explained: Citing History from Artifacts to Cyberspace (2d. ed.) by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

For more information, see the newsletter section of the Society’s web site. Contact the newsletter’s editor at newsletter@sagenealogy.org.

Thank You to the Genealogical Computer Society of GA

A huge and hearty thank you to the Genealogical Computer Society of GA, with whom I had the pleasure of speaking today. Y’all were a great group to visit with. Don’t forget to e-mail me if you have any lingering questions.

A special thank you to Don and Pat Thompson, who took me and my crew (Richard) to lunch afterward. We enjoyed speaking with y’all, and appreciated the thoughtful gesture.

There were a few topics we touched on, not part of the lectures but additional queries, that I wanted to follow up on for those of you who are interested.

Educational Opportunities
One subject discussed lightly at lunch concerned educational opportunities for genealogists. A list of many of the opportunities I recommended can be found on the Board for Certification of Genealogists‘ web site under Educational Preparation. I also use the web site Conference Keeper and read the blog Adventures in Genealogy Education to find additional opportunities.

Finding Professional Researchers
Several members asked questions about finding reliable professional genealogists to perform client work. Here are three sites I recommend for doing so: Board for Certification of Genealogists, Association of Professional Genealogists, and ICAPGen. If you need a more personal recommendation, please do not hesitate to e-mail me.

Citing Sources in RootsMagic
While we were discussing source citations and Elizabeth Shown Mills’ excellent work, Evidence Explained: Citing Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, Don mentioned that RootsMagic incorporates EE into its source citation models. Since I don’t use that particular software, I’m not much help, but Randy Seaver regularly posts about citing sources in RootsMagic on his blog, Genea-Musings.

Once again, thank you for having us. I look forward to speaking with y’all again.

Announcing SAGA, a New Genealogical Society for the Southern Appalachians

What do you do when there are no genealogical societies nearby and local historical societies are less than friendly to genealogists? Why, you start your own society, of course!

We’ve been hard at work over the past few months organizing the Southern Appalachians Genealogical Association (SAGA). I’m pleased to announce that as of April 10, we are officially organized and open to new members.

SAGA is a regional genealogical society, covering those families who lived in Appalachia in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. When most people think of the Appalachians, their mind goes straight to West Virginia and Kentucky, but the Appalachians extend much further south. Researchers whose ancestors lived in the Southern Appalachians face many of the same problems encountered by those researching in the mid- and northern sections, and need the same kind of support.

SAGA aims to provide this support by offering a society specifically geared toward researchers with Southern Appalachian ancestors and by actively encouraging the development of resources for those researchers, while promoting scholarship and high standards of research.

If you have ancestors who lived in the Southern Appalachians and are interested in joining our fledgling Society, please visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you!

Four Years and Counting

It’s been four years today since I moved my blog to WordPress. To all my readers, a big and heartfelt thank you, and to my family and friends, thank you for your support. Here’s to the blogosphere and the wonderful opportunities it offers!

Photo courtesy of Jon Sullivan

Rally at the Capitol for the Georgia Archives, 14 January 2013

There will be a rally at the state capitol in Atlanta in support of the Georgia Archives on 14 January 2013, which coincides with the first day of the this year’s session of the Georgia General Assembly. The rally will be held on the Washington Street entrance to the capitol from 1 – 3 p.m. Only hand held signs are allowed. Georgia Genealogical Society is the rally’s sponsor.

Whether you can attend or not, please take the time to contact your local representative to the state legislature in support of the Archives. As Vivian Price wrote recently at Georgia Archives Matters, public pressure can make a big difference and can help keep this important repository of the state’s history and historical documents open.

Free Shipping on Rabun County, Georgia, Newspapers, 1894 – 1899

I promise I won’t post too many promotional items on this blog, but I thought it might be nice to extend an offer for anyone who’s been sitting on the fence about buying a copy of Rabun County, Georgia, Newspapers, 1894 – 1899.

So, from now until the end of this year, I’m offering free shipping to anyone who wants to order a copy. Just send a letter to me at my postal address mentioning this offer, along with a check or money order for $30. Your letter must be postmarked before 31 December 2012. I generally ship books back out via media mail within two or three days (holidays and weekends excepted) of the receipt of an order.

Any questions? Leave a comment or e-mail me.

Happy holidays!

Now Available: Slave Importation Affidavit Registers for Nine Georgia Counties, 1818 – 1847

I’m very pleased to announce the publication of an important resource for Georgia researchers. Slave Importation Affidavit Registers for Nine Georgia Counties, 1818 – 1847 contains abstracts of affidavits recorded in distinct volumes or sections of volumes for Camden County, Columbia County, Elbert County, Franklin County, Jackson County, Jasper County, Morgan County, Pulaski County, and Wilkes County.

The registers for Richmond County will be published in a future, stand-alone volume because of the large number of affidavits recorded there.

Georgia Probate Records, 1742 – 1975, Now Available Online at FamilySearch

I’m very pleased to announce that FamilySearch has added digital images of microfilmed probate records for Georgia counties, dating from 1742 to 1975. I did a quick look-see at a couple of the counties, and was pleased at the amount of available records.

A word of caution: not all probate records that have been microfilmed are available there. In Rabun County, for instance, there are several earlier volumes of probate records that have been microfilmed, but which aren’t online at FamilySearch. And, of course, there are most likely many probate records available at the county level or otherwise that have not been microfilmed at all. On the other hand, the available collection is significant, and should go far in helping researchers find information about their families.

To view the records, go to FamilySearch. From the main page, scroll down and under “Browse by Location” click on “United States.” On the left-hand side of the next page, click on “Georgia.” In the middle of that page, click on “Georgia, Probate Records, 1742 – 1975.” Finally, click on the link under “View Images in this Collection,” and then on the county of interest.

118th Anderson Reunion, Sunday, September 16, 2012

Please join the Anderson clan for their 118th annual reunion on Sunday, September 16, 2012 beginning at about 11 a.m. This year’s reunion will be held in the Macon County Coon Hunters Club building, located off of Prentiss Bridge Road just south of Franklin, North Carolina. All descendants of the Mansfield and Harriet (Black) Anderson family are invited to attend. Please bring a covered dish (or two!) and drinks, plus any stories, photos, or ephemera you may wish to share or show. We look forward to seeing y’all there!

Now Available: Rabun County, Georgia, Newspapers, 1894 – 1899

I’m very pleased to announce that my first full-length publication, Rabun County, Georgia, Newspapers, 1894 – 1899, will be ready for purchase and delivery early next week.

I’m so excited about this publication. Newspapers are an underutilized source of historical and genealogical information, primarily because they’re unindexed and sometimes difficult to locate. There are three newspapers covered by this compilation: The Clayton Argus (1894), The Tallulah Falls Spray (1897 – 1898), and The Clayton Tribune (1899).¹ Of the extant issues, only a handful have been microfilmed. The remainder are only available as original issues or as photocopies of news items clipped from the originals, and all of those are held by the Rabun County Historical Society, which is open a limited number of hours each week.