Speaker: David McCorkle

 

Courts have always dealt with crimes and disputes, but in the past they also handled much more routine items that can be of great interest to your genealogical research.   These include many functions now performed by other government offices such as proving deeds, probate, petitions, taxes, appointment of local officials, licenses, bastardy, manumission – the list goes on.  To complicate things, the type of courts and what areas they were responsible for has changed over time. This discussion will help you know what you can find along with how and where to find it.    A North Carolina native, David is President and founder of NC Historical Records Online (NCHRO), with a mission to provide public online access to images of original records and other relevant information useful to researching North Carolina history and genealogy. He is the creator of NCHRO’s main project: the free website NC Land Grant Images and Data which contains searchable records for all 200,000+ land grants issued by North Carolina, along with close to a million images of original records.

Virtual and free! Register here:  

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYlfu6pqDwtG9RaXLO64UBJ48AvJ-Oue6Ue

 

• Grab a library card to access on-line resources from home!
• Browse the collections.
• Reconnect with friends at a lunch spot nearby.

Speaker: Kate Townsend

 

Kate started her career as an investigator fighting financial crime and, in this presentation, she will share thoughts on how the same skills and methodology used to investigate fraud, money laundering, and high-net worth individuals can be applied to your genealogical research pursuits.

Virtual and free with registration beginning shortly after the December meeting.

 

Speaker: Mary Dobbin Williams

Gospel Singer, Historian, and Educator

Combining song and message, the learning opportunity in this presentation lies in Mary D. Williams’ powerful voice as she leads participants to the day when songs of hope wafted across our southern landscape. Born in Garner NC, in Wake County, and having performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Mary will share her thoughts on the power of voice during the days of slavery and more recently during the fight for civil rights. Important to our family histories and tempered by each season of the lives we live, the way and reasons we raise our voices in song offer an important narrative of who we are as a people, as family. 

Speaker: Mark Chilton

Often county-oriented genealogies are too tightly focused when in reality they should reflect the broader jurisdictional history of the place one’s ancestors lived. Applied locally, Mark Chilton, Orange County Register of Deeds, will speak on his county’s records identifying land and people in what became Wake County in 1771.  Similarly, Mark will speak on Durham County and the importance of researching its lands and people found earlier in the annals of Wake County.  And personally important to Mark, he will challenge the Wake County Genealogical Society and similar societies to explore and publish historically significant records lost during the American Revolution. Join us as there’s lots to be gained by attending this presentation!