Burke’s Garden “Known for its fertility and great natural beauty, the bowl-shaped Burke’s Garden is the highest valley in Virginia. James Burke discovered it during the 1740s while hunting and settled here about 1754. After four years Burke and his family moved to North Carolina, where he died in 1783. The threat of Indian attack […]
Connect. Explore. Refresh. FGS 2015
The theme for the FGS 2015 Conference in Salt Lake City is “Connect. Explore. Refresh.” What does that mean to me? Connect The first genealogy conference I attended was FGS 2010 in Knoxville, Tennessee. This is where I found my tribe. People who were not only “interested” in genealogy, but who were serious about it. […]
Planning My FGS 2014 Conference Schedule
The FGS 2014 Conference in San Antonio is approaching fast. For those unfamiliar, this is the national genealogy conference put on by the Federation of Genealogical Societies. You don’t have to be a member of FGS or a member of any genealogical society to attend; it is open to anyone interested in genealogical research. The […]
Murray on My Mind
I spent the last week learning all about Murray County history. “Murray on My Mind,” offered by the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, is a class taught by recently-retired history teacher and local historian, Tim Howard. If you want to know about Murray County history, Tim is your first call. He has taught this week-long course for many, many […]
Spring Place Schools “Reunion” to be Part of Festival
The oldest educational facility in all of northwest Georgia is Spring Place Elementary School which traces its origins to the mission established by the Moravians in 1801—long before there was a Murray County. This school, sponsored by Chief James Vann, was named Spring Place because of the dozens of natural springs that had landmarked the […]
Spring Place Festival Set for August 17
I don’t typically post press releases, but I’m making an exception on this case, since I’m involved in one of the sponsoring organizations. 2013 Spring Place Festival Set for August 17 The 15th annual Spring Place Community Festival will be held Saturday, August 17, 2013 at the Old Spring Place Methodist Church just off Georgia […]
My First Trip to the Family History Library
A couple of weeks ago, I went to Salt Lake City for the 3rd RootsTech conference. While the conference was fun and interesting, the highlight of my trip was the Family History Library. I knew it would be. I arrived in Salt Lake City about 2:30 MDT and after checking into my hotel, immediately walked […]
Confederate Voices: Book Review
My local library received a new book this week: Confederate Voices by Debbie Stephenson Moore. It’s not a book about the Civil War or the Confederacy, but rather is a collection of biographies, family histories, and organization vignettes with Confederate soldiers from southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia as the unifying theme. I like the way […]
Atlanta Family History Expo 2012 Day 1
Today is the first day of this year’s Family History Expo in Atlanta. This is the third year that Family History Expo has come to Atlanta (technically Duluth) and I’m pleased to say that the crowd size looks very similar to last year, possibly even a little larger. The keynote speaker was Robert S. Davis. […]
What I Learned at FGS 2012
The 2012 Federation of Genealogical Societies conference is over. Lots of fun and just like at SCGS Jamboree, I spent my time learning from the genealogy rock stars, so my brain is overflowing. Here is a sampling: