The Georgia Archives will host a free symposium on “Georgia, Nature and the Environment” April 1 from 9 a.m.-4 p. m. at the archives in Morrow.
Scholars will lecture on conservation efforts over the years, environmental changes, and various stimulants to the Georgia economy. After welcomes, the first lecture starts at 9:15 and relates to the Blue Ridge Parkway by Richelle Brown.
Next follows a panel on “Conservation and Old Growth Forests” with discussions of early conservation efforts starting in colonial times, and the later protecting of old growth forests.
At 11:10 a.m., a second panel covers “Race, Class and Recreation,” with speakers addressing Hard Labor Creek State Park as a case study in discriminatory recreation, and then Angela Hronek on “Under the Surface of Lake Lanier,” presumably covering the lake’s extinction of towns and flooding burial grounds. Then Sadie Ingram will speak on the Georgia Oyster Industry from the 1880s to the 1940s.
Lunch is available for a cash donation at 12:10 p.m. or you could opt to have lunch elsewhere.
At 1 p.m. lectures resume with “Bamboo in Georgia’s Landscape: From Native Americans to the USDA.” “Nature at Home” is another panel at 2 p.m. covering a non-native spider’s introduction, then “How the Landscapes Can Fight Climate Change and Grow Green Jobs,” and last “Rethinking Informal Urbanism in Metro-Atlanta.”
The last lecture at 3 p.m. covers the Georgia marble industry and human impact on the land.
The Georgia Archives are located at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, 678-364-3710. For further information on the program, bios of the speakers, and directions, check GeorgiaArchives.org.
Witnesses and their value
Always note the names of witnesses in deeds or wills, as they are usually someone who lived nearby, was a friend or kinsman of the people creating the document, and perhaps your own kin. Usually, a witness was either 18 or 21, although I have read that in some cases, they could be 14. If they sign with an “X,” or some other mark, it means they could not write at that time. Some people can be traced by their use of an unusual mark.
German Genealogy Conference
The International German Genealogy Partnership (IGGP) Conference will be held June 9-11 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is a physical/hybrid event. For more, check iggp.org.
Contact Kenneth H. Thomas Jr., P. O. Box 901, Decatur, GA 30031 or kenthomasongenealogy.com.
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