The Library of Virginia, which houses the state’s archives, reopened for researchers on July 7, by appointment only and with other rules.
Though it has great online material and indexes, the library is an excellent place to do in-person research. To make an appointment or explore the website, see lva.virginia.gov.
Carol McGinnis’ “Virginia Genealogy Research,” in the Genealogy at a Glance series, was recently updated and reissued. In this four-page, laminated work, you will find a concise overview of Virginia resources and history in various categories: church, land, probate, military, census and tax lists. She includes supplementary sources, major repositories, and a few online resources. The updated edition is $9.95 from the Genealogical Publishing Company at genealogical.com.
A review by noted Virginia genealogist Barbara Vines Little is in the June issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. Little was glad to see that Virginia Heritage (vaheritage.org), Virginia Places (Virginiaplaces.org), and Virginia Memory (virginiamemory.com) were included, but added that the Virginia Genealogical Society’s Quarterly (vgs.org) is a great source that was omitted as was the ‘Unknown No Longer” database of Virginia slave names.
Georgia libraries have great collections of published Virginia genealogy books and quarterlies, especially Smyrna and Macon.
Tap Roots more accessible
Tap Roots, the quarterly of the Genealogical Society of East Alabama, was recently scanned and all 228 past issues over 57 years are available at gsofea.org. Articles are listed in a searchable Excel spread sheet, and tables of contents, by decades, are in another area. If you cannot find back issues at your local genealogy collection, you can go to the Society’s website and order a copy. This is a useful new online resource covering counties on the Alabama/Georgia line and helpful to genealogists in both states.
Ancestors on vacation
Do you have photographs of your ancestors on vacation before, say, 1930? I have photographs of my Brooks family at Tybee Island, circa 1911, and Hot Springs, Arkansas. Check to see if you have any.
Contact Kenneth H. Thomas Jr., P. O. Box 901, Decatur, Ga., 30031 or kenthomasongenealogy.com.
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