The recently reopened Georgia Room in the Switzer Library in downtown Marietta is well worth a visit.
The library, at 266 Roswell Street, has been refurbished. The Georgia Room has a new location and grand entrance. All of the books, periodicals and microfilm rolls are in a much larger space. The collection of published materials focuses on Georgia and the Southeastern states, but includes some material from other areas as well. Staff members are at the Georgia Room’s entrance to answer questions and provide a floor plan/map to orient you. Rare and fragile books are in glass display cases, and there is an ongoing sale of surplus materials. A meeting room/small conference room is off the reading room. Microfilm readers and copy machines are at the entrance to the reading room. Before you plan a visit, check the hours and the catalog online to be sure you know the Georgia Room has material you’re interested in. The phone number is 770-528-2333, and the library’s website is www.cobbcounty.org/library.
Italian research featured
Finding one’s Italian roots is the theme of an article, “Roman Holiday,” by Rich Venezia in the July/August issue of Family Tree Magazine, which is on newsstands now. Venezia says the best Italian research website is Antenati, so search for that, as it’s where records are organized and digitized by province. He lists other archives by various provinces, information on surnames and an essay on civil registration, as opposed to church parish registers. There’s way too much to summarize here. If you are serious about your Italian family history, you need to get this issue and follow his suggestions. See familytreemagazine.com.
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act is the subject of a PBS special that was first broadcast in 2018. It’s worth checking out. See pbs.org and then “videos” to find it. It’s free, but you must register. The 1882 law opened up one of the ugliest episodes of American history and its various repercussions lasted well into the 20th century.
Contact Kenneth H. Thomas Jr., P.O. Box 901, Decatur, Ga., 30031 or www.kenthomasongenealogy.com.