Georgia Archives hosts “Cotton and Textile Culture in Georgia” Symposium

AJC file photo

AJC file photo

The Georgia Archives is scheduled to host a free public symposium next month.

The symposium, “From Field to Mill Town: Cotton and Textile Culture in Georgia,” is set for April 4 from 9 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. Talks will be given on:

  • "Building a Community: Callaway Mills in LaGrange" by Haley Merciers of Hills and Dales, the Callaway Estate, Alex Hughes (Troup County Archives) and Carleton B. Wood, executive director of Hills and Dales.
  • "Silvertown: From the Center of Tire Cord Production to a Local treasure," by Jane Burdette (Silvertown Historic Preservation Project), Jamesan Gramme (director, Thomaston-Upson Archives) and Chris Jackson (Historic Preservation Specialist, WLA Studio).
  • "Legacies of Cotton Industrialization in Georgia: Architecture and Transportation" with two lectures: "Folk Architecture in Whittier Mills Village (of Atlanta) by Heather Meadows (graduate student at GSU), and "Huff Daland Dusters, Macon, GA and the move to Monroe, LA" by Dr. James Hoogerwerf (expert on the History of Technology, Auburn University).
  • "The West Georgia Textile Heritage Trail" including three lectures. "Establishing the West Georgia Textile Heritage Trail" by Keri Adams and Dr. Ann McCleary (both with the Center for Public History at the University of West Georgia (UWG); "Interpreting the Textile Industry" by Jarrett Craft (the Textile Trail Curator at UWG) and Dr. Will Stoutamire (Center for Public History, UWG); and "Mapping the Textile Industry" by Tinaye Gibbons, Annie Shirley and Dr. Andy Walter, all with the Center for Public History at UWG.

There’s no registration. For more information, go to GeorgiaArchives.org or call 678-364-3710.

Magazines offer great research tips

Despite genealogy information online, with webinars, podcasts and so forth, sometimes a genealogy magazine can stimulate your research. The March/April issue of “Your Genealogy Today” did just that for me. Diane L. Richard, North Carolina genealogy expert, wrote about the “Power of Petitions.” She examined state records containing county border changes, relief for veterans, name changes and the freeing of slaves, as examples. David Norris covered the value of easements among property records. Other articles covered what our ancestors did for fun and what pets they had. Ed Storey wrote about “Missionaries in our Past.” On newsstands or see yourgenealogytoday.com.

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