The Southern home front during World War II is the theme of an all-day symposium running from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Sept. 21 at the National Archives in Atlanta at Morrow.
Speakers include: Denise Kiernan, author of “The Girls of Atomic City”; Fritz Hamer speaking on Charleston and its Navy Yard; Courtney Tollison, author of “We Just Did Everything We Could”; Edward A. Hatfield talking about Atlanta; and Nathan Jordan, National Archives and Records Administration Atlanta archivist specialist, speaking on military-related records of the era.
The goal of the symposium is to promote the use of World War II home front records and to highlight scholarly work on those records. Records held by the Archives in Atlanta cover Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. WWII subjects covered include labor relations, transportation, ordnance production, naval intelligence, civil rights and women in the work force.
The symposium is free; preregistration by Sept. 16 is required. To register, go to www.archives.gov/atlanta and look under What’s New in the Region? For further registration information, call 770-968-2100. For symposium questions, contact Joel Walker, education specialist, at 770-968-2530.
Time to get started
The DeKalb History Center’s Lunch and Learn lecture for Sept. 17 will feature this columnist speaking on “Genealogy: It’s Time to Get Started!”
The talk is aimed at people needing a final nudge to delve into the numerous records available once they’ve gotten started with some family details. Discussion will center on the basic steps as well as the top 10 websites that can be helpful. There will be tips for everyone.
The session is free; bring your own lunch. It runs from noon to 1 p. m. at the center’s headquarters in the Old Courthouse on the Square in Decatur. For further information, call 404-373-1088, Ext. 23, or check www.dekalbhistory.org and go to education and then public programs.
Runaway ancestors
A new book with the intriguing title “Given to Drinking and Whoring, White Maryland Runaways, 1720-1762” was compiled by Joseph Lee Boyle from newspaper advertisements of the day.
The introduction is an important essay about the circumstances of indentured servants and their travails, and the ads give detailed descriptions of the missing people and where they lived or had been indentured. It provides fascinating details about the people and their circumstances.
The softcover book is $49.95 plus $5.50 postage from Genealogical Publishing Co., 3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211 or check www.genealogical.com or 1-800-296-6687.
