A genealogy workshop is set for Oct. 31 in Gwinnett County, with lectures on a variety of topics.
Three different sessions are scheduled each hour, plus a separate computer lab. Topics include basic beginning genealogy, website research, Georgia’s Galileo Library, research in the U.K. and more specialized topics such as Freedman’s Bureau and World War I records. DNA will be covered in two tracks: one on autosomal DNA, and another on finding cousins through chromosomes. There also will be a session for young genealogists over 12 to help them get started.
The workshop sessions will start at 9 a.m. and end at 12:45 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3355 Sugarloaf Parkway, Lawrenceville. The workshop is free; reservations (which can be made at genresga@hotmail.com) are required only for the computer lab, which has limited seating. For further information, contact Terry Manning at temanning@aol.com or 770-564-8822.
This event has been highly successful in previous years and is well worth attending. Co-sponsors include the Georgia Genealogical Society, chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution, and the Genealogy Study Group (Lawrenceville).
Wills and probate records added
Ancestry.com recently revamped its site, while at the same time adding new record groups. While these can turn up automatically during a search, they're not easily found; you might search directly for "wills and probates, estate and guardians records." That leads to digitized versions of loose probate records from some states.
Also, always check the digitized probate records found at familysearch.org. Some states, such as North Carolina, have many of their counties' loose probate packets online. To be thorough, check all three: Ancestry, FamilySearch and state archives sites.
Good source for North Carolina
A good place to look for North Carolina materials, county by county, is digitalnc.org. It all depends on the county; some have rich resources therein, others not much. For Stanly County, the team digitized original documents, including private papers from the Stanly County Museum. Many counties also have early 20th century school newspapers.
The site is sponsored by the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and is well worth checking.
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