Author to discuss her book on Jimmy Carter at Georgia Archives

Kaye Lanning Minchew will discuss her latest book, “Jimmy Carter: Citizen of the South,” at the Friends of Georgia Archives and History (FOGAH) annual meeting, scheduled for September 17.

The 1 p.m. event, which will be held at the Georgia Archives, is free and open to the public.

Minchew, author of “A President In Our Midst: Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Georgia,” will talk about Carter and his role in Georgia and the nation before, during and after his presidency.

FOGAH, a nonprofit organization, supports the Georgia Archives Lunch and Learn program and offers Sarah Owen Dunaway scholarships to the Georgia Archives Institute. At fogah.org, you can order one of the many state capitol-inspired Christmas ornaments that are sold as part of the organization’s annual fundraising. For more information, contact fogah2004@yahoo.com.

Help offered by National Genealogical Society

The National Genealogical Society (NGS), now merged with the Federation of Genealogical Societies, is offering more help to genealogical societies. A number of lectures from the recent 2021 Virtual Family History Conference can be viewed online, go to the website ngsgenealogy.org and check out the Societies and Organizations section, which has “Focus on Societies.” Some of the sessions offer tips on newsletters, setting up interest groups, growing your society, motivating volunteers and working with digitization projects. These lectures and many more could be very useful.

German family story misconceptions

The July/September NGS Magazine contains an article debunking “popular lore in Germanic” family stories, such as our ancestors were stowaways; we had a noble heritage but dropped the “Von”; we were driven out by religious strife; we fled the province to avoid the draft, and so forth. Moral of the article: Do your research. Don’t be swayed by what grandma told you.