The state’s courts will be the focus of a virtual symposium at the Georgia Archives on April 2.
A number of scholars and experts will lecture and answer questions at the symposium titled “Georgia’s Judiciary and Courts Through the Years.”
State archivist Christopher Davidson will open the program with a welcome at 9 a.m., followed by several talk: “The Three Governors Controversy of 1946,″ by Andrew Bramlett, a student and independent scholar; “Building Your Case at the Courthouse,” by Larry W. Thomas, a professional genealogist; “Constitutional Law and Same Sex Marriage in Georgia,” by Sheryne Southard, Antoinette France-Harris and Denise Allen, from Clayton State University. The final session, at 11:10 a.m., will be “The History of the Supreme Court: Augusta and Beyond” by Justice Carla Wong McMillian of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
This event will introduce attendees to the importance of court records at all levels, many of which are housed at the Georgia Archives in the original form or on microfilm, with many digitized at various websites. The Georgia Supreme Court cases, published as “Georgia Reports,” start in 1846 and are a great source for genealogy and history clues. A computer index to the litigants can be found in the Reading Room at the Georgia Archives.
The symposium is free and virtual via Microsoft Teams. To register, go to GeorgiaArchives.org.
Rare books subject of Lunch and Learn
The Georgia Archives Lunch and Learn lecture on April 8 will be virtual only with JoyEllen Williams — Special Collections curator in the Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books at Kennesaw State — speaking on “How to become a Book Detective: The Analysis of Rare and Historic Books.” This free, pre-recorded webinar can be seen on the Georgia Archives YouTube Channel at noon and thereafter. Other Georgia Archives programs, both Lunch and Learn and others, are already on the YouTube channel, reachable from the Archives’ home page at GeorgiaArchives.org.
Visit the Georgia Archives
The Georgia Archives is definitely worth an in-person visit, with its vast collection of published books, manuscript materials, microfilm and databases. It is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. until noon, and 1-4 p.m.
Contact Kenneth H. Thomas Jr., P. O. Box 901, Decatur, Ga., 30031 or www.kenthomasongenealogy.com.
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