Google Map of the Raleigh and North Carolina

We have created a map of some of the important locations in Raleigh and North Carolina on Google Maps.

Please follow this link view the map.

The map identifies locations according to the following key:

• A blue circular pin with a black dot in the center -- The Raleigh Convention and Conference Center. The location of the conference.
  
• A yellow house -- The three conference hotels
• A knife and fork -- Dining areas or specific restaurants
  
• A coffee cup -- (New!) Local coffee bars and cafés
  
• A purple push pin -- The Raleigh City Museum & Visitor's Center
• A green push pin -- Libraries and archives
  
• A yellow push pin -- Historical sites
• A red push pin -- Historic cemeteries
  
• A light blue push pin -- Other sites of interest
  
• A blue letter P -- Parking (New! The map now includes the locations of the Convention Center, Cabarrus and Archives parking lots.)
  

We will continue to update the map with additional locations, including parking locations.

Society Night -- Has Your Society Signed up Yet?

We have a great event planned for the evening of Wednesday, May 13th -- Society Night!

This is an opportunity for genealogy, family history, historical societies and related to set up a table for one evening to either meet "distant" members who are visiting Raleigh, talk to potential members, sell publications, or just chit-chat with one another!

Remember that this event is FREE not only to conference attendees and it is open to the general public! So, if you are looking for a fun evening and a low-cost way to "share" about your society, please do join us!

Read more about all that is happening on Society Night !!

Sign up for Society Night now!

Olde Mecklenburg Genealogical Society

Since 1981, Olde Mecklenburg Genealogical Society has worked to increase the interest in and to raise the standards of genealogical research. The Society's 265 members located in 31 states all receive The Messenger, a monthly newsletter, and the OMGS Quarterly.

The Messenger informs members of programs, genealogical events, news about members, and acquistions in the Carolina Room of the Public Library and lists current Society publications for sale.

For 25 years, the Society has issued the Quarterly, with an emphasis on historic Mecklenburg County, formed from Anson County in 1762, including at that time territory that has been divided into other counties in both Carolinas. A prize-winning publication, the Quarterly covers all aspects of family research, such as Bible and church records, family histories, and government documents.

The Society's monthly programs help to further members' understanding of the standards and techniques of genealogy. OMGS also sponsors workshops, some in conjunction with the Carolina Room of the Charlotte Public Library, including one on the role of genetics in genealogy. Another, co-sponsored with the North Carolina Genealogical Society in July 2008, "From Ulster to the Carolinas: Finding Your Scots-Irish Ancestors," was an all-day presentation by David E.Rencher from the Family and Church History Department of the LDS Church in Salt Lake City.

In addition to its periodicals, OMGS has published a number of books, including a series in progress on local cemeteries. The Society also sells books written by members, including a comprehensive series of abstracts by Herman Ferguson of Mecklenburg court minutes, deeds,wills, and tax lists. Publications and the Quarterly are indexed.

In mid-2005 the Society realized its longtime dream of an Archives to store its collection of books, periodicals, family files, and ancestor charts submitted by members, issues of the Quarterly, copies of other regional society quarterlies, and books on various families, Charlotte/Mecklenburg, North Carolina and other states, and genealogy in general. Volunteers continue to compile computerized indexes to provide easier access by researchers. A 15-second search of all indexes with approximately 550,000 surname listings including 18,000 from the family files and more than 53,000 from the Quarterly (60 percent complete) saves a huge amount of time when reviewing holdings. Donations of family research papers, books, and several collections of material from experienced researchers have been welcomed.

The Archives, located at the Park Ministry complex on Independence Boulevard, is open on Tuesdays, 10-12; Thursdays, 10-12 and 1-4; and the third Saturday each month, 10-2.

The Society meets the second Wednesday of each month at the Community Center, Aldersgate, a Methodist retirement community, 3800 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina. A sister group in north Mecklenburg, the Hopewell Group, meets on the second Saturday of most months in Hopewell Presbyterian Church.

More details about Olde Mecklenburg Genealogical Society and its activities as well as the list of publications and index to Quarterly articles are on the website.

Wednesday's FREE Events -- Don't Miss!!

On Wednesday, 13 May 2009 -- The NGS Conference in the States 2009 has several free events that you will not want to miss!

These events are all FREE and are held in the Convention Center!

Join us for a movie, some free lectures, Society Night and extended shopping hours in the exhibit hall Wednesday evening until 7:00 PM. See the conference website for a list of our many exhibitors including book and software vendors, libraries, and organizations.

Society Night
5:00–7:00 PM
Mezzanine area of conference center

Do you have an ancestor from a North Carolina county? Representatives of many county genealogical and historical societies from all over North Carolina and nearby states will staff booths throughout the mezzanine area of the conference center. Society members will display information about their group’s activities, answer questions about area repositories and resources, and sell publications and books. We will enjoy live piano music throughout the evening.

Evening Lecture Series
7:00 PM

• How Our Ancestors Moved over the Land in Olden Times: Land Transport Capabilities and Limitations in Colonial Carolina --Tom Magnuson from the Trading Path Association
• Genealogy 2.0: Using Digital Tools to Trace Your North Carolina Roots -- This presentation will provide a guided tour of the North Carolina State Archives/State Library’s digital resources such as the Archives’ MARS catalog and will showcase digitized publications and records related to genealogy. Participation from attendees is encouraged. Druscie Simpson & Christy Allen from the North Carolina State Library and Archives.
• Melungeon Voices, a film by Julie Williams Dixon and Warren Gentry -- The Melungeons of East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia have been shrouded in mystery for hundreds of years with theories of who they might be ranging from descendants of the Lost Colony to descendants of shipwrecked sailors who intermarried with Native Americans. For any genealogist looking for a Melungeon ancestor, this one-hour documentary fi lm is a must see. Part genealogy, part geography, part genetics, the story of the Melungeons offers a fascinating look into the earliest days of America and how people put aside ethnic and racial differences to survive.
• Irish Emigration to America and Canada -- This lecture will explain the reasons for and the pattern of emigration from Ireland to America and Canada—who was affected and why. Mary Sullivan from the Irish History Foundation
• The Journey of an Ancestry Record: How an Image on Ancestry.com Gets from the Archives to the Website -- Laryn Brown from Ancestry.com

Caswell County Historical Association

The Caswell County Historical Association (CCHA) promotes the study of local history and genealogy, collects and interprets local artifacts, preserves local historical structures, provides information about Caswell County online, and assists Caswell County with heritage tourism projects.

The main CCHA website contains hundreds of articles on various aspects of Caswell County's history and the genealogy of its people. In addition to its main website, the CCHA operates a lively Message Board (350 subscribers), has created an online Family Tree (34,000 entries), offers an online Photograph Collection (15,000 images), has partnered with Cemetery Census to share online information about Caswell County cemeteries, and operates a Weblog.

The CCHA Website received the 2008 North Carolina Genealogical Society Award for Excellence in Web Presence (for a freely accessible website promoting North Carolina genealogy).

CCHA members receive as benefits the Lives and Times quarterly newsletter, a Members-Only Area at the Main Website, and free access to the Richmond-Miles History Museum, which the CCHA owns and operates and is located in the historic Graves-Florance-Gatewood House. A major attraction at the Richmond-Miles History Museum is the Maud Gatewood Exhibit.

Not only was this famous North Carolina artist born in Yanceyville, she was born in the house that now serves as the Museum. Gatewood was arguably the most important living North Carolina painter and considered by art historians, curators, museum directors and collectors as one of the most important painters in North Carolina history. This photograph shows part of the Maud Gatewood Exhibit, including the last canvas on which she worked.

The CCHA, in partnership with the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina, established the Caswell County Historical Association Collection. The materials are housed at the Wilson Library in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This allows the CCHA to share more broadly its collection of historical materials, provides them a safe repository, and eventually will make much of the collection available online, which should greatly assist those conducting Caswell County research. The centerpiece of the collection is the 1840s Tobacco and Slave Ledger the CCHA recently obtained and restored.

The CCHA has published several books over the years, including:

• When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977).


• An Inventory of Historic Architecture: Caswell County, North Carolina, Ruth Little-Stokes (1979)


• The Heritage of Caswell County, North Carolina, Jeannine D. Whitlow, Editor (1985)

And the CCHA is currently working on a photographic history of Caswell County to be published by mid 2009.

CCHA President Karen Oestreicher can be reached at: [email protected]