Augusta Public Library Local History and Genealogy

Career Romance or Career Girl novels were fictional stories written for girls and young women that specifically featured a female protagonist and her adventures in the workforce; a novelty for women in the first half of the 20th Century. Published from the 1930s to the 1960s (with the bulk of the genre coming out in the 1950s), these romances novels explored careers that were being opened to young, unmarried women recently graduated from college. Nurses, teachers, and secretaries were typically featured; however other career options included stewardesses, models and scriptwriters. Local author Ruby Radford also published a number of books in this genre under her pseudonym Marcia Ford. On display in the Georgia Room from June to July 2017 is a unique collection of these works.

Thursday, July 13, 2017
10:30 am
Georgia Heritage Room
Augusta Public Library

Vietnam Convoy Trucker recounts the story of Specialist Five William (Bill) Patterson, as he and his fellow truck drivers delivered supplies to American combat troops battling the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong. The men experienced moments of fear, boredom and humor during their almost year-long tour during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. Various members of the company took the photographs that accompany many of the incidents he describes. William E. (“Bill”) Patterson was born in Augusta in 1943, one of seven children. He attended public schools, and used his G.I. Bill benefit and graduated from Augusta College. He was awarded the U.S. Army Commendation Medal for his Vietnam War service. He hopes his fellow Vietnam War Veterans and others will find this book worth reading.

Finding Missing Persons with DNA Testing

Legacy Family Tree Webinar
Tuesday, June 13th @ 10:30 am in the 3rd Floor Computer Lab of the Augusta Public Library.
Do you have an adoption in your line, or are you adopted? Do you have an ancestor who just refuses to be found? DNA testing can be very powerful tool to help fill in the blanks in your family tree. But how helpful can it really be when you know absolutely nothing about the person you are trying to find? As it turns out, with the right techniques and a careful search your DNA might be able to tell you more than you think.
Space is limited, so please call the Georgia Heritage Room of the Augusta Public Library at 706-826-1511 to reserve a spot.

Hit a brick wall in your family research? Don’t know what to do or where to go to find that next clue? Join Tina Rae Floyd on Saturday, May 13th at 10:00 am in the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library Meeting Room B as she helps you find ways to BREAK down those walls. Tina Rae will teach you what resources you have right at your fingertips for furthering your research. She will also help you learn how to mine your documents for every possible clue. Bring your laptops and tablets to immediately begin utilizing the tips and tricks she demonstrates.

For all of you tracing your Irish roots, the Augusta Public Library now gives you access through Zinio to Irish Roots magazine. Zinio is one of the many digital databases available to Richmond County library patrons with a valid PINES library card. Zinio has an array of eMagazines to choose from including among others Yoga Journal, Vanity Fair, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and now, Irish Roots. Just go to our library home page www.arcpls.org and find the Zinio link under the Digital Library tab, create a free account, and begin downloading eMagazines FOR FREE. Happy ancestoring!

http://www.irishrootsmedia.com/

Using GALILEO For Genealogy
Research Your Family History in GALILEO

Public libraries in Georgia offer several online resources through GALILEO for researchers interested in their ancestry. Since all Georgia citizens have access to GALILEO through their public library, every person in Georgia has these genealogy resources at his or her fingertips. Please join the Georgia Heritage Room staff in the 3rd Floor Computer Lab of the Augusta Public Library at 10:30 am on Tuesday, April 25th as we teach participants how to access the best databases in GALILEO for family history research, including Ancestry Library Edition, Digital Library of Georgia, and HeritageQuest Online. Space is limited, so please call 706-826-1511 to reserve a spot.

Fascinating article in the 3/6/2017 edition of Augusta Chronicle:

http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/AugustaChronicle/TranslateArticle.aspoc=TAC%2F2017%2F03%2F06&entity=ar00105

Please join the Augusta Public Library as we welcome renowned anthropologist Adam King on Saturday, February 25th at 2:00 PM in the library auditorium for a talk on Mississippian Culture and the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex. Dr. King’s presentation will kick off the Michael C. Carlos Museum Traveling Exhibit from Atlanta, which runs from February 25th until March 14th.

“Adam King is a research associate professor in the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and special projects archaeologist for the Savannah River Archaeological Research Program at the University of South Carolina. King has conducted research in the Southeast since 1987 and specializes in the Mississippian period and the political economies of chiefdoms. He is the author of Etowah: The Political History of  a Chiefdom Capitol.”

Archaeology in South Carolina: Exploring the Hidden Heritage of the Palmetto State.

A shell gorget (pendant) found at Etowah, Georgia,  date to the 13th century.

One of the many horrors inflicted on slaves during that era of American history was the tearing apart of families; mothers, fathers, and children sold away from one another never to be heard of again. Near the end of the Civil War “Information Wanted” advertisements began appearing in newspapers all over the United States, written by former slaves requesting information about their lost loved ones. Though many are just a few lines, sparsely written, the urgency with which they are written is heartbreaking. Many include the names of family members and relationships, plantations where they were last together, and the names of slave owners, making them an invaluable resource for those tracing their family history. Please explore the links below to learn more about the efforts being made to digitize these advertisements.

https://www.hnoc.org/database/lost-friends/

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/02/22/516651689/after-slavery-searching-for-loved-ones-in-wanted-ads

In honor of Black History Month, the Georgia Heritage Room is exhibiting a selection of antique books and magazines on loan from local author and historian Mr. Elvin Thompson. The exhibit will run through the end of March 2017, so please visit us on the third floor of the Augusta Public Library to see this remarkable collection.