Augusta Public Library Local History and Genealogy

Lots of new books have arrived in the Georgia Room today! Most of the books are marriage records for the following counties: Baldwin, Banks, Bryan, Burke, Camden, Campbell, Carroll, Cass/Bartow, Catoosa, Chattahoochee, Dawson, Decatur, DeKalb, Dooly, Emanuel, Fannin, Fayette, Franklin, Gordon, Greene, Harris, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Liberty, Lumpkin, Marion, Meriwether, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Murray, Muscogee, Pike, Putnam, Screven, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Union, Walton, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Whitfield, Wilkinson.

by Aspasia Luster

Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site will present a special talk and tour that looks at the impact the Emancipation Proclamation had on black and white families in the South 150 years ago.  “Emancipation:  A Black & White Experience” will be held on Saturday, November 10, 2012, at 10 a.m.  The program also includes looking at how the Emancipation Proclamation was viewed by most CSRA residents of the time, its coverage in the newspaper, etc. The program consists of a short presentation, a tour of the historic grounds and buildings and a discussion of what the proclamation meant to local residents.  Cost will be $8/adult, $6.50/S.C. seniors and $5/ages 6-16.  The plantation is located at 181 Redcliffe Road in Beech Island, S.C.  For more information, please contact the park at 803-827-1473 or e-mail redcliffe@scprt.com.  Visit www.southcarolinaparks.com/redcliffe to learn more about the park.

Thank you to Lillian Wan and Elizabeth Laney for notifying  the Georgia Room of this important event!

by Aspasia Luster

The Georgia Room has two upcoming events planned. On October 31st, we will tour Magnolia Cemetery and explore the meaning of gravestone art. I bet you didn’t know that all those vases and flowers carved on the memorials meant something to the Victorians. Join us at 2:00 on Halloween!

Our November program will be a walking tour with Erick Montgomery of downtown Augusta. All of you who joined us for Erick’s tour last spring know you are in for a treat! It will take place on November 17th at 10:30 am. Mark it on your calendars. You won’t want to miss it.

1940 Census through the National Archives:

http://1940census.archives.gov/

Search the 1930 census at Archives.com:

http://1940census.archives.gov/search-1930/

FamilySearch 1940 census (searchable from home):

https://familysearch.org/1940census/

Georgia Heritage Room link to Galileo

http://www.ecgrl.org/index.php/services/genealogy

At 2:00 on Thursday,October 18th, in the third floor library computer classroom, we will hold “Hands on with the 1940 Census,” a computer class about exploring and interpreting the 1940 Federal Census. Bring in the names of your relatives and learn how to find them.

The Augusta Canal Interpretive Center will be hosting a two-day “Augusta and the Civil War Symposium” on Friday, November 9 and Saturday, November 10. “This year’s theme “Making War” focuses on Southern industrialization, reflecting Augusta’s significant role in the manufacture of gunpowder, ordnance, ammunition and other material for the Confederate forces.”  (Source: Augusta Canal Interpretive Center brochure)

• Friday, November 9, 2012

Morris Museum of Art

6:30 pm lecture, 7:30 pm reception

“The Edward J. Cashin Memorial Woodrow Wilson Lecture”

Mary DeCredico, PhD, Professor of History, United States Naval Academy, presents “Georgia’s Industrialization and the Confederate War Effort”

Free and open to the public. Seating is limited; preregistration required.

• Saturday, November 10, 2012

Morning Session: The Kroc Center

8:30-9:00am: Registration

9:00-10:15 am: “Augusta Really Begins to Look Like a Little Lowell: The Textile Industry in Augusta, 1861-1865,” a lecture by Keith Bohannon, PhD, Associate Professor of History, University of West Georgia.

10:30-11:15 am: “Rebel Genius: The Confederate Powder Works at Augusta,” lecture by Gordon Blaker, Director and Curator, U.S. Army Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, Oklahoma

11:30am -12:45 pm: lunch and “Interpreting the Confederate Powder Works for the 21^st Century”

12:45-1:00pm: Travel by personal vehicles to Augusta Canal Interpretive Center

Afternoon Session: Augusta Canal Interpretive Center at Enterprise Mill

1:00-1:15: Check in

1:30pm or 3:00pm: Petersburg boat guided canal tour: “Food, Fabric and Firepower: Augusta Canal and the Civil War”

1:30pm or 3:00pm: “How to Make Gunpowder in 18 Not-So-Easy Steps and Not Blow Yourself and Everyone Else to Kingdom Come.” Lecture by Gordon Baker.

1:15-4:30pm” Civil War book fair and Augusta Canal Interpretive Center self-guided tour

Saturday’s events are $30 per participant and include all lectures, lunch, and the boat tour.

Advance registration is required; call Holley Madden at the Augusta Canal, 706-823-0440, ext. 7.

Historic Augusta and Lucy Craft Laney Museum just sent out notices that they are changing this month’s event of “This Place Matters:  Preserving Augusta’s African-American Communities.”  Instead of the 4th weekend of this month, it will be set up Oct. 18 and 19 at the Sand Hills Community Center, 2540 Wheeler Rd., corner of Fleming Ave. which is perpendicular to the entrance of Augusta State University on Walton Way.  The Friday night speech and reception will be held at the community center.  Keynote lecture will be by Bobby Donaldson, associate professor of history at the University of S.C.-Columbia.

The Saturday events will start with coffee and refreshments at 9:30 a.m., then a ramble of the Sand Hills neighborhood. There will be a panel discussion of residents starting at 11:30 who will share their stories, photos and history of the Sand Hills neighborhood.  Then a luncheon will be held at 12:30 with a summary of the forum by ASU’s Lee Ann Caldwell,
director of the Center for the Study of Georgia History.

Per the new form, the event itself is free and the Saturday luncheon will be $10.

For registration or more information, please contact Historic Augusta at 706-724-0436 or www.historicaugusta.org or the Lucy Laney Museum of Black History at 706-724-3576 or www.lucycraftlaneymuseum.com.

Thank you to Lillian Wan for letting us know of the changes!

The Friends of the National Archives-Southeast Region will be hosting a monthly webinar this Monday, October 8th at 7pm. The webinar is titled, “Doing the Dawes: Locating Your Ancestors on the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes.”  The webinar is free and easy to use and you can sign up here: http://www.friendsnas.org/webinarSch.htm.

by Aspasia Luster

What do zombies create in the library?

Dead silence.

Thank you to Jimmy Morris for bringing a smile to our faces!

Every October, Reese Library Special Collections celebrates Georgia Archives Month.

Georgia Archives Month is a way to celebrate the value of Georgia’s historical records, publicize the many ways historical records enrich our lives, and recognize those who maintain our communities’ historical records. This also is the ideal time to call attention to your organization or local government and its work in preserving Georgia’s documentary heritage.

This year, Reese Library Special Collections will observe the designated month with two lectures highlighting Augusta State University’s rich past.

Mapping Memories: From Arsenal to ASU
Join Dr. Christopher Murphy, professor emeritus of anthropology, as he virtually demolishes the campus and rebuilds it from 1875 to the present day.
Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2:30 p.m., 160 University Hall

Standing on History
Take a trip back in time with Bill Wells, local historian, and get ready to “see” the men, munitions, animals, and living quarters of the working Augusta Arsenal.
Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2:30 p.m., Arsenal Quad

A reproduction of the earliest known Augusta Arsenal Map (1830-1874) also will be displayed alongside other Arsenal and campus maps from Oct. 18-Nov. 1.

For more information, about these events or other Georgia Archives Month-related events, contact Carol Waggoner-Angleton, Special Collections Librarian, at 706-667-4904 or spcoll@aug.edu.

Thank you to Lillian Wan for bringing these important events to our attention!