Augusta Public Library Local History and Genealogy

The Friends of the National Archives-Southeast Region will be hosting a monthly webinar this Monday, March 12^th at 7pm. The topic will be “Using U.S. Federal Records to locate the Townland of Your Irish Ancestors.”

According to the Friends of the National Archives website, this webinar will help you “focus on U.S. resources that can give you a real passport to finding your way to the right place and time in Ireland.” The webinar is free and easy to use and you can sign up for the webinar here: http://www.friendsnas.org/webinarSch.htm.

by Aspasia Luster

Today we had a query in the Georgia Room and we need your help! Christ Episcopal Church (AKA Christ Church) on the corner of Greene and Eve Streets will be celebrating their centennial anniversary this year. Their church building was donated to them by Church of the Good Shepherd. Our patron told us that the church building was placed on logs and rolled down Walton Way. Christ Episcopal Church would like to get copies of any photos or articles about this event. If you have access to any of this information, please call the Georgia Room at 706-826-1511.

by Aspasia Luster

If you have ancestors in Alabama, the Georgia Room can help you with your research needs. We recently bought the complete, 245-volume set of Alabama Records that were compiled by Pauline Myra Gandrud in the mid-1990s. The books contain a multitude of records for the following counties: Autauga, Bibb, Blount, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clarke, Colbert, Coosa, Dallas, DeKalb, Fayette, Greene, Jackson, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Lowndes, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Shelby, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, and Wilcox.

by Aspasia Luster

In December 2011, access to the SSDI was removed from rootsweb.com. This set off a firestorm of panic and controversy in the genealogy world.  Congress and the Social Security Administration want to limit  the accessibility of the Social Security Death Index to the public due to identity  theft concerns. As a genealogist, closing the access to the SSDI would be a huge blow to a major component of research. To read more about the controversy and to sign the Stop ID Theft Now! Petition at the White House’s website please clicking  on the following links: http://www.genealogywise.com/profiles/blogs/genealogy-community-responds-to-efforts-to-remove-access-to-socia.

http://www.fgs.org/rpac/sddi-call-to-action-kit/

by Aspasia Luster

Our second class of the month will be held on Thursday, February 16^th in the library’s computer lab. This new class, “Online Government Land Records” will show you how to search for your ancestors using the Bureau of Land Management’s website and online resources. The class starts at 2:30pm and a valid library card, PIN, and moderate computer skills are required. Space is limited to 16 participants and your spot can be reserved by calling the Georgia Room at 706-826-1511 or by sending an email to lustera@ecgrl.org.

by Aspasia Luster

The Georgia Room will be hosting a new class on Thursday, February 2^nd at 2pm. This class, “Research in Richmond County” will, as the name implies, educate you on all the local resources and organizations available to help you in your search of your Richmond County ancestors. Please RSVP by calling the Georgia Room at 706-826-1511 or by sending an email to lustera@ecgrl.org.

by Aspasia Luster

The Friends of the National Archives-Southeast Region will be hosting a webinar this Monday, January 9^th at 7pm. The topic will be “The 1940 Census” and the webinar will be hosted by Constance Potter, Staff Archivist and Genealogy Specialist of the National Archives of Atlanta.

The webinar will cover the new questions that make this census unique along with the supplemental schedules. You can sign up for the webinar here: http://www.friendsnas.org/webinarSch.htm.

by Aspasia Luster