Wednesday, January 27, 2010

New Genealogy Library in Pensacola, FL

There is good news for genealogists, and GREAT NEWS for genealogists in West Florida. The Pensacola Public Library has announced the opening of the West Florida Genealogy Library in Pensacola. The Library will house the public library system genealogy collection and local history collection. It will also house the collection of the West Florida Genealogical Society.

With all of the bad economic news and so many library systems closing doors and cutting hours, it is heartwarming to read of a library opening.

The library opened its doors at 10 am on Tuesday, January 26, 2010.

For more details contact the Pensacola Public Library at:

www.cityofpensacola.com/library

Special thanks to Dick Eastman and Leland Meitzler for bringing this to my attention.

Friday, January 22, 2010

This video is fascinating

Take a look at the attached video clip. This was shot in San Francisco, 1906 just a few days before the big earthquake. It is about seven minutes long. Incredibly interesting.

http://www.flixxy.com/san-francisco-1905-historical-footage.htm

Thank you to Ms. Joanne Smalley for forwarding this video to me.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Black History Month is February

Coming up in a few weeks is Black History Month. Again this year there are a number of exciting programs and events scheduled that promise to provide a wealth of new information for Genealogists, Researchers and Family Historians. Any researcher interested in African-American History will want to give some attention to the activities going on this month.

Perhaps one of the most exciting events (in the Atlanta, Ga., area) is the Atlanta Black Family History Day Symposium, scheduled for Saturday 20 February 2010. In cooperation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons), the National Archives will host the day long program. There are a number of promising topics on the agenda. Ashley Judd, a researcher in Atlanta will discuss here research on Martin Luther King, Jr. Benjamin Carver Ridgway will talk about his research on the history of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Quinton Atkinson is scheduled to discuss the African American resources available on Ancestry.com

In addition to all of this, local organizations such as the Atlanta History Center have an abundance of programs scheduled. At AHC, with the opening of a new exhibit, a traveling exhibit titled Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits on January 30, 2010, programs are scheduled each Friday during the month for students and families. Program topics range from slavery to Civil Rights. You will want to contact AHC for more details. Their webpage is www.AtlantaHistoryCenter.com

Along with these, you will definitely want to give attention to local chapters of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. It seems as though the local chapters always have interesting programs and discussion topics.

February is a great month for the study of Genealogy and Family History. This is particularly true for researchers in African-American History. You can’t help but be enthused by all of the activities going on.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Another Great Family History Story

Here is an interesting story published in the LA times. This article reinforces the idea of "know the neighbors" when doing family history research.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-photo-story1-2010jan01,0,4826756.story?p
age=1

The on-line access to this story may be limited in time, depending on the policies of the LA Times.