Hey, I'm Famous!

This is a moment total, unashamed, self-promotion. I would urge everyone to take a look at the "making connections" section, or the letters to the editor, of the Family Tree Magazine. Dated November 2010, the issue just arrived in my mailbox. An incredibly wise author, namely me, took issue with the "Family Archivist" column of the August magazine.

The point of my letter is that encapsulation, the topic of the August column, is not always appropriate for saving family documents. And, I thought the columnist failed to point this out. So, the "rabble rouser" part of my personality has emerged on the pages of this most prestigious magazine.

Be sure to take a look at it. I am quite proud.

More on Camp Lawton

More information about the Union soldiers imprisoned at Camp Lawton, here in Georgia.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/17/georgia.civil.war.camp/index.html?hpt=Mid

Very interesting material.

Major Civil War Find in Southeast Georgia!

For nearly 150 years the exact location of Camp Lawton has been a mystery. Few people beyond the most dedicated Civil War scholars knew of the POW camp that served as the overflow from Andersonville. Georgia Southern University archealogy students have uncovered the location of the camp.

read more at:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/14/georgia.civil.war.camp/index.html

An interesting story.

It Really Does Take a Village

As the discussion about adoption and tracking unknown ancestors becomes more prevalent, I am continuously reminded of the title of Hilary Clinton's book It Takes a Village. I keep thinking that in the day of adoption and the medical miracles of artificial insemination, research into ancestry takes new and challenging courses. Here is one example of the new challenges and new answers:


http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/11/sperm.donor.sibling.connect/index.html?hpt=Sbin

The donor sibling registry and other methods of tracking ancestry is moving as rapidly as new technologies will allow.

Where are the immigrants?

Recently I have been working to document immigration and immigrant activity in Atlanta, Ga. Specifically, I have been trying to identify the influence of “new immigrants,” the wave of European immigrants coming to the United States between 1880 and 1930. My research includes ethnic groups such as the Italians, Greeks, Poles, Slavs and other Eastern and Southern immigrants. As I search, something interesting is happening; these new immigrants are nearly invisible in Atlanta.

I know the Greek community was well established in Atlanta. After all, in 1928 the Greek Orthodox Church consecrated a small chapel at Greenwood Cemetery. There are also a large number of graves in the Greek section of the cemetery. So, there is some evidence that the Greek community existed in Atlanta, yet I find nothing written about them. The same is true of the Italian community and other European communities in Atlanta. Where did all of these immigrants go? Did they assimilate so quickly and effectively that any evidence of their migration is gone? What happened to the “new immigrants?”

Was the city founded only by United States citizens with a smattering of Irish and German immigrants, with the occasional French family thrown into the mix? It is unfortunate that so little is being developed or written about the “new Immigrants” that settled in Atlanta. It is a topic that needs to be encouraged and promoted. We need more research on ethnic groups in Atlanta, and for that matter the state of Georgia as a whole.