Check out the link below to see what Lynn Bancroft, Olde Meck Vice President, and others have to share about "Tracing Your Family Tree." This is an article written by Cailyn Domecq for the Our State magazine.
For our August meeting, Olde Meck member and owner of Visual Story Media, Kimberly Melton, joined us to deliver a presentation entitled, “DIY Photo & Media Organization for Genealogists.”
Most of us probably have boxes of old photos and documents and a phone and computer full of too many photographs to count. It’s time to think about organizing all of that media so you can actually look at it and share it with others! It doesn’t have to be a daunting process if you break it into five easy steps:
Set goals and deadlines.
Select the items for your project.
Sort.
Save and scan your printed photos and slides.
Share your hard work with family and friends.
Refer to the DIY for the Genealogists cheat-sheet to help guide the way. Members may also view a recording of the entire program behind our Member Login tab.
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Ron Touchstone, Architect of Olde Meck Progress
We are very saddened to report that our Olde Meck family has lost another of its most special members. Ronald W. Touchstone passed away on Saturday, August 20, at the age of 83. A longtime member from our earliest days, Ron will be remembered as a key player in many aspects of our society. An architect by profession, he was the ‘architect’ of many advancements for Olde Meck.
Ron served as President, Vice President, Program Chair, and Director on our Board for many years.
He was the editor of our Quarterly journal, for seven years. In this role, Ron set new standards for excellence that are still followed.
Ron was the driving force behind the acquisition of our first library/meeting place, known as the Archives, at the Park Ministries building. Before this, our books and records were stacked in a storage unit, inaccessible to our members. The space also provided our first meeting place for both researchers and society business meetings.
Ron developed our first website and provided most of the content, allowing increased access to our records and visibility for our group.
Ron was committed to making Olde Meck the best it could be. We all owe him a great debt of gratitude for his dedication in seeing us through many years of successful operation. Our condolences go out to his family and all who knew him.
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Blackwelder Files Offer a Wealth of Information
Olde Meck Volunteers have completed the initial task of going through the impressive collection of genealogical materials donated by Linda Blackwelder. Linda has been a prolific researcher in the Steele Creek community of Mecklenburg County for many years. In addition to doing research for hire, she also compiled the book, Steele Creek, an Early History of the Steele Creek Community, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
Over the years many Steele Creek families have shared their information with Linda, in addition to her own research. We are grateful Linda has entrusted us with her files so that even more people can benefit from her efforts.
Here is a list of the folder headings from her files. If you find something you'd like to explore further, either come by the Family Research Center or contact us at info@oldemeck.org.
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Ferguson Errata
Mecklenburg County, NC, Will Abstracts, 1791-1868, Books A-J
If you purchased a copy of Herman W. Ferguson's Mecklenburg County, NC, Will Abstracts, 1791-1868, Books A-J, from Olde Meck, and it did not have a loose copy of the “Errata” in the front, you may wish to print this Errata page and insert it. Ferguson made these corrections in 2010, but some copies sold after that time may not have had the page of “Errata.”
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Genealogical Offerings at NC State Archives
For our June meeting, we enjoyed an informative overview of the offerings of the North Carolina State Archives, presented by Alison Thurman. Alison provided this NCSA Handout which you may download. Thanks, Alison!Contact info@oldemeck.org with questions.
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Organizing Your Genealogy Research
Does your genealogy area look anything like the picture here?
If so, you may want to view the recording of Olde Meck member Lynn Bancroft's talk Organizing Your Genealogy Research.
This is an updated program from one she gave to Olde Meck in 2019 and was presented at the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) Black History Month Conference. Lynn discussed useful hints and presented a sampling of different charts which can also improve our efficiency. Based on ideas from many genealogy experts, she described how the following tips may be helpful:
Keep the big picture in mind.
Designate a workspace.
Take charge of paper files.
Establish an organization routine.
Go digital.
Use Additional Charts
Create a kit for on-site research.
We are sharing the recording here in the hopes it can provide some tips for all of us to better organize our research.
(1) Click Start Button below to begin. Be sure to view in Full Screen (icon at bottom right of video)
Katie Grafer presented our January program about how to use historic newspapers to assist in genealogical research. In her presentation, "Extra! Extra! Getting Clues and Context From Historic Newspapers," Katie shared many tips about how to look beyond the obituaries and wedding announcements to help guide your newspaper research. She explained the other types of useful information that can be found in old publications, including public notices, social columns, and even advertisements. She gave specific examples from her own research that allowed her to ‘connect the dots’ on elusive ancestors.
The following list of websites may help you find historic newspapers:
Deed records can provide a wealth of information to fill out our ancestors' stories but can oftentimes be difficult to access. We are excited to announce an addition to our website which will make the process of finding valuable Mecklenburg land records easier than in the past.
As part of her internship for a course in her Masters of Library Science program at East Carolina University, Ann Martin, now an Olde Meck member, has recently completed a helpful video tutorial to walk users through the process of accessing the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds website. If you have Mecklenburg ancestors and have ever wanted to view old deeds and land transactions, this video will facilitate your journey.
Ann describes the basics of deeds, what they consist of, and how they can help with family research. She then provides easy to follow navigation through the Register of Deeds website using a specific example.
(1) Click Start Button below to begin. Be sure to view in Full Screen (icon at bottom right of video)
We hope you will find Ann’s video tutorial useful and search for the deeds of your ancestors. Please feel free to give us feedback on this new feature.
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Picture Formatting Suggestions
Below are links to YouTube videos created by Louise Nottingham, leader of the Olde Meck Writers' Group. They are designed to help you format photos and images of documents that you may want to include in a Microsoft Word family file:
A Salisbury Diary: Extracting Evidence for Context and Content
The North Carolina Genealogical Society is delighted to present Jill Morelli, CG® "A Salisbury Diary: Extracting Evidence for Context and Content". This recorded Webinar will be freely available to the public from midnight Thursday night through midnight Sunday night ...
Monthly Meeting - Unsung Heroines of the Carolina Frontier
For the Olde Meck February monthly meeting Alexia Jones Helsley, history professor at USC Aiken will speak to us about the unsung women who helped carve out the frontier of both North and South Carolina.
RootsTech, the world’s largest family history gathering, is back in 2023 with an in-person event in Salt Lake City to complement its massive online conference. Mark your calendars for March 2–4, 2023, to join millions of virtual and in-person attendees for ...
The upcoming NGS 2023 Family History Conference, Virginia: The Deep Roots of a Nation, will be held in Richmond, Virginia, 31 May–3 June 2023, and On-Demand July through December 2023. Attendees will have an opportunity to choose from new lectures ...
player in many aspects of our society. An architect by profession, he was the ‘architect’ of many advancements for Olde Meck.
by Linda Blackwelder. Linda has been a prolific researcher in the Steele Creek community of Mecklenburg County for many years. In addition to doing research for hire, she also compiled the book, Steele Creek, an Early History of the Steele Creek Community, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
Does your genealogy area look anything like the picture here? 