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By Ginger Smith, February 5, 2012

D-OGS Meeting, 1 February 2012

Location: Bennett Place, Durham, NC

Speaker: Stewart Dunaway

Topic: The McCulloh Great Tracts – Their Impact on Genealogical Research

Meeting Minutes taken by Ginger R. Smith, D-OGS Secretary

The President Fred Mowry opened the meeting at 7:03 with a welcome. John Goss, the site coordinator of Bennett Place, said a few words of welcome to us since it is our first visit. He said they have a great library at Bennett Place containing 1500+ books including NC and GA troop books and they are working on getting Union books. Apr 28-29^th is the 50^th anniversary of Bennett Place as a State historic site. The surrender will be recreated here. He is looking for a contact within the 82^nd airborne band for the recreation.

Fred asked for visitors to come forward. Stewart introduced David Southern as a visitor tonight. Ellen Weig is also a visitor interested in several names including the Women of the Lady’s Sewing society at St. Matthews. Bob Bailey lives nearby and is visiting. Rodney Watson was introduced as someone who keeps coming because he loves genealogy.

MJ, our program coordinator/VP introduced Stewart Dunaway as our speaker tonight. He is from Florida. He has spoken to us before.

Henry McCulloh is the subject of Dunaway’s research. He was an 18^th Century Entrepreneur. Dunaway discussed his book Pyles’ Defeat. Which has caused 2 new historical markers to be erected – John Butler in Swepsonville and another marker which was incorrect – 1^st ever to be pulled down since 1935 – for the first paper mill which is not in Hillsborough. Stewart’s books can be found at www.LULU.com/sedunaway

Land Grants Overview:

Pre-1740 settled land was on the Eastern coast; first grants were from the King, then Lord Proprietor, then Granville Grants, then McCulloh Grants; then State Land Grants.

Stewart showed us some grants from the King, Granville, the Lord Proprietor; only 1 original McCulloch grant he’s ever found (preprinted form probably copied from Granville grant)

The McCulloch Family:

Often misspelled: the H and Ks were interchanged

Divided family – loyal for the rebellion; the loyal members resided in England and are buried in England.

3 different McCulloch “sects”

1. James Iredell descended from McCulloch family
2. Alexander McCulloch – daughter married Thomas Frohock a surveyor and one who collected money, allowed to sign grants in Henry’s name
3. Henry McCulloch – married into the Houston family, supported the Revolution; 1 son, James McColloch; remarried to Penelope Eustace who died. They had a daughter who died, leaving him with their son, Henry Eustace McColloch who’s girlfriend has a son out of wedlock – George McColloch who is raised by James Iredell – totally estranged from father Henry E McColloch

Granville District:

26,000 SQ miles including the top half of the State all the way to the western border of the State. Some tracts of

land were surveyed and given to McColloch even though they were in Granville territory.

Tract design:

The McColloch line doesn’t necessarily mean the boundary line.

A “tract” probably contains several “subtracts” and individual surveys

A “tract” of 100,000 acres might contain up to 96 subtracts

There are errors in these great tracts, so have some elasticity when viewing and/or mapping these tracts

Many errors probably due to the Gunter’s chains used to measure which were dragged for miles.

Time Line of Events:

McColloch’s reputation was that he was a crook and that he never sold his land.

Henry McColloch received his grants in 1737

Henry dislikes the locations based on the surveys in 1744

They were supposed to be 12 tracts of 100,000 acres each, supposed to be contiguous (but they were not)

He accepts them and Matthew Rouan enters them into the patent book in 1745 (took 8 years)

Granville discovers the overlap and enters into an agreement in 1755 (10 years of discussion over this overlap of tracts 12, 11, 10, 9 and part of 8 )

Henry never sold land until he could begin in 1755

A second agreement established in 1761 – that says they can’t accept (in addition to sell land in overlapping territory)

Then Lord Granville dies in Jan 1763 and Granville’s land office is closed in April 1763

McColloch surrenders the overlap land in Oct 1763 to Granville’s heirs – he had to surrender all of the bill of sales, grants, etc to these heirs

McColloch surrenders the remaining unsold land to the King – 1767

The McColloch’s purchase (from themselves) 67,000 acres of land – from all 13 tracts – this is confiscated (not the 1-12 because they already gave that back).

Events Continue

McColloch sales continue

Regulator Movement 1768-1771 (citizens fighting citizens = Civil War)

Committees of Correspondence 1774-1775 – the 13 colonies started talking to each other

1777 NC Confiscation Act: 1. If I catch you assisting the British, I will confiscate your land 2. If you live outside the area, you must come back and claim it or I take it

All land is lost – McColloch, Granville, King

1778 – State land grants began – it started in 78 and not 76 because they confiscated it first. The McColloch tracts were prime real estate!

Loyalist Claims:

England allowed these to be made and they would pay you for your land lost

Henry McColloch died before the war ended 1779

Granville heirs and H E McColloch file for their loss in 1783

McColloch claim awarded 1789 18,038 pounds (filed for 54kpounds) – about 64-67,000 acres lost

Granville claim awarded 1789 – about 60k pounds – 365k acres lost out of 16.6 million

Loyalist Claims # 2:  (debt due)

Jay Treaty 1794 – our treaty with England to deal with this in which America agreed that we should pay the debt due to England – make sure you research this at the NC State Archives – might be why families moved from Eastern part of state to western part of state – to avoid paying debt owed

Henry McColloch files his claim in 1795, nothing but issues, delays and problems

He had lots of mortgage bonds for lands he no longer owned

H E McColloch blows a fuse – enters an insane asylum (for the wealthy) in 1808

H E McColloch dies in 1812 and his wife in 1842. His family cemetery is in Chiswick, England, but he is not buried there. They were not poor, but not elite like Lord Granville.

Issues:

The land granted in these 12 tracts are difficult to follow – especially the overlap tracts

Tract 11 was in old Orange Co – The deeds were lost

The are NO “McColloch Grant” records in the State Archives like SLG or Granville grants etc.

Surrender records are the best source for finding the purchases/grants

Microfilm of original surrender records

Records of the Executive Council – vol 8 (Cain) – use this over the microfilm. Stewart said it matched up well with the films

NCGS Vol 4, issue 2 (1978) – Early Settlers in the NC Piedmond on lands sold by Henry McColloch – Davenport (be wary of this article it has some errors, including that the grants went to a mistress, it was actually a relative)

Loyalist Claims and Confiscation Records (Archives)

Eva Weeks – Register of Orange Co. (State Archives, Orange Co. Deed office, etc.) – contains hand written notes by clerks about the deeds that were destroyed.

Richard asked to please sign the card being passed around for member who died, Homer Tapp.

Fred Mowry opened the Business Meeting:

Secretary’s Report: Fred asked if there were any corrections to last month’s meeting minutes that were posted in the newsletter. Karen said there were some people who came in late and their names were not capture in the minutes. Minutes were accepted.

Treasurer’s report: (Ginny) The beginning balance as of 1/31/12 was $4085.89. Expenses were $157 and deposits were $500 for an ending balance of $4428.89.

Membership: Peg Edwards said there were 156 members, 23 complimentary members who don’t pay; we are members of 3 genealogical societies.

Website committee: (Ginger) no announcements

Trading Path: (Fred) the Elias’s need some help and need a new Editor. They are willing to continue printing and assisting the editor. Richard suggested we recruit non-local members as well.

Highlights from newsletter (Richard):

Stagville Sun Feb 12, Sat Feb 18^th a couple of events; Feb 5^th: Tom Magnunson from Trading Path is leading a walk at Stagville from 2-4. Alamance Co Gen society meeting Feb 13^th, Carol Troxler to talk about her book, Farming Dissenters about the Regulator Movement and the Piedmont; Hillsborough, a living history recreation at Alex. Dixon house with a British Encampment with firing of muskets; Feb 19^th, CH Historical society presentation on Bayard Wooten by Jerry Cotten in basement of Chapel Hill museum; Chatham Co Historical Association, Feb 19^th at 2pm at Central Carolina Community College – rebuilding of historic Chatam County Courthouse; NCGS Spring meeting at Rocky Mount.

Civil War Workshop at Duke Homestead: Feb 25^th how to trace CW ancestors and do research, has a subcommittee with Elias’s and Fred. Will have handouts. And Slave Records. Richard asked for volunteers to sit at table with journals and membership applications and/or answer questions about genealogy. They should contact Richard

Program Updates (MJ Hall): Next meeting in March will be by Mark Chilton, mayor of Carrboro who will talk about tracts. Meeting will be at the Methodist Church meeting room in Southern Village. We plan to rotate 2012 meetings between Southern Village, Bennett Place, and at Duke Homestead.

Karen: The Rebecca Wall Genealogy corner has the maps we donated to them (from Jim Richmond and his wife) hung on the wall. Richard says they’ve been hung a couple of months now.

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By Ginger Smith, January 23, 2012

Date: February 1, 2012

Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm

Topic: The McCulloh Great Tracts – Their Impact on Genealogy Research

Speaker: Stewart Dunaway

Location: Bennett Place located at 4409 Bennett Memorial Road, Durham,
NC 27705-2307 - (919) 383-4345 - http://www.nchistoricsites.org/bennett/

*Note*  Stewart will sell and sign books at the end of the meeting.

About the topic: 

The McCulloh Great Tracts – and their impact on
genealogy research

Henry McCulloh was a typical adventurer in the realm of colonial
politics and economics. He is said to have been a merchant of London,
and his home was at Turnham Green, Middlesex County. He probably became
interested in North Carolina through his relations with Gabriel
Johnston, to whom he advanced considerable sums of money between 1726
and 1733.  McCulloh’s deepest interest in the New World was that of a
land speculator. In 1737, the Crown delivered to Murray Crymble and
James Huey, trustees for McCulloh, warrants for 1,200,000 acres in North
Carolina, on condition that 6,000 foreign Protestants should be colonized.

Related information about the topic:
http://piedmontwanderings.blogspot.com/2010/01/settlers-in-tract-11.html
http://piedmontwanderings.blogspot.com/2010/01/great-tract-11-and-haw-river.html
http://www.carolana.com/NC/Royal_Colony/nc_royal_colony_henry_mcculloch.html

About the speaker:

Stewart Dunaway, formerly an executive of Siemens Telecom (FL), is
retired and now spends time researching colonial and revolutionary war
history in North Carolina. He has published myriad historical books as
well as genealogy-related material from the State Archives. He has
transcribed over 19,000 records from the Archives, now provided in book
form. His books can be found on the internet at:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/sedunaway.
Stewart, his wife Maryellen, and daughter Sarah reside in Hillsborough.

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By Ginger Smith, January 5, 2012

Here are the meeting minutes from our D-OGS monthly meeting held on January 4, 2012 at the Christ Church Meeting Place at 105 Market Street, Chapel Hill.

D-OGS Meeting, 4 January 2011

The new President, Fred Mowry, introduced himself and asked for visitors to introduce themselves. There were 11 members in attendance and 5 guests/visitors.

Fred introduced the officers: Ginger Smith as Secretary and Webmaster, Ginny Thomas as Treasurer, Karen Vance is an At Large Director, Rob as an At Large Director, Richard as Newsletter Editor, Peg Edwards as Membership Director.

Richard introduced the speaker as Ann Myhre.

The topic was “The War of 1812 in the Lower South – The Rest of the Story” by Ann Myhre

The PBS special that Carol Boggs sent to the mailing list was told from the perspective of the Canadian, British and New England researchers with very little mentioned about the South. The point of Ann’s talk was to give more of a perspective from the Southern Soldiers’ standpoint.

The Conditions Leading to War:

• Trade with France was impeded by the British
• There was an impressment of 6000+ US sailors
• British supported the Native Americans
• US expansionism into Canada
• US political conflict between North and South

She showed us a map of the US in 1812

She mentioned the USS Constitution which was called an “ironside” because it resisted Britain’s cannon balls. This is the oldest ship still in commission.

Scientific American article about the New Madrid MO earthquake, similar to the one that happened in VA last year; caused the Indians to take caution about the Americans who were taking their land. They thought it was a “sign”

• Fort Mims and Other Indian Battles consisted of Red Sticks (not Friendly Creek Indians) vs the Friendly Creeks

North Carolina:

• North Carolinians were divided

Tennessee:

• More people fought from TN than any other state
• Two of Ann’s ancestors fought

James McEwen (Ann’s 3^rd great-grandfather) was from Rowan Co., NC fought from Tennessee, son of David McEwen

• They moved to Madison Co., KY about 1790, then moved down to TN about 1797 with their cattle, horses, pigs, and sheep
• Their house is now on the Vanderbilt Legends Golf Course, which John and Ann visited in 2011
• Visited the Williamson Co., Historical society and they showed her the portraits of David McEwen, and James’ 2 brothers and nephew
• Ann also found a record on Ancestry.com for James McEwen as  a patroller against the slaves in Williamson Co
• Married Betsy Goff, daughter of Andrew Goff about 1804 and they had six children

Compiled military service records for 1812 cost $20 from NARA

• Captain James McEwen
• Pay was $40/mo
• Ann showed us the muster roll of his “company”
• Mustered in Dec 10, 1812 for 12 months
• They drilled on flat boats as they floated down to Natchez

John read a letter from Andrew Goff about what happened when they arrived at Natchez. They found that the enemy had backed out and Gen’l Jackson ordered them to return to Nashville.

Ann showed a photo of Natchez Trace from present day which is the trail they walked back on. Jackson paid for their travel back.

Ancestry.com has a free? Index for soldiers for the War of 1812 which tells you what unit they served in and who their commanding officer was.

Got called up again and James got promoted to Major.

Joel Henry Region/Regen

• Parents and date and place of birth unknown, was in Williamson Co., TN by 26 Sept 1813
• Also from Tennessee
• Was a private, mustered in Fayetteville
• Built Fort Strother and fought in the battle of Talladega
• Served under Christopher McEwen
• James made a total of $259.97, Joel only made $25.95 for pay. The difference between a private and a Captain/Major
• Joel Regan married Loretta Bateman

Battles of New Orleans:

The PBS special only mentioned 1 but there were actually 3 different battles.

Joel was involved in the Night Battle of New Orleans

The Treaty of Ghent ended the War, signed 24 Dec 1814, ratified by British 27 Dec and by the US 18 Feb 1815; But the Battles were still going on. The Americans gained fishing rights to the Greater St. Lawrence

Americans lost about 3,000 slaves

What the war accomplished:

For the US:

• Increased nationalism
• Increased in the Navy
• Demise of the Federalist Party

For Canada:

• Increased nationalism

For Britain:

• Return to status quo
• Return to trading with the US

For the indigenous people:

• They lost the most territory

Soldiers were allotted a certain number of acres based on how long they were enlisted for and how long they served for

Ann has provided this related information about the topic:

http://www.warof1812.ca/intro.html

http://www.ancestry.com/militaryrecords

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812

http://www.history.com/topics/war‐of‐1812

Business Meeting:

Ginny – Dec Treasury holds $3803.89 – from that, she paid $18 check for copy costs, brought in $300 deposits, including $200 check from Shirley Mallard for 10 yrs dues, final $4085.89

Ginger – the newsletter is posted to website, events are posted to the blog; and will be posted to the calendar

Peg – currently 155 members, 25 complimentary members who receive publications; she put a call out for volunteers for membership development

Fred – looking for volunteers to coordinate the Civil War workshop on Feb 25^th at Duke Homestead. A committee has been formed with Richard, Fred, Elias’; might have some slave records, scanning table, available records; Please let Fred, Richard, Cathy or Rob know if you would be interested in helping to put together a workshop for this event.

Next meeting will be Feb 1^st with Stuart Dunaway, talking about “The McCulloch Great Tracts – Their Impacts on Genealogy Research” will be at Bennett Place State Historic Site at 4409 Bennett Memorial Rd, Durham, NC.

Richard – NCGS spring meeting in Rocky Mount, March 31^st;

NC Museum of History – hosting a conservation assistance day; make an appointment, bring by your old documents to ask how to conserve it, on Jan 20^th, call Jan Sweat at 919-807-7023; Will not take live ammunition or items infested with mold or pests.

This Sunday they are doing the Music of the Carolina Series with Mr. Locklear, a Lumbee Indian who will be performing held at 3pm and is free.

NGS will be held this spring in Cincinnati.

Fred – In March, Mark Clinton will talk about State Land Grants; April – Allen Dew will talk about cemetery research and his website; May – Richard will discuss his new findings; June – David Southern, using maps for genealogical research; August – Show and Tell for members to talk about their projects; September – Carol Boggs will talk about things you find on the internet; October – Melanie Crane will talk about more advanced genealogy topics.

The computer interest group is still looking for a new moderator/leader.

There will be a genealogy workshop at the Senior Center taught by Margo next Wednesday. (She takes groups to SLC and teaches at Duke’s lifelong learning center).

End of Business

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By Ginger Smith, January 3, 2012

The January 2012 D-OGS Meeting will be held on Wednesday evening, 4 January, 2012 at 7 p.m. at the Christ United Methodist Church offices in Southern Village, south of Chapel Hill on US 15-501. The street address is 105 Market Street, rooms 103 & 105. Here is a map: http://tinyurl.com/cby3fyt. This address is the office building for Christ Church and is across the street from the church. There is parking on the streets around the church.

Our speaker for January will be D-OGS member Ann Myhre. Ann’s topic will be “The War of 1812 in the Lower South – the Rest of the Story.” James McEwen, Ann’s great-great-great-grandfather, served as a Captain and a Major in the war in the lower South. He and other members of his family left stories about the war and their service from their perspective. A great-great-grandfather, Joel Regen, also served but left only official records; he was a private. What official records are available for those who served, and how do we find them?

Ann Regen Myhre grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee, but has lived in Garner more than two-thirds of her life. She has a BA and an MS in Biology from East Tennessee State University and a BS from NCSU. She has taught, worked in a lab and was a church administrator. She began her genealogy search over 55 years ago and has researched her ancestors and those of her family members in New England, the South including Texas, the upper Midwest, Canada, Norway and the Czech Republic. She and husband John have two married children and two grandchildren.

Ann has provided this related information about the topic:

http://www.warof1812.ca/intro.html

http://www.ancestry.com/militaryrecords

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812

http://www.history.com/topics/war‐of‐1812

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By Ginger Smith, November 21, 2011

The next general meeting of the Durham-Orange Genealogical Society (D-OGS) will be held on Wednesday evening, 7 December 2011 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Golden Corral on NC55, just south of the intersection of NC54 and NC55. Address: 5006 NC Highway 55, Durham, NC 27713, (919) 544-2275 – Map. There is a “Senior Discount,” if you qualify.

This is not a regular meeting. There will be no speaker or fixed program. This is our annual “birthday party” for everyone to enjoy. Come and enjoy the fellowship of your fellow D-OGS members and their guests. Dress will be as formal or casual as you require.

When you arrive, pay for your meal and proceed to the back right of the restaurant to their meeting/party room. This is a good time to bring your spouse, a significant other, friend or potential new member so that you can introduce them to all those people that you have mentioned during the last year – yes, we plan on having name tags.

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By Ginger Smith, September 27, 2011

The next D-OGS meeting will be Wednesday, October 5th at 7pm at Duke Homestead.
Map

The speaker will be Thomas H. Krakauer, Ph.D. He will be speaking about the Museum of Durham History, a new virtual community that ties elements of Durham’s past together into a cohesive story for generations to come. More information can be found on their website at the Museum of Durham History.

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By Ginger Smith, August 31, 2011

St Matthews Church

The September (D-OGS) meeting will be held on Wednesday evening, 7 September 2011 at 7p.m. at St Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 210 St. Mary’s Road in Hillsborough, NC.

Visit their webiste here: http://www.stmatthewshillsborough.org/

There is parking behind the church and across from the church on St. Mary’s Road.

We will be listening to Rev. Dr. N. Brooks Graebner speak about the historic cemetery at the church and take a guided tour of some of the graves of the prominent and historic persons buried there.

About the cemetery:
The historic St. Matthew’s cemetery is the final resting place for many early leaders of North Carolina, especially those from Orange County. There are 396 marked graves and 11 unmarked. Those buried here include members of local families including Cain, Cameron, Roulhac, Turner, and Webb.

About the Speaker:
The speaker will be the Rev. Dr. N. Brooks Graebner, Rector at St. Matthews. Rector Brooks Graebner came to St. Matthew’s in the spring of 1990, having previously served as the Assistant to the Rector at St. Peter’s in Charlotte, North Carolina. He moved to North Carolina in 1973 to attend Duke Divinity School, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree in 1976. He then continued his studies at Duke, earning a Ph.D. in American Religious History in 1984. By then, Brooks had become an Episcopalian and had entered the ordination process in the Diocese of North Carolina, a vocational decision very much shaped by the time he spent as organist & choir director of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Durham, his sponsoring parish. Before ordination, Brooks also completed a year at Virginia Theological Seminary and a year in the Chaplain Residency Program at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill.

Brooks’ love for the study of church history is very much reflected in his extra-parochial involvements. He currently serves as the Historiographer of the Diocese of North Carolina. He is a past president of the local historical society and for ten years served as an officer & director of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church. He teaches Anglican and Episcopal history in several formation programs of the diocese. He also is a steering committee member of the Durham-based Pauli Murray Project, which is devoted to honoring and extending the influence of this civil rights pioneer, historian, lawyer, and Episcopal priest.

About the church (taken from the web-site):
The General Assembly of North Carolina originally constituted St. Matthew’s Parish in 1752 as the established church in the County of Orange. The parish was reorganized in 1824, and the present church building was begun in 1825 and completed in 1826. It was consecrated by the Right Reverend John Stark Ravenscroft, the first Episcopal Bishop of North Carolina on May 21, 1826.
Letters of the period indicate that William Nichols, principal architect of the old state capital which was burned in 1831, designed the present structure. As far as we are able to learn, St. Matthew’s is the oldest Gothic Revival church building still standing in North Carolina. Nichols worked mainly in the Greek Revival idiom, but he knew Gothic work from both his native England as well as from visits to the northern United States. Nichols also designed Hillsborough’s Masonic Hall (1823). He left North Carolina in 1827 to work throughout the South, and died in Mississippi in 1853. Nichols is being increasingly recognized as one of the South’s finest antebellum architects.
There were others involved in the building of St. Matthew’s Church. As St. Matthew’s first Senior Warden, Francis Lister Hawks, grandson of the architect of Tryon Palace, likely had a great deal of input regarding the building. Walker Anderson, who was a member of the first vestry and who was the nephew of the great North Carolina jurist-legislator, Duncan Cameron, seems to have been the real project director. The master mason was Samuel Hancock, under whose hand John Berry, prominent local architect/builder, learned his skills.
St. Matthew’s Church has had many alterations throughout the years; the tower was added c. 1829 and under the leadership of the Rev. Moses Ashley Curtis, Rector from 1856 to 1872, extensive remodeling of the church was carried out. The east end was enlarged for a recessed chancel with triplet window, sacristy and organ room, and the exposed beam roof was raised c. 1868; the spire was added and the wainscoting was replaced c. 1875. A marble plaque in the narthex records the installation of the bell in 1878 as a Confederate Memorial.
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The tracker-action organ, Opus number 1169, was purchased in 1883 for $1,040 from the Boston firm of Hook and Hastings. The organ is housed in an oak case and has seven ranks. It was removed from the church building on June 2, 2004 and completely restored by John Farmer, Pipe Organ Builders of Winston-Salem, NC. The organ returned to a newly refurbished organ room and was rededicated to God’s service on May 5, 2005.
The church building was thoroughly renovated and repaired in 2007-2008 and rededicated on St. Matthew’s Day, September 21, 2008.

View Larger Map

Photo of the church from Larry Lamb’s panoramio site

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By Ginger Smith, July 31, 2011

This month’s regular D-OGS Meeting will be held on Wednesday evening, 3 August, 2010 at 7
p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church in Southern Village, south of Chapel Hill on US 15-501.
The street address is 800 Market Street. Here is a map: http://tinyurl.com/66r6er6. There is
parking behind the church. Enter the back of the church through a door which opens into the large
meeting room.

Our program will be our annual “Show and Tell”. Have you found that missing relative? Have you
broken through the “brick wall” you have been banging into for years? Do you have some
recommendations for new data sources? Bring your best stories about what you have been doing
over the last year. We will draw numbers to see who get to go first. Please keep your comments to
about 5 minutes so that we will have time for everyone to participate.

In the past, we have used this meeting to “swap” unused or unneeded items with our D-OGS
members. If you have magazines, books, CDs, software, computer hardware or any other
materials that you would like to share with someone else, bring the “goodies” with you to this
meeting. We will set up tables to spread out the “goodies” so folks can shop. If you don’t want to
take your old stuff home, anything left over will be donated to the upcoming Parkwood flea market
where D-OGS will be participating in October.

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By Ginger Smith, May 16, 2011

Diane L. Richard

Wednesday, June 1, 2011
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Duke Homestead
2828 Duke Homestead Road
Durham, NC 27705
Click for map

We are pleased to announce Diane L. Richard as the presentor of next month’s meeting. She will be presenting on the Freedmen’s Bureau Records. Diane is a professional genealogist who is active with several genealogical societies and publications. She is the President of the Wake County Genealogical Society, assistant editor of the North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, and editor of Upfront with NGS, the Online Blog of the National Genealogical Society. If you have not had the opportunity to learn about these invaluable records, which include freedmen and all impoverished North Carolinians regardless of race, now is the time!

Program Summary:

The impact of the Civil War was keenly felt by most of those living from DE to TX, including North Carolinians, regardless of race or original circumstances. Many pertinent records are found in the Records of Field Offices for the various states, including the State of North Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1872, National Archives microfilm publication M1909 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2004) – the basis of the examples used during this talk.

It is very important to note that a common misunderstanding is that this record group only encompasses records of freed slaves. While it does contain records of freedmen, it includes a lot information about ALL impoverished North Carolinians, regardless of race. If a family tree contains confederate soldiers who were wounded or killed in action, their surviving parents, spouses or children might be found listed in these documents as they requested or received rations, were declared destitute, etc.

If your ancestors were freed, they might also be found receiving rations, or being a party to a contract, etc. Or, maybe their children attended a school.

Topics discussed in this talk include:

• Short History of the Freedmen’s Bureau
• Short History of the Freedmen’s Bureau in NC
• Samples from select record groups
• Request/Applications for Relief/Rations
• Ration Lists/Destitute Lists
• Indentures and Contracts
• Hospital/Medical treatment
• Freedmen School Records

• Other relevant Freedmen’s Bureau Records

Diane Richard’s website is Mosaic Research and Project Management and she can be reached by email at dianelrichard@mosaicrpm.com

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By Ginger Smith, May 3, 2011

Sue McMurray

Sue McMurray will be presenting this Wed night, May 4th, at 7 pm. The program is entitled “Knowing your Forbears Inside and Out – based on the Writings of James Leyburn.”

We will be meeting at the Chapel Hill Library at 100 Library Drive, Chapel Hill, NC. Here is the map:

View Larger Map
Thank you,
Ginger Smith