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COASTAL GEORGIA GENEALOGY SOCIETY NEWS &
REVIEWS [JANUARY 2004]
15 FEBRUARY 2004 Meeting will be held at 2
p.m. at the College Place United Methodist Church on Altama Avenue,
program has yet to be decided.
16 NOVEMBER 2003 Meeting
was held at the Brunswick Public Library where we took a tour of the new
facilities and learned about future projects of the library.
"HELLO FROM THE NATIONAL
ARCHIVES"
--by Paula Stewart Warren
Hello from the U.S.
National Archives and Records Administration location on Pennsylvania
Avenue in Washington, D.C. As I write this, I am sitting in the new
Research Center that just opened on October 27th. It was 78 degrees
outside when I arrived here on November 4th. That was wonderful to someone
who had just left early snow, ice, and cold weather in Minnesota! The
National Archives is one of my favorite places to research and I am here
several months each year. This trip was made even better since my oldest
son accompanied me. He works in a related field and has been my boss on
some American Indian research projects over the past several years.
WHERE IS IT LOCATED?
As you enter the Archives building at 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, you will
pass through security, an all too familiar scenario in many places today.
A photo ID is necessary to gain access to the building. Just behind the
guard desk is the entrance to the new Research Center. All of the
researcher services formerly housed on the fourth floor of the building
are now located on the ground floor in this Research Center. Historic Room
203 on the second floor is still the place where researchers will view
textual records.
You enter a large, striking
room with beautiful wood where you are greeted at the information desk and
directed to the proper area. This room will be used for receptions and
will have comfortable seating areas and tables. The overall feel of the
Research Center is "new," but it blends in well with the building. It is
interesting to watch seasoned NARA researchers enter here for the first
time and see their reaction to changes at the Archives.
IDENTIFICATION CARDS
The Center is where you obtain a researcher's photo identification card.
You are required to have one in order to use original records. The photo
reminds me of the ever-so-beautiful one on my driver's license. (No, I
won't be saving that one for future generations!)
TURN RIGHT AND THEN LEFT!
To the right as you enter the area is the cashier's office and display
shelves with NARA and related publications for sale. You may purchase copy
cards here. To the left of the cashier in the corner is the archival
consultant's office where you will order textual records and get many of
your questions answered. The records ordered here are generally the
records of government agencies that are now housed in the National
Archives. There are varied finding aids, binders, and other onsite help,
but there is no overall comprehensive catalog and a large number of the
records have no indexes as is the case with many original records
elsewhere. It is important to work with the consultants in this area to
narrow down the records you need to use.
Still, it is a joy to
browse through a box of original records to find the one gem that works!
Along the way you learn a lot more than you would by just using an index
and one resulting record.
THE REFERENCE LIBRARY
Directly behind the cashier's office is a library where open stacks greet
you. As you enter this area you'll find one row of computers dedicated to
searching genealogy CD-ROMs and another row for access to the Archival
Research Catalog (ARC). (Hint One: you can access Ancestry Plus at these
computers! Hint Two: You can access the ARC on your home computer.) The
reference materials in the library were formerly housed in several areas
of the building but are now located in this one area.
A self-service copier is in
the library area. Copies are 15 cents.
Browse the open stacks of
books and periodicals. I found some wonderful surprises in there. This is
not specifically a genealogical library but a majority of the publications
are useful to genealogists.
RESEARCHER LOCKER AREA
As you leave the library, walk to the other side of the reception area and
walk through the double set of doors. You will immediately see drinking
fountains and rest rooms on your left. Continue ahead and a room full of
lockers awaits you. The new lockers even include some large enough to hold
a large briefcase on wheels for those who do not travel lightly. Now, if
they would just add some new, larger lockers on the second floor . . . .
FUTURE MILITARY RESEARCH
AREA
As you leave this area, immediately to your left is where researchers will
soon be able to view military pension and service records. No longer will
researchers order these military records on one floor and then go to a
different floor to view them and make copies.
MICROFILMS GALORE
To your far left as you leave the military research area is an entrance to
the Microfilm Research Room with rows and rows of microfilm readers and
cabinets full of microfilm. You need to sign in before using the readers.
The microfilm readers, cabinets, and copiers in this area are
self-service, but there is reference assistance available. Among the many
microfilms are military record indexes, U.S. census records 1790-1930,
Indian census rolls, passenger arrival records, and passport records.
Copies from microforms are 30 cents.
DO YOU NEED EXERCISE?
Wear your comfortable shoes, as you will be walking a lot from area to
area in the Research Center. I appreciate the newness of the area and
figure I need the exercise! Once you get used to it, it is fine. There
are a few reference books that I wish were closer to the microforms area
for quick reference.
GETTING AROUND D.C.
Getting there isn't really that difficult. The area's Metro Transit system
is easy to use. Bus and Metro (subway) stops are convenient. The Archives
area has several restaurants, street corner food carts, drugstores, and
museums galore. If you go to the National Archives to research, give
yourself a couple of extra days to be a tourist in this historic city.
CHANGE IN PROGRESS
As with any renovation, there is still work to be completed. Also, there
are things that need to be tweaked. As the staff and patrons use the new
areas and find some glitches, the refinements begin! Now, why can't
research places just do whatever we genealogists want? Probably some
silly reason--like budget, or having to serve other researchers, too?
No matter where you live,
check your calendar and see when you can visit the new Research Center. Do
your homework in NARA publications and online at
http://www.archives.gov
before you arrive. I will see you there! (I will be the one who is
bleary-eyed from too much research!)
Paula Stuart Warren, CGRS,
is a professional genealogist, consultant, writer, and lecturer.
Copyright 2003, MyFamily.com.
INTERNET
www.ancestry.com
Now online are over ten million immigration records spanning five
centuries now available. Some records online are:
The New York Passenger Lists, 1851-1892
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
Unfortunately this will be a subscription database. Monthly at $19.95,
Quarterly at $39.95 or Yearly $79.95. If you are already a subscriber to
Ancestry's user database, you can add the Immigration subscription for
only $39.95 for one year.
Also at Ancestry are the
World War I Draft Registration Cards. This too, is a subscription
database. The draft cards include genealogical information such as
physical description, birth dates and places, spouses, parents, and more.
Not all the states are online yet, but they are working on linking an
index to the images, just like with the census images.
PUBLICATIONS
"Deep in the Heart" by E. Randall Floyd copyright 1998, published by
Harbor House, Augusta, Georgia. Peek into the lives of a Wilkinson Co.,
Georgia family during the Civil War. The Nesmith boys all signed up to
fight for their rights, one signing up just after his honeymoon. War
broke out on the day Wiley Nesmith married Martha Ann Walker. This story
follows this family and their struggles throughout the war, and follow
Wiley under the command of Robert E. Lee's Virginian Army.
When I read the synopsis of
this book, I was immediately intrigued because it stated that this story
was based on a true story. I thought to myself, yeah, the Civil War, but
come to find out, Wiley Nesmith did exist, this story was taken from
letters that he wrote home to his wife, letters he never mailed. At the
end of the story, Wiley puts his backpack away in the attic of an
abandoned home, with the intent to come back for it later. Over a hundred
years later, someone buys this home, and while tearing down walls, finds
Wiley's backpack, and a stack of unmailed letters to home!
Be sure to read the
afterword in this book, as it tells you what happened to Wiley and family
after the war.
TAKE THE TEST
Remember when our ancestors' claimed to have only an eighth grade
education? By today's standards, that isn't much. Let's see how many of
us would have graduated the 8th grade in Salina, Kansas in the year 1895.
This is the eighth-grade
final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, USA. It was taken from the
original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and
Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by theSalina Journal.
8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS -1895 ********************************
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of "lie,"
"play" and "run."
5. Define case; Illustrate each case.
6. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you
understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
*****************************************
Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many
bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel,
deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy
to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for
incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per
metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of
which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.
********************************************
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn and
Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849,
1865.
*******************************************
Orthography (Time, one hour)
1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography,
etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals,
diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.'
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions
under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi,
dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name
the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell,
rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane,
fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by
use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
*********************************************
Geography (Time, one hour)
1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba,
Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the
sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the
earth.
**********************************************
Notice that the exam took SIX HOURS to complete!
For those of you
researching Glynn County, Georgia records, be sure to check out the Glynn
County site at Rootsweb for new records. Currently online is a partial
index to the Palmetto Cemetery, World War I draft registration cards,
marriage book A [complete] and marriage book B [partial].
Check it out at:
www.rootsweb.com/~gaglynn/
Amy Hedrick has started a new genealogy web page dedicated to her
ancestors.
There you will find descendant charts, photos, documents, obits, and
more.
This site is under construction and right now Amy is working on just
getting basic info and photos uploaded.
Check her site out at:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~amylyn/
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
Annual membership to the
CGGS is only $15 for one person or $18 for a family. Membership extends
from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003.
Remit payment to our
treasurer:
Barbara Baethke
119 Bayberry Circle
St. Simons Is. , GA 31522
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