Book Us! Genealogy Sessions and Book Us! Scanning Sessions
A free one-on-one 45 minute session for research or scanning help. See dates and register here.
Genealogy: How to Get Started @ Oglethorpe County Library
Monday, July 8, 2024, 12:00 pm to 1:00pm
Learn about the many FREE resources available to you when researching your family history at the library, no matter where your family might have originated or be today. The best part of How to Get Started is our modern take using traditional genealogical skills. Ashley Shull, Archives & Special Collections Coordinator, will introduce the basics of genealogical research, the variety of resources available, and how to start your family tree project! All attendees receive an information packet with resources and opportunities to ask questions during the session. Be sure to bring a pencil!
Just Do Something: A genealogy research shared interest group
Saturday, July 13, 2024, 10:00am-12:00pm
Heritage Room Conference Room
Registration not required
Looking for the elusive record you have not been able to locate? Need to add people to your online tree? Just do something with the Clarke-Oconee Genealogical Society and the Athens-Clarke County Library Heritage Room. Set aside dedicated time this month to dig deeper into your genealogy or history research. The goal is to “Just Do Something” every 2nd Saturday of the month--Make the commitment with us!
Discover Fold3
Thursday, July 18, 2024, 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Hybrid, 2nd Floor Computer Classroom or online via Google Meets
Learn how to access and navigate the Fold3 database in this Hybrid session hosted in the 2nd floor Computer Classroom and online via Google Meets. Fold3 provides access to military records, naturalization records, documentation of Native American populations and many other federally created documents. Heritage Room staff will walk all attendees through how to access Fold3 for free via Athens Regional Library System and GALILEO as well as search techniques for discovering records. A handout will be provided to all session attendees.
Genealogy Shared Interest Groups from Clarke-Oconee Genealogical
Society African American Genealogy
The African American Genealogy Shared Interest Group (SIG) is being formed to learn and share research stories, problem-solving techniques, and tools that are focused on African American genealogy. This includes hearing speakers on genealogical and historical topics. Meeting times and locations (online/in-person) will be set based on member preferences. We welcome those whose expertise in African American family history research ranges from beginner to experienced and whose interest is local to national and beyond. To learn more visit: https://cogsgenealogy.org/2024/03/14/african-american-sig/
Upcoming Events
Getting Started with Genealogy #2: Research Methods
Thursday, August 8, 2024, 3:30pm to 5:00pm
Hybrid, Multipurpose Room C or online via Google Meets
If you have already taken our Getting Started with Genealogy class and want to expand your research skills OR if you need a brush up on the best practices in genealogical research, this class is for you! In this hybrid session at the Athens-Clarke County Library Multipurpose Room C or on Google Meets, attendees will learn the best practices of genealogical research methods. Make sure you have the correct Great Uncle, John Smith; learn to avoid the inevitable genealogy rabbit holes, and make sure you have the best sources to support your claims. Take a deep dive into genealogy research methods, specifically Genealogical Proof Standards. Learn how to form a research question, discover sources, evaluate those sources, create citations, and record what you found. All attendees will receive a handout before the live session as well as access to slides. We hope to see you there!
Historic Athens History Hour: Oldest Restaurants in Athens
Tuesday, August 20. 2024, 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Lyndon House Arts Center
Join representatives from Historic Athens, ACC, and the ACC Library for a presentation and talk all about the Oldest Restaurants in Athens. Which one is the OLDEST? Longest running? Family owned?
Breaker Boys and Spinner Girls: Child Labor Laws and their Records
Saturday, August 24, 2024, 3:00pm to 4:00pm
Hybrid, Appleton Auditorium and Online via Google Meets
During this virtual presentation, Breaker Boys and Spinner Girls: Child Labor Laws and their Records, learn from EXPERT Judy G. Russell. Understanding the labor laws lets us trace the lives and the records of lives of child laborers in mills, mines, farms and more. Register to attend online or in-person at the Athens-Clarke County Library, Appleton Auditorium.
This program is being presented by Judy G. Russell, the Legal Genealogist, and is a part of the Fall 2024 event series Textile, Labor, and Law from the Athens-Clarke County Library Heritage Room.
Judy G. Russell holds credentials as a Certified Genealogist® and Certified Genealogical LecturerSM from the Board for Certification of Genealogists® and is a member of the National Genealogical Society, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and, among others, the state genealogical societies of Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas and Illinois. She is privileged to serve on the faculty at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), the GRIP Genealogical Institute, the Midwest African American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI), and the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed).
Industrial Athens: A virtual tour and stories of local working people
Join the Heritage Room for an enthralling presentation and virtual tour of historic "Industrial Athens" presented by Dr. Jane McPherson. This presentation will take the audience on a virtual tour of industrial East Athens. We will begin with Daniel Easley’s pre-industrial mills at Cedar Shoals and explore the beginnings of Athens’ cotton milling at the Athens Factory. We will consider the lives of factory workers both before and after the Civil War, and consider the role of slavery and child labor in local mill histories. The presentation will focus on visual images, local geography, and stories of the factories and their people. This event is a part of the Fall 2024 series on Textiles, Labor, and the Law presented by the Athens-Clarke County Library Heritage Room. Dr. Jane McPherson is Associate Professor and Director of Global Engagement at UGA School of Social Work, which is located in the former Athens Factory. She uses her workplace as a base from which to explore and document the entwined local histories of cotton milling, labor, and the development of social welfare services in a project she calls “Complex Cloth.” https://complexcloth.org
Heritage Room News
From our blog, Athens: In Time
Athens-Clarke County’s Historic Places
The historic buildings of Athens-Clarke County are all around us. We walk and drive by them every day, perhaps admiring their architectural beauty or making note of any recent changes. But do we know their history? At the Heritage Room, we decided we could benefit by creating a handy list of Athens’ historic sites, with links to online resources that could fill in whatever “blanks” we have about these places that help make our city and county special.
First, the web site for the National Register of Historic Places offers a wealth of information about local neighborhoods, buildings, and sites, namely in the Nomination Forms that are submitted to describe their significance. These forms generally represent the work of local citizens and offer unique information about places that, in some cases sadly, were not preserved. Especially noteworthy are the photographs found toward the end of the documents.
Additional links are provided in parentheses. For single buildings, Google Maps links are provided so that, if you do no recognize the building by name, you can quickly take a look at it.