Events coming soon in Marietta and Morrow

Lisa Louise Cooke, a nationally known speaker on genealogy, as well as a publisher and blogger, will speak at the Georgia Genealogical Society’s fall seminar on September 16.

Co-sponsored by the Cobb County Genealogical Society, the event will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, 189 Church St., Marietta, from 9:45 a.m until 4:15 p. m. Cooke, of Genealogy Gems, will present four lectures: “Google Books: The tool you should use every day”; “Get the Scoop on your Ancestors with Newspapers”; “How to Reopen and Work a Genealogy Cold Case”; and “Inspiring Ways to Capture the Interest of Non-Genealogists.”

These are important topics that will help attendees get moving on their research. The cost is $35 for members, $45 for nonmembers. Lunch not included. Register online using PayPal at gagensociety. org. The deadline is September 12. Or register by mail — Georgia Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 550247, Atlanta, 30355-2747 — by September 6. The speaker’s website is GenealogyGems.com. There, you can sign up for her free blog, or webinars and publications. For further information, call Maggie Thomas at 678-800-8456.

National Archives Symposium on WWI on the Home Front

“The Great War Over Here: Stories from the Home Front” is the National Archives symposium for September 16 from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p. m. at the National Archives at Atlanta in Morrow. Speakers will address various aspects of the war, including those who dissented, the poetry of the war, the class struggle between rich and poor and the Monuments Project. National Archives and Records Administration archivist Nathan Jordan will speak on the WWI records held by NARA at Atlanta. Joel Walker, coordinator of the event, will speak on political prisoners at the Atlanta penitentiary. The event is free, but limited to 200. Pre-registration is required at archives.gov/ atlanta/symposiums/wwi or atlanta.archives@nara.gov. Co-sponsored by the Georgia World War One Centennial Commission. For information, contact Joel Walker at NARA at 770-968-2530.

City vital records

Always check to see if a city kept vital records (births and deaths) earlier than the state’s official date that required vital record keeping statewide. Georgia started in 1919, but many cities have earlier records: Atlanta — births (1896), deaths (1889); Augusta — deaths (1904); Columbus — births and deaths (both 1890); and Macon — births (1891), deaths (1882). Savannah recorded more than most cities during the 19th century, with more recent births beginning in 1890, and earlier records on Ancestry. com. The same thing happened in other cities, such as Charlotte, North Carolina, so always check.