Georgia Archives sets symposium focusing on nature, environment

The Georgia Archives will host a free symposium on “Georgia, Nature and the Environment” on April 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the archives in Morrow.

Scholars will lecture on conservation efforts over the years, environmental changes and various stimulants to the Georgia economy. After welcoming remarks, the first lecture by Richelle Brown starts at 9:15 a.m. and relates to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Next follows a panel on “Conservation and Old Growth Forests,” with discussions of early conservation efforts starting in colonial times, and later the protecting of old growth forests.

At 11:10 a.m., a second panel covers “Race, Class and Recreation,” with speakers addressing Hard Labor Creek State Park as a case study in discriminatory recreation, and then Angela Hronek on “Under the Surface of Lake Lanier,” presumably covering the lake’s extinction of towns and flooding burial grounds. Sadie Ingram then will speak on the Georgia oyster industry from the 1880s to the 1940s.

Lunch is available for a cash donation at 12:10 p.m.

At 1 p.m., lectures resume with “Bamboo in Georgia’s Landscape: From Native Americans to the USDA.” “Nature at Home” is another panel at 2 p.m. covering a non-native spider’s introduction, then “How the Landscapes Can Fight Climate Change and Grow Green Jobs” and “Rethinking Informal Urbanism in Metro-Atlanta.”

The last lecture at 3 p.m. covers the Georgia marble industry and human impact on the land.

The Georgia Archives are located at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, 678-364-3710. For further information on the program, bios of the speakers, and directions, check GeorgiaArchives.org.

Value of witnesses

Always note the names of witnesses in deeds or wills, as they are usually someone who lived nearby, were friends or kin of the people creating the document, and perhaps were your own kin. Usually, witnesses were either 18 or 21, although I have read that in some cases, they could be 14. If they sign with an “X,” or some other mark, it means they could not write at that time. Some people can be traced by their use of an unusual mark.

German conference

The International German Genealogy Partnership (IGGP) Conference will be held June 9-11 in Fort Wayne, Ind., and is a physical/hybrid event. For more information, check iggp.org.