Learn How to Retrace Your Family’s Pathways at the Tennessee State Library & Archives Family History Day

Learn how to retrace your family’s pathways at the Tennessee State Library & Archives Family History Day on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, starting at 9:30 a.m. with research assistance available all day. 

“We are excited to celebrate Family History Month and Archives Month with our annual Family History Day event,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “I encourage anyone interested in exploring their family history to join us for this great event and take advantage of the vast resources the Library & Archives has to offer.” 

This year’s Family History Day featured presentation is “Early Tracks and Trails Across the South,” led by guest speaker J. Mark Lowe. During the presentation, attendees will learn how to use tools at the Library & Archives to locate pathways created initially by animals and later followed by humans, eventually leading settlers and families throughout the South and beyond.

Genealogist and author J. Mark Lowe specializes in original records and manuscripts throughout the South. Lowe is the Course Coordinator for “Research in the South” at The Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at the University of Gregoria, the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and the Texas Institute of Genealogical Research. He has published articles in several publications, including The Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy & History. Lowe was born and raised in Robertson County. 

“Our annual Family History Day event is a great opportunity to discover something new about your family,” said Tennessee State Librarian and Archivist Jamie Ritter. “During the event, our team of experts will be available to assist guests in using our collections to uncover their individual family stories.” 

On Family History Day, Library & Archives staff and volunteers from the Friends of the Tennessee State Library & Archives will assist visitors as they trace their family history. Guests can also make appointments with Conservation staff for guidance on the preservation of family historic records and photographs following the featured presentation. Appointments for the “Conservation Clinic” are available on a first come, first served basis. 

In addition, Sumner County materials from the Peyton Family Papers, 1790-1999, will be on display located near the Reading Room. Although Family History Day is free to attend, reservations are required due to limited seating. To make a reservation, visit sos.tn.gov/tnfhd. 

The Library & Archives is located at 1001 Rep. John Lewis Way North on the northeast corner of Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. The Library & Archives garage is on Junior Gilliam Way. 

The Library & Archives is open for research throughout the year, Tuesday to Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. The interactive exhibit lobby, featuring displays that highlight some of the state's most precious historical documents, is open to the public Monday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. 

Family History Day is hosted by the Tennessee State Library & Archives and the Friends of the Tennessee State Library & Archives. To learn more about Family History Day or to make a reservation, visit sos.tn.gov/tnfhd. 

For more information about the Library & Archives or to schedule a research visit, call 615-741-2764, email ask@tsla.libanswers.com or visit sos.tn.gov/tsla.

The Tennessee State Library & Archives is a division of the Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett.

Tennessee State Library and Archives hosts “Family History Day” on the Saturday after Thanksgiving

Family gatherings, we all have them. Whether they are annual holidays like Thanksgiving, family reunions, or one-time occasions like birthday parties, weddings or funerals, these are times when our family members come together. Join archivist and professional genealogist Melissa Barker for a presentation entitled, “Family Gatherings: Dragging Genealogy Information Out of Your Family.” This workshop will give you tips and tricks to get your family members talking about family history, even if they don’t want to!

Barker’s professional genealogy expertise is in Tennessee records; she has been researching her own family history for the past 30 years. Barker is a Certified Archives Manager currently working as the Houston County, Tennessee Archivist. She lectures, teaches, and writes about the genealogy research process, researching in archives, and records preservation. Barker also conducts virtual webinar presentations across the United States for genealogical and historical societies and writes a popular blog entitled "A Genealogist in the Archives" and is the Reviews Editor for the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) magazine FORUM. In addition, Barker also writes bi-weekly advice columns at Abundant Genealogy and for her local newspaper.

The presentation will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, at the Library and Archives auditorium, and research assistance will be available until 4:30 p.m. While the workshop is free, reservations are required due to limited seating.

Please note that Library and Archives will be closed Thursday, Nov. 28, and Friday, Nov. 29, for the Thanksgiving holiday, so it is important to make reservations beforehand. Guests can register at:

https://familyhistorydaytsla2019.eventbrite.com

The Library and Archives is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, directly west of the State Capitol building in downtown Nashville. Parking is available around the Library and Archives building.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett

Library and Archives Hosts "Family History Day" and Genealogy Workshop the Saturday after Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time when many of us reconnect with family members and share stories. At the Tennessee State Library and Archives, families can also explore stories of their relatives who lived generations ago. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the staff at the Library and Archives is encouraging Tennesseans to visit the library and celebrate “Family History Day” by learning more about genealogical research.

Manuscripts Archivist Darla Brock presents "Genealogical Gold in Tennessee Supreme Court Records" on Nov. 24th.

Beginning genealogists are often surprised at the extent to which ordinary Tennessee citizens appear within Supreme Court records. Manuscripts Archivist Darla Brock will share eye-opening examples of genealogical treasures found in case files and court exhibits and provide tips on making the most of the online Tennessee Supreme Court Cases Database. Ms. Brock will also detail the fascinating journey taken by Tennessee’s Supreme Court records to reach their current home at the State Library and Archives. After the workshop, Library and Archives staff members will be on hand to help visitors with their research.

“The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a great place for families to learn about their ancestors and to study their genealogy, especially during the holiday season when we turn our attention to time together,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “I encourage families to bring generations together by exploring the vast resources found in the state archives. You never know what you might find.”

The session will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, at the Library and Archives auditorium, and research assistance will be available until 4:30 p.m. While the workshop is free, reservations are required due to limited seating. To make a reservation, visit https://familyhistorydayworkshop2018.eventbrite.com.

 Please note that Library and Archives will be closed Thursday, Nov. 22, and Friday, Nov. 23, for the Thanksgiving holiday, so it is important to make reservations beforehand.

The Library and Archives is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, directly west of the State Capitol building in downtown Nashville. Parking is available around the Library and Archives building.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett

Library and Archives Hosts Genealogy Workshop the Saturday after Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time when many of us reconnect with family members and share stories. At the Tennessee State Library and Archives, families can also explore stories of their relatives who lived generations ago.

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the staff at the Library and Archives is encouraging Tennesseans to visit the library and celebrate “Family History Day” by learning more about genealogical research.

"I invite Tennesseans looking to discover more about their heritage. This event is a wonderful opportunity for families to come together to reflect and be thankful for each other and their ancestors," Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. "I encourage people to reserve their seats as soon as possible."


Gordon Belt, director of the Library and Archives’ public services section, will present a genealogy workshop for beginners entitled, "Genealogy A to Z," which will provide tips and guidance for anyone interested in starting their family history research. The workshop will also include advice on researching Library and Archives' collections, which can offer a wealth of information for those researching their ancestry. After the workshop, Library and Archives staff members will be on hand to help visitors with their research.

The session will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 25, at the Library and Archives auditorium, and research assistance will be available until 4:30 p.m. While the workshop is free, reservations are required due to limited seating. To make a reservation, visit genealogy101.eventbrite.com. Please note that Library and Archives will be closed Thursday, Nov. 23, and Friday, Nov. 24, for the Thanksgiving holiday, so it is important to make reservations beforehand.

The Library and Archives is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, directly west of the State Capitol building in downtown Nashville. Parking is available around the Library and Archives building.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett

Workshop to Provide Tips on Writing a Family History

The Thanksgiving holidays are a time when many people focus on spending time with family. Beyond bonding around the dinner table, there's another way to strengthen those ties - by writing a family history book.

At the next Tennessee State Library and Archives' "Workshop Series" presentation, personal historian Deborah Wilbrink will give participants a primer on how to get started with that. She'll describe how to assemble family tree information, family tales and photographs into bound volumes that can be shared for generations.

Wilbrink is encouraging each attendee to bring a photograph or family heirloom as a starting point.

The workshop, titled "Time to Tell: Write Your Family History," will be held Nov. 26 from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. in the Library and Archives auditorium. After the workshop, staff will be on hand to help participants trace their families through research. The Library and Archives building is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, just west of the Tennessee State Capitol building in downtown Nashville. Free parking is available around the building.

"There are so many Tennesseans who devote their time and energy to genealogical research," Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. "Producing a book is a great way to share the findings of that research with family members and non-family members alike. I encourage people to put those Thanksgiving leftovers back in the fridge long enough to visit us for this informative workshop."

Although the workshop is free and open to the public, reservations are required because of the auditorium's limited seating capacity. To make a reservation, please go to: https://familyhistorydaytsla.eventbrite.com

Wilbrink is a professional personal historian who has published more than 20 books for families and individuals through her company, Perfect Memoirs. Her career highlights include working with CNN, ghostwriting for a U.S. senator, commercial video scripting and managing four historic cemeteries. Teaching and writing have kept Wilbrink busy since moving to Nashville in 2003. She is a member of the National Association of Personal Historians, the Tennessee and Middle Tennessee genealogical societies, and the Sarah Polk chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution. Now she focuses on helping others across the country save their life stories for families and publication and teaches memoir-writing classes.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State

Library & Archives Adds Digital Collection of Family Histories

The Tennessee State Library & Archives has added an online collection of material that tracks dozens of family histories across several states. The material, titled "The Genealogical Research Files of Dr. Barbara Long," traces the lines of 33 families with roots in east Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland and Alabama. Dr. Long, a professional psychiatrist who is also an avid amateur genealogist, collected the information while researching her own family's history.

The collection is unusual in several respects. It's the first significant digital-only collection to be housed within the Tennessee Virtual Archives (TeVA). Typically, digital records in TeVA are scanned from documents, maps, photos or other records that are stored at the Library & Archives, while this collection is being made publicly available for online use only. Included in the collection are more than 130 files of research notes, correspondence, interviews with family members, reports of professional genealogists and copies of original deeds, wills, land grants, census records, Bible records and other documentation.

The collection includes material that has never before been made available to researchers. And, if it proves popular, the Library & Archives may decide to digitize other large genealogical collections among their holdings.

"Digitizing this entire collection of material should make the work of amateur and professional genealogists who want to study these families much easier," Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. "Offering material in digital format makes research convenient, day or night, even for people who may not be able to visit the Library & Archives building in person."

A resident of Atlanta, Dr. Long was born in Alabama and earned a Ph. D. from Harvard University and an M.D. from the University of Alabama. She began tracing her family history in the 1980s. While starting work on the Wrinkle family of Bradley County and the King family of Jefferson County, she learned to appreciate the collections of the Library & Archives. When she completed the research in 2014, she offered the digital version of the material to the Library & Archives.

As a result of this research, Dr. Long has proved membership in First Families of Tennessee for 12 different ancestors and has also traced lineages for the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames XVII Century, U.S. Daughters of 1812, Daughters of the Cincinnati and Magna Carta Dames.

Among the Tennesseans represented in the collection are the Breazeale, Grayson, Hixson, Hughes, Hyden, King, Kennedy, Meek, Pickett, Real, Woods and Wrinkle families. Information on many other families associated with those families is included.

To view the collection online, go to: http://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15138coll30

The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State

Make a “County Connection” the Saturday after Thanksgiving on “Family History Day”

The Thanksgiving weekend is a time when many of us spend time reconnecting with family members and sharing family stories. At the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), families can also explore stories of their relatives who lived many years ago.

Redding Bonner family gathers around a table full of food, circa 1890.
Looking Back at Tennessee. Tennessee State Library and Archives

For the fourth consecutive year, the staff at TSLA is encouraging Tennesseans to visit the library and celebrate 'Family History Day' by learning more about genealogical research.

Gordon Belt, TSLA’s Director of Public Services, will host a beginning genealogy workshop providing an overview of resources available at the library and how to navigate through various databases. The workshop is entitled, “County Connections” and will focus on locating and using TSLA’s many county records. Afterwards, staff will be on hand to help visitors with their research.

The workshop will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Saturday at the TSLA auditorium, which is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, directly west of the State Capitol building in downtown Nashville.

While the workshop is free, reservations are required due to limited seating. To make a reservation, call (615) 741-2764 or e-mail workshop.tsla@tn.gov. Please note that TSLA will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday, so it's important to make reservations before then.

Although parking in front of TSLA's building is limited, there is plenty of additional parking behind the building.

The State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State.

"Conservation Basics for Family Collections" workshop scheduled for May 3rd

Preserving important family records will be easier than ever for people who attend the next in the Tennessee State Library and Archives’ (TSLA) series of workshops. Carol Roberts, conservation manager in TSLA’s Preservation Services Section, will host the workshop on basic cleaning, repair and storage techniques people can use to extend the life of important family papers, collections and scrapbooks.

The workshop will be held Saturday, May 3 from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the TSLA Auditorium. TSLA’s building is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, directly west of the State Capitol building in downtown Nashville.

The workshop, sponsored by TSLA Friends, will cap Preservation Week, which runs from April 27 through May 3.

Roberts is active in outreach programs and consults with government and private organizations throughout the state about preservation of archival and library materials and disaster preparedness. She has a bachelor’s degree in history from David Lipscomb University and a master’s degree in historic preservation from Middle Tennessee State University.

The workshop is free and open to the public. However, due to seating limitations in the auditorium, reservations are required. Patrons can register by telephone at 1-615-741-2764 or by e-mail at workshop.tsla@tn.gov.

A limited amount of parking is available in the front, on the side and behind TSLA’s building, so reserve your spot today while they last.

The State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State.

TSLA Workshop Series: Researcher Chronicles Love and War in Sumner County Town of Gallatin

It started with a love letter, more than 100 years old, that Judith Morgan found tucked in the pages of a book recovered from a Gallatin mansion that had been demolished decades earlier.

Morgan began doing some research and discovered that the woman who received the letter and the man who had sent it eventually married – but only after a courtship that lasted more than 20 years.

Morgan, a retired state employee, kept digging until she had discovered details about the lives of the mysterious couple, their families and their town's place in some of the country's most significant historical events.

Those details emerged in Morgan's book, "The Lost World of Langley Hall," which is the subject of an upcoming free workshop sponsored by the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA).

Langley Hall on Coles Ferry Road, circa 1960. Looking Back at Tennessee, TSLA

At the workshop, Morgan will discuss how her chance discovery of the letter launched a research project chronicling the lives of the Trousdale and Allen families from 1853 through 1952. While delving into the lives of those two prominent Gallatin families, Morgan learned details about other town residents who played prominent roles in the wars and other major national events of the era.

At the workshop, titled "Researching and Writing 'The Lost World of Langley Hall,'" Morgan will also discuss how she used resources at the State Library and Archives to assist in her research.

The workshop will be held Feb. 15 from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. in the auditorium at the State Library and Archives building. The building is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, directly west of the State Capitol building in downtown Nashville.

Although the workshop is free and open to the public, reservations are required due to limited seating availability in the auditorium. To make a reservation, call: (615) 741-2764 or e-mail: workshop.tsla@tn.gov.

Parking is available in front, beside and behind the State Library and Archives building.

The State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State.

Hunting for Ancestors Instead of Bargains on Thanksgiving Weekend

People who need a break from holiday shopping Thanksgiving weekend are encouraged to attend the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) “Family History Day” on Saturday, November 30. The third annual event, which is designed to introduce more people to genealogy, will include a free workshop on how to get started in researching family history.

The workshop will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. in the TSLA auditorium, which is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, directly west of the State Capitol in downtown Nashville. Trent Hanner, a reference librarian at TSLA, will provide an overview of records that are available at TSLA and how to navigate through the various databases.

Although the event is free, reservations are required because seating in the auditorium is limited. To make a reservation, call (615) 741-2764 or e-mail workshop.tsla@tn.gov.

Please note that parking in front of the TSLA building is limited due to construction, however, there is plenty of additional parking behind the building.
  

The State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State.