EXPLORE RELIC

May 2018 - The Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center for Genealogy and Local History (RELIC)



Start your historical journey here. RELIC's email newsletter highlights upcoming free events and happenings. Genealogy and local Virginia history is our specialty as a service provided by the Prince William Public Library. We're located at Bull Run Regional Library and you can always find more about us at http://www.pwcgov.org/library/relic



AFRICAN AMERICAN-GENEALOGY: TRACKING FAMILIES BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR

Discovering African American family history prior to 1865 can be difficult. There are special challenges to finding documentation during the age of slavery. RELIC's Don Wilson will identify sources that can be used to trace lives and relationships and demonstrate the process through a case study approach.

Thursday, May 10, 2018, 11:00 a.m.  [Rescheduled from April 19]



FINDING YOUR FAMILY IN THE NEWS

​Using newspaper archives for historical research has never been easier. RELIC’s Don Wilson will describe how a growing number of newspapers online may be searched for items useful for family and local history. Now you can find obituaries, marriage notices, court cases, advertisements, news items, local gossip, photos – anything that might appear between the pages of the hometown gazette. He will show how to find those databases and put them to use.

Tuesday, May 22, 7:00 p.m.



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RELIC INSIDER:



PRINCE WILLIAM SCHOOL YEARBOOKS COMING ONLINE



Efforts to digitize Prince William County’s high school yearbooks are coming to fruition.  You can now see the first group of yearbooks, linked to our website, thanks to the collaboration of the Prince William Public Library’s Office of Community Engagement and the Library of Virginia’s Department of Library Technology and Networking.



Ten yearbooks from the period 1949 to 1966 for Jennie Dean High School in Manassas have been posted on the Internet Archive.  Jennie Dean was founded in 1894 as the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth, the first secondary school for African-Americans in Northern Virginia.  In 1938, the school was transferred to the control of the counties of Prince William, Fairfax and Fauquier, and renamed the Manassas Regional High School.   By 1949 the facility was commonly called Jennie Dean High School.  In 1966, when Prince William schools were finally desegregated, high school students were transferred to previously white schools and Jennie Dean became a middle school.



Yearbooks for Jennie Dean have been borrowed and scanned with the assistance of Ivy Joe Davis, graduate of the class of ’63.  He hopes that even more alumni will come forward and share their yearbooks.  They can be seen at http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/library/pages/relichistoricrepository.aspx  (YEARBOOKS).  Or you can search Google for “JENNIE DEAN” + “JAY DEE” (the yearbook title).



We expect that additional pre-1977 Prince William yearbooks will be posted online very soon, followed by more recent school annuals.



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NEXT MONTH



*DECIPHERING ATDNA TESTING

​DNA testing for family history is all the rage. Maybe you are curious.  Maybe you have your results. Are you asking yourself, now what? In this presentation by genealogist Shannon Combs-Bennett learn how to decipher your autosomal DNA through online tools and case studies.  Register at 703-792-4540 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

Thursday, June 14, 11:00 a.m.



RESEARCHING LAND TITLES AND THE HISTORY OF YOUR HOME

​RELIC’s Don Wilson will demonstrate how to use the records available to us to discover when a house was built and what was on the property before its construction.  Learn about all the people who lived on your land. The chain of ownership may go back hundreds of years.

Register at 703-792-4540 or [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

Tuesday, June 26, 7:00 p.m.



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To read the latest lists of new materials available please click on What's New in RELIC http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/library/pages/relic-news.aspx



Unless otherwise stated, all of the preceding programs will take place at Bull Run Regional Library, 8051 Ashton Avenue, Manassas, Virginia.  Programs may last from 60 to 90 minutes.  You may register for any of these free programs at 703-792-4540 or mail to: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>.



You may also register online at RELIC Programs http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/library/pages/relic-programs.aspx

by clicking on the program date.  Funding for selected RELIC programs is provided by the Friends of Bull Run Library.*   To be notified of upcoming library programs and activities, you may sign up for the PWPLS newsletter.









To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at

http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html



This list is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).