Religion, T255, Baptist Ancestors in Tennessee and the Carolinas, 4 pm, Thursday, 11 May 2017

A variety of resources available for researching ancestors who were Baptists in the states of Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina will be discussed. Although the examples used will come from these states, similar resources exist for many other states. Repositories with strong collections for various branches of Baptists in these states will be discussed.

Regional Movement, S425, Finding Ancestors in the Great Smoky Mountains, 11 am, Saturday, 13 May 2017

Discussion of early settlement of lands now in or near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cherokee and White settlement of the area will be examined. A brief discussion of the plans to create the national park and the reaction of residents to it will be included. Records for Haywood and Swain Counties in North Carolina and Blount, Sevier, and Cocke counties in Tennessee for the settlers will be mentioned. Records generated in the creation of the National Park will be considered. Repositories with significant special collections or digital collections covering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and/or its former inhabitants will be examined.

About your speaker: Lori Thornton, MLIS, is a university librarian in East Tennessee where she has the opportunity to work with persons researching their East Tennessee ancestry and Baptist ancestry. During breaks, she often works on projects for clients, primarily in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Mississippi. She speaks on genealogical topics to librarians and audiences with historical and genealogical interests.