The more we work to collect our family members’ stories, the more valuable this information becomes not only to ourselves and our families, but also potentially to a much greater public. So, if publishing is not our first thought as family historians, the idea comes naturally in time. Experienced researchers often feel compelled further to help bring important sources of historical and genealogical information to a wider audience, as well.
Preserving formal genealogies, autobiography, biography, local history or collections of photographs in book form has never been easier. Dina C. Carson’s series on genealogical self-publishing details how family historians can share our unique personal insights for posterity. Don’t look for Carson’s series in the new book section, however; the whole lot has been expedited straight to the circulating section of the Genealogy Department.
Check out any of the following titles:
History of Truro Parish, Virginia (Fairfax County) was first published by Rev. Philip Slaughter in 1907 as The History of Truro Parish in Virginia. In Colonial Virginia, parishes of the Church of England not only demarcated ecclesiastical territories, but also served as civil jurisdictions. Slaughter honors many of the founders of Truro Parish. He explains how the generations adapted their British legal and religious culture to their changing needs through the nineteenth century.
Orange County, North Carolina 1752 – 1952 is a re-print of the authorized history of the county that was published in 1953. The book traces the history of the county from colonial times to mid-twentieth century. Although this book has no family history section as such, there are many photographs of important people and places and a “dictionary of Orange County biography” that gives thumbnail biographies of dignitaries.
New books of abstracted county courthouse records from Virginia and South Carolina include:
- York County, Virginia Records 1633-1646 Volume 1
- York County, Virginia Records 1646-1648 Volume 2
- York County, Virginia Records 1648-1657 Volume 3
- Wills of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1767 – 1820
- Lancaster County, South Carolina Deeds, 1787 -1811
- 10,600 Marriages from Ninety-Six & Abbeville District, South Carolina
- Pendleton District and Anderson County, South Carolina Wills, Estates and Legal Records