New books coming to the Genealogy Department this month include William H. Rice’s history of the upper Potomac during Colonial times and Dina C. Carson’s directory of genealogy societies, libraries, and museums by locale.
In his five-volume history of the upper Potomac during Colonial times, William H. Rice collects information from widely-distributed and hard-to-access sources. The upper Potomac River divides the modern states of Virginia and West Virginia from Maryland and lies astride the great Appalachian Valley. This frontier drew early settlers and later formed part of a major migration trail for families who settled the greater South. Rice’s works place hundreds of names in specific places and times and further gives these lives context.
William H. Rice further illuminates eastern West Virginia in two books that are far less ambitious but that have wonderfully precise titles:
Sometimes, family historians may wish to know where to go when visiting the homelands of our ancestors for research. Or, we may just need to contact a living person who knows about our places of interest. Members of local genealogical and historical societies are often happy to guide researchers or even to find real answers for us. Public librarians and genealogical librarians may also provide these services. Many societies and libraries have information available through websites and social media, but some surprisingly are not so easily accessible. Dina C. Carson’s two-volume directory organizes societies, libraries, and museums by locale: