Space is still available for participation in the CCGS-ETHA FAMILY HISTORY
FAIR scheduled for Saturday, March 29, 2014, at the First United Methodist
Church, 1031 SE Loop 456, Jacksonville, Texas, organizers said earlier this
week. We still have seats available in all of the dozen breakout lecture
sessions and there is still room for exhibits and vendors in Waller Hall,
the churchs fellowship hall, organizers said. The event is being
organized by the Cherokee County Genealogical Society and sponsored by a
grant to CCGS by the East Texas Historical Association, SFASU, Nacogdoches.
The hours of the one day event are 9AM to 3 PM. The church will open at
8:00 AM for vendors and exhibitors to begin setting up and for checking in
at the registration table.
Because of the ETHA grant the fee to attend the CCGS-ETHA Family History
Fair is very reasonable CCGS committee members said. The fee includes a hot
lunch provided by the churchs adult mission group. The fee will be
discounted for CCGS and ETHA members and will include the hot lunch. The
Family History Fair is a fund raising project for both CCGS and the adult
missions group of First United Methodist, Jacksonville. The adult mission
group supports the church food pantry for local missions. CCGS is very
fortunate to partner with ETHA and the Jacksonville First United Methodist
Church. The church has a very fine facility with a floor plan and space
to support events of this type. CCGS has not held an event of this type for
over a dozen years. We have no plans to make this an annual event. We do
hope to have more special programs in the future combining history and
genealogy. Just not annually on this scale! Members of the CCGS committee
planning the Family History Fair are CCGS President Gordon Bennett of
Jacksonville, CCGS 1st Vice President Vivian Cates of Alto, CCGS member and
Assoc. 1st UMC Barbara Hugghins of Jacksonville. The committee is being
assisted by CCGS member Deborah Burkett of Troup and other CCGS members
working on publicity and setting up the event. The one day Family History
Fair program sessions are set up like the Angelina College Genealogy
Conference still continuing to be held on that campus every summer. This
is a one day event. The AC Conference has grown to three days. Mrs. Cates
first organized the AC Conference beginning in 1997.
Another speaker on Cherokee County Cemeteries has been added in the last
session on Tract III at 2:00 PM since our original fair brochure and
publicity was sent out, Mr. Bennett said. Long time CCGS member Kaye
Slover of Nacogdoches will present her power point program on Cherokee
County Cemeteries. Both Mrs. Slover and her husband have deep roots in
Cherokee County with many family members buried in Cherokee County
cemeteries. Mrs. Slover is the web master for the CCGS web site. Much of
her cemetery research is posted on the award winning CCGS web site.
Some of the book sellers scheduled for the event are ETHA, Ericson Books,
David Schochler of Diboll, Winnie Graham of Huntington, and Deborah Burkett
of Troup. There is no charge for table/booth space. Sellers are being
asked to donate a percentage back to the CCGS. Some of the other exhibits
and information tables are expected to include the Cherokee County
Historical Commission, Reynolds Family Association, SFASU East Texas
Research Center, ETHA, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
and United Daughters of the Confederacy.
The 1st UMC has free WiFi. Attendees are welcome to bring laptop computers
to compare notes and visit with other participants in an informal Genealogy
Café, committee members said.
While walk-ins will be accepted, advance reservations for the Family History
Fair are strongly advised by society members especially for the lunch count.
To obtain further information and to register for the event contact the
society by regular mail at P. O. Box 1332, Jacksonville, Texas 75766, via
e-mail to ccgs(a)suddenlink.net, or by calling 1-903-586-0135. For prices and
more details on the programs and the speakers visit the CCGS web site at
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txcherok.
There will be three tracts of speakers with four sessions each.
Dr. Scott Sosebee, director of ETHA and an associate professor of history at
SFASU will be the key-note speaker at 9AM. Speaking sessions will begin at
10:00 AM and 11:00 AM with 12:00-1:00 lunch break and then 1:00 PM and 2:00
2PM.
Carol Taylor of Greenville, Texas, is the speaker in Tract I
entitled CIVIL WAR PAPER TRAILS. Mrs. Taylor presented a similar program
series at the Angelina College Genealogical Conference last July and will be
presenting speaking sessions on similar topics in Houston early this month.
Her four session titles are "During the War: Records Created 1861 1865,"
"When the War Was Over" "Women, Children and Other Civilians," and
"Southern Claims Commission Papers." Mrs. Taylor, a retired teacher and an
avid genealogist for years, earned her masters degree in history from Texas
A&M in Commerce.
Christi Watkins R.N. Chief Clinical Officer at Palestine
Regional Medical Center, will present two sessions in Tract II, Are You
Related to Royalty??, and Skeletons in the Closet. Ms. Watkins has
extensive expertise in the field of DNA testing for identification purposes
and worked in New York City after 9/11.
Still in Tract II, Carolyn Reeves Ericson of Nacogdoches will
present one session on Early Virginia Research including information on
the early Germanna Colony and Ancient Planters. Mrs. Ericson is a
genealogist, historian, author and publisher, operator of Ericson Books and
writes a weekly genealogy column for two East Texas newspapers. The fourth
session in Tract II will be present by Linda Reynolds, Director of the East
Texas Research Center. The ETRC is located on the second floor of Steen
Library at SFASU in Nacogdoches. Reynolds topic will be Records
Preservation.
In Tract III John Garbutt of Rusk, Special Projects
Administrator will present the first session, History of the Texas State
Railroad.
David Schochler of Diboll, Texas, will present two sessions
entitled Genealogical Research in Western Europe and So, your
GGGrandfather was born in the Sundgav! Now what? In 2013 Mr. Schochler
published a book based on his research of his Schochler family who settled
in Cherokee County, Texas. His previous programs for two area genealogy
societies have been present in period costume.
Vivian Toole Cates, Alto 1-936-858-3801
CCGS 1st Vice-president Program Chairman, Publicity, Special
Projects-Cherokee County Genealogical Society, Committee Chairman Family
History Fair