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THE GENEALOGY PROJECT SAPELO
ISLAND, GA.
The Genealogy Project is a
committee of the Sapelo Island Cultural & Revitalization Society Inc. The
Project is responsible for researching and recording family history on
Sapelo Island, Ga. The committee's research is based on a 1980
genealogical study of Sapelo Island's African-American families. That
study, done by Mae Ruth Green and sponsored by the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources, identified the descendants of 44 black families living
on the island in the 1800s.
The Genealogy Project is
seeking volunteers from each of those 44 families to assist with research,
interviews and archiving. A series of group discussions and workshops will
be held on the island for Sapelo Island descendants and anyone else
interested in learning more about family history.
While the Genealogy Project
will be based on the island at the Hog Hammock Public Library, discussions
also will be held online via e-mail.
If you are an island
descendant interested in participating on this committee or if you'd like
to serve as a volunteer researcher, call Michele Nicole Johnson at (912)
485-2197 or send a note to
michele@sapeloislandgeorgia.org.
GENEALOGY PROJECT CALENDAR
March 18 - Genealogy
Workshop: 10 a.m.-noon.
Learn the basics about researching your family tree. It's a workshop for
everyone interested in family history, but there will be an emphasis on
slave records, oral history and other circumstances pertaining to
African-American genealogy. The presenters are Joyce Burns, manager of the
Georgia Local and Family History Department of the Atlanta-Fulton Library
System, and Monica Hackney, president of the Metro Atlanta Chapter of the
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society.
Reservations are required
for ALL attendees. Call (912) 485-2197 by March 15. The workshop is being
presented by SICARS' Genealogy Project and is sponsored by the Three
Rivers Regional Library System (www.trrl.org). The workshop also will be
presented at the Brunswick-Glynn Public Library in Brunswick (call (912)
267-1212), and the Ida Hilton Library in Darien (call (912) 437-2124).
More about our presenters:
Joyce Burns grew up in Clarksville,Va., and was educated in the
Mecklenburg County Public School System where she also taught school for
several years. Burns received her degree in History and Government from
Virginia Union University and MLS from Atlanta University (now Clark
Atlanta).
She began her career at
Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library, Tampa, Fla. Later, she joined
the staff of the Atlanta Public Library in 1978, now the Atlanta-Fulton
Public Library System. She is presently manager of the Georgia Local and
Family History Department
(http://www.afplweb.com/georgia_local_and_family_history_department.html).
Burns frequently attends
genealogical conferences and workshops for librarians working with
genealogists. She enhances her technological and research skills and meets
nationally known genealogists.
During her tenure, she has
organized and partnered with other departments and organizations to host
programs on Genealogy and Georgia History. Among the programs she has
organized are, "Black Roots: The Basics and Beyond" with internationally
known genealogist Tony Burroughs in February 2001; "Atlanta Black History
Day 2003"; "Gather your Roots," with the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day
Saints Family History Center; "From Africa to America: Trace Your DNA,
Find your Roots 2004," with geneticist, Rick Kittles and co-founder Gina
Page of African Ancestry, Inc.
Recently, Burns hosted the
Terry-Johnson Family Reunion in Fairburn, Ga., for her Virginia Clan's
family members from five states.
Monica Hackney co-founded
the Metro Atlanta Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical
Society (http://www.rootsweb.com/~gaaahgs/)
in 2000. She served as the co-president of the start-up chapter and
continued her leadership role as the chapter's first vice president from
2000-2001.
Hackney completed a second
term as AAHGS Atlanta vice president in 2005 and now serves as chapter
president.
Hackney's vision for AAHGS
Metro Atlanta, as stated on the organization's Web site, includes the
development of a genealogy conference to bring African-American
researchers throughout the region to Atlanta for networking and education.
The national chapter of the
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society is based in Washington,
D.C. For more information, visit its Web site at
http://www.aahgs.org/.
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Michele Nicole Johnson
(formerly Nicole Johnson McGill)
The Sapelo Island Cultural & Revitalization Society Inc.
P.O. Box 6
Sapelo Island, GA 31327
Phone: (912) 485-2197
Fax: (912) 485-2263
Web:
www.sapeloislandgeorgia.org
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