FiftyForward Martin Center
HISTORIC SENIORS
will meet Thursday, May 5th, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.
Have you ever wondered about the early settlers in Williamson County and the area? I mean the “early, early” inhabitants – the Native Americans who were here long before the White man came.
We are very privileged to have Ed McCullough enlighten us about the Indian culture in Williamson County.
Ed was an International Sales Manager for a division of Alcoa for 15 years and retired five years ago. He grew up in Montgomery County, Kentucky. This eastern Kentucky county was at the cross-roads of the Warriors Path and several other primary Indian paths. The county had more than 30 large Adena Indian culture burial mounds, and from this Ed acquired a strong interest in history and Indian cultures.
Ed moved to Williamson County in 1978 after graduating from the University of Kentucky, and quickly began to notice the prominent Indian mounds in the county. After retiring in 2005, he began a detailed study of the Native Americans in Williamson County, and collected so much information that he is publishing his findings in a book he has titled 1450: The Native Americans in Williamson County, Tennessee. The book documents the earliest known people, called the Paleo Indians, and the archaeological findings at the Coats-Hines site near the Nashville Golf and Athletic Club on East Moore’s Lane and ends with the Mississippian Indians who occupied several different villages in Williamson County through the 1400’s including the Coleman site.
He can best be described as a historian and a preservationist with a passionate interest in the Native Americans. Ed brings a unique perspective to the heretofore unpublished history of the first Native Americans in the area of Williamson County.
This is a “must hear” presentation so “follow the beaten path” to the Martin Center to hear Ed.
NOTE: Visitor fee for non-members $3.00.
GOOD NEWS from our friends at the Tennessean: March 7, 2011
WASHINGTON — The National Archives and Ancestry.com published newly digitized Civil War records online for the first time Wednesday, allowing users to trace family links to the war between North and South.
Nearly 275,000 newly published pages are among the most heavily used documents for research in the National Archives' Civil War holdings, curators said. The pages contain about 3 million names of those who enlisted for a draft from 1863 to 1865, though only about 40,000 were drafted to fight. Archivists estimate 17 million Americans have an ancestor who fought in the war. Many may not know about their family ties.
Tracing genealogy is becoming a fast-growing hobby and even "fashionable" with a Friday night TV show devoted to celebrity family histories, said Josh Hanna, executive vice president of Ancestry.com. The company sponsors the NBC show and invested $100 million in digitizing historical records.
Research gets easier "Family history, I can tell you as someone who's been doing this for 15 years now, used to be a hell of a lot harder than it is today," Hanna said. "It's become much faster, easier and cheaper to actually do a lot of this research."
The digitization project is part of a five-year deal with Provo, Utah-based Ancestry.com worth millions of dollars. The public will have free access beginning Thursday for a week before a subscription is required to access the records. Archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper said the federal agency doesn't have the money or staff needed to digitize all records itself. Ancestry provides digital images of each record to the Archives free of charge, along with index metadata. After five years, the Archives can use the index and digitized records without any restrictions.
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FiftyForward Martin Center, 960 Heritage Way Brentwood, TN 37027 (map below)
HISTORIC SENIORS will meet Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.
“Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
Spring brings the beginning of the baseball season and with it fans routing for their favorite team to win the World Series. The life of a former Brentwood resident who was in two World Series – one won and one lost, will be presented with memorabilia from his baseball career through his retirement.
Johnny Gooch (John Beverley Gooch), 1897 – 1975 was a 1925 World Series champion with the Pittsburgh Pirates who defeated the Washington Senators, and was with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1927 World Series against the New York Yankees but Pittsburgh was defeated. The 1927 Yankee team was reportedly the best ever with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and other well known players.
Gooch and his family lived in Brentwood from 1931 – 1938 at the corner of Granny White Pike and Murray Lane which is now the Granny White Park. The home burned in 1938 after which the land was sold & occupied by the Tennessee Artificial Breeders Association and then ultimately became the park. The only surviving evidence of Gooch’s residence at the park is the Catawba tree at the entrance as Gooch planted a line of Catawba trees along the serpentine driveway to the home when it was built in 1931. Gooch was a catcher his entire baseball career (19 years in the majors) and as such caught and kept the President’s ball thrown out at each World Series as well as the last ball pitched which in the 1927 World Series became more famous than the President’s ball. He played with 4 major league clubs as well as the Birmingham Barons and Nashville Vols minor league clubs, but was with the Pittsburgh Pirates the longest as a player, a playing manager and coach and then a scout. He owned and operated the only baseball bat manufacturing plant in the U.S. during WWII. Gooch became a member of the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame in 1943 and of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1972.
Presentation by Johnny Gooch’s daughter and current resident of Brentwood, Mrs. Virginia Gooch Watson Facilitator of the Historic Seniors group and former MTGS president!
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News from Secretary of State Tre Hargett (Published: March 1, 2011)
Tennessee State Library and Archives Traces Lionel Richie’s Ancestry
Long before Lionel Richie worked with Michael Jackson on the popular song “We Are the World,” Richie’s grandfather worked with famous educator and political leader Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
Richie, the founding member of The Commodores, recently visited the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) to learn other details about his ancestors for an episode of NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” that will air nationally this Friday, March 4. This will be the second time in a month that TSLA will be featured on the program, following actress and singer Vanessa Williams’ appearance in the season premiere. To highlight the resources available at the State Library and Archives, TSLA staff members will be hosting a Genealogy Beginner’s Day on Saturday to give ordinary citizens the opportunity to use the library’s resources the way that the show’s featured celebrities did.
As part of Friday’s episode, local genealogists visited TSLA to research manuscripts, county records, state records and military records to dig up the Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee’s past. Knowledgeable TSLA staff members were on hand to interpret difficult records and unusual archive findings.
Richie’s maternal grandmother, Adelaide Towson Foster, graduated from Fisk University and taught music at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, now Tuskegee University. Richie attributes a great deal of his musical success in the industry to her advice. During his career, Richie has won five Grammies, an Oscar, a Golden Globe Award and numerous other honors.
Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Office of the Secretary of State.
“We are glad to provide resources and historical expertise for the ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ series,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “More importantly, we hope the program will help Tennesseans become more aware of the tremendous resources that are available to them at the State Library and Archives. Toward that end, we want to invite as many citizens as possible to attend our Genealogy Beginner’s Day Saturday. And if they can’t make it then, I encourage them to visit TSLA Mondays through Saturdays during our regular operating hours.”
Tune in to “Who Do You Think You Are?” Friday at 7 p.m. CST or 8 p.m. EST on Nashville’s WSMV Channel 4, Memphis’ WMC Channel 5, Knoxville’s WBIR Channel 10, Tri Cities’ WCYB Channel 5 or Chattanooga’s WRCB Channel 3.
Genealogy Beginner’s Day will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Experts will be on hand to help visitors use the United States Census, military records and other resources. The TSLA building is located next to the Tennessee State Capitol at 403 7th Avenue North in downtown Nashville. The State Library and Archives is open Mondays through Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. CST, with the exception of state holidays.
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Tennessee Genealogical Society presents: "African-American Genealogy Workshop" with Earnest E. Lacey, Presenter on Saturday, March 5, 2011 -- 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Please join us for a workshop on African-American genealogy research presented by Mr. Earnest E. Lacey of Oakland, TN. Mr. Lacey is a speaker, author, genealogist, publisher, and curator. Among other awards, he received from Southwest Tennessee Community College "The Dr. Carter G. Woodson Award of Merit."
Mr. Lacey will discuss and show examples of slave schedules, family information, wills, Social Security records, and birth, death, and plantation records. A question-and-answer session will follow. Sponsored by the GRHGC and the Tennessee Genealogical Society.
Visit: http://www.tngs.org/ for more details.
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FiftyForward Martin Center HISTORIC SENIORS will meet Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.
This month we’ll have a current topic that is of interest to all of us: Ken Fieth, Director of the Metro Archives, will present a program on “The History of the Tennessee State Fairgrounds and the Nashville Speedway” in pictures and commentary.
Ken has presented many interesting and informative programs for us (remember when he drove the WWII tank to the Martin Center and gave rides in/on it?). Ken received his M.A. in Historic Preservation from MTSU, his B.A. in history from David Lipscomb University and was an Archivist at the Tennessee State Library & Archives for 10 years. He then became Director of the Metro Archives in April 1993 and will celebrate his 18th year there next month. Ken is an avid WWII collector of memorabilia and enjoys re-enacting groups, horseback riding and target shooting.
“Tip-toe” through the spring weather next week to see what the Fairgrounds looked like when it all began.
NOTE: Visitor fee for non-members is $3.00
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The latest on the Genealogy Jamboree:
We are in the final push for the Genealogy Jamboree 2011 June 9 – 12
First time combining Genealogy with History and Living History and the Crafts that the Pioneer’s did into one packaged event. With National speakers, authors, book vendors, surname tents, societies, pioneer craft people plus more.
Come join family surnames Fleenor, Sharpe, The Boone Society for this event plus more surnames check out our web page at www.wil-syl.com/jamboree3/ This event will cover 3 counties, 3 states 5 locations. The focus point will be the Town of Cumberland Gap in Claiborne Co., Tn, The Cumberland Gap National Historical Park vistors center in Middlesboro, Ky, The Wilderness Road State Park in Va, The Lincoln Memorial Museum Harrogate, Tn and the Holiday Inn Middlesboro, Ky.
We still have a few spaces available if anyone would like a surname tent or a society/author or have a traditional pioneer craft let us know. If everyone comes that has emailed me we should have a great time also we have a lot of pedigree charts to post but keep sending them in. And help to pass the event on.
For list information, contact list admin at pcmom@aol.com
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From our friends in Dickson, TN
Posted February 13, 2011
John Baker, genealogist and author, will present a riveting look at undertaking African-American family research at the
Clement Railroad Hotel Museum
Saturday, February 26 at 2:00 p.m.
Reservations are recommended but not required.
For more information about Mr. Baker, visit his website at http://www.wessyngton.com
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From our friends at Tennessee Genealogy Society:February 7, 2011
Getting Started with Ancestry Library Edition
Jennifer Baker, Presenter
Thursday, February 10, 10:30 a.m.
Limited to 16 participants
Bring family history to life as you discover how to get started with Ancestry Library Edition genealogical research database in this hands-on class. Pre-registration is required and begins January 20.
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From The Tennessean -- January 26, 2011
Civil War still has scholars talking
Battle of Franklin Trust, Vanderbilt gather experts
A century and a half after the Civil War, scholars still are examining the effects and reasons behind the war — including some that linger today — that fractured the United States.
That discussion will continue publicly today, as the Battle of Franklin Trust launches a lecture series at Carnton Plantation in Franklin.
Also today in Nashville, scholars from throughout the nation will begin a public lecture series at Vanderbilt University. They will look at a variety of themes, including the war's impact on Nashville, during the series.
The talks correspond with the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War and the presidential inauguration of Abraham Lincoln.
The Vanderbilt lectures are in conjunction with an interdisciplinary undergraduate course on the Civil War taught by Richard Blackett, the Andrew Jackson professor of history, and Michael Kreyling, the Gertrude Conway Vanderbilt professor of English.
The Vanderbilt lectures, which are free, will begin at 4:10 p.m. in Room 101 of Buttrick Hall.
• In the first Vanderbilt lecture, South Carolina State University history professor Stanley Harrold will present Abolitionism and the Coming of the Civil War. Video of Harrold's talk will be available a few days after the lecture at http://news.vanderbilt.edu.
• Historians and authors Eric A. Jacobson and Thomas Flagel will present Lincoln's Election and the Secession Drama at 6 p.m. today at Carnton Mansion's Fleming Center in Franklin. The discussion will explore the reasons behind the quick secession of the first seven Southern states.
• Jacobson will be back at Carnton Mansion, along with Greg Biggs, for a Civil War flags presentation at 6 p.m. Feb. 24.
Space at the Carnton lectures is limited to 100 people. For more information or to RSVP, contact Leigh Bawcom at leigh@battleof franklintrust.org or visit to www.battleoffranklintrust.org.
For more information on the Vanderbilt lecture series, which has seven more presentations scheduled through April 2, call 615-322-2575 or e-mail history@vanderbilt.edu.
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More Civil War News -- January 20, 2011
Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area
FY 2010 Annual Report
The Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area tells the whole story of America’s greatest challenge, 1860-1875 – powerful stories of vicious warfare, the demands of the homefront and occupation, the freedom of emancipation, and legacies of Reconstruction. We provide leadership to organizations across Tennessee, supporting education, interpretation, preservation, and economic development.
Leveraging federal, state, local, and private funding, we empower communities and individuals to serve as good stewards of their historic places and stories. Through our projects, we work with communities and property owners to build new, stronger alliances for heritage development and battlefield preservation. Encompassing the entire state of Tennessee, the Heritage Area is a partnership unit of the National Park Service and is administered by the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University.
Check out this site for further information.
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January 14, 2011 -- Clarksville, TN Leaf Chronicle
Civil War tour delights college students
Group passes through Clarksville
BY KEVIN SAULS • GANNETT TENNESSEE • January 14, 2011
A hearty band of students from Maryville College is sweeping the state in a whirlwind study of the Civil War.
Led by Dr. Aaron Astor, an assistant professor of history, the group of 10 men and one woman passed through Stewart and Montgomery counties on Thursday, touring Civil War sites and meeting with area historians in recognition of the Civil War Sesquicentennial. "It's been a real fun trip," Astor said between stops at Surrender House and Fort Donelson National Battlefield in Dover. "The biggest challenge has been the weather."
The tour is part of Maryville's "J-term," which packs short, intensive classes into a few weeks between semesters in January. Sophomores and juniors, like Astor's group, are offered "experiential" courses. "It's good," said junior Mac Swan of Cross Plains. "It's been cold, but it's very interesting."
The only woman in the class, Savannah sophomore Sarah Edmiston said, "It's awesome, exciting to be able to go to all those places, to go from place to place like the soldiers did."
The class began Jan. 3 with a week of day trips, and then the group hit the road from Maryville, which is south of Knoxville, for Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Franklin and Nashville before swinging through Dover and Clarksville. The tour's last stop is the ultra-famous Shiloh National Battlefield on Saturday.
Austin Peay State University adjunct faculty member Teresa Prober led the tour of Surrender House, about which she has done extensive research. "This is the only pre-Civil War building left in Dover," she told the students. Also known as the Dover Hotel, Surrender House is where Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate Gen. Simon Boilvar Buckner met to iron out details of the Confederate surrender of 13,000 troops in the Battle of Fort Donelson on February 1862. The main part of the battlefield is upstream from the hotel on the same side of the Cumberland River.
Tyler Richardson, a junior from Knoxville and an admitted Civil War buff, could hardly contain his excitement as layers of history were peeled back before him, saying "I love it."
