Home arrow Humanities & Social Sciences arrow Workshop covers researching, preserving African-American family history April 14
Workshop covers researching, preserving African-American family history April 14 E-mail
Thursday, April 05, 2012

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill experts and an author who documented the experiences of her enslaved ancestors at a North Carolina plantation will offer a workshop on how to research and preserve African-American family history on April 14.

The free public event, from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Wilson Special Collections Library, is sponsored by the Southern Historical Collection and the Friends of the Library. Space is limited; register in advance by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Light refreshments will be available for workshop participants at 9:30 a.m.

The workshop will focus on resources and methods for genealogical research, preservation of African-American family collections and use of primary sources in library collections.

Featured speakers will be:

  • Dorothy Spruill Redford, former manager of the Somerset Place State Historic Site and author of “Somerset Homecoming:  Recovering a Lost Heritage.” She will discuss use of primary resources, including the papers of the Pettigrew family, Annie Cameron Collins and the Cupola House at UNC’s Southern Historical Collection.
  • Holly Smith and Biff Hollingsworth, librarians in the Southern Historical Collection. They will discuss how to preserve personal collections of archival material and how to use library resources to conduct genealogical research on African-Americans.
  • Joey Fink of UNC’s Southern Oral History Program. Fink will share tips for conducting oral history projects.

The workshop is part of a series of events related to theAfrican-American FamilyDocumentationInitiative, an effort to acquire and make available for research a wide range of archival materials – letters, journals, photographs and more – to document the experiences of black North Carolinians and their families.

The initiative also includes the exhibit“SouthernRoots, EnduringBonds: AfricanAmericanFamiliesinNorthCarolina,” on view in the Southern Historical Collection (fourth floor of Wilson Library) through July 1. The exhibit tells the stories of black families and communities in the South, and encourages African-American families to partner with the library in preserving their family history.

Library contact: Holly Smith, (919) 962-1345, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it