Tombstone in an Asheville cemetary with a small American flag in the ground beside it

Friends of the Archives Presents Virtual Annual Meeting and Program Exploring Cemetery Archaeology and Research

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The Friends of the Archives will host a virtual annual meeting and program, “North Carolina Cemeteries: Documentation and Research,” Monday, November 1, 1-3 p.m.

Celebrate All Saints Day by learning about cemetery archaeology and genealogy!

Schedule:

Brief FOA annual meeting

Panel:

  • Identifying and Protecting North Carolina’s Cemeteries, John J. Mintz, State Archaeologist, NC Office of State Archaeology (NC OSA), will discuss the active role DNCR and the NC OSA play in protecting North Carolina’s cemeteries.
  • Find a Grave? Identifying, Recording, and Preserving Historic Cemeteries in North Carolina, Melissa Timo, Historic Cemetery Specialist--NC OSA, will share tips for identifying graves and cemeteries using more than headstones. She will also introduce guidelines for care and research resources, including the NC Site File.
  • You Don’t Always Get What You See: Best Practices in Cemetery Identification, Sarah Lowry and Maeve Herrick, Archaeologists--New South Associates, Inc., will detail methods for locating, identifying, and delineating cemeteries.
  • Cemetery Resources for Family Researchers, Victoria P. Young, professional genealogist and FOA board member, will discuss several online sites for genealogical research, including recommendations for best practices and how to work around misleading information.

Keynote: Gone and Nearly Forgotten: Reclaiming African American Heritage in Rural Southern Cemeteries. Professor Charles Ewen of East Carolina University will provide comments and discuss his current project, a 400-grave cemetery in Ayden, N.C. and ways ECU has partnered with communities for twenty years to investigate African American cemeteries.

Join this free even to learn more about cemetery documentation, research, and archaeology! Register here, https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_02BfReP7SfqQeyRoADXzAQ. Submit questions before the program to Christine Botta, christine.botta@ncdcr.gov, or share your questions and comments during the event.

Photograph of the South Asheville Cemetery, courtesy Western N.C. Historical Association.