Citizens have a chance to delve into history in the coming weeks.
Two events are taking place at the Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center (RELIC), which is located Bull Run Regional Library in Manassas.
Don Wilson will lead one class, “Genealogy 201: Beyond the Basics,” which is slated for August 16 at 11 a.m. It will focus on genealogy research.
According to Wilson, working with old Census records is complicated, at times.
“When you’re using Census records, it’s not just a matter of plugging in a name and getting the answer,” Wilson said in a press release. “Many times you plug in the name you want and you don’t get any results because many of the old clerks didn’t ask you how you spelled your name; they spelled it phonetically. Then when the indexers got hold of the list, they misread the names. It could have ended being almost anything.”
Class participants will learn about how they can use documents, including military records and maps, to do research.
“It’s the kind of research you would be doing to write a biographical article about anyone whether you are trying to find someone in the 20th century or someone in the 17th century,” Wilson said.
Wilson recommends individuals take “Genealogy 101: Getting Started” before attending “Genealogy 201: Beyond the Basics.”
Later this month, community members can learn more about Prince William County’s history.
Jim Bish, a historian and retired Woodbridge High School social studies teacher, will give his talk “Revolutionary Prince William County, 1765 to 1781.”
The Town of Dumfries was a key area during the historic event.
“It’s where the courthouse was, so all of the activities in Prince William County leading up to the beginning of the Revolutionary War happened in Dumfries,” Bish said in a release.
“The Prince William Resolves,” a document that protested the Boston Harbor closing after the Boston Tea Party, was signed in Dumfries.
“It was also in Dumfries where they began to form the first Prince William County independent cadet company, which was the independent company that preceded the official Virginia regiments,” Bish said. “George Washington was the head of Prince William County’s independent company in 1774 up through the time he became Continental Commander in 1775.”
Bish’s presentation will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 21.
Those interested in registering the for events can call 703-792-4540 or email relic2@pwcgov.org.
