Atlanta Genealogy

06/18/2026

On 18 June 1778, British forces evacuated Philadelphia after occupying the city for nearly nine months.

Their departure marked a turning point in the Revolutionary War and reflected the shifting momentum of the American cause.

For genealogists, events like this remind us that war did not affect only soldiers. Occupation, evacuation, and military movement also shaped the lives of civilians, families, neighborhoods, churches, and communities.

Newspapers, military records, property claims, court records, correspondence, and local histories can help us understand how our ancestors experienced disruption, loyalty, hardship, and change during the Revolution.

Sometimes family history is found not only on the battlefield, but in the communities caught in the middle.

America @ 250
www.AtlantaGenealogy.com

06/17/2026

Please join me if you are in the area

Join us at the Georgia Archives on Friday, July 10 at 12 pm, for our next Lunch & Learn with genealogist Larry W. Thomas.

He will discuss how researchers can uncover the lives of Revolutionary-era Patriots, Loyalists, refugees, and frontier families in Georgia using indirect evidence and lesser-known records.

The program is free and open to the public, and no registration is required.

06/17/2026

Today, the Atlanta Genealogist honors the memory of his parents, Odis Thomas and Lois N. Akers, who were married in Chicago on this day in 1954. They were Southerners who taught him a love for God, a strong work ethic, and the importance of family. In many ways, genealogy begins there — with our parents, our grandparents, and the stories, values, and memories they pass down. Long before we find records in courthouses or archives, family history starts at home.

06/16/2026

On 16 June 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous “House Divided” speech after accepting the Illinois Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

Lincoln warned that the nation could not remain permanently half slave and half free.

For genealogists, speeches like this are more than political history. They point us to the records created by public debate.

Political conventions, party meetings, newspapers, local resolutions, voting records, and community gatherings can all place ancestors in the middle of national issues.

Newspapers often printed the names of delegates, officers, speakers, and committee members, giving us clues about who participated and where they stood.

Sometimes an ancestor’s story is not found in a family record, but in the public record of the issues that divided a community.

America @ 250
www.AtlantaGenealogy.com

06/15/2026

On 15 June 1775, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington commander in chief of the Continental Army.

That decision gave the colonies more than a military leader. It helped create a unified national force.

For genealogists, that matters because military organization creates records.

Enlistments, service records, pay records, pensions, bounty land files, correspondence, and local recruitment records can all preserve the stories of the men and communities who supported the Revolution.

Sometimes the path to an ancestor begins with understanding the decisions that created the records they left behind.

America @ 250
www.AtlantaGenealogy.com

06/14/2026

On 14 June 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the design of the American flag.

The resolution was short, but its meaning became lasting: thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, and thirteen stars on a blue field representing a new constellation.

For genealogists, flags are more than symbols.

They appear in military service, patriotic celebrations, veterans’ organizations, school programs, community events, family photographs, grave markers, and newspaper accounts.

A flag in a record or photograph can help place an ancestor in a moment of national identity, service, or remembrance.

Sometimes a symbol helps tell the family story.

America @ 250
www.AtlantaGenealogy.com

06/13/2026

On 13 June 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette arrived in South Carolina to join the American cause.

Still a young man, Lafayette crossed the Atlantic and volunteered his service to the Continental Army, becoming one of the most important foreign allies of the Revolution.

For genealogists, his story is a reminder that the American Revolution was not shaped by Americans alone.

Ports, passenger arrivals, military service records, correspondence, officer appointments, pension files, and local histories all help document the people and networks that supported independence.

Sometimes the story of America’s founding is also a story of international connections.

America @ 250
www.AtlantaGenealogy.com

06/12/2026

On 12 June 1776, the Virginia Declaration of Rights was adopted.

Written primarily by George Mason, it declared that rights such as liberty, property, freedom of the press, religious freedom, and due process belonged to the people.

Its language helped influence the Declaration of Independence and later the Bill of Rights.

For genealogists, rights create records.

Petitions, court cases, newspapers, legislative records, church disputes, land conflicts, and local government minutes can all preserve the stories of ordinary people asserting, defending, or challenging their rights.

Sometimes the path to an ancestor begins with understanding the rights and laws that shaped the records they left behind.

America @ 250
www.AtlantaGenealogy.com

06/11/2026

On 11 June 1776, the Continental Congress appointed the Committee of Five to draft what became the Declaration of Independence.

John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman were given the task of turning colonial grievances into a formal statement of independence.

For genealogists, this is a reminder that big history often begins in ordinary records: committee minutes, petitions, resolutions, correspondence, newspapers, and local government records.

When our ancestors lived through major events, they may not appear in the final document. But they may appear in the paper trail that led to it.

Sometimes history starts in committee minutes.

America@250
www.AtlantaGenealogy.com


Captain John Collins Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution

06/10/2026

On 10 June 1775, John Adams proposed the creation of a Continental Army.

That proposal helped turn scattered colonial militias into a unified military force.

For genealogists, that matters because military organization created records.

Militia rolls, Continental service files, pension applications, bounty land records, officer appointments, pay records, and local histories can all preserve clues about an ancestor’s service, movements, family, and community.

Not every Revolutionary War ancestor left a dramatic battlefield story.

Sometimes the proof begins with a name on a roll.

Tying History to Your Research
www.AtlantaGenealogy.com