Appomattox Genealogy is a privately owned Web site that falls under the umbrella of Appomattox News. This site is intended to impart data, including photographs, documents and transcriptions concerning the social and family histories of individuals who resided in the Appomattox area before and during its history as a county. The owner, publisher and managing editor of Appomattox News and its family of Web sites is Linda Goin.
Although this site is privately owned, it is intended as a site for anyone who is passionate about the people, places, things, events and news that built Appomattox County. Accordingly, since Appomattox County was developed from Buckingham, Prince Edward, Charlotte and Campbell counties in 1845, the genealogical records within and about those counties are important, also.
Therefore, this site is open to anyone along Virginia’s James River and beyond who wish to impart their knowledge about this area.
PERSONAL INTEREST
I have a master’s degree in history from DePaul University in Chicago, and I earned a full scholarship based upon my grades for my final year. Although I learned much about history from recent events back to a hands-on archeaological study of slave trade in the Bahamas following the Revolutionary War, my main motive for studying history was social. I wanted to know how and why people interacted the ways they did throughout history. But, I was not interested in the politician or the rich or well-landed. I was interested in the common person. Based upon that desire, I wanted to dig up some personal family history in the process.
So my research led me back into my native Virginia, beginning in 1700 when 700 Huguenot refugees arrived at the mouth of the James River in three ships. From there, I learned much about the Huguenots and their influence on the religious beliefs in the area. I also learned about the Monacan Nation and their trials. I learned about the regional chapters of the Ku Klux Klan, about Walter Plecker’s efforts to eradicate the Native American population and – in the process of it all – I learned about migration patterns created by families and groups from that area into other parts of the country.
I still grasp at straws when I try to get inside the head of a person who lived in this area over a century ago, but the more I delve into this region’s genealogy and history, the closer I come to understanding motives, desires and hopes – the ’stuff’ that individuals continue to thrive on today. While grasping for ghosts, I have laid hands firmly upon many documents that never cease to thrill me. One piece of paper often holds the key to many mysteries. And, the heavens know I have tons of those pieces of paper lying around my office.
Despite the fact that Appomattox Court House burned in 1892, many records exist that show how people were connected in this area. I hope to refrain from making connections on this site, however. My wish is to upload all the information I now have and as much information as I discover along the way to help you make your connections. My goal is to encourage Appomattox residents and people who have interest this region’s social and family history to find and share information about this area. There is no ulterior motive, as this site is your site; and, I hope that anyone who loves history would be encouraged to use this venue to share their passions.
HOW THIS SITE WORKS
I have two requests: 1) Most information shared with others through this site must be cited or documented. In other words, actual documents or references to authentic primary sources (meaning newspaper articles, books, letters, photographs or other original documents) must be noted, if not shared as an image or as a transcription; 2) This site is not about history. Unless a story pertains to a specific person or family, then the story goes to Appomattox History. If you visit that link you will see the type of story I consider history. As this site grows, you’ll see what constitutes the information intended for this site.
As with the history site, the aberration for citation would include interviews or stories based upon family traditions. In this case, I’m quite happy with the journalistic method of relaying a story that includes the “who, what, when, where, how and why” for construction. If you include that information, then it will be possible for others to understand your full intent and – possibly – help add to your story. In other words, if you grandfather grew tobacco or made pipes for smoking tobacco, and you have a personal story relating to those topics, then you can omit the citations and relay your information as long as you tell readers about who you’re talking about, what happened, when and where it happened and how and why the story is important.
I prefer the Turabian method for citation, and this is what I still lean upon for accuracy in citing papers, articles and stories. If you’re an amateur historian or genealogist who has a story to share based upon primary documents, Elizabeth Shown Mills’ book, Evidence: Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian, is fairly close to the Turabian method. In either case, I will act as editor and I will be happy to help you craft your story if necessary (both books are noted at bottom of page and are for sale at Amazon).
If you wish to share information, you will receive a by-line (your name or an alias if you want to hide). Additionally, the more you contribute, the more freedom you’ll have within the site as you rise from contributor to author. As many students know, this is a fine way to build an article repertoire for a portfolio, resume or Curriculum Vitae.
COMMENTS
If you wish to comment on any article, you do not need to register or sign in. However, all comments are held for moderation to help keep the site free from spam. Also, Appomattox Genealogy does not tolerate hate mail, intolerant behavior, or anything less than adult discourse. Please do not include phone numbers, addresses, or any other information that you wish to keep private within your comments. Although you will be asked for your email address, that address is not visible to the public when your comment is published.
For more information on how we protect your privacy, please read our Privacy Policy.
MORE APPOMATTOX ON THE WAY
The following sites are available to browse if they have active links. The unlinked domains will become active within 2009. For further information, you can contact Linda at “publisher @ appomattoxnews.com” (remove the spaces and quotes before you hit “send”):
Appomattox News
Appomattox Calendar
Appomattox Directory
Appomattox Classifieds
Appomattox History
Appomattox Genealogy
Appomattox Realty
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
The following books are available at Amazon:
Do I need to subscribe to get information from this site? My great grandfather, William Hopkins Ferguson, B 1852 D194X lived in Appomattox County. He is buried at a Baptist Church there. He had 10 kids, many of whom stayed in the area. I am trying to find more information about the family, going back further if possible. The recent “Images of American, Appomattox County” which I bought while visiting Lynchburg, has photos of Chauncey Comodore Ferguson (1837-1936) who had 25 children. Some of his children have names in common with my grandfather’s family. I haven’t been able to get the site to search for my great grandfather. Mostly I am looking for the name of someone who could help me find what might be out there. Thanks for any help — Jane Ferguson Klamer
Hello Jane. You can choose to get the RSS feed so that you’re notified when I update the site (which I will do more frequently this fall). Your great-grandfather probably is not in my site, but I may have information about him in my databases. I did a quick search on Ancestry.com, and I could not find your great-grandfather. It would help if I had the names of his children, as often I can find information by going backwards. You can contact me at publisherATappomattoxnewsDOTcom, if you’d like.