Heritage Seekers

Zoom Meeting - Natchez Trace
2020-11-09 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Nachez Trace, Nearby… in Mississippi, Alabama & Tennessee
by Hank Klein
Heritage Seekers member Hank Klein will take us on a virtual tour of the Natchez Trace.
The Natchez Trace was a road used by early settlers. If you have relatives that came from Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi or Louisiana in the 1700s or 1800s they probably used the Trace in their travels.
The Natchez Trace is today a “Driving Museum.” You don’t have to walk or ride horse back on the Trace as the early Indians and early American settlers did. You can drive in your car on a modern two lane road that follows the original Trace and has a lot of “museum type” stops with interesting history.
Links to video and files:
Members, please login to see links:– Pre-Meeting (Zoom Video 16:44)
– Business Meeting (Zoom Video 1:11)
– “Natchez Trace” by H. C. “Hank” Klein (Zoom Video 31:44)
– Questions and Answers (Zoom Video 36:04)
– Zoom Chat Text (Text File)

Zoom Meeting - Arkansas’ Haunted Historic Sites
2020-10-26 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Arkansas’ Haunted Historic Sites
by Rachel Patton, Preserve Arkansas
Rachel’s talk will feature several significant historic properties throughout Arkansas, discussing their history as well as stories of their haunting. Of course, the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs and the Arkansas Tuberculosis Sanatorium at Booneville will be included, as well as additional sites.
Rachel Patton was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and grew up in the nearby town of Farmington. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History/Political Science from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville as well as a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Rachel has more than a decade of experience working in historic preservation in Arkansas. She currently serves as executive director of Preserve Arkansas, the statewide nonprofit advocate for historic preservation. Rachel is the president of the Pulaski County Historical Society and serves on the boards of Preservation Action, the Arkansas Historical Association, the Arkansas Women’s History Institute, and the Advisory Board for the Arkansas Tech University College of Arts and Humanities. She and her husband, Drue, live in North Little Rock’s Argenta Historic District.
Links to video and files:
Members, please login to see links:– Pre-Meeting (Zoom Video, 27:35)
– Business Meeting (Zoom Video, 9:29)
– “1018 Flu Epidemic” by Tim Nutt (Zoom Video 52:10)
– Questions and Answers (Zoom Video 26:04)
– Post-Meeting (Zoom Video, 30:58)
– Zoom Chat Text (Text File)

Zoom Meeting - 1918 Flu Epidemic
2020-09-21 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
1918 Flu Epidemic
by Tim Nutt, Director of Historic Research, UAMS Library
The “Spanish flu” started circulating around the world and became one of history’s most deadliest pandemics, killing up to 5% of the world’s population. Arkansas was affected by the pandemic, even though local officials scrambled and enacted regulations and quarantines to prevent the disease from spreading.
Tim Nutt is currently employed as the Director of the Historical Research Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Previously, he was employed as the Head of Special Collections at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and as founding Deputy Curator of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System. He also served as the founding Managing Editor and Staff Historian of the award-winning online Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. A native of Bigelow, Arkansas, Nutt received a B.A. in History from the University of Central Arkansas and a masters in Library Science, with an emphasis on archives, from the University of Oklahoma. He is a past president of the Arkansas Historical Association and a Certified Archivist.
Links to video and files:
Members, please login to see links:– Pre-Meeting (Zoom Video, 27:35)
– Business Meeting (Zoom Video, 9:29)
– “1018 Flu Epidemic” by Tim Nutt (Zoom Video 52:10)
– Questions and Answers (Zoom Video 26:04)
– Post-Meeting (Zoom Video, 30:58)
– Zoom Chat Text (Text File)

Zoom Meeting - Ancestry DNA - How to Use DNA Matches to Further Your Genealogical Research
2020-08-24 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Ancestry DNA – How to Use DNA Matches to Further Your Genealogical Research
by Andrea Yakoubian
Andria Yakoubian has been doing family research for 20 years. Since doing a DNA test she has been enlightened by the power and information your DNA carries. She will teach you tricks and techniques on how to “walk thru your DNA matches” plus how to figure out where matches fit into your tree….even if they have private trees and little to no information about themselves.
Links to video and files:
Members, please login to see links:– Opening And Business Meeting (Zoom Video, 21:40)
– “How to Use DNA Matches” by Andria Yakoubian (Zoom Video 45:02)
– Questions and Answers (Zoom Video 44:11)
– Zoom Chat Text (Text File)

Zoom Meeting - Unexpected Connections: A Church, A Prison & the War of 1812
2020-07-27 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom Virtual Meeting
Unexpected Connections: A Church, A Prison & the War of 1812
by George Mitchell, President Arkansas Chapter of the General Society of the War of 1812
Within the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in France, rest the largest number of our military dead in Europe. A total of 14,246 veterans are buried there. Most of those lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I. George and his wife Sheila attended a Veteran’s Day Memorial Service on the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, November 11, 2018 at Meuse-Argonne. A few days later, they also visited a much lesser known cemetery, the Dartmoor Prison Cemetery, in Princetown, Devon, UK. There are 271 American Veterans of the War of 1812 are buried there and hardly anybody knows it even exist. George’s presentation shines a light on this forgotten cemetery and raises the question of why nobody knows about it.
George Mitchell is a native of Pine Bluff. He is retired from Southeast Arkansas College in Pine Bluff where he served as the Chair of the Technical Studies Division. George also served for thirteen years as a pastor in the United Methodist Church until he retired in 2014. He has been interested in genealogy for over 25 years. He and his wife Sheila are both active in their genealogical research and enjoy taking trips around the country to visit libraries, archives and cemeteries in order to learn more about their family history.
George is currently President of the Arkansas Genealogical Society; President of The General Society of Descendants of the War of 1812 in Arkansas; Past President of the Jefferson County Genealogical Society in Pine Bluff; a member of Sons of the American Revolution; Descendants of Washington’s Army at Valley Forge; Arkansas Pioneers; First Families of Tennessee; First Families of Maryland; and the Flagon and Trencher Society.
George and Sheila have three daughters and five grandchildren. George says, “We hope that someday at least some of them will show an interest in genealogy so we will have somebody to pass along all of our ‘genealogical stuff’”.

Behind the Scenes at the Archives
2020-03-07 10:00 - 16:00
Behind the Scenes at the Archives – Tour Arkansas State Archives State Capitol
please RSVP to heritageseekers1@gmail.com – Thank you!
(Big Mac Building behind the state capital) Don’t miss the 2nd annual “Behind the Scenes Tour” at the Arkansas State Archives. Ever wonder what’s in the back or how they do things? The treasures await! The staff is putting together 2 tours of special surprises for us. 10:00- noon or 2:00-4:00. Limited group sizes. Tour slots “guaranteed” only to RSVPs. $5 donation to Friends of Arkansas State Archives.

Meeting - Using DNA in Family Research
2020-02-24 18:30 - 20:00 | Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Dr., Room 66, Little Rock, AR, 72227-2149, United States
Using DNA in Family Research
by Scott Lee
Scott will teach us how to effectively use DNA testing to research your family history. It will cover the pros and cons of the major testing companies and techniques to effectively use the information they provide.
Scott Lee is a retired software engineer that has been researching his family history since 1979. He has served as an officer in several genealogical societies and lectures on genealogical topics. In 1995, he helped design the GEDCOM 5.5 standard, improving its syntax to be more easily read by software and fixing several issues in date specifications. In his spare time, he enjoys writing science fiction, studying ancient calendars, writing open source software, keeping up on the latest advances in physics and astronomy, and of course researching his family history.
