Genealogy Conference in Sevier County

The SCPLS 2011 Genealogy Conference focuses on the 150^th Anniversary (Sesquicentennial) of the Civil War. The conference dates are Thursday, November 3 – Saturday, November 5. Conference location is at the Sevier County Public Library System (SCPLS) King Family Library, 408 High Street, Sevierville, TN.

A pre-conference session features “Rediscovering Sevierville Walking Tour.” A tour of the historical sites and buildings in downtown Sevierville hosted by Carroll McMahan starts at 12:00 P.M. at the SCPLS King Family Library. The tour ends with refreshments at the library followed by a Local Author Reception featuring Fred McMahan (Auto Parts, Pickin’ and Politickin’: The Three Lives of Fred McMahan) and a review of the book, Images of America: Gatlinburg with Kenton Temple and Karen McDonald, Anna Porter Public Library.

A special part of the pre-conference will be the unveiling of the “Laura C. Cooper and David A. Cooper Memorial Collection” of genealogical materials. The collection represents a wealth of work covering over 15 years of research and data collection of the Cooper, Cowan, Buchannan, Thomas, Silver, Rice, Quarles, Peay, Cooper, Pearson, Lewis, Householder, and many more surnames. The collection will be on display during the conference and available for use after the conference.

Conference sessions for Friday, November 4 start at 9:00 A.M. include: 

• Duay O’Neill - Talk on the Civil War
• Dr. Stanley A. Mize – Mize Family in the Civil War
• Don Williams – The White Caps & the Blue Bills
• Hannah Clevenger & Julie Ferguson – The Fields Ran Red: Battle Field Medicine in the Civil War

Finishing the day from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. will be the “StoryTellers’ Dinner & Down-Home Silent Auction.” The auction of local handmade items and book collections will start at 5:30 P.M.   The story telling dinner featuring Conny Ottway, Music & Songs of the Civil War, begins at 6:00 p.m.

Conference sessions for Saturday, November 5 starting at 9:00 A.M. include:

• Carol Roberts - Tennessee State Library & Archives: Conservation Basics for Family Collections
• Bill Walker – Civil War Surgical Experience 
• Kathryn Rutherford – Identification and Care of Photographic Collections
• Dr. Gail Palmer – Cemeteries of the Smokies  
• Donna Stinnett – Plants and Herbs Used During the Civil War

The SCPLS Foundation is sponsoring the Sevier County Public Library System History Center 2011 Genealogy Conference. The registration fee for the three-day conference, including evening meal on November 4, will be $75.00 or $50.00 for the three-day conference and $25.00 for the StoryTellers’ Dinner & Down-Home Silent Auction.

The Sevier County History Center is located on the third floor of the King Family Library at 408 High Street in Sevierville. Brochures and registration forms for the conference are available at the King Family Library, the Seymour Branch Library @ 137 w. Macon Lane in Seymour, and the Kodak Branch Library at 319 West Dumplin Valley Road in Kodak. For more information regarding the Sevier County History Center Genealogy Conference, please contact Tim Fisher or Theresa Williams at (865)453-3532 or www.sevierlibrary.org.