White Co Ar Historical Society Database

The shortest month of the year is proving to be a big one for genealogy as the White County Historical Society announces a special program and a new service, both designed to help you trace your roots.

Two donations of genealogical records this month have given the WCHS a giant start toward a computerized archive of White County family records. James Baker of Joy has turned over his personal files containing information on some 50,000 White County names that he has compiled in research over the past 40 years. Deward “Pierre” Norman, who was born at Romance, followed that with a donation of his computer files containing approximately 20,000 White County names.

Historical society webmaster David Dawson of Searcy is working on a plan to make this new information available to the public.

Wrapping up “Roots Month,” Ruth Browning of Searcy will present a program on genealogy and lineage societies to the historical society Monday, Feb. 27, at Harding Place. Browning is a member of the Little Red River Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution.

Her “Milestones” column is a regular feature in the Searcy Daily Citizen, and she is an active member of the White County Historical Society. Following graduation from Southwest Missouri College, she earned a master’s degree in education at Harding College and joined the faculty of Harding Academy in 1959, teaching history and English and serving as librarian until her retirement in 1995. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.

The WCHS is one of the largest historical societies in the state, with approximately 500 members in 33 states. For additional information, contact WCHS, P.O. Box 537, Searcy, AR 72145 or ebest@ipa.net