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The 2024 Gann Gathering is our 36th Annual Meeting of the Gann Historical Society & Library. Our theme this year is “The Joy of Family.” We will meet in Winston-Salem, NC on Thursday June 21 for a board meeting and casual evening gathering. Two full days of programs – Friday and Saturday June 22-23 with our annual meeting Saturday afternoon and a banquet dinner that evening. We will be staying at the DoubleTree Inn, Winston-Salem. Use the form below to register, hotel reservations are made on your own. Registration deadline is June 8th so don’t delay – Just click on the link to get started!
2024 Gann Gathering Registration Form – Click here!
Saturday morning will open at 8:45 for announcements. The programs will begin at 9 AM with David M. McCorkle and his presentation on North Carolina Land Records. The Society will have its annual meeting that afternoon beginning at 1:30 PM, with a Banquet on Saturday evening. We encourage attendance, but we will be offering live virtual coverage of the presentations and the annual meeting (via ZOOM) for anyone unable to join us in North Carolina.
The program will be available as soon as it is finalized. Generally, all morning speakers will begin on the hour, and afternoon sessions on the half-hour.
Hotel reservations are available until May 31st for a limited number of rooms at the DoubleTree, a Hilton hotel (either 2-Queen sized beds or 1-King sized bed for $145 per night, which includes a buffet breakfast). Contact the hotel at (336) 767-9595. When making reservations, be certain to mention the “Gann Family Historical Society.”
A copy of the conference Registration Form is posted below. If you have any questions, please contact Tanya Hamell (see form for contact information). You can mail the completed form to Tanya along with a check; or, if you prefer to pay by PayPal, you have the option of mailing—or emailing—a copy of the completed form to Tanya (see form for email address), who will send you an invoice from PayPal.
MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Jessica Conklin is an Apex, North Carolina-based genealogist. Her interest in genealogy began with a fourth-grade family tree assignment, and she now has over twenty years of experience researching family history in earnest. In 2020 she founded her business, Cherry Tree Genealogy, to provide professional genealogical research, lecturing, and coaching services. Jessica holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning, as well as a certificate in Genealogical Research from the Boston University Center for Professional Education and pulls from her experience as a former teacher to plan engaging presentations for audiences across the United States.
She will be speaking on Friday, June 22nd, at 1:30 PM on “Searching for the Smiths,” a case study using autosomal DNA and traditional paper research to solve a long-standing brick wall. After a short break, she will be back at 2:30 PM with her presentation on “Are you Calling My Granddad a Liar? Family Lore and What to Do With It,” combining genealogy and pop psychology to address some common family history myths and provide strategies for teasing out the truth in your family tree.
David M. McCorkle, of Wake County, N.C., is President and founder of NC Historical Records Online (NCHRO), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation with a mission to provide public online access to images of original records and other relevant information useful to research North Carolina history and genealogy. Their main project is the free website, NC Land Grant Images and Data, which David created in 2014. This website contains searchable records of all NC land grants along with 750,000 associated images.
David is a native of North Carolina with deep roots on many lines dating back to the 1700s, primarily in the Mecklenburg County area. He is President of the Durham-Orange Genealogical Society (D-OGS) and is on the board of the NC Genealogical Society, the Mecklenburg Genealogical Society, and the Historic Mapping Congress. He has given lectures and webinars to national, state, and local audiences on topics such as land grants, court records, digitization, maps and mapping tools, land records, DNA, and land platting. He has published several articles on NC land records, along with various blog posts on that subject.
Additional Speakers
In addition to our guest speakers, we expect to have several dedicated GHS&L members to speak on their research findings and related topics. In particular, Joy Gann Brown has agreed to make a special appearance; William R. “Bill” Gann and Gary Toms will discuss “A Study in Name Patterns” on Friday morning, and they will present an overview of their latest collaboration on Adam C. Gann, one of the sons of Adam Gann, Sr. and Jane Abel, on Saturday morning.
Our Vice-President, David M. Gann, is following up on his very interesting and entertaining presentation last year by taking a closer look at Frederick County, Virginia, home of Samuel and Elizabeth Gann, our earliest known ancestors. He has lots of new maps and details to share with us on Friday morning!
AND,
We hope to be able to present a special pre-recorded message from a very ambitious, determined, and amazing lady, Carol Fuller. She has worked with North Carolina historical and genealogical organizations for over 40 years, and in 2017, she created the Piedmont Trails website. Since then, she has introduced several projects, to include: The Great Wagon Road Project; the Colonial Indentured Servants Project; and the Yadkin Valley Railroad Project. She also maintains The Attic Files – a treasure trove of research materials! If you are not familiar with her website, I encourage you to give it a look – and if you find the Early Tennessee Settlers of the Watauga Settlement of Washington County, 1778 Census, you should recognize a few names (Hint: Adam Gann, Adam Wilhite, and others). [NOTE: You might want to re-read Joy Gann Brown’s recent article on the Great Wagon Road in the Fall Gazette!]
Zooming and What it Offers
We want you to attend in person, if you can, but the reality is, life sometimes just gets in the way. If you can’t attend in person, please consider joining us via Zoom. If you joined us last year but haven’t used your Zoom program since then, make certain your software is the most recent edition (it’s free), and if you have any questions, please contact Greg Gann, our IT/Website Director. You Must Submit a Registration Form: We will need you to register [this is how you get the information for the Zoom link], and we are charging a $40 fee – but you are getting two days of programs and a chance to see how we’ve all aged, while you sit at home in your pajamas eating snacks! NOTE: The program will be live this year – not all of the programs will be recorded, and I can’t promise when those that are will be available.
2024 Gann Gathering Registration Form – Click here!
