General Meeting

This month’s program, facilitated by the AIGS Library Committee, will showcase the Genealogy Room of the Fernandina Beach Branch of the Nassau County Public Library, which has an extensive collection of books of interest to family history researchers. The AIGS library contains over one thousand volumes, including genealogy magazines. The main focus is on local history, colonial history and ‘how-to’ books about genealogy, but it also has a large collection of military books, as well as books covering research in many states and countries. Join us and learn about the actual collection and how to locate materials in it. Please note the different day of the week and starting time!

Join us on 19 September at 7pm in the Community Room at the downtown Fernandina Beach branch library when speaker Judy Frey will be discussing the different types of certificates available through this program and will provide instructions to guide descendants through the steps to prepare their application and the related documents. She will also highlight the various resources of records available on Florida counties.

Join us on October 17 at 7pm in the Community Room at the downtown Fernandina Beach branch library for a virtual presentation by Susan Well from the Genealogical Society of Sarasota. She will reveal what information to expect from a deed, how to extract the relevant facts from the mostly unfamiliar wording and how to interpret the land description. Susan Well has twenty-five years’ experience in real estate sales and appraisal and will share how you can use the nature of the land records’ office to your advantage when approaching the personnel who work there, either in-person or online.

Join us for a fascinating presentation on how the region’s agricultural sector persisted, despite serious challenges, and continued to contribute significantly to the county’s economy by the late 20th century. Commercial agriculture in Nassau County dates back to the 18th century when a highway was constructed from the northern colonies to St. Augustine, leading to the establishment of plantation systems. After the Revolutionary War, Nassau County was transferred back to the Spanish, who re-established plantations, initiating the first land boom. In the 19th century, the area saw battles between Americans and Seminoles, leading to the relocation of the Town Seat of Government from Fernandina to Sand Hill. The 20th century witnessed the boom of the timber and Long Leaf Pine industry, with significant developments in agriculture, marked by the introduction of County Agricultural Agents in 1915 and the growth of the truck farming industry in South Florida in the 1920s. The Great Depression and subsequent decades brought challenges, but the region’s agriculture persisted, contributing significantly to the county’s economy by the late 20th century. David Hebert Speaker David Hebert is an Extension Agent I in Nassau County, FL. This presentation is based on his research of a collection of historical documents.

The Amelia Island Genealogical Society will hold its regular monthly meeting at 7pm on the 3rd Tuesday, 20 February 2024, in the community room at the Fernandina Branch Library. The public is invited to join us as we listen to a presentation by Terry Talbert on Scottish immigration, Culloden to the Carolinas.