Family and Local History Research Collections
at the Chatham Community Library
The largest collection of source materials for Chatham County genealogy and local history is maintained at the Chatham Community Library in Pittsboro, although both Wren Memorial Library in Siler City and the Goldston Library still maintain research collections of local interest. CCHA has long supported the improvement of resources for local history and Chatham family research through donations of funds and materials to the local history area of the Chatham Community Library and continues to collaborate with the library staff to develop the local history-genealogy collection.
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How You Can Help:
| Family History Files In addition to published books, many contributed to the library collection by CCHA and which are cataloged as part of the library collection, CCHA volunteers maintain a variety of notes and papers accumulated about local families at the Chatham Community Library. CCHA volunteer Edith Calhoun organized the family history collections into notebooks containing information on almost 400 Chatham families and materials are added as they are donated. These documents are archived “as is”—some of the information is more elaborate and more thoroughly researched than others—so users must make their own judgments about reliability and accuracy. Some of the histories are detailed narratives covering several generations, others are simple pedigree charts. Nevertheless, the collection provides a good starting point for local history research. A family name index to the family history files includes main family entries. An addition to the family history files housed at the Chatham Community Library was generously donated in 2017 by Neil Avent of Coats, North Carolina. Mr. Avent’s personal collection of genealogy reports and longhand family group sheets covering his Avent family ancestry and related families have been organized by Reece and Ruth Jones in thirty-one notebooks now on the library shelves. An index of the Avent collection provides brief descriptions of the notebook contents. Obituary Files and Central North Carolina Obituary Genealogies A collection of more than 4000 recent obituaries from Chatham and surrounding counties published in the Chatham News/Record from January 2012 through December 2018 has been developed by CCHA volunteer Reece Jones. The original newspaper clippings of the obituaries are filed at the Chatham Community Library in notebooks. The newspaper clippings were discontinued beginning January 2019, but has continued to index obituaries, resulting in an index of the more than 8,000 obituaries from the Chatham News/Record, covering the periods January 2012 to December 2018 and January 2019 to 2024. Learn more and access the Obituary Indices from the Chatham News & Record. From these obituaries and other sources, such as CCHA’s Cemetery Survey, Reece Jones created a genealogy database of local families that can be accessed at the library and online at Central North Carolina Obituary Genealogies. Use the letter index to find surnames included in this file. Clipping and Subject-Matter Files The clipping and subject-matter files once kept at the Wren and Pittsboro libraries have been culled and consolidated by CCHA volunteers into loose-leaf binders, filed by subject. Section headings include Artists, Churches, Education including individual schools and class reunions, Real Estate Developments, Communities, Jordan Lake, Folk life, Law Enforcement, People, and more. Some of the contents describe events or places as early as the late 1800s. The file was created and indexed by CCHA volunteer Jane Pyle and was updated for many years by CCHA volunteers with articles from current newspapers as well as older papers that were donated to CCHA. Periodic updates are now made by library staff. A detailed index of the clipping and subject-matter files is available to facilitate research use. Other Library Resources Other resources in the local history-genealogy area at the Chatham Community Library, some of which are maintained in cooperation with the Chatham County Historical Association, include:
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Chatham County Historical Association
https://chathamhistory.org ~ history@chathamhistory.org ~ PO Box 93 ~ Pittsboro NC 27312 ~ 919-542-6222 ~