The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) and Ancestry.com are teaming up for a big genealogy event in Nashville. Beginning Sept. 16, special lectures and research assistance are scheduled each day at TSLA’s building located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, directly west of the State Capitol in downtown Nashville. On Saturday, Sept. 20, a full day of presentations designed to help family historians trace their roots will be held at the Sheraton Hotel, located at 623 Union Street in downtown Nashville. The event is called the Tennessee Ancestry Library Event, or TALE.
Presentations at the event will include information about using ‘old fashioned’ research in libraries and archives, as well as focusing on online resources. Among the topics to be covered are research in court records, use of Family Search software, and use of DNA testing in genealogy.
“TSLA and Ancestry. com have a great partnership, and many Tennessee records are available free on Ancestry as a result,” said State Librarian and Archivist Chuck Sherrill. “These events in September are designed to bring in people who mainly know genealogy as an online research experience. We want to help these folks know that the records online just scratch the surface. They can tell their family story much better by visiting the library and using original records that are not yet available online.”
One of the sessions on Sept. 20 promises to be a special treat. Mark Lowe, a professional genealogist from Springfield, Tenn. will tell the story of ‘The Tennessee Girl Who Swallowed a Snake: Truth or Fiction?’ Lowe will explain how records from archives helped reveal the facts behind a 19th century Rutherford County tale surrounding a girl named Thankful Taylor and the doctor who extracted a snake several feet long from her mouth.
Registration for the pre-conference events at TSLA can be completed online at
Registration for the Saturday conference at the Sheraton can be done online at
For more information, contact the State Library and Archives at 615-741-2764.
