MLIS Student Honored Nationally for Excellence in Genealogy

VALDOSTA - Myron McGhee, Valdosta State University graduate student, recently received a first place award for Excellence in Genealogy by the National Archives's Acting Archivist Adrienne C. Thomas.

A scholar in VSU's Master of Library and Information Science program, McGhee was awarded as a result of his participation in an essay contest celebrating both the 75th anniversary of the National Archives and the Fifth Annual National archives Genealogy Fair.

His $1,000 prize signifies his achievements in genealogy research based on genealogical records from the National Archives that trace his family's ancestry using federal, state and local government records. McGhee's essay, "The Use of National Archives Holdings for Genealogical Research," was originally written for his Archives Theory and Issues course at VSU.

A circulation specialist for Emory University, McGhee was honored at the aforementioned genealogy fair held on April 22, at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.

The National Archives is known worldwide as a treasure chest of genealogical information. Each year, millions of people use federal records in the National Archives to search for their family roots. Census schedules, ship passenger arrival lists, citizenship papers, military pension files, land patents and court records offer detailed evidence to flesh out family histories.

Information about National Archives holdings relating to genealogy can be found at http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/. This competition provided an opportunity for students to share their research "treasures" with the public.