If you’ve ever wondered about the history of your house, mark your calendar for Saturday, April 18th!
Category Archives: Genealogy
Does Birmingham Historical Society archive historic photos and memorabilia?
Birmingham Historical Society is often asked if we’d like old family photos, artifacts, or local memorabilia. As much as we would like to archive and even permanently exhibit these historic collections, we do not currently have the space or resources to adequately catalog and preserve them. While we appreciate their importance, we are primarily a research and educational organization. Rather, we encourage individuals to consider donating their items to larger institutions that have the capability to properly care for and display such collections.
There are two places that we recommend: The Southern History Department at the Birmingham Public Library focuses on items regarding Birmingham and Jefferson County. Open to the public by appointment only, the downtown location also maintains a digital library available on demand.
City directories, local newspapers on microfilm, and state and local histories are the Southern History Department’s most used items. Research class projects, books and articles, and the histories of local houses and buildings are also popular searches.
The Alabama Department of Archives and History In Montgomery is about all things Alabama. “Founded in 1901, the Alabama Department of Archives & History is the state’s government-records repository, a special-collections library and research facility, and home to the self-guided Museum of Alabama, the state history museum.” Their vast digital collection features genealogy and family histories, maps & architectural drawings, photos, video, posters and much more.
The Alabama State Museum, as part of the Department of Archives and History, was first housed in the State Capitol. Thanks to the efforts of Thomas & Marie Owen, the current Archives and History building was opened in 1940 and the final wing was completed in 2005. Visit the beautiful building virtually HERE or plan a visit to Montgomery. To donate a personal collection to the state archives, please submit a donation form HERE, or if you have a very specific item, consider one of these history museums.
And thank you for your interest in donating historic materials!
September Events at
Alabama Department of Archives & History
Who is “Missy” Roberts Gayler?
The remarkable story of Anne “Missy” Roberts Gayler in One Hundred Years can be accurately told because of the care with which she saved photographs, newspaper clippings, letters, scrapbooks, and journal entries. She documented and saved material that she compiled at the age of one hundred, typing while nearly blind, leaving the manuscript in the care of her family. Her grandson digitized the manuscript, and relatives helped with additional photographs, dates, and research. Fortunately, her granddaughter, Sumter Carmichael Coleman, as a Trustee of the Birmingham Historical Society, felt that it was a story that needed to be shared, not only because of the author’s ties to Birmingham, but because it’s the story of a gallant Southern lifestyle in the 19th century that’s gone with the wind…
Anne Gayler’s story began in Charleston, SC where she was born in 1882 before moving to Birmingham in 1884 when her wealthy and well-connected father financed and came to Bessemer to manage Henry DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Company. She grew up in a life of extreme privilege with schooling in New York and Germany, summers in the mountains and at the seashore, and vacations abroad. After marrying a naval officer, Lieutenant Ernest Gayler, she traveled the world, carefully documenting her adventures, but returning often to her family’s several homes in Birmingham as well as to the home of her sister Belle Hazzard. She encountered presidents, foreign dignitaries, and was present at many historical events. This is the well-written, entertaining story of an exciting life, well-lived, with multiple ties and descendants in Birmingham. Please join us along with family members for a publication celebration.
October 1, 4:00 p.m., 100 Years Publication Celebration, 2827 Highland Avenue.
Now available on Amazon HERE or by contacting the Birmingham Historical Society at bhistorical@gmail.com
Before Quinlan Castle
Historic Quinlan Castle was demolished earlier this year to make way for a new Southern Research building. But prior to Quinlan Castle, this was the location of the Roberts’ home, parents to author Anne Roberts Gayler of One Hundred Years, a memoir released by Birmingham Historical Society in September 2023.
Prominent early residents of Birmingham, David Roberts and his bride, Belle Sumter Yates Roberts, moved their family from Charleston first to Bessemer and then to Birmingham in 1894. Roberts had successfully raised capital for the formation of DeBardeleben Coal & Iron Company and took an ownership role in the new firm that was formed in 1886. At the time of his death in 1909, he was associated as a director of several banks and leading industrial and commercial interests in Birmingham. He was 63, his widow, 48, his daughter and the author of this book, only 27 years old.
The story of this remarkable Birmingham family as written by Anne Roberts Gayler at the age of 100, is available October 1st, 2023, 4:00PM at a Publication Celebration, 2827 Highland Avenue. The public is invited! Now available on Amazon HERE
Newspaper Database for Genealogical Research
At Birmingham Historical Society, we frequently get questions about how to research family histories. One of the best local resources is the Southern Archives at the Birmingham Public Library, and many more are linked on our website page, Other Resources.
However, we’ve recently become aware of another great newspaper resource HERE which includes 28 newspaper search tips along with step by step instructions to more effectively search ALL databases. This website also include births, divorces, marriage licenses, census reports etc. Note that the organization collecting this information, OurPublicRecords.org, is a privately owned and operated website and is not affiliated with law enforcement or a government agency.
While many public records are available online, it’s often a confusing and time consuming search. But you may also choose to search your state or county’s website and search for the Records Management or Public Records section. From there, you can usually find a link to an online database of public records. Another way to access public records for free is through the federal government’s website.
Good luck with your search!
Who were Birmingham’s early pioneers?
The last printed copy of The Birmingham News has now come and gone, but does anyone remember the special section, True Tales, published every Saturday from February 1991 to April 1992? A project of the Birmingham Historical Society, these stories were assembled in a book entitled True Tales of Birmingham and published in 1992. Here are a few pages…
Genealogy Research – Ask a Librarian!
Birmingham Historical Society frequently receives requests for information on family histories, photograph archives, or specific Southern history items.
The Birmingham Historical Society researches specific subjects and are not the best resource for genealogy. However, we are fortunate to have the excellent Department of Southern History at the Birmingham Public Library. Not only do they offer classes in computer research for genealogy, but for specific requests, you can ’ask a librarian’ in writing to research individual questions.
They offer databases of building photographs, browsing by subject and/or name, and digitized obituaries, newspapers, and magazines. Cemeteries, stories, census records, church histories, military & civil rights histories, marriage records, and maps are just a fraction of the information to which you have access.
The digital collection contains more than 30,000,000 documents and 500,000 photographs.
So next time you want to discover more about your Southern history, ask a librarian!
