Join us and our friends with the Preservation of African American Cemeteries and the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society for a jam-packed family history weekend!
Join us October 17-18 at the William F. Laman Public Library for a Celebrating Family History Month: From the Cradle to the Grave two-day workshop! These informational sessions are open to all ages and experience-levels with a little something for everyone interested in doing family history research or cemetery preservation. No registration is required!
On Friday, guest speakers Patrick M. Oliver and Michael D. Mason will provide talks about conducting family history and cemetery research.
On Saturday, Tamela Tenpenny-Lewis will present an overview on the history and legacy of the Odd Fellows Cemetery. PAAC Junior will join us to share new ways to get involved with the organization and upcoming projects for youth cemetery preservationists. Kyzyl Tenpenny, author of the children’s title Daddy Daddy, Son Son, will host an author talk and book signing to close out our weekend.
These sessions will serve as a kick-off to a community driven project to continue documenting the history of the Odd Fellows Cemetery and Military Heights neighborhood here in North Little Rock. Later workshops will dive into conducting oral histories and digitizing family records. Supported in part by a Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant from the Black History Commission of Arkansas and the Arkansas State Archives, this workshop and project will lead to the creation of an exhibit to be displayed in the Laman Library Arkansas History and Genealogy Room opening in the Spring of 2026.
For questions about the workshop or project, contact North Little Rock Public Library Archivist Jamie Middleton, jmiddleton@nlrlibrary.org.
AGE GROUP: | General | Ages 19+: Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Special Event | Education/Training |
This is the primary location of the William F. Laman Public Library.
