Keith DNA Project
My name is Darrell Keith, whose ancestors settled in the Murray/Whitfield area from the early 1800’s from Pickens Co., SC. Several of these families are identified while others are “believed “ to be from the same family. I am coordinated the Keith DNA project. This project enables us to positively identify closely related families with certainty. There were 2 Keith families that settled in the area that I need to identify. They are Martin Keith, b 1792 Asa Keith, b about 1785
To be able to do this is seek “MALE” descendants of these families who will take a simple DNA test. Hopefully, with the help of the WMHS, I can locate male descendants still living in the area. I hope this request is not too farfetched. I feel this is one of the best ways to locate Keith men. I do request any comments and feedback in an effort to expand our project.
Respectfully yours,
Darrell S. Keith
Keith DNA Project
Keith Database Worldwide 770-362-3809 (cell)
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| Left to right, Stephanie Edwards, Loughridge Scholarship; Hunter Cox, Timothy Southerland, and Rachel Kepley, Paul Ross Scholarship; Alex Wilbanks, Alderman-Thomas Scholarship; Will Alderman, Sims-Dykes Scholarship. |
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2014 WMHS Scholarship Recipients
We are proud of our scholarship winners, they have worked hard on their history projects and well deserve this honor. Congratulations and good luck at college!
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| Mitchell Parker and Milton Clarke of SCV. |
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| Louise Smith, Judy Alderman, and Nellena Smith. |
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2014 Preservation Awards
The members of The Lt.Col. William M. Luffman Camp #938 Sons of Confederate Veterans were awarded a 2014 Preservation Award for their years of maintaining many Confederate cemeteries and CSA markers in Murray County. They cleaned, pressured washed, planted flowers and shrubs, trimmed and mowed every year. They place flags on graves for the Spring Festival and other occasions. In 2012 they gave tours of Confederate cemeteries. In 1999 they placed a Confederate Monument in front of the Murray County Court House. They also sponsor the annual Confederate Memorial Day service. They are a very dedicated group responsible for an enormous and ongoing project. Mitchell Parker and Milton Clarke accepted the award for Camp #938.
Louise Smith and Nellena Smith were honored with a Preservation Award for their years of working for the historical society. The mother and daughter team think it is important to help document history and to make sure that young people know something of the past and will continue to preserve the history of this area. They have also written two books of family history and fifteen years ago organized Cultural Heritage Days at Prater's Mill for elementary students and continue to do so even after retiring. Nellena was chair of the historical scholarship committee for years and the cookbook publication for years. Now she and her mother organize the rummage sales held several times a year for the historical society. They were saluted for their many years of service.
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| Governor Nathan Deal, Tim Howard, and Mrs. Deal. |
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Howard Wins Govenor's Award
Our very own Tim Howard, aka Mr. Murray County, is the recipient of a Governor’s Award for the Arts & Humanities. The sponsoring organizations were the Georgia Council for the Arts and Georgia Humanities Council. Tim's award was for the Humanities for his many years (since a teenager) of work in the preservation of Murray County history. The ceremony was October 2 at the capitol building in Atlanta. Congratulations Tim well done!
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Share Your Stories of the Wright Hotel
While I was working at an open house at the Wright Hotel a lady came in with her daughter and granddaughters. She told them she had spent her honeymoon night at the hotel. I offered to look in the register book to see if we could find her name and there it was. We were all excited and I think the children looked at the hotel a little different.. Melissa Burchfield
Do you have a story passed down in your family about the time they might have spent at the Hotel? Or maybe you met and spent time with Mrs. Kate Wright Raines, the last family member to own the Hotel. The Wright Hotel Committee is looking for stories about the Wright Family and Hotel for a new book. Please send to Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, P.O. Box 6180, Dalton, GA 30722-6180.
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Now you can donate to the WMHS via PayPal!
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