Local Historians Awarded Virginia Volunteer Award By The VGS

Virginia Volunteer Award

Temple Lawrence(left) and Ruth Blevins are pictured in the Giles County Historical Society Research Library. They will jointly receive the Virginia Volunteer Award for 2012, sponsored by the Virginia Genealogical Society.

The Virginia Genealogical Society (VGS) has announced that Giles County Historical Society members Ruth Blevins and Temple Lawrence have been selected as the recipients of the Virginia Volunteer Award for the 2012. VGS stated "Is is the work of outstanding volunteers such as Mrs. Blevins and Mrs. Lawrence who contribute not only to their immediate organization, but also in ways that benefit the greater genealogical and historical community." The Virginia Volunteer Award will be presented at the VGS Spring Conference on April 21, 2012.

Mrs. Blevins and Mrs. Lawrence were nominated by the Giles County Historical Society for their hard work and dedication in establishing and expanding the Research Office at the museum complex. The Historical Society cited the countless hours given by both these local genealogists/historians helping the citizens of Giles County understand more about their family histories and heritage. This is an important service because many of the founding families of Giles County who settled here two centuries ago still have decendents in the area.

Both Mrs. Blevins and Mrs. Lawrence are natives of Giles County. Their institutional knowledge of the county, as well as its local families, has been an invaluable resource to the Historical Society and to the people of Giles County.

Ruth Blevins, one of the founding members of the Historical Society, helped established the Research Office to assist the public in conducting research in genealogy and local history. Along with a number of dedicated volunteers, Mrs. Blevins researched and published two large volumes on Giles County families. These vloumes serve as a foundation for those beginning their genealogical journey.

Temple Lawrence, a current board member for the Historical Society, expanded the holdings of the Research Library which now has over 600 volumes and 750 vertical files on genealogy and local history. For over ten years Mrs. Lawrence has served as the genealogist for the Historical Society assisting the public with family research. In that capacity she has established on-line access to genealogical and local history records, and initiated a program to provide on-line genealogical research for the public.

The Research Office is open Thursday afternoons from noon to 5 p.m. Genealogy questions can also be addressed via emailed at research@gilescountyhistorical.org There is a fee for on-line queries which require extensive research.