SWAN QUARTER — The Hyde County Historical and Genealogical Society held its spring meeting on Sunday, May 18, at the Mattamuskeet School.  Over 65 people attended the afternoon meeting which featured two speakers: Craig Roberts Scott, a nationally known professional genealogist, historical researcher, and president of Heritage Books (a genealogical publishing firm with over 4900 titles in print) as well as Philip Howard, descendant of the last colonial owner of Ocracoke Island and publisher of the monthly Ocracoke Newsletterand blog Ocracoke Journal.

Howard spoke in detail of how he and others re-constructed the lost art of the traditional square dance of Ocracoke Island that was remembered from childhood.  Its origins are in English country-dances dating from the mid-1700s.  Diagrams and calls such as “dance the ocean wave” or “dive for the oyster, dig for the clam” are carefully outlined in a published pamphlet authored by Philip Howard.

Craig Roberts Scott, presented a comprehensive slide presentation on how to research ancestors who participated in the War of 1812 using military records in the National Archives.  He spoke of numerous types of records that exist including muster rolls, payment for services, pension records, and bounty land records.  An accompanying handout outlined the steps to use in doing this research and gave numerous useful references.

The Society’s spring journal, High Tides, is now available and concentrates on Hyde County’s involvement in the War of 1812.  It contains lists of county soldiers, pension application files, and military bounty land warrants.  A complete listing of the society’s publications of Hyde County is in each journal or may be obtained by contacting the society.

The purpose of the Hyde Co. Historical and Genealogical Society is to preserve and record the history of Hyde County and its people.  To that end, the society holds a spring and fall members meeting in various sections of the county and publishes an edition of its historical and genealogical journal twice a year.  New members are always welcome.  Contact the society at P.O. Box 517, Engelhard, NC  27824 and include an email address for correspondence.