I didn't know any rich people who shared my interest in research of genealogy before *Roots* but I did know a lot of people who shared that interest who were not rich. I think your impression is less than accurate which surprises me. An interest in family history has been very much a part of our southern heritage for generations. I, of course, am speaking of my family but I know my family is not alone is that interest or pursuit. Genealogy was very actively pursued before *Roots*... the book/program *Roots* introduced the concept to those who did not have interest in the subject which is also beneficial for all of us who share that interest. The techniques used by compilers different depending on ability, interest, training and accreditation... much has changed and continues to change as genealogical research becomes more sophisticated. Rae Jean in Tennessee raejean1@earthlink.net ----- Original Message ----- From: Traci Thompson <tracithompson@hotmail.com> To: <NCEDGECO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, October 19, 2001 2:38 PM Subject: [NCEDGECO] Re: will abstracts : Karmella, : I know of two sets of will abstract books for Edgecombe. I think you have : abstracts from each. One was published in the 1950s by Ruth Williams and : Marguerite Griffin. The other was done in the 80s or early 90s by David : Gammon. The ladies in the fifties were concerned only with white genealogy : and did their books accordingly. Another example besides leaving out slave : names in the will abstracts is the book they did Tombstones of Edgecombe : County, in which they only included white cemeteries. A product of the : time, place, and interest, I suppose. I also would imagine the only people : they knew who were doing genealogy were white; my impression is that the : hobby was mainly one indulged in by rich white people until "Roots" sparked : interest in the '70s. I very much prefer using Gammon's books, because of : the more complete information and also because the layout of his books make : them easy to use. He also includes an indexes of slave names and women's : names along with a general index. : I must point out, the best source is always the *original.* If you haven't : got a copy of the original will I would strongly suggest getting one from : the State Archives in Raleigh. Abstracts are handy, but never assume the : abstractor got everything 100% right.