by Lorene Bean Smith.  350+ pages
 
Digging for Ancestors columns first appeared in the Daily Times newspaper (Maryville, Tennessee) on August 25, 1982. Around 150 individual articles were written with the last known column appearing on February 23, 2006. The typical subject matter covered local history, genealogical inquiries, and the activities of the area's historical societies and libraries. As a lasting memorial to Smith's life-long service to the community as a genealogist and historian, BCGHS digitized all known Digging for Ancestors columns and had the images bound into a book format. Any omissions that may have occurred were unintentional. The Table of Contents for this compilation and the header of each page lists the original columns' titles and publication dates. The individual articles are sorted chronologically in the order they appeared in specific issues of the Daily Times. A surname index is also included at the end of the book to aid researchers in finding families referenced in specific articles. In order to make the articles more easily read, the orientation of the digital images had to be modified from how it appeared in the original newspaper for formatting purposes. In 2019 a small number of books were produced with copies donated to the Blount County Public Library, the Blount County Archives and members of the Smith family.
 
After examining the book, several people asked if additional copies could be made available for purchase. Based on this feedback BCGHS decided to publish an additional 100 copies and to offer them for sale at $35 per book plus $5 to handle postage if required. Tennessee residents will also owe $3.41 to cover sales tax.
 
The book contains 354 printed pages on 8½ x 11, 70 pound paper with a glossy thick paperback cover (see picture above). All proceeds from the sale will go towards recovering the cost of publication and to further support BCGHS programs.  Orders can be made online via our store or by mailing a check to BCGHS, P.O. Box 4986, Maryville, TN, 37802.