"Southwestern Virginia Crossroads"
7:00 p.m., Thursday, March 17, 2005
hosted by the Sullivan County Genealogical Society
held at the Sullivan County Library, Blountville, Tennessee

The Sullivan County Genealogical Society will play host to an informative evening event by local author and news reporter, Joe Tennis. Mr. Tennis' presentation will be "Keokee to Konnarock: Southwest Virginia Crossroads." A Bristol, Virginia native, Mr. Tennis recently authored a book on the subject which explores historic mills, waterfalls, and wineries in the southwestern corner of Virginia. In his book, he included many area historic sites such as the Martha Washington Inn, Barter Theatre, the Creeper Trail, South Holston Lake, Civil War battles of Saltville, The Carter Family at Maces Spring, "The Killing Rock" of Wise County, Mountain Lake's role in the movie, "Dirty Dancing", and other items such as Cudio's Cave, Konnarock, Pilgrim's Knob, The Western Front and Goose Pimple Junction. Mr. Tennis currently resides in Bristol, Virginia with his wife Mary and daughter Abigail. The event is free, and the general public is cordially invited. To learn more about the Sullivan County Genealogical Society, visit www.scgs-tn.org.

"The Scots-Irish Chronicles: Women of the Frontier"
7:00 p.m., Thursday, April 14, 2005
Hosted by the Sullivan County Archives
held at Sullivan County Archives, Blountville, Tennessee

Northern Ireland author-journalist Billy Kennedy, in the eighth book of his popular Scots-Irish Chronicles series, The Scots-Irish Chronicles: Women of the Frontier (pictured at right), will pay tribute to the gallant women of the 18th century American Frontier. Hosted by the newly established Sullivan County Archives, the event will provide a wealth of information on area history. The official press release for Billy Kennedy's latest book is as follows:

"Up to forty stalwart frontier women are featured in his new book, including Rachel Jackson and Eliza Johnson, wives of American Presidents; Elizabeth Jackson, mother of a President; Catherine Montgomery Calhoun, grandmother of a Vice-President; war heroines Mary Neely, Mary Patton, Sarah Ridley Buchanan and Katharine Steel, and native American princesses Nancy Ward and Sacagawea. In his work, Billy Kennedy charts the influences of the 18th century Ulster Presbyterian immigrants in the early creation of the U.S. The event will be hosted by the newly established Sullivan County Archives, and the lecture is free and open to the general public.

Full press release of Billy Kennedy's new book is as follows:

"Northern Ireland author-journalist Billy Kennedy, in the eighth book of his popular Scots-Irish Chronicles series, Women of the Frontier, gives recognition to the gallant women of the 18th century American frontier.

The frontier women were an extraordinary people whose contribution in the creation of the United States is one of the most enduring stories in history. These women have never been given the credit they deserve for settling their families in a bleak uninhabited wilderness, and for their notable and heroic achievements. They faced personal hardships and tragedies in hazardous conditions, and while they toiled arduously from dawn to dusk to lay down a stake in the New Work, the frontier women were the cornerstones of the home, church and wider community.

Women had to be strong, self-reliant, resourceful and loyal to their families. Through their honest and dedicated endeavors on the frontier, a democratic and decent civilization emerged which today extends across the great American expanse from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This book attempts to recognize just what was achieved by women of the frontier, not just women of European immigrant stock, but notable American women.

Up to forty stalwart frontier women featured in this book, including Rachel Jackson and Eliza Johnson, wives of American Presidents; Elizabeth Jackson, mother of a President; Catherine Montgomery Calhoun, grandmother of a Vice-president; war heroines Mary Neely, Mary Patton, Sarah Ridley Buchanan and Katharine Steel, and native American princesses Nancy Ward and Sacagawea.

In his books, Billy Kennedy charts the influences of the 18th century Ulster Presbyterian immigrants in the creation of the United States of America. In the establishment of the United States, the Scots-Irish were a most influential group, both in the drawing up and the signing of American Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 and the Revolutionary War.

Billy Kennedy's other books are: The Scots-Irish in the Hills of Tennessee (published 1995); The Scots-Irish in the Shenandoah Valley (1996); The Scots-Irish in the Carolinas (1997); The Scots-Irish in Pennsylvania and Kentucky (1998); Faith and Freedom: The Scots-Irish in America (1999); Heroes of the Scots-Irish in America (2000); and the Making of America - How the Scots-Irish Shaped a Nation (2001).

Billy Kennedy is a journalist of wide recognition in Northern Ireland over a period of 35 years. With the Ulster/Belfast News Letter, a newspaper founded in 1737, he has been news editor, assistant editor, and leader writer. He is also a public relations consultant, author and lecturer. Through his authorship, Billy Kennedy has lectured in major cities and towns in the southeastern Appalachian region, on the eastern seaboard and in Texas. He is an authority on American country music."