Start your historical journey here. RELIC's email newsletter highlights upcoming free events and happenings. Genealogy and local Virginia history are our specialties as a service provided by Prince William Public Libraries (PWPL). You can always find more about us on RELIC's webpage. 

RELIC service is available in person at Central Library,
by email at [email protected] and phone at 703-792-8380. 
Hours of Operation
Monday – Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Thursday – Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Closed Sunday
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
Registration required for RELIC programs. Some previous RELIC programs can be viewed on RELIC's Programs webpage.
Join RELIC’s Don Wilson for an insightful discussion of the latest data released from the U.S. Census. According to the “72-Year Rule,” the National Archives releases census records to the public 72 years after Census Day. The 1950 census records will be released in April 2022. Register online, by phone at 703-792-8380, or email.  
Join RELIC Manager David Shumate to explore the ins and outs of personal archiving. Register online, by phone at 703-792-8380, or email.  
The first two presidents were great men who made vital contributions to the founding of the United States. Their philosophies and visions for the country were similar, and their paths intersected at several crucial times. Nevertheless, they often had a strained and distant relationship. Join Peter R. Henriques as he examines that relationship to help better understand the characters of these remarkable men. Register online, by phone at 703-792-8380, or email. 
RELIC INSIDER
FINDING THE STORIES OF OUR ANCESTORS’ PLACENAMES
Gazetteers are among the important and useful works we have for telling the stories of our ancestors’ lives. RELIC has several guides to place names in ancestral lands, telling their locations and the origins of their names. Here are a few of them:

“The Gazetteer of Scotland” by Rev. John Wilson (1882; repr. Lovettsville, Va.: Willow Bend Books, 1996).

“A Dictionary of English Place-Names” by A. D. Mills (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991).

“A Genealogical Gazetteer of England” by Frank Smith (1968; repr. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1987).

“A Topographical Dictionary of England” by Samuel Lewis, 4 vol. in 2 (1831; repr. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1996).

“Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs” with researcher’s guide and translations of the introduction, instruction for the use of the gazetteer, and abbreviations, by Raymond S. Wright III, 3 vol. (1912; repr. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2000). A massive guide to place names in the German Empire.

“Where Once We Walked: A Guide to the Jewish Communities Destroyed in the Holocaust” by Gary Mokotoff and Sallyann Amdur Sack (Teaneck, N.J.: Avotaynu, Inc., 1991). Useful not only for Jewish ancestry but for anyone whose homeland was in eastern Europe, including Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia, and Greece. Helps identify towns mentioned on passenger lists. Includes a phonetic index, latitude/longitude, and Jewish population before the Holocaust.

“Shtetl Finder: Jewish Communities in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries in the Pale of Settlement of Russia and Poland, and in Lithuania, Latvia, Galicia, and Bukovina with Names of Residents” by Chester G. Cohen (Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1989).

“Placenames of Russia and the Former Soviet Union” by Adrian Room (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1996).

“A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer of Virginia” by Joseph Martin, to which is added A History of Virginia (1835; repr. Westminster, Md.: Willow Bend Books, 2000).

“Township Atlas of the United States,” compiled by Jay Andriot (McLean, Va.: Documents Index, 1991). A comprehensive guide to every local jurisdiction in the United States.
VISIT THE "TREE DOCTOR"
Make appointments for virtual or in-person visits with Don Wilson, "The Tree Doctor." Set up an hour appointment to discuss and dive into your brick wall research problem. Call by phone at 703–792–8380 or email to set up a time.
April 2022 - pwcva.gov/library
Make sure to download our Spring 2022 Explore magazine, or grab one at your nearest library, to learn more about our upcoming events.

[email protected] or 703-792-8150
Questions and comments are always welcome.