Joanne L . Yeck

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About Joanne L . Yeck
After earning her doctorate in cinema studies at the University of Southern California, Joanne taught and wrote about film history for many years. She is the author of dozens of articles about Classic Hollywood and the co-author of "Movie Westerns" and "Our Movie Heritage." Her newest book, "The Blackest Sheep: Dan Blanco, Evelyn Nesbit, Gene Harris & Chicago's Club Alabam" (Slate River Press, 2019) takes her back to her beginnings in the history of entertainment.
In 1995, she followed her family roots to central Virginia where she fell head over heels in love with Buckingham County. The results include five books, "'At a Place Called Buckingham' . . . Historic Sketches of Buckingham County, Virginia," vols 1 & 2 (Slate River Press, 2011, 2015), "The Jefferson Brothers" (Slate River Press, 2012), "Peter Field Jefferson: Dark Prince of Scottsville & Lost Jeffersons" (Slate River Press, 2018), and "Peter Jefferson's Snowdon" (Shortwood Press, 2020). She is regular contributor to the BUCKINGHAM BEACON and, in 2012, she launched a blog, Slate River Ramblings (slateriverramblings.com), which focuses on Buckingham County, Virginia and environs. Today, her fascination for Virginia has translated into a full-time occupation. When she is not exploring in the field, avoiding ticks and snakes, she can be found digging through dusty papers in county court houses or spending endless hours reading microfilm in libraries and archives. In between adventures, she lives in Kettering, Ohio. Visit Joanne online at joannelyeck.com.
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Blog postI’m delighted to announce that the Summer 2020 issue of Central Virginia Heritage features my article, “The Dwelling House At Snowden: A Virginia Historical Inventory Case Study.”
Using the Virginia Historical Inventory of the dwelling house at Snowden as a springboard, the article traces the history of this beautiful Greek Revival house built by John L. Harris in about 1850 on land once owned by Randolph Jefferson in Buckingham County, Virginia.
The current issue also2 years ago Read more -
Blog postI'm delighted to announce my newest publication, Peter Jefferson's Snowdon: A History of Settlement at the Horseshoe Bend, published by the Central Virginia Genealogical Association. It provides an informative companion to my previous books, The Jefferson Brothers and Peter Field Jefferson: Dark Prince of Scottsville & Lost Jeffersons.
This volume tells the story of settlement on the south side of the James River and the development of the plantation Peter Jefferson would call S2 years ago Read more -
Blog postI’m delighted to announce that the current issue of Central Virginia Heritage (v.36, no.1), published by the Central Virginia Genealogical Association, contains my article, “No Stone Left Unturned: The Papers of Walter Lloyd Fontaine,” which discusses the surprising information I learned about two of my Buckingham County ancestors hiding in W. L. Fontaine’s papers.
You’ll also find my review of Randy F. McNew Crouse’s new volume, The Freshest Advices; Buckingham County, Virginia, Ge2 years ago Read more -
Blog postWhen my extended Harris family, including my grandmother Minnie Garland Harris, left Buckingham County, Virginia to settle in a small town in southern Iowa called Leon, my great-grandfather, Clay Harris, married again. His son, Eugene Alexander “Gene” Harris, my grandmother’s half-brother, became the first in my very long line of Harrises to be born outside of Virginia.
As the 20th century unfolded, Gene led an exciting life far from his bucolic Buckingham County roots.
3 years ago Read more -
Blog postThe Spring 2019 issue of Central Virginia Heritage, published by the Central Virginia Genealogical Association, is now available and includes my article “Where There's a Will, There’s a Way: Dissecting Last Wishes in Three Buckingham County.” In it, I expand on the Slate River Ramblings series “Buckingham County Notables “The Allens of Hunts Creek.” Follow this link:
https://slateriverramblings.com/2018/...
The essay opens, “The patriarch of this Allen line, Capt. Will3 years ago Read more -
Blog postI am delighted to announce that my article, “Randolph Jefferson’s Legacy,” which appeared in Scottsville Museum’s Spring Newsletter, is available online. Follow the link below to download a PDF and read more about the descendants of Randolph Jefferson.
scottsvillemuseum.com/portraits/Rando...
While you are in the vicinity of the James River's Horseshoe Bend, take time to explore the rich content at Scottsville Museum’s website: scottsvillemuseum.com.
Intere3 years ago Read more -
Blog postThe Winter 2018 issue of Central Virginia Heritage, published by the Central Virginia Genealogical Association, is now available and includes my article “Buckingham County Gold: The Allen Family Papers.” In it, I reveal my complex relationship to this family and offer suggestions about how to utilize the collection and others like it.
As a result of Buckingham County’s courthouse fire in 1869, genealogists and historians lack a solid vein of vital records containing this Virginia co3 years ago Read more -
Blog postI’m delighted to announce that the Fall 2018 issue of Central Virginia Heritage includes my article “Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire: Tracing My Harris Ancestor from One Burned County to Another.”
The life of John M. Harris spread across three counties: Albemarle, Buckingham, and Appomattox. His involvement in Buckingham County government; his military and militia service; and the determination of one of his descendants to document this Harris family—all provided clues to hi4 years ago Read more -
Blog postWhile working on my own family’s genealogy, as well as the history of the extended Jefferson family, I had the opportunity to explore the wonderful collection for Western State Hospital (a. k. a. Western Lunatic Asylum) housed at the Library of Virginia.
A taste of what I learned is highlighted in my recent article, “A Lunatic in the Family,” published in the Library of Virginia’s quarterly, Broadside (Summer 2018), pages 6-7.
Much more about strains of insanity and idi4 years ago Read more -
Blog postI’m delighted to announce the inclusion of my article, “Lost Jeffersons,” in the Summer 2018 issue of Central Virginia Heritage, published by the Central Virginia Genealogy Association.
Copies are available at Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Central-Virgin...
posted by Joanne L. Yeck on March, 164 years ago Read more
Titles By Joanne L . Yeck
ÒThis book reads like a suspense story. Will we care enough, it asks, to save the rest of our great movie heritage before itÕs too late? For all of us who love the movies there can only be one answer.ÓÑFay Kanin, chair of the National Film Preservation Board
Our Movie Heritage should be read by anyone interested in motion picture history. Without film preservation, there can be no valid film history. Documents, autobiographies, oral histories, and secondary sources are of importance, but viewing the actual films preserved or restored to a state comparable to the way they were originally viewed is of inestimable importance.Rudy Behlmer, film historian and author of Memo from David O. Selznick
Our Movie Heritage is an enticing, up to the minute account of the complex National Film preservation effort, and should be read by anyone interested in our rich cinematic heritage.Mary Lea Bandy, chief curator, The Museum of Modern Art
Imagine an America without any images of itself no Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz, no Orson Welles in Citizen Kane, and no Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca. Movies are an extraordinary personal and collective history of the American people. Unfortunately, over 90 percent of America's silent films are already lost to us, and more than half of the American feature films made before 1950 no longer exist. Whether it is a piece of cellulose nitrate exposed in 1910 or a strip of Eastman Color acetate stock produced in the 1970s all film self-destructs. Rapidly.
Our Movie Heritage is a highly readable and informative view of the world of film preservation, showing the work being done to save our national treasure trove of film history. Full of tales of discovery and rescue, the book is an urgent plea for preservation. Our Movie Heritage describes the race against time currently under way both in the public and private sectors in order to salvage what is left in vaults, theaters, and private collections. The book explains the basics of film preservation, covering the who, what, when, where, and how of the field, with top archivists and film restoration experts expressing their concerns and hopes for the future of movies. This beautifully produced book, with over one hundred pictures of top stars, directors, and film people, is itself a treasure that showcases the importance of this legacy.