The Huxford-Spear Genealogical Library is a merger for the generations.  This weekend, Elmer Spear’s Madison, Fla., genealogy library officially merges with the Folks Huxford library in Homerville.

This new library will be the largest private genealogy library east of Missouri, and will be the third largest private collection in the country.

With thousands of books and documents tracing family histories, war rosters, etc., from nearly all of the states, the Huxford-Spear Genealogical Library will serve as a bridge for numerous researchers wishing to know more about theirs and others’ family roots.

But it has the potential to also serve as another valve in South Georgia’s economic engine.

To use the library, one must either become a member or pay a user’s fee. Numerous researchers are already anticipating the new library’s opening. These researchers will not only be willing to pay fees. They will also pay money to stay at area hotels and motels, eat at regional restaurants, and buy other merchandise from regional businesses.

We hope the library’s organizers will do all within their power to make this genealogical collection as accessible as possible to the public and travelers. And we hope that area leaders will do all within their power to help the library.

The Huxford-Spear Genealogical Library has the potential to make history.