Helping you discover your treasured African American & Afro Caribbean ancestry. Check out daily posts @goodgenesgenealogy on wordpress, fb, twitter and via goodgenesgen@gmail.com. Also check out @weadwriteandgenealogy on wordpress
From the resting place of Clark Atlanta University’s first president, Dr. Thomas Cole, Jr., to ancestors of other families, to relics of our past, our history is never forgotten.
One of the best ways to attract the attention of the genealogy “police” is to utilize materials that are either copyright protected or belong to private collections. Instead, find the copyright owners and utilize government archives and subscription services — including those that require fees — to remain free and clear in your postings. For instance, my subscription with WordPress entitles me to pull photos from its files.
Remember to first check the copyright status of any document or visual element when preparing to post the material in the so-called public domain. Social media is considered public domain. Social media is not considered the public domain. It may seem as if I was double-speaking. I am and I am not. Here’s why:
Just because something has been posted to Instagram, Twitter, or other social media platforms does not mean that content is now in the public domain and free for anyone to use. Social media is no different than other forms of online content — the content creator retains the copyrights to any images, text, or video he or she created. When reusing content found on the internet it’s vitally important to make sure you have obtained the right to do so from the content owner.
2. I usually post content and pictures that are derived from my personal files, including photographs taken by me or someone who have given the “rights” for me to do so.
Source: Ancestry, family files.
3. I usually seek photos to reuse that are from public sources such as the National Archives, Georgia Archives, newspapers and other media where the ownership is clearly stated. Please add the citations that are conveniently provided by the public site. For instance, the Digital Library of Georgia via GALILEO, offers five tabs on its site that include “cite.” Click on that tab and you will find the following for the photo that I am posting:
Citations Photograph of the parent teacher association booth at the fair, Manchester, Georgia, 1953 MLA Not Available. “Photograph of the parent teacher association booth at the fair, Manchester, Georgia, 1953.” Pine Mountain Regional Library. 1953, http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/pinemountain/do:bhtc53312. APA Not Available (1953). Photograph of the parent teacher association booth at the fair, Manchester, Georgia, 1953. Retrieved from http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/pinemountain/do:bhtc53312 Chicago Not Available. “Photograph of the parent teacher association booth at the fair, Manchester, Georgia, 1953.” 1953. May 4, 2022. http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/pinemountain/do:bhtc53312.
4. Below is the content that accompanies the above photograph. I post it with a sigh of relief that all copyright and/or free use content is acceptable.
5. Be careful with the use of music as copyright infringement cases are plentiful in this category. Yet, there are many ways to work around using music in your genealogy spaces with safety and care. My advice:
Keep your ancestry genealogy research fun and worthwhile. The best way is to avoid collisions with those who troll with the intent to make innocent mistakes a big deal.
“Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it, establish your priorities and go to work.” Anonymous
Omaha, Nebraska in 1966 with my family and me at the opening of the “pocket playground.” Mayor A.V. Sorensen (foreground) addresses the group that includes my Dad (with basketball) and me on the right side of him.
The next time you look at a public photo, take a second and third look. Look at little closer.
I did just that and discovered a few gems that otherwise would remain barely etched into my childhood memories. At the picture in this blog feed, you will notice a Black man with a basketball. That’s my Dad, Dr. Rodney S. Wead. I am right next to his right, left from our view. I also noticed my maternal grandmother, Helen Douthy (the sunglasses and bonnet-like hat) holding the hand of my cousin, Lori. Lori’s mother, Aunt Greta, is holding my other cousin, Debbie.
Franklin Elementary School playground time in 1969.
I was 11 years old when this photo was take at Franklin Elementary School. Always the tallest girl in each grade, it helps now that my height helps to identify me in a crowd such as this one.
My paternal grandfather, Sampson Wead, is pictured in what was a rare sighting. He was a member of the DePorres Club and they were protesting Reed Ice Cream not hiring Black workers. That took a lot to do in the 1950s for Black folk no matter the location.
Sampson Wead, foreground left, is identified by me in this 1953 photo.
The Administrative Research Assistant will be a member of a team working on a National Endowment for the Humanities grant-funded project to identify Georgia records regarding the state’s response to desegregation. The end goal for this project is to present interactive in-house and virtual classes and tours for college and university professors, and students. Responsibilities of this position include finding documents to support the goals of the project.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Identify documents regarding segregation, desegregation, and the Civil Rights Movement in Georgia in Georgia Archives collections through research and select material appropriate for higher education classes and the general public.
Research online newspapers to find articles on Georgia’s response to desegregation.
Look through Georgia’s Supreme Court cases to find related cases on segregation and desegregation.
Perform background research on documents when needed for context.
Scan records using proper equipment.
Perform data entry to record the location and description of documents in collections and note which documents need conservation work.
Scan and enhance digital records for use in PowerPoint presentations.
Support logistic activities for classroom and public presentations and exhibits.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:
Ability to use Microsoft Office programs.
Knowledge of the history of the state of Georgia.
Knowledge of historical methods.
Skill in scanning documents.
Skill in interpersonal communications with colleagues.
Skill in project planning, implementation, and management
QUALIFICATIONS
Educational Requirements Associates degree.
Required Experience More than one year of experience performing clerical or administrative work.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor’s degree in history with coursework in 20th Century American history or African American history.
Familiarity with Civil Rights history.
Experience performing research at an archives.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
The University System Office is an equal employment, equal access, and equal educational opportunity, and affirmative action institution. It is the policy of the University System Office to recruit, hire, train, promote and educate persons without regard to race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status as required by applicable state and federal laws (including Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Sections 503, and 504, ADEA, ADA, E.O. 11246, and Rev. Proc. 75-50).
For questions or more detailed information regarding this policy please contact the University System Office Human Resources at 404.962.3242. Individuals requiring disability related accommodations for participation in any event or to obtain print materials in an alternative format, please contact Human Resources.
EMPLOYER INFORMATION
Founded in 1918, the Georgia Archives identifies, collects, provides access to, and preserves Georgia’s historic records. As the state archives of Georgia, one of the original thirteen colonies, the Georgia Archives holds a rich collection of colonial and state records covering nearly three centuries. Of the 85,000 cubic feet of records in the Georgia Archives, approximately 72,000 are official state records, 6,000 are local government records, and 7,000 are non-governmental (manuscript) collections. The Georgia Archives maintains a library collection of 23,000 books, pamphlets, and periodicals. The Georgia Archives, as a unit of the Board of Regents, is not part of a specific institution of higher education. The Board of Regents is a state agency.
LOCATION
The Georgia Archives is located at 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, Georgia, and is adjacent to Clayton State University and the National Archives at Atlanta. Morrow is in Clayton County and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is about 20 minutes away.
SALARY
This temporary position pays $14.81 per hour and will end no later than the end of year 2022.
BACKGROUND CHECK
A successful background check will be required for successful candidate prior to hiring.
The gathering for ancestral prayer and healing at Hillside International Truth Center, Atlanta, GA
On a warm Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, Hillside’s Presiding Bishop Dr. Jack L. Bomar, led the sacred, community “Ancestral Prayer” ceremony. It included drumming that girded the rhymical and ancestral honoring blessings with the pouring of libations by Hillside member Sharon A. Smith. Today, she said, “I am the High Priestess” while acknowledging the oldest person attending the ceremony to give her the permission to continue.
The ceremony was the culmination of a monthlong series of genealogy workshops led by the Good Genes Genealogy Services team. GGGS donated its services to its host, Hillside International Truth Center, which is undergoing a massive renovation on the church’s nearly 50-year-old facility.
The outdoor ceremony was highlighted by Bishop Bomar leading the attendees in a process that began with everyone listing their ancestors on a blue sheet of paper. Everyone was asked to call the names of the ancestors and affirm the following prayer:
Some 60 persons recited the prayer and continued their family ceremony to remove any negative Karma they felt towards ancestors, and they symbolically cancelled all ancestral debt with the purpose of their families moving forward in all levels of prosperity.
PRESENTED BY VALERIE TOLIVER IN THE FORM OF A COLLAGE
The great family legacy of Valerie Toliver
During the month of February 2022, Good Genes Genealogy Services presented three Saturday virtual classes involving family ancestry and genealogy.
Theme: “Walk With Our Ancestors
Participants: Adults.
Assignment: Express families’ histories in varied formats. Others showcased their various projects. All shared with classmates to spark deeper ancestral questions, comments.
Here’s Valerie Toliver’s compelling story about her journey:
Genealogy project
February 19, 2022
My History, A journey Through Time
This collage encompasses my journey from my homeland, Africa! In doing the African Ancestry DNA test, it was determined that my matriclan test (my mother’s maternal roots) results were for the Yoruba Tribe in Nigeria. A female cousin on my father’s side did the matriclan test as well. Her results determined the maternal roots for my father’s family. The results were the Yoruba and Hausa tribes also of Nigeria. Thus, I have included the flag of Nigeria as well as the symbols for both Yoruba and Hausa on my collage.
In my genealogy research over the years, I have been able to uncover 5 enslavers of my maternal and paternal ancestors. I have this list of surnames included in my collage. At this time, I have verified only one of the enslavers as being a DNA connection. My maternal great-great grandfather was enslaved and fathered by a member of the Shields family who originated in Scotland/Ireland. I don’t have a picture of the enslaver, but I have included pictures of one of his son’s and grandson’s. I also have included a picture of the DNA match that I have with one of his descendants, my 4-6th cousin. Their family shield, along with the copy of the will showing the sale of my ancestor to a 2nd enslaver is on the collage as well. I’m continuing to research the other 3 enslavers for my family. I have included a copy of the slave list for one enslaver and a reimbursement for funds owed to one of the enslavers for allowing my ancestor to serve in the United Stated Colored Troops. The signage used to lure more of the Black people, both enslaved and free, to serve in the Civil War is depicted in my project as well.
The culmination of items included are: pictures of my maternal and paternal ancestors, churches they attended, cities and states they lived in, articles from the “colored news “, the gravestones of my enslaved great-great grandfather and great-great grandmother, my grandfather’s barn and the stone memorial erected at my mother’s childhood church listing the members that have transitioned since 1870. My mother cut the ribbon for this historic wall only a few years prior to her transition in 2020. At the time, she was the oldest member in age and years of attendance that still attended the church.
This project started out just as a small collage to acknowledge Black History Month. It became much more as I stood in my truth about who I am and how I came to be.
I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams. I am God’s child.
I am taking a different narrative to receiving tips on where to find freebies to aid in genealogy research: Let’s freely give back a gratitude of thanks to a man who quietly helped a cherished civil rights favorite.
Rosa Parks would have been a 109 years old this month. Mike Ilitch transitioned two years ago.
Rosa Parks in her arrest photo on left; entrepreneur and philanthropist Mike Ilitch, right photo.
Rosa Parks
This marker in Alabama summarizes the brave act by Mrs. Parks.
The forever Actress, Musician, Clothing Designer, Seamstress/Tailor, Theatre Director, Opera lover … our Grandmother “Mama Helen” Mary Wilkes Owen Douthy, Omaha, Nebraska 1963
Mama Helen’s Omaha (Nebraska) Central High School yearbook photograph, Class of 1935.
Mama Helen retired from SAC Headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base in 1969.
To summarize my maternal grandmother’s life: She did the most.
In the winter months during 1963, my Maternal Grandmother, Helen Mary Wilkes (and also spelled Wilks), was donning a thinly clad garment and acting in the Greek tragedy, “Antigone.” That in of itself is nothing spectacular.
That is, except that “Mama Helen” (as were told by her to call her), in 1963 was also a mother of adult children and a high school student while working as an unnamed “Hidden Figure” at the Strategic Air Command Headquarters, Offutt Air Force Base in nearby Bellevue, Nebraska. She was not supposed to be a “brain” at Offutt where she worked as administrative assistant to the scientists. She was actually an astute mathematician with an amazing intellect with exemplary secretarial skills.
Mama Helen was not supposed to be on the theatre stage at her age, 45, in a supporting role to help build her acting repertoire. She was not supposed to understand the Greek language and read Latin. She was not supposed to be old enough to be the mother of the play’s director. After all, she was a black woman who should have been content to remain hidden as a white-collar worker albeit with tremendous skills outside of the workplace. I often traveled with her from North Omaha to theatres around the city and developed my love for Latin, global travels and writing.
Thankfully, Mama Helen was never content being confined to what the so-called societal norms were in Omaha and across the nation. She would always tell me about her travels around the world. She was the super volunteer for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She played the organs at various churches on Sunday, often for no pay as she considered it her tithe to the church and unto God. Monies were stretched in the household, according to my mother, Angeline Cecil Owen Wead, the oldest of six children born in five years to Mama Helen and Grandpa Eugene Owen, II. Mama Helen was mostly the single parent in their household as my grandfather was off to build his hopes of a Hollywood career as a dancer and singer.
Thankfully, the village that was led by our Great-Grandmother Edna Lou Wilks Robinson, worked. Mama Helen received significant assistance from Grandmother Robinson.
In later years, Mama Helen was voted into the prestigious Omaha Central High School Hall of Fame. In this tribute to Mama Helen when she was inducted in the Hall of Fame that also honors Warren and Susie Buffett, my Dad, Dr. Rodney S. Wead, countless athletic, political, academic, world leaders and more, Mama Helen was remembered:
“Helen loved music and the arts and volunteered with Opera Omaha, Omaha Community Playhouse, Center Stage, and Chanticleer Theater. She served on the Nebraska Arts Council and Omaha’s Human Relations Board.
Helen passed away in 2008 at the age of 90.”
Upon Mama Helen’s retirement, she devoted her time to a program that she earlier developed to help single women develop skills to become secretaries, assistants and other related jobs inside of offices. She conducted the classes at a local community center.
Create a social media post honoring your ancestor
Steps to help you to share stories about your ancestors
Walk with your ancestors by researching their lives.
Narrow down your work to focus on one ancestor.
Once you locate periodicals, broadcast reports, historical data on military cards, death certificates and more about your ancestor, take the time to capture where the information leads you to build the rest of the story.
Honor your ancestor. Take a moment and offer a wonderful prayer for her/his walk before you. Look for similarities between your life and the ancestor’s.
Share your results so that others may benefit from their stories. It also helps to establish your interests in activities.
This post about freebies usually appears on Fridays. In honor of a great week by all who have contacted Good Genes Genealogy Services, here’s your day-before treat:
Like the Ghanianhttps://www.uncommongoods.com/product/sankofa-wall-art Sankofa bird, Good Genes Genealogy Services is looking back to gather research from former and current workshops to help all move forward with their family ancestry research.
During January and February 2022, the Good Genes Genealogy Services team provided five (5) workshops. The free workshops for the DeKalb County Public Library, and the Saturdays-in-February workshops where the proceeds are fully donated to our host, Hillside International Truth Center, certain references were named.
The following is a compilation of the referenced genealogy materials:
Free or Limited Trial Genealogy Sites (a sampling)
This site is dedicated to genealogy research for African Americans. https://afrigeneas.com
According to its website, “Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites.” https://ancestry.com
Part of the Library of Congress website, Chronicling America has searchable images of US newspapers from 1792-1963. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
It is based in the UK and already has released the 1921 Census. The site is a compilation of media and government reports. There is a 14-day free trial. https://www.findmypast.com/
Search over 10 billion global historical records, birth, marriage and death records from 32 countries, 25 million pages of historical newspapers dating back to 1803, and more than 6.3 billion names – all with a 14-day free trial. Use it free for two weeks and cancel if it’s not for you. https://www.myheritage.com.
The USGenWeb Project is comprised of volunteers who provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. It is a non-commercial site and wants to provide free genealogy access for everyone. http://www.usgenweb.org/
Access free digitized images of newspapers, books, films, maps, personal narratives, photos, prints, and drawings.https://www.archives.gov/
This site is free, yet it does ask if you wish to make a donation to keep its access free. Here’s the website announcement “Trace your roots for FREE with our searchable database containing thousands of identified and mystery photos for genealogy enthusiasts looking for long-lost family. Anyone who finds a photo of a direct ancestor that is owned by the archive will receive the photo for free. If the historic photos you find pique your interest in genealogy, you can continue your research by doing a family search here.” https://deadfred.com/
If your ancestors were Jewish, this website has more than 20 million records from all over the world to help you trace your Jewish heritage. https://www.jewishgen.org/
Access free digitized images of newspapers, books, films, maps, personal narratives, photos, prints, and drawings. Home | Library of Congress (loc.gov)
This is an activist group of historians, genealogists, researchers, and open government advocates, Reclaim the Records identifies information that should be in the public domain but has been restricted by the government, archive or library that holds it. https://www.reclaimtherecords.org
Genealogy Conferences
This site bills itself as “ConferenceKeeper.org is the most complete calendar of genealogy events — anywhere! Here you will find hundreds to thousands of genealogy webinars, workshops, seminars, conferences, podcasts and more, from genealogy societies, libraries, and other organizations all around the world.” It’s true. https://conferencekeeper.org/conference-keeper/
You may also be interested in the following conferences:
The Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) – hosts an annual Expo in Athens, GA, gagensociety.org
It is billed as the larges family genealogy conference in the world. It’s the virtual, RootsTech 2022 • FamilySearch
Genealogy Research in Military Records
The National Archives holds Federal military service records from the Revolutionary War to 1912 in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. See details of holdings.
Military records from WWI – present are held in the National Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC), in St. Louis, Missouri, See details of holdings.
The National Archives does not hold state militia records. For these records, you will need to contact the appropriate State Archives.
THE best and “free” source in genealogy research begins at your friendly neighborhood library. One library system that is used by Ann is the DeKalb County Public Library. Having a library card gives you access to services such as “Ask a Librarian” and broader research sites. Anyone may also request library cards in former home libraries across the nation. DeKalb County Public Library (dekalblibrary.org)
Nonpopulation census records can add “flesh” to the bones of ancestors and provide information about the communities in which they lived. Agriculture, mortality, and social statistics schedules are available for the census years of 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. Manufacturing schedules are available for 1820, 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. These records are arranged by state, then by county, and then by political subdivision (township, city, etc.). Schedules of business are available for 1935 for the following industries: advertising agencies, banking and financial institutions, miscellaneous enterprises, motor trucking for hire, public warehousing, and radio broadcasting stations.
State censuses can be as important as the federal census to genealogists but, because they were taken randomly, remain a much-under-utilized resource in American genealogy. State censuses often can serve as substitutes for some of the missing federal census records – most notably the 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1890 censuses. Many state censuses also asked different questions than the federal census, thus recording information that cannot be found elsewhere in the federal schedules. While not all states took their own censuses, and some have not survived, state and local census records can be found in many locations. Most states which took censuses usually did so every 10 years, in years ending in “5” (1855, 1865, etc.) to complement the federal census. These state census records are most often found at the state archives or state library. Many are also on microfilm through a local Family History Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and online via commercial genealogy databases. State Censuses – History – U.S. Census Bureau
Addendum
Inaugural 2021 Genealogy Book published by Good Genes Genealogical Services
Researching genealogy and family histories are exciting activities. Equally thrilling are the research results coming to life in the form of podcasts, blogs, puzzles, articles, affirmations, proclamations, presentations, stage plays, films, clothing and other expressions of our ancestors’ rich legacies.
Here’s a partial listing of the Black History Month programs, activities and other recognitions throughout the United States:
President Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings Descendant Gayle Jessup White – African-American Burial Ground, Monticello
Good Genes Genealogy Services offers a hands-on, virtual series of workshops with the proceeds benefiting Hillside International Truth Center. Learn how to move your research into multi-media productions, products and services. The bonus is the honoring of our ancestors with an in-person circle of release and love. See below to register.
How to attend and be present for the future
Remember to bring along a notepad, whether electronic or paper. My youngest son brings his Braille notetaker.
Listen to the genealogy and ancestry points of information that relate to your current and future research.
Ask questions and make comments about what matters to you. At one of my recent online seminars, a participant asked that I return to former slides to review the listing of great resources for genealogy research.
Provide feedback to the event host. The feedback and especially the recommendations for topics of future topics, remain important to event hosts.
Relax and release so that you may enjoy and learn from every activity and program.
About 12 years ago, I received important advice from an Arkansas special collections librarian. She asked me to share my paternal family’s history as I discovered it — bit by bit.
I recall telling her that I did not have much to report on my grandfather, Samuel Luster Weed (now Wead), and his family who lived in Helena, Arkansas during the bloody summer of 1919 in the Delta region. She said, “even if you have one page to share, share it.” This librarian was responsible for my brick wall breakthrough as she found Big PaPa Wead. I am forever grateful.
A rare photo of my grandfather, Sampson Luster Wead in the 1950s at a civil rights protest.
Start where you are. That is the straight-forward message I received from Rhonda. It applies to new and seasoned genealogy and family ancestry researchers.
Thank you, Rhonda.
I have been repeating that refrain since then. I will repeat it again soon during the annual Sankofa Genealogy monthlong celebrations hosted by Atlanta, Ga.’s Hillside International Truth Center. During our Saturday Sankofa Genealogy workshops, our emphasis is to encourage participants to show their work. Do as Rhonda wisely advised me, share their stories. As the Ghanian Sankofa bird teaches us, reach back to retrieve what is lost while moving forward as its body shows.
I recently received an email prompt from the TV network, NBC. It showcased a story about a lady who “struck” black family genealogy gold by linking her family’s past to that of Abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Another NBC story that aired a year ago was also a great bright light. It featured a boy dressed up like his favorite news anchor who became an ancestor. It is an example of starting where you are. I am sure that Rhonda is proud. I am.
Tips for starting where you are in family research
Begin with your research question or purpose. It could be you are looking to find at least one family member from your mother’s or father’s ancestors.
Ask questions among family members, even if you are repeating yourself. You may be surprised with their new responses to you.
Seek the help from a librarian, a historian, a genealogist and newspaper by utilizing surnames that you are familiar with. Make sure you spell the surname at least seven different ways.
If you are seeking a female ancestor, know that her married name may cause many brick walls. Seek her maiden name, albeit it is usually a tough search.
Publish, write, speak or produce a video. Create a one-page document as I did to break the ice of publishing my research, thanks to Rhonda.
February is the perfect month to journey with our ancestors. For the second year, Good Genes Genealogy Services LLC, will offer a series of Saturday morning, live and virtual workshops that follow the principles of the Ghana, Africa Sankofa bird.
Your donation benefits the programming of Hillside International Truth Center.
“Sankofa” is a Ghanaian word that translated means “Go back and fetch it.” It also refers to a mythical bird whose feet are firmly planted forward while its head is turned backwards carrying a precious egg in its mouth. It symbolizes the belief that the past serves as a guide for planning the future. It represents a people’s quest for knowledge with the implication that the quest is based on critical examination, and intelligent and patient investigation.
February is known as the month of love, is marked by the American Heart Association, and is the USA’s Black History Month of recognition and celebration. The power of love is always with me. The recent deaths of loved ones from matters of the heart impact my soul. The annual recognition of Black History Month honors our ancestors — whether African American, Irish American, Afro Caribbean American and more.
Tips for a worthwhile attendee to this workshop series:
Be open and receptive to learning new facts about our ancestors;
Expect to receive reminders and prompts about ancestry and genealogy;
Challenge yourself to move your basic or lengthy family ancestry research to production;
Be prepared to participate fully in the Sankofa Genealogy classes, especially in weeks three (3) and four (4); and
Enjoy the classes and if possible, the in-person ancestral healing ceremony on the last Saturday of February.
A word of gratitude: The workshops conducted by Mark S. Owen and Ann Wead Kimbrough, are made possible through the collective production team of ministers. They are Bishop Jack Bomar, Drs. Marian Gamble and Tony Burks II, Revs. Sharon Hodnett and Senay Johnson.
Live your best lives and record your stories. We have a limited amount of time in this earth realm. How are you preparing to leave lasting legacies? Keep in mind our future generations. Namaste.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2022I AM HERE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
Create a print, audio and/or video gratitude journal and strive to record your successes, victories, small wonders and more in it each day. If you already have a gratitude, continue to record.
If you have or are creating a print gratitude journal, add photos and if possible, audio and video evidence of the good you are enjoying.
On those so-called “sad” or “bad” days, dig deep and find at least one object, person or situation that brought sunshine to your lives.
Consider presenting excerpts from your gratitude journal in a family or friends setting such as a reunion, holiday or just because.
Consider where you will place your gratitude journal so that future generations may view it. Online ancestry sites and other technology-based cloud storage locations are worth exploring.
I was moved by a newspaper columnist’s description of the great flood in the 1940s that invaded my hometown, Omaha, Nebraska and neighboring city, Council Bluffs, Iowa. What led me to this article was an active conversation I was having with my parents about a time when the entire community pulled together to help one another.
My Dad and his buddies were drafted to help build structures to help fend off the water disaster that paralyzed the area for several weeks.
As I listened to their separate remembrances, I was scanning the flooded areas via today’s Internet. There were empty spaces where houses and businesses once stood, while stronger structures remaining upon the soggy grounds.
What was my fantastic tool to locate the historical Iowa and Nebraska? It’s the Freebie Friday “My Genealogy Hound.” It’s a great website with more than 2,100 historic county maps from throughout the United States. I’ve found it helpful when I was researching my ancestors in Georgia. I wanted to see where my paternal family lived in Helena, Arkansas in 1919, and our (Good Genes Genealogy team) maternal relatives’ homes and businesses in Springfield, Missouri between 1900 and 1945.
Some maps don’t allow the researcher to drill down and find every old road that I was seeking. Yet, most of the county maps give me a great sense of the areas.
The 1904 map of Springfield, Greene County, Missouri.
There’s at least one county map for every county in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
Only partial lists exist for the remaining U.S. states. Within all states, more county maps are regularly added.
On this annual day of Epiphany, it is also the birth of my most cheriished ancestor. Today, Jan. 6, 2022, would have been my Paternal Aunt Beverly Ann Wead Blackburn Jones’ 85th birthday. She transitioned in 1973 at the age of 36. I was 15 years old. It was the first family death that left an indelible mark upon my life.
My father’s baby sister, my mother’s best friend, my dear ancestor Aunt Beverly, has taught me so much over the nearly 49 years since her transition. Many of our ancestors have that ability to guide us through our genealogy journeys. My advice: Let them.
Aunt Bev’s Grave Marker in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Omaha, Nebraska
Aunt Beverly is more than the grave marker of her birth and death dates. She was a standout scholar, athlete and civic citizen that began in her high school years. She continued with similar activities in college and added accomplishments that included journalist, sorority member and U.S. Senate recognized achiever. She was twice married, had three children during her first marriage, owned businesses and hosted many recreational and entertainment activities for children and teenagers in our hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
The summary of Aunt Beverly’s life from our family tree on ancestry.com’s website
When I wrote about my dear Aunt Beverly a year ago, I did not have the family details that I have since retrieved. Thanks to Aunt Beverly, I offer the following genealogy tips that lead to more discoveries in our ancestry searches:
Update ancestor’s information. Review the ancestor’s information for updates that are often added through online sources. I found new information relevant to Aunt Beverly’s ancestry data. A closer look at the 1940 U.S. Census data for Aunt Beverly’s/my Dad’s family showed that their Dad/my grandfather completed one year of high school.
Review linked ancestor’s information. While reviewing your ancestor, follow her or his lineage for the same purpose of online updates. I found new and rich updates about my ancestors who are Aunt Beverly’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-grandmother’s information.
Resist the tendency to keep your original research. Often, we don’t want to release our early research about our ancestors after we find new documents that provide validity. For instance, my great-great grandmother’s birth year and location were incorrect on my family tree. Documents were recently released that gave accurate results based on Fannie Robinson Wade’s recently found birth certificate from 1841.
4. Verify new information. Using my paternal great-great grandmother’s data, I verified her birth year by reviewing the 1880 U.S. Census for her age at that time. I also found two other trees that included Fannie Robinson Wade as part of their research. The reconciled birth year information appears to be accurate.
5. Select a routine day or date to review and update ancestral information. I use my ancestors’ birthdays, marriage anniversaries, holidays and death anniversaries to pause and review existing information for updates. With Aunt Beverly, I review her life’s story on her birthday and in June of each year.
The how-tos that I presented can be expanded by each researcher reading this WordPress blog and social media post. Share your ideas to help others and the Good Genes Genealogy team to gain new research techniques.
This column is reprinted from WeadWriteAwayandGenealogy
Author: Learning family histories
Our genealogy traces our family from western and central Africa and western Europe. Our ancestors entered the United States at the Virginia and Georgia Ports. First cousins Mark Owen and Ann Lineve Wead (it is protocol to use the maiden names of females in genealogy searches) are responsible for writing this blog. Although Ann has been involved in genealogy research while searching for certain ancestors since the age of 10, the cousins began deeper research of their families during the COVID-19 Pandemic Year of 2020. Devoting as much as 6 hours some evenings to the methodical training and research of genealogy, the cousins completed the year 2020 by earning genealogy certificates. Join us. @goodgenesgenealogy on wordpress and fb, twitter Sign up for our blog and enjoy the journey. View all posts by Learning family histories
One of my facebook genealogy page colleagues gifted her children with their individual family trees. Now that the winter holidays are over, this idea is perfect for 2022 family reunions.
A real tree for families
My colleague said the most often asked question is where to purchase the tree stand? She offered this bestchoiceporducts site.
Here is the back of one of the branches for you to consider how to list your ancestors.
This example by Sheila Bousson is a great capture of an ancestor.
How to make this happen for your family? Be creative by using this example as your foundation of an idea that brings new meaning to our genealogy phrase, “family tree.”
Check out the ancestry.com Library edition for free forms and charts
Check out the ancestry.com Library edition for free forms and charts
I did a double take when I was searching for genealogy information via ancestry.com on my local public library’s website. The free Ancestry.com site courtesy of my favorite library, DeKalb County Public Library, has different offerings than my private, subscription-based ancestry.com account.
That’s the first freebie: Use your public library card to log into your local branch’s website and search for ancestry.com. Once in the site, select the “charts and forms” tab and click on to access it.
The second freebie is found in the ancestry.com charts and forms tab. You may wish to download any or all six of the forms and charts. The forms and charts are great tools to help the novice and seasoned genealogy researchers to organize family documents.
The charts and forms from ancestry. com are also exclusively offered on library sites. That’s a bonus for having a library card.
Hurry! Ancestry.com’s Library editions may be ending soon, according to the company’s website.
My ancestry.com family tree is appropriately named: “Bartee Douthy Duncan Fisher Kimbrough Owen Parker Shaw Thompson Wead Weed Wilks Wilkes Family Tree.”
Below is a photo of the Wilkes family and friends in front of their home in Springfield, Missouri. It is estimated that this photo was taken in 1925.
To gain the best results from building your family tree on any ancestry website, list the top surnames. As you build your family tree, remember the surnames and always use the maiden names of your female ancestors in genealogy searches.
In my early years of researching my family, I included my female ancestors’ married names in family genealogy searches. It limited my information collection. Now that I have replaced the married names with maiden names, the family searches are much more successful.
How do you find the maiden names? Check marriage certificates and licenses, marriage announcements and bonds for the correct maiden names of relatives. For instance, as shown below, I located the maiden name of Florida L. Fisher on the marriage license certifying the union with our cousin, Herbert Gerald Parker.
If marriage documents are tough to find, ask your oldest family members to help remember the maiden names. When I used my maternal Great- Great-Grandmother’s Melissa C. Gray Wilkes’ maiden name, I easily located her parents and her grandparents. The Gray surname was the key to finding her parents, grandparents and siblings.
Great-Great-Grandmother Melissa Gray Wilkes (1871 – 1934) is viewed below:
Happy family searches. Build your family trees with maiden names linked to the strong surnames.
For many of us, it is a challenge to learn of our grandparents and their parents. Think about the challenge of locating 10 generations of grandparents, or stated another way, your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents!
While the Good Genes Genealogy cousins are only halfway there with our maternal grandparents, we, like you, will keep trying to reach the 10th generation of relatives.
Notice the fourth and fifth great-grandfathers. The fourth great-grandfather fought a battle in Georgia during the Revolutionary War to keep the British invasion at bay.
Here’s some solid advice from us and colleagues who are genealogy buffs:
Decide on your purpose for your family tree. Some prefer to build family tree to only link direct lineage. Others build trees for family history purposes. Both types of family trees are valuable.
Now begin with yourself to begin your family tree, hence the top of the Christmas tree shaped family tree that is displayed in this blog.
Fill in as much as you know about your grandparents and their parents, if possible.
Use death and birth certificates, if available, to verify each grandparents’ parents.
DNA results remain a huge help in filling in the names of grandparents, siblings, cousins and other relatives.
Do not ignore individuals that keep appearing on your ancestry lines that do not appear to be blood relatives. Their records are equally important to locate ancestors as those “nonblood” individuals may share other family relationships.
If grandparents have been married more than once, you have the choice to add each marriage, or directly link your blood lines to the married grandparents. It’s tricky, yet family tree-building technology is now allowing for some flexibility.
Build in lots of genealogy research time to achieve whatever goals you have for building family trees this holiday season.
Have fun, relax, share memories and ask great questions of your relatives to build your tree.
Family of Rev. Dr. Miles Mark Fisher III and Ada Fisher. Young Florida is standing, right.
I was busy preparing my holiday cards when my thoughts turned to gift-giving. What is the greatest genealogy gift that I could give to my family? The answer: Ancestral research findings.
Guess what? I, too, received the greatest gift.
I poured through our family ancestry records and discovered great finds via newspapers.com. I attached the newspaper clippings to my family members’ trees and also printed some records to share as part of my gift giving.
The clipping below was part of my gift to Cousin-by-marriage Florida L. Fisher Parker a year ago during the holiday season. She was overjoyed to see this clipping, her marriage license and other related documents that I uncovered through electronic methods. My discoveries also prompted Florida sharing funny and tearful memories about that great day in her life.
My cousin, Ret. Col. Parker and Florida on their wedding day, June 27, 1959Florida and Herbert Parker’s marriage license and certificate
Florida, the widow of Ret. Col. Herbert Gerald Parker, is an enthusiast genealogist. She piqued my interest in genealogy while we all lived in Tallahassee, FL. Typically, I would visit with Florida and we would prepare documents for the family reunion. After the burial of her husband, my cousin, Herb, at Arlington National Cemetery in D.C., Florida chose to live near her daughter and family in Maryland. Distance and COVID-19 restrictions have grounded our travels and frequency of our conversations.
That’s why this year, I bundled up some new finds that are related to her deceased father, Dr. Miles Mark Fisher. During my research of her father, I discovered my greatest gifts.
Gift #1: I learned that Dr. Fisher was the author of several books and articles. One of his books, “The Life of Lott Cary” is out of print. It is about the life of a former slave who toiled many years to earn enough to purchase his freedom and that of his family’s. He became a member of the clergy and also ascended into other high places.
Gift #2: I learned that Rev. Fisher was the longtime pastor of White Rock Baptist Church, Durham, N.C. It was a church that was widely recognized nationwide and in its community for its social activism and highly touted black businessmen and civil rights leaders as congregants. He also initiated a program that held period racially integrated religious services.
Gift #3: I learned that Dr. Fisher was a scholar. He was on faculty at Virgina Union and Shaw University.
Gift #4: I learned the young scholar was one of the first “Negroes to receive the Ph.D. degree in philosophy and religion from the University of Chicago.”
Gift #5: The joy that the printed articles bring to Florida’s life. She doesn’t use technology, yet, she is fond of receiving information about her family.
Rev. Fisher’s integration services’ program
By sharing your ancestral findings with loved ones, you are giving the greatest gift of all during this holiday season and throughout the year.
Barnes & Noble website is one of many locations to find our books
The Good Genes Genealogy Services team has been providing free and low-cost services to engaging clients throughout 2021.
To keep our services at this level, we invite you to support us by investing a few dollars into the books we published during this second health pandemic year. The bonus book is written by Dr. Ann Wead Kimbrough about her father, Dr. Rodney S. Wead, a relatively unknown and yet effective community leader.
All of the books genealogy books are written by the cousin duo, Kimbrough and Mark S. Owen. The book illustrator for all books is Veverly Byrd-Davis. Besides our publishing company, http://www.lulu.com (see bookstore, Good Genes Genealogy), our books are offered on many national book sites.
Amazon is another website where you can find our books
Free audio instead of paying the annual fees Photo by Stas Knop on Pexels.com
Hear, hear! Rather than dole out hard cash (or credit cards) for an annual audio subscription for books, I choose to make great use of my DeKalb County (GA) Public Library card and tune into hoopladigital.com.
Check your library for free audio book subscriptions.
That’s my best Freebie Friday tip. Sign up and listen to great books like the one I just finished:
A great book to listen to as it read by the soothing voice of Kareem Maize, who is not the author.
Ancestry.com is a premium subscription-based genealogy website with over 8 billion genealogy records, most of which are online images of original documents. In addition, Ancestry has more than 35 million user-submitted family trees, which include photographs, written stories, and scanned documents.
One of Ancestry’s best kept secrets is that they also have over 1,300 always-free databases. To view these free records, you may be asked to sign up for a free account, but the account is free, no strings attached. You do not need a free trial to view these records.
Any USA AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY — CAN AB BC MB NB NF NT NS TT ON PE QC SK YT — INTL Locality
Although this database is called the Free Index, it actually includes indexes as well as images. This Free Index Search contains all the free Ancestry.com record databases but does not include the very popular Family Trees.
Below is a list of the most popular Ancestry free databases. Scroll down to see some of the the free Ancestry databases that are listed by country and state.
In our family, several births, deaths and marriages took place in the month of November.
In 1888, two teenagers — Robert B. Wilkes and Melissa C. Gray — married in a simple ceremony in Greene County, Missouri. The hard-to-view document includes the signature witness of our Great-Great Grandfather’s father, Peter Wilkes. He gave permission for his 17-year-old son to marry his bride.
For our Great-Great Grandmother, the form noted that she was under the age of 21. Other records show that she, too, was 17 years old.
Their marriage remained for another 40+ years until their deaths. Their union produced 13 children; 11 lived to adulthood. The Wilkes family lived a great life in the hills of Springfield, Missouri. Most children, including our Great-Great Grandmother Edna Robinson, graduated from high school and moved away from home to the states of Nebraska, Hawaii and New York.
If you are interested in the lives of your ancestors, check out the marriage records. For those even easier to read than this one of our loved ones, you will likely learn more about the circumstances of the marriage. In this case, the only person requiring permission to marry was the groom since he was not yet the legal age of 18 years old.
By planes, trains and automobiles, an estimated 54 million U.S. travelers made it families and friends this 2021 Thanksgiving season. Those numbers are nearly equal to pre-Covid 2019 levels, according to AAA, air, train and government travel trackers.
If so, don’t spend all of your time around the table of good food, or shopping until you drop. Instead, start now to preserve your precious history by recording short and even long stories of your loved ones.
Generations of family: Priceless Photo by August de Richelieu on Pexels.com
As a nearly lifelong writer (Ann) who began journaling at age 10, I learned the importance of being a good listener who captured cool stories from the annual family gatherings. Those early lessons served me well as I became an award-winning financial journalist who found that my interview skills came in handy when I became more interested in African American family genealogy.
Admittedly, it is not easy getting our family members to open up about their past. However, I have found that to get meaningful conversations started, flattery gets you everywhere. Here are my quick tips on how to glean information from your loved ones:
Tell them upfront that you are interested in preserving your family’s history. If they are like my Great Cousin Madeline Wilkes, your loved ones may respond with “no one really wants to know that stuff about me.” That’s a stall. Take immediate action such as what I describe in the next step.
Do what they like to do. Sit, cook, read, watch TV, walk, play cards and board games, fish, shop and generally hang out with them. In the case of Great Cousin Madeline, I took pictures of her and showed her how vibrant she looked at 90 years old. With that in motion, I moved to my next step and my recommendation for you.
Have your recorder, camera and notebook handy to capture stories about their earlier holidays and hobbies. I asked her questions about her father, my great-grandmother’s brother. She loved to talk about her Dad. I got some great stories. I was able to wrap up our short conversation by reiterating and expanding my reasons for asking her a few questions. I was pleased that I advanced to the final step.
Tell them why their stories are important to the families’ legacies because it ensures the younger generations learn from the older ones’ successes and any mistakes.
For more ideas on how to speak with your relatives to capture their stories, check out this great freebie checklist from Genealogy Bargains.
Welcome to the fourth in a series of our e-books that highlight the unique genealogy of African Americans. Do you know how many of your ancestors were in the military? We didn’t realize until the documents were released a few years ago that revealed our African American male ancestors who served in various military assignments. Come walk with us and learn how you can find your hidden ancestors who served bravely battled in conflicts, served, and supported white male regiments to earn victories for the United States.
Turning to other conflicts, did you know that despite the numerous reports to the contrary, former African American slaves cared so deeply about their families remaining together that our ancestors searched for decades to find those separated from them? The horrific sales of individual slaves on blocks where husbands and wives, sisters and brothers and other relatives saw each other for the last time. That is until former slaves began to place editorials and advertisements in newspapers across the nation. Thankfully, there are published accounts of slave family reunion stories found in the more than 3,500 Black newspapers. To our delight, and we are sure it will be the same for you, there are tremendous love stories that emerge from the rubble of lost couples in our research.
On the topic of love stories, learn about an elite man who courted and married a former slave. They were of different races, and their 13-year marriage yielded five children worth remembering more about. Educational, political, social, and governmental structures protected and exposed the interracial couple’s life long after the husband’s death. It involves the measurement of one’s race based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s designations of one-quarter and one-eighth Black persons.
Our truth is marching on: Finding and saluting our military ancestors
Each November, we celebrate our military veterans who fought world wars in the name of freedom from fascism, slavery, and more. When my (Ann’s) daughter, Jocelyn C. Kimbrough, announced to our family that she was trading her collegiate days for enlistment in the U.S. Army, we were surprised. She served with honors.
Yet, it was in her blood as of a few years later, we discovered in our ancestry research that many of our relatives served in U.S. military units. We are still clarifying records on potential relatives who may have served in conflicts ranging from the American Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Ancestry.com boasts of 760 thousand records about African Americans’ involvement in wars since the Revolutionary War. See African American – Fold3.
This chapter will highlight our great maternal uncles – the Wilks, Wilkes brothers — and their varied military service assignments to guide our reader to sources that may provide similar results.
The U.S. Selective Service began ordering the registration of young men in 1917. It remains a primary source of documents, aka draft cards for ancestors since the “threat of unforeseen forces,” and remains part of the directive by Presidential and Congressional orders for men between the ages of 18 and 25. Who Needs to Register | Selective Service System: Selective Service System (sss.gov). However, it is clear that the ages of men signing up for the draft were well over age 25, as shown on the draft card of my Great Uncle Earnest Wilks. His younger brother, Alvin Wilks, was 27 years old when he enlisted in military service in 1941.
He led an exciting life and retired from the military in Hawaii, where he was a community leader, and musician. Let’s begin with draft cards to learn more about your ancestors’ whereabouts.
U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Ernest Gaylord Wilks, Hawaii. Grand Uncle Earnest, saxophone, as a band member in Hawaii
Thank you, one and all, for encouraging us to continue publishing our monthly e-books. The latest one is just published on our Lulu Publishing website … soon it will be available on worldwide distribution. Get your copy now!
Ancestor Comedian Richard Pryor had a funny bit about Black people in horror movies. He said that Black people would enter a haunted house and hear a ghostly voice say, “hello.” Pryor said the likely answer would be “goodbye.”
Pryor’s funny gag lines were prior to the current-day horror films where Black actors are among the headliners.
Gwen McKinney is a podcaster, writer and thinker. Check out her podcast (see it in her own words/voice) and join the conversation. FYI: German Holocaust survivors in the U.S. and abroad, receive regular reparations from that government. Also, South Africa, Canada, Austria and France provide financial restorative justice.
From Gwen:
Proud to share our latest podcast, Reparations: Beyond Acres and the Mule. Along with the policy implications, reparations comes with the human saga. We feature scholar/historian/civil rights champion Mary Frances Berry who shares the story of Callie House, a formerly enslaved washer woman who struck the first blow for repatriation and repair as the little-known mother of the reparations movement. We also give voice to a multigenerational chorus of sister warriors including Rosemarie Mealy, Nkechi Taifa, Robin Rue and Dreisen Heath. True to our mission, the podcast advances narratives that unerase the truths of Black women, often maligned and marginalized in both the historical and contemporary record. Please take a listen HERE from our website or visit whatever streaming service you prefer for Unerased Kitchen Table Talks.
We’d be thrilled if you’re so moved to help us amplify this episode. I suggest the following tweets:
1. How can you measure the damage from 4 centuries of bondage and soul pillage? In the latest @UnerasedBWS podcast episode, we explore the human toll of reparations. Tune in, subscribe, share!
2. Will we see reparations come to fruition? Meet advocates from the National African American Reparations Commission leading the way to institute federal reparations laws in the latest @UnerasedBWS podcast episode. Tune in, subscribe, share! https://unerasedbws.com/reparations-beyond-the-acres-and-the-mule/
It’s October and that means baseball is in full swing. Do you know how many of your ancestors were a part of Black Baseball stardom? Since 1858, the game of baseball has featured sluggers, great pitchers, fielders and speedsters who have defied the odds and have mostly gone unnoticed.
Let’s dust off the ancestral home plates and locate your family members who were the stars on playing fields long forgotten or never researched. Start with the year 1858.
“The aim of this report, like that on Free Negro Owners of Slaves in the United States in 1830, is to promote the further study of a neglected aspect of our history. As stated elsewhere, most of these free Negroes “have been forgotten, for persons supposedly well-informed in history are surprised to learn today that about a half million, almost one-seventh of the Negroes of this country, were free prior to the emancipation in 1865. It is hardly believed that a considerable number of Negroes were owners of slaves themselves, and in some cases controlled large plantations.”
As the second Black man to receive a degree from Harvard University, he also became a dean in the school. He was a journalist and well published author, including the historic, standalone read, The Mis-education of the Negro.
I (Ann) moved back to the Atlanta area in the first months of 2020. You know the rest: The COVID-19 restrictions started and it limited my reconnections and great adventures to my favorite places with the best folk.
It’s time.
Although the health and safety precautions must be adhered to, my first local museum visit will be APEX.
In the few museums listed above, strong advocates brought them into existence. My friend, Dan Moore, is the champion of the APEX Museum. Bertha Callaway is the proactive instigator of the Great Plains Museum.
To help you get to your local destination, this wikisite is helpful. If you need to add content site, please provide information so that others may benefit:
Newest ancestor General Colin Powell/Photo by Getty Images for Capital Concerts
The hundreds and perhaps thousands of special salutes to our favorite and newest ancestor, former U.S. Secretary of State and General Colin Powell, is a collective valuable lesson for all who write about our ancestors’ lives.
3 P’s for producing great obituaries
On many occasions, I (Ann) have been designated to write obituaries about my family, friends and even former work colleagues. Obituary writing is a skill and talent. It is not the time for careless regards of facts. There are professional obituary writers whose purpose is to provide professionalism to the sometimes rough passages we often read in programs and on websites during times of bereavement.
My “P’s”( for obituary writing:
Plan the obituaries before the relative’s or friend’s transition(s). This seems morbid, yet it is a practice that learned and demonstrated in my first journalism course taught by Nellie Dixon at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University). I followed the same practice when I became a journalism instructor. Professional media outlets assign reporters to write obituaries about famous persons before the deaths of those individuals. It may seem sad to some to realize this occurs, yet it does.
Prepare your loved ones’ obituaries. As part of the planning and preparation, if possible, record, photograph and speak about your relative, friend during their active lives. I know of a professional videographer who recorded his favorite aunt. That recording on his mobile device is part of the obituary and legacy moments for the family.
Produce the content. Organize all materials according to themes that emerge from their lives. Write your first draft.
Seek help from those who know
When the inevitable occurs, you are ready with the necessary information. It is best to listen to family and friends who send virtual messages or whose personal visits include conversations about the deceased person(s). You may hear something that adds a new name or important life event about the loved one(s).
You may also wish to enlist the assistance of a professional such as my friend, Dr. Tony Burks.
Supes Academy Nov. 15-16 in Chicago, Ill. (Photo by Taylor Glascock)
Dr. Tony Lamair Burks II first learned the art and craft of storytelling from his four grandparents in lower Alabama. He is an award-winning education expert who coaches and trains leaders for excellence as chief learning officer of LEADright. His stories about school and life have appeared in newspapers, blogs and books around the world. He has written six books and contributed to four. He is passionate about helping others tell their stories. For over a quarter of a century, he has written, co-written and ghost-written obituaries and funeral orations. He has served as the interim director of a publishing house, and he currently leads a series of interactive workshops — Unleashing Your Untold Healing Story and Writing Your Story — to help others unearth and release stories that have been held deep within.
Writing tips from other pros
How to Write a Great Obituary
Announce the death. Start off the obituary by announcing the death of the loved one. ..
Provide general biographical information. Include some biographical information such as birth date, upbringing, education, marriage information, accomplishments, and work history.
Make it personal. To write a great obituary, it’s important to capture the spirit of the loved one who has passed.
Listing the family members. While you don’t have to mention every nephew and cousin by name, it’s important to write a general overview of the family members who passed away.
Funeral information. Provide the date, time, and location of the funeral. Also include information regarding donations, flowers, or condolences.
Review for mistakes. Check, check, and check again. Once you are satisfied with the finished product, pass it off to a friend or a dispassionate third party for review.
Our ancestors understood the concept and outcomes of cooperative economics. They worked together to store up the crops and canning of goods to have for those “rainy days” or harsh winters.
The message is to take care of the collective community while caring for oneself. The usual analogy is the airlines’ safety directive to first ensure that oxygen is flowing to the lead or responsible person before helping another.
It is in this vein that we offer the opportunity for our wonderful readers and supporters to shop our affordable Good Genes Genealogy e-books and help us to help you by keeping our sites free to global community.
We plan to offer e-books that will compliment upcoming webinars, podcasts and more.
Those special insignas headstones offer huge clues to the organizations your ancestors were affiliated with such as those associated with the Good Genes Genealogy heritage. While we are offering a glimpse into the fraternal insurance-based burials in other states.
Our Arkansas ancestors
On our maternal side – Gray, Wilks, Wilkes — were in northwest Arkansas before moving across the state line into Missouri. Ann’s paternal side — Lee, Weed, Wead — were in the southeast, Arkansas Delta area. The maternal Owen family resided in Hope, Arkansas, before they and other African Americans were put on trains and buses and pushed out to northern cities. Our mothers — born with the surname Owen — are direct descendants of that migration from Hope. The father of Angeline Cecil Owen (Ann) and Lyla Janet Owen (Mark) was a young man when his father and sister landed in Kansas City, Missouri, shortly after the death of Grandfather Eugene Owen, Jr. ‘s mother, Armentha in 1925.
Not only was Great Grandmother Armentha Powers Owen buried in the “black” cemetery in Hope, Arkansas, other ancestors’ graves are in the state. To learn a little more about our relatives and other researchers of Arkansas family histories, consult the guide to cemeteries based on insurance companies and fraternal markers on graves.
heck out daily posts @goodgenesgenealogy on wordpress, fb, twitter and via goodgenesgen@gmail.com. Also check out @weadwriteandgenealogy on wordpress
He was a young man from Old Callabar, a place in Nigeria, Africa.
Calabar, formerly Old Calabar, town and port, capital of Cross River state, southeastern Nigeria. It lies along the Calabar River, 5 miles (8 km) upstream from that river’s entrance into the Cross River estuary. Source: http://www.britannica.com
The author likely came from a proud status in his country. Yet, his unasked-for slave status in the United States produced a different result that he ever imagined.
King Duke of Calabar, 1895.
Someone may be able to link their heritage to John Jea. By listing his parents and describing where he was enslaved and travels in the United States, the opportunities increase for African American family researchers to link with him.
In the same edition of the <a href=”http://<a href=”https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86791782/paper-edition-announcing-the-marriage-of/” style=”text-decoration: none;display:block;” target=”_parent”><img src=”https://img.newspapers.com/img/img?clippingId=86791782&width=700&height=669&ts=1607535806″ alt=”Paper edition announcing the marriage of James A. Hoover and Emma Schwartzy, 5th great grandparents” style=”max-width:100%;”><span style=”display:block;font: 13px helvetica, sans-serif; color: #747474;padding: 4px 0;max-width: 700px;”><strong>Paper edition announcing the marriage of James A. Hoover and Emma Schwartzy, 5th great grandparents</strong> 29 Mar 1895, Fri <em>Westmoreland Recorder and the Westmoreland Signal (Westmoreland, Kansas)</em> Newspapers.com</span>Westmoreland, Kansas newspaper that announced the marriage of our fifth Great Grandparents, James A. Hoover and Emma Swarty (we believe it is Swartz), read the unique collection notice:
Check out daily posts @goodgenesgenealogy on wordpress, fb, twitter and via goodgenesgen@gmail.com. Also check out @weadwriteandgenealogy on wordpress
Our broadcast genealogy leader is Harvard Professor, Author and forever research Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
I am marking my physical and virtual calendars to January 2022 when Dr. Gates next season of <a href=”http://<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/erpwv1pQxbs” title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen>”Finding Your Roots” debuts. Here’s the teaser. Let’s chat during the season about his special finds.
Check out daily posts @goodgenesgenealogy on wordpress, fb, twitter and via goodgenesgen@gmail.com. Also check out @weadwriteandgenealogy on wordpress
It’s Freebies Friday from your hosts, Good Genes Genealogy! Take a peak at our book, “Out of Sight…” published in February 2021 that puts you on the right path to locate your ancestors.
An excerpt from our book: There are thousands of federal, state, local and private records that offer guidance for genealogy researchers.
Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) Listing of State Archives Alabama Alabama Department of Archives & History 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36130 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 300100, Montgomery, AL 36130 Phone: (334) 242-4435\ Email: mark.palmer@archives.alabama.gov Alaska Alaska State Archives Mailing Address: P.O. Box 110525, 141 Willoughby Avenue, Juneau, AK 99811-0525 Phone: (907) 465-2270 Fax: (907) 465-2465 E-mail: archives@alaska.gov Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records History and Archives Division Mailing Address: 1901 West Madison, Phoenix, AZ 85009 Phone: (602) 926-3720 Fax: (602) 256-7982 E-mail: See the Contact Form Arkansas Arkansas History Commission Mailing Address: One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 77201 Phone: (501) 682-6900 E-mail: state.archives@arkansas.gov
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California California State Archives Mailing Address: 1020 O Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone, Reference Desk: (916) 653-2246 Phone, General Information: (916) 653-7715 Fax: (916) 653-7363 E-mail: See the Contact Form Colorado Colorado State Archives Mailing Address: 1313 Sherman Street, Room 122, Denver, CO 80203 Phone: (303) 866-2358 Toll-free, in state only: (800) 305-3442 Text: (303) 866-2229 E-mail: See the Contact Form Connecticut Connecticut State Archives Mailing Address: Connecticut State Library, 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106 Phone, General Information: (860) 757-6500 Phone, History and Genealogy Unit: (860) 757-6500 Text: (860) CONNREF (860 266-6733) E-mail: See the Contact Form Delaware Delaware Public Archives Mailing Address: 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. North, Dover, DE 19901 Phone: (302) 744-5000 E-mail: See the Contact Form Florida State Archives of Florida Mailing Address: R.A. Gray Building, 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250 Phone: (850) 245-6700 TDD: (850) 245-6096 Reference Fax: (850) 488-4894 E-mail: info@dos.myflorida.com Georgia Georgia Archives Mailing Address: 5800 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA 30260 Phone: (678) 364-3710 E-mail: See Ask an Archivist Hawaii Hawaii State Archives Mailing Address: Kekauluohi Building, Iolani Palace Grounds, 364 S. King Street, Honolulu, HI 96813
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Phone: (808) 586-0329 Fax: (808) 586-0330 E-mail: archives@hawaii.gov Idaho Idaho State Archives Mailing Address: Idaho State Archives, 2205 Old Penitentiary Road, Boise, ID 83712 Phone, Archives: (208) 334-2620 Fax, Public Archives: 208-334-2626 Illinois Illinois State Archives Mailing Address: Margaret Cross Norton Building, Capitol Complex, Springfield, IL 62756 Phone: (217) 782-4682 Fax: (217) 524-3930 E-mail: See the Reference Request Form (Illinois Residents Only) Indiana Indiana State Archives Mailing Address: 6440 East 30th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46219 Phone: (317) 591-5222 Fax: (317) 591-5324 E-mail: arc@icpr.in.gov or see the Contact Form Iowa State Historical Society of Iowa: State Archives and Records Program Mailing Address: State of Iowa Historical Building, 600 East Locust, Des Moines, IA 50319-0290 Phone: (515) 281-5111 E-mail: dm.library@iowa.gov Kansas Kansas Historical Society: State Archives Mailing Address: 6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615-1099 Phone: (785) 272-8681 Phone, State Archives Reference Desk: (785) 272-8681, ext. 117 E-mail: reference@kshs.org Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives Mailing Address: P.O. Box 537, Frankfort, KY 40601 Phone: (502) 564-8300 Fax: (502) 564-5773 E-mail: kdla.archives@ky.gov or see the Records Request Forms Louisiana Louisiana State Archives Mailing Address: Louisiana State Archives, Louisiana Secretary of State, P.O. Box 94125, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125 Phone: (225) 922-1200 Fax: (225) 922-0433 E-mail: See the Contact Us Page
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Maine Maine State Archives Mailing Address: 84 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333 Phone: (207) 287-5790 Fax: (207) 287-6035 Maryland Maryland State Archives Mailing Address: 350 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis, MD 21401 Phone: (410) 260-6400 Toll free: (800) 235-4045 Massachusetts Massachusetts Archives Division Mailing Address: Secretary of Commonwealth, Massachusetts Archives, 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125 Phone: (617) 727-2816 Fax: (617)288-8429 E-mail: archives@sec.state.ma.us Michigan Archives of Michigan Mailing Address: 702 W. Kalamazoo Street, Lansing, Michigan 48915 Phone: (517) 335-2576 E-mail: archives@michigan.gov Minnesota Minnesota State Archives Mailing Address: Minnesota Historical Society, 345 Kellogg Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 Phone: (651) 259-3260 Fax: (651) 296-9961 E-mail: See the Contact Us Page Mississippi Mississippi Department of Archives & History Mailing Address: P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205-0571 Phone: (601) 576-6876 Fax: (601) 576-6964 E-mail: refdesk@mdah.state.ms.us. Missouri Missouri State Archives Mailing Address: 600 W. Main, P.O. Box 1747, Jefferson City, MO 65102 Phone: (573) 751-3280 Fax: (573) 526-7333 E-mail: archref@sos.mo.gov. Please read the guidelines before sending reference requests.
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Montana Montana Historical Society Mailing Address: P.O. Box 201201, 225 North Roberts Street, Helena, MT 59620-1201 Phone, Research Center: (406) 444-2681 E-mail: mhslibrary@mt.gov or see the Online Request Form . Nebraska Library/Archives Division of the Nebraska State Historical Society Mailing Address: Library / Archives, Nebraska State Historical Society, P.O. Box 82554, 1500 “R” Street, Lincoln, NE 68501 Phone: (402) 471-4751 Fax: (402) 471-3100 E-mail: nshs.libarch@nebraska.gov Nevada Nevada State Library and Archives Mailing Address: 100 North Stewart Street, Carson City, NV 89701-4285 Phone: (775) 684-3310 Toll free, in state only: (800) 922-2880 Fax: (775) 684-3311 E-mail: See the request form New Hampshire New Hampshire Division of Archives and Records Management Mailing Address: 71 South Fruit Street, Concord, NH 03301 Phone: (603) 271-2236 Fax: (603) 271-2272 E-mail: archives@sos.nh.gov . For birth, death, and marriage records, contact the Division of Vital Records Administration at http://www.sos.nh.gov/vitalrecords/. New Jersey New Jersey State Archives Mailing Address, State Archives: 225 West State Street, P.O. Box 307, Trenton, NJ 08625-0307 Mailing Address, State Records Center: 2300 Stuyvesant Avenue, P.O. Box 307, Trenton, NJ 08625-0307 Phone: (609) 292-6260 Fax, Reference: (609) 292-4127 E-mail, State Archives: njarchives@sos.state.nj.us New Mexico State Records Center and Archives Mailing Address: 1205 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, NM 87505 Phone, Archives and Historical Services Division: (505) 476-7948 Fax, Archives and Historical Services Division: (505) 476-7909 E-mail: archives@state.nm.us
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New York New York State Archives Mailing Address: New York State Education Department, Cultural Education Center, 222 Madison Avenue, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12230 Phone, Research Assistance: (518) 474-8955 Phone, General Information: (518) 474-6926 E-mail, Research Assistance: archref@mail.nysed.gov North Carolina State Archives of North Carolina Mailing Address: 4614 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4614 Phone: (919) 807-7310 Fax: (919) 733-1354 E-mail: archives@ncdcr.gov North Dakota State Archives Mailing Address: 612 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58505 Phone, Reference: (701) 328-2091 E-mail: archives@nd.us Ohio Ohio Historical Society Archives/Library Mailing Address: 1982 Velma Avenue, Columbus, OH 43211 Phone: 614-297-2510 Toll free: 800-686-6124 Fax: (614) 297-2358 E-mail: reference@ohiohistory.org or see the Reference Contact Form . Oklahoma Oklahoma State Archives and Records Management Mailing Address: 200 NE 18th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105 Phone, Archives: (405) 522-3579 Phone, Records Center: (405) 524-4416 Fax, Archives: (405) 522-3583 Fax, Records Management: (405) 524-7567 Oregon Oregon State Archives Mailing Address: 800 Summer Street NE, Salem, OR 97310 Phone: (503) 373-0701 Fax: (503) 373-0953 E-mail: reference.archives@state.or.us Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State Archives
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Mailing Address: 350 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120. Phone: (717) 783-3281 E-mail: ra-statearchives@state.pa.us Rhode Island State Archives Mailing Address: 337 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903 Phone: (401) 222-2353 Fax: (401) 222-3199 E-mail: statearchives@sos.ri.gov South Carolina Department of Archives and History Mailing Address: 8301 Parklane Road, Columbia, SC 29223 Phone, Reference Room: (803) 896-6104 Fax, Reference Room: (803) 896-6198 E-mail: See the Genealogy Request Form South Dakota South Dakota State Archives Mailing Address: 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501 Phone: (605) 773-3804 Fax: (605) 773-6041 E-mail: archref@state.sd.us Tennessee Tennessee State Library and Archives Mailing Address: 403 7th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243 Phone: (615) 741-2764 E-mail: reference.tsla@tn.gov Texas Texas State Library and Archives Commission Mailing Address: P.O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711-2927 Phone: (512) 463-5455 Email, Reference: reference.desk@tsl.state.tx.us Utah Utah State Archives Mailing Address, Research Center: 300 S. Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 Phone, Research Center: (801) 533-3535 E-mail: See the Contact Form Vermont Vermont State Archives and Records Administration Mailing Address: Office of the Secretary of State, 1078 Route 2, Middlesex, Montpelier, VT 05633-7701 Phone, Reference Room: (802) 828-2308 E-mail: archives@sec.state.vt.us. For vital records requests use vitals@sec.state.vt.us.
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Virginia Library of Virginia Mailing Address: 800 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219 Phone: (804) 692-3500 E-mail: See the Contact Form Washington Washington State Archives Mailing Address: P.O. Box 40238, Olympia, WA 98504-0238 Phone: (360) 586-1492 E-mail, State Archivist: archives@sos.wa.gov E-mail, Research Requests and Information on Public Records: research@sos.wa.gov West Virginia West Virginia State Archives Mailing Address: Archives and History Library, The Cultural Center, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East, Charleston, WV 25305-0300 Phone: (304) 558-0230 The West Virginia Archives will not answer e-mail research requests. All research requests must be submitted in writing. Wisconsin Wisconsin State Historical Society Library-Archives Mailing Address: Archives Reference, Wisconsin Historical Society, 816 State Street, Madison, WI 53706 Phone: (608) 264-6460 Fax: (608) 264-6472 E-mail: See the Archives Reference Request Form Wyoming Wyoming State Archives Mailing Address: Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue, Cheyenne, WY 82002 Phone: (307) 777-7826 Fax: (307) 777-7044 E-mail: See the Contact Form Source: State Archives | National Archives
There is no better resource than city directories to locate and confirm your ancestral loved ones.
A year after my father was born, the 1936 city directory of Omaha, Nebraska provided great insight into the following:
The names of my grandparents, Sampson and Daisy Wead.
The occupation of my grandparents. My grandfather was a laborer at a meat packing plant. My grandmother was a housewife.
The address of my grandparents.
and
4. Valued information about the other “Weads” who were my grandfather’s family members.
City directories were large paperbound books that were printed annually by most cities and towns across the United States. Unlike the U.S. Census that was published every 10 years, the city directories offered a wealth of updated information that are helpful in following physical movements of our ancestors.
Try it. Find city directories for your loved ones from libraries and other internet searches. Determine if the city directories provide you with additional information about employment, street addresses and telephone numbers that may fill in the blanks on your genealogy trees.
It may seem morbid, and it is. However, it is VERY important that we research our family ancestry to learn about health trends and episodes. As in the case of many of my paternal and maternal ancestors, their cause of death is heart-related. My 2nd Great-Grandfather succumbed to “Ch. Myocarditis” on December 20, 1932. He was 61 years old.
Second Great-Grandmother, Melissa Catherine Gray Wilks
His widow, my 2nd Great-Grandmother, Melissa Catherine Gray Wilks, passed from tis earth two years later on Nov. 23, 1934. She was 63 years old. Her results showed that her transition was due to “Myocarditis, Chronic.” They were husband and wife. The same trend existed among most of their 14 children, including my Great-Grandmother, Edna Robinson.
Mind your heart. Change your diet. Complete your physical exams. My knowledge of my relatives has helped my physicians and other health professionals in their diagnosis and recommendations for my best health. Do the same for yourself by researching family members’ death certificates and other records.
That’s how we should celebrate World Heart Day, Sept. 29, 2021.
Nannie Helen Burroughs, holding the banner, is surrounded by her fellow members of the Women’s National Baptist Convention. Source: Library of Congress
On this day, Sept. 28, 2021, deemed the National Voter Registration Day to encourage the essential act that equalizes all of us, please honor the lives of so many great crusaders and advocates like Nannie H. Burroughs and register to vote.
Nannie H. Burroughs died a few years before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. It granted my parents and all other Black adults the opportunity to cast votes for the first time in their lives. I’ve voted my entire adult life and could not imagine what our ancestors endured to be a participant in the economic, social and educational systems in this country and yet not have a say in its governance.
Learn about your loved ones and friends who participated in the thousands of Black Right to Vote movements in the United States. There are many more Nannies whose lives are worthy to learn more about.
The worthy search for ancestors, friends and other loved ones remains important. As newbie or veteran genealogists, the precious lives of ancestors are not always scripted with a pleasant ending. Yet, we are comforted by the achievements of so many pioneers who paved the way for us.
Such is the case of the little-known civil rights pioneer whose work as a Louisville, Kentucky prosecutor earned her a special place in history. Jones was the first attorney for the rising star boxing great Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) by writing his first contract in 1960, she participated in several civil rights marches, including the famed March on Washington in August 1963. She was appointed Louisville City Attorney in 1964 — the first woman of any race and ethnic background to hold that position.
My triumphant Sorority Sister and one of the longtime unsolved mysteries about her death that was caused when she was tossed off the Louisville Sherman Minton Bridge into the Ohio River on August 5, 1965. She was 35 years old.
Alberta Odell Jones is recognized for her service; unsolved crime investigation continues
There are so many more factoids you should learn about this lady. Take three minutes and read all about her! Look up some of your loved ones who may be fraternity, sorority, church, temple, school, work and other socially related ancestors. You can start your research by building your family trees and searching U.S. Census records for neighbors. It is worth it.
My ancestors come in all shapes, sizes, colors and names. I appreciate that as our history is intertwined with one another. There is no escaping our past. That is why we study genealogy and that is to honor our ancestors for “going through” to allow us to live on this earth today and in future days.
Happy Ancestor Appreciation Day!
Like many of you, I am constantly searching and unearthing — when fortunate — new findings that shed light on my ancestors. It helps to instill confidence, grace, forgiveness, charm, intellect, strategies, empathy, joy, peace, reconciliation and more in our hearts and souls as we find out more about our ancestors.
Here are a few of my new findings about our ancestors:
I am named for my (Ann’s) paternal Great-Grandmother Ann Crum Shanks Green. Her father is Alfred Crum. Alfred Crum was born in January 1869 in Alabama. He married Mary A Middleton and they had nine children together. He then married Mary Crum and they had two children together. He died on June 26, 1923, in his hometown at the age of 54.
I (Ann) have 793 DNA matches through my testing a decade ago through ancestry.com. As we work through the names, relationships and more of the potential 4th cousins and closer ones, here’s an ancestry.com message that I sent to one of my “for sure” newly discovered relatives on our maternal side:
“Glad to know that my maternal great-great grandparents, Robert Brant Wilks and Melissa Catherine Gray (always use the woman’s maiden name in genealogy) are your same relatives. My great -grandmother Edna Wilks is the oldest female in the family and Lorene was her younger sister.”
3. Also, on our maternal side, John Favor, a private from Alabama, fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
4. Below the family tree, is a U.S. Census Schedule that shows John Favor, Jr. is a “free white” man. John Faver, Jr. received a signed land deed on June 8, 1820 or 1830 (the deed is hard to read) from the U.S. government. The prominent signature on the deed for the family land in Limestone, Tenn., was U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Jackson’s lingering legacy is the tragic Trail of Tears aka Indian Removal Act.
Remember when I recommended forgiveness as part of our ancestral research. I have evoked forgiveness in the transfer of land in Tennessee during the time of the deadly trek of the nations of Native Americans.
The most valuable piece of advice that I received when I was new to the family genealogy research, was to return the search process and review the same documents that I had earlier discovered.
Just days ago, I reviewed the information on my ancestors – again – I found new information about my ancestors. My breaks can be attributed to the ancestry.com’s ThruLines™ . This service is available to everyone with completed DNA results. Some 10 years ago or so when the DNA tests were first available to females, I jumped at the chance to get my results based on my desire to locate my ancestors. It continues to pay dividends today as records are constantly updated
She is listed as my 4th great grandmother born Oct. 11, 1806, in South Carolina and who died on Feb. 20, 1892 in Saline County, Arkansas.
What’s striking is how grandma is spelled on Great-Great-Great-Great Grandmother Elizabeth Jane Hardman Hayes tombstone. Also, I love the designation of the days and moths that she lived her life. It honors the great Elizabeth J. Wade Hardman Hayes.
For a couple of years, I celebrated that I located my 4th Great Grandmother. Now there is more: I just located her father, mother, siblings and her spouses, thanks to ThruLines™.
I found my 5th Great Grandfather! – Maybe
Notice the inscription that details Robert Henly Courts Wade being among the first white settlers in DeKalb County, Georgia where he claimed his family’s homestead in 1829.
Update: Friday, Oct. 8, 2021: With ancestry.com, we are examining whether this linkage is indeed my 5th GreatGrandfather. Stay tuned as these twists and turns are natural in the genealogy search for our relatives.
Thanks to the ancestry.com additional genealogy research tool, ThruLines™, I was able to work through the hints complete with a grave marker and public trees from others researching the same man. It provided this public path to find my common ancestors who seemingly were hiding in the piles of research materials. and private paths to my common ancestors. It is a huge help in narrowing down who is and isn’t potentially related to me. The ancestors whose profiles are not public via others who are searching for their loved ones, are only listed, yet additional information about those deemed “private” is not provided. That is still a big help as I am seeking to match names, dates, relationships, locations and other hints to gain full access to the great people who walked this earth before me.
Guess what? These ancestors are buried in a private family cemetery, Wade Cemetery, just a few miles from my current home (Ann) in DeKalb County, Georgia. I will share more in future writings.
Five generations from Robert Henly Courts Wade to Ann Lineve Wead Kimbrough
To learn more about the exciting, step-by-step findings about our maternal ancestors who are listed as “white, Mulatto, yellow and Colored,” check out the Good Genes Genealogy Services’ e-book for November 2021. In the meantime, check out, like and follow our tweets, @GoodGensGen, @goodgenesgenealogy on WordPress and fb @goodgenesgenealogy.
A recent visit to East St. Louis, I’ll., yielded highs and lows.
Jazz musician ancestor Miles Davis grew up in the deep South…that is, southern Illinois. Nearby Davis’ boyhood home are stark images of ravaged homes such as this one I captured while riding in the back seat of a SUV.
What are you capturing? Anywhere you are, I’m sure famous folk have walked those same streets. Research. Record. Reward your genealogy work.
Join this listing, especially if you know the names of your families’ enslavers. Even if you are like us and have not confirmed those names, join the ones who have located this part of their legacies.
GoodGenesGenealogyServices 2.0 
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