Author Archives: Learning family histories

Changing the world through the unsung missions of Black midwives

About 80 miles southeast of Atlanta, Georgia, lies Greene County. In Greene County, Georgia as it was in Greene County, Missouri, and across the nation, Black women midwives were and still are highly regarded. It was widely proved that midwives saved lives — babies and their mothers. They birthed presidents, preachers, teachers and several familyContinue reading “Changing the world through the unsung missions of Black midwives”

Genealogy Find: Original Beat Box(es)

Check out the oriiginal human beat box group. Their vocal moves are amazing. One of the benefits of researching our ancestors is the “find.” In this case, find is pure gold through the super talented siblings who set the human “beat box” standards. They are the Mills Brothers. While combing through the online ancestry filesContinue reading “Genealogy Find: Original Beat Box(es)”

Enslaved Africans warded off evil spirits with “Haint Blue” house color

The tradition continued with Gullah Geechees Look up the next time you walk up to Southern homes, especially those along the Atlantic Coast in South Carolina and Georgia. On the exterior undersides and interiors, you will likely find the unique color of “Haint Blue” on those structures. The long-forgotten history of haint — another wordContinue reading “Enslaved Africans warded off evil spirits with “Haint Blue” house color”

Finding genealogy linkages through Depression-era photographs

Wading through the thousands of files in the Library of Congress, this one stood out because it is the housing projects where my father, Dr. Rodney S. Wead, lived while boy growing up in Omaha, Nebraska. We don’t know the man and young people in the picture. It was taken three years after Wead wasContinue reading “Finding genealogy linkages through Depression-era photographs”

Looking for “gold” in your genealogy pursuits?

Colored farmer find $16,000 buried in land in 1897 Always keep searching for your ancestors and their stories. Here’s one about someone’s “colored” ancestor, D.H. Johnson, who was farming in February 1897. He hit hard ground while plowing a field near Hogansville, GA. He kept removing the layers of stone until he located what wasContinue reading “Looking for “gold” in your genealogy pursuits?”

Reactions to discovering our roots

Celebrity Activist shocked with her “Mayflower” ancestors while Canadian celebrates his Black ancestors We are all connected. Ongoing findings among the skilled genealogy and DNA researchers and amateurs, confirm such. The following two examples offer great hope to those who are steadfast in searching for the accurate stories of our ancestors. Finding her Mayflower rootsContinue reading “Reactions to discovering our roots”

Honoring Lesser Known Women Ancestors

In every family, there are countless examples of women who courageously and quietly endured emotional, physical, societal, financial and other pressures. Yet, their lives crafted our family legacies. We are grateful. To honor them during Women’s History Month, dig a little deeper in your family archives and in the public domain to share their storiesContinue reading “Honoring Lesser Known Women Ancestors”

$$$$s for your Genealogy Research

Scholarships are regularly awarded to beginning to experienced genealogists. Here are a couple of great opportunities: Frazine K. Taylor African American Research Scholarship  The Frazine K. Taylor African American Research Scholarship (application due by 1 March each year) is open to anyone committed to expanding their knowledge of African American genealogical research.  See attachment forContinue reading “$$$$s for your Genealogy Research”

The DNA and Mental Health Benefits in Genealogy and Ancestry research

Join us for the free, final weekend workshop The Good Genes Genealogy Services duo and Atlanta’s Hillside International Truth Center team up for the last weekend of the free genealogy workshops. The hour-long session is designed to inspire the beginners to seasoned genealogy researchers, and provide everyone with the tools to dig deeper into theirContinue reading “The DNA and Mental Health Benefits in Genealogy and Ancestry research”