Tag Archives: Omaha

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”

Black History Month Genealogy Tour

Don’t you love Black History Month? Although February is the shortest month in days of our calendar year, it is nonetheless a time to pause, respect and relish the fantastic achievements of African American, Black and Caribbean ancestors whose works and lives were largely ignored or never revealed. That’s where your great genealogy research comesContinue reading “Black History Month Genealogy Tour”

How the passing of ancestors brings us life

Black Genealogy research requires attention to obits, homegoings and surviving family members Camden, Tenn. – About 340 miles northwest of Atlanta, lies a small community with a big heart that was originally named “Tranquility.”  The community counted as one of its more than 3,000 residents a special lady, Delia Mae Tharpe, mother of Dr. JackContinue reading “How the passing of ancestors brings us life”

All set: Precious finds from our grandmother’s China set collection

There are many ways to learn of our ancestor’s good taste in fine things. The Good Genes Genealogy team — First Cousins Ann Wead Kimbrough and Mark Owen — are fortunate that our grandmother, “Mama” Helen Wilkes Owen Douthy, was a collector of fine items, including china settings. Mama Helen always found discreet ways toContinue reading “All set: Precious finds from our grandmother’s China set collection”

White Cane Day: Seeing ways to celebrate visually impaired ancestors

In our family, we are aware of at least two relatives — one is an ancestor — who were and are visually impaired. In our lineage, Great Aunt Ada Chitwood Wilkes, became blind during our Grandmother Helen Wilkes Owen Douthy’s youth. The other visually impaired — fully blind — relative is John Charles Kimbrough, 36,Continue reading “White Cane Day: Seeing ways to celebrate visually impaired ancestors”

Freebie Friday: Historical mapping

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 oneContinue reading “Freebie Friday: Historical mapping”

Aunt Ancestor Still Leading me on Genealogy Journey

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 anContinue reading “Aunt Ancestor Still Leading me on Genealogy Journey”

#46 Free (Black) Friday: Interview Your Relatives

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 untilContinue reading “#46 Free (Black) Friday: Interview Your Relatives”

#41 City Directories address ancestral gaps

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 laborerContinue reading “#41 City Directories address ancestral gaps”