Category: Musings

Black History Month-Guest Blogging and Musings

On By RootsGenieIn Maternal Ancestors, Musings, Paternal Ancestors8 Comments

This month I was chosen as guest blogger by Adam Henig, a writer, blogger and author of the new book Alex Haley’s Roots: An Author’s Odyssey. I was excited for the opportunity to pay tribute not just to my ancestors, but also the many African Americans who persevered through what seemed like insurmountable odds and still contributed so much to American society with minimal recognition.

In paying this tribute I began to notice some stark contrasts. Discovering ancestral histories was celebrated in the original work by Alex Haley; today there is an apathy and disconnection from mother continents for African Americans. For example, the preference to be called “Black” instead of African American. We are the only culture that separates ourselves from Africans living in America today. We can’t speak the language, we don’t know native culture and customs, and when we look at native Africans we don’t have a spiritual connection that once bonded us and helped us survive the shackles of slavery. Roots presented our history to the world and inspires African Americans to know their mother tongue again. This re-connection should be celebrated every month to ignite that desire in every future generation of family historians and genealogists.

So I was inspired by another one of my fellow bloggers, Dante Eubanks, who recently posted on his blog Our Alabama and Georgia Ancestors a list of the family lines that he is actively researching. I thought this would be the perfect way to call out my own ancestors to ensure that their accomplishments and rich family histories will be shared not just during Black History Month, but every month for many years to come. I will be featuring all of these ancestors in greater detail in future posts. Thanks again to Adam Henig at www.adanhenig.com, and Dante Eubanks at http://ouralabamaandgeorgiaancestors.blogspot.com for
providing insight and motivation for this post.

Maternal Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee Ancestors

Grandfather:

Raymond Nelson Neal b. 1916 Maysville, Ga   d. 1994 Milwaukee, WI

Great Grandparents:

Leroy Neal b. 1890 Maysville, GA   d. 1936 Milwaukee, WI
Pearl Allen b. 1898 Anderson, GA   d. 1924 Milwaukee, WI

2nd Great Grandparents:

Asbury Elson Neal b. 1848 Banks, GA   d. 1924 Gainesville, GA
Laura Ann Ware b. 1853 Madison, GA   d. 1922 Banks, GA
George Allen b. 1856 Athens, GA   d. 1900 Athens, GA
Ella Mackey b. 1867 Georgia   d. 1927 Milwaukee, WI

3rd Great Grandparents:

Gabriel Neal b. 1822 Virginia   d. unk
Anna Little b. 1825 Georgia   d. unk
Russ White b. 1820 unk   d. unk
Martha Ware b. 1825 Tennessee   d. unk
Jacob Mackey b. unk   d. unk
Lousenda Snell b. 1822 Georgia   d. unk

Paternal Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Louisiana Ancestors

Grandmother:

Rachel Caroline Holbert b. 1931 Palestine, TX   d. 1997 Milwaukee, WI

Great Grandparents:

Allen Holbert b. 1894 Palestine, TX   d. 1958 Palestine, TX
Rachel Caroline Robinson b. 1896 Palestine, TX   d. 1974 Palestine, TX

2nd Great Grandparents:

Allen C Holbert b. 1869 Rusk, TX   d. unk
Georgia Sanders b. 1870 Anderson, TX   d. unk
Wesley Robinson b. 1872 Louisiana   d. 1928 Palestine, TX
Mary Ann Williams b. 1865 Bryan, Texas   d. 1900 Bryan, TX

3rd Great Grandparents:

Franklin Holbert b. 1825 Limestone, Alabama   d. unk
Susan Crenshaw b. 1839 Limestone, Alabama   d. 1928 Paden, OK
Armstead Sanders b. 1817 North Carolina   d. unk
Emily Hicks b. 1830 Georgia   d. unk
Wesley Robinson, Sr. b. 1852 Louisiana   d. unk
Jana Sims b. 1855 Louisiana   d. unk

Cousin Connections-Neal Family, Georgia to Ohio

On By RootsGenieIn Maternal Ancestors, Musings, Neal6 Comments

I found another cousin today! I can’t say enough about my distant family and the help they have provided to link our family trees. I have a profile coming up about my cousin Robert Lee Neal, and I was able to find out so much information from his nephew on Ancestry. Today I decided to review our correspondence for any possible clues I missed. There were quite a few, actually, that rekindled my curiosity for this line that relocated to Ohio from Georgia. There were two females and I did not know if they had married, and what their new surnames would be. Looking more carefully I realized he had provided one of the surnames that I thought was a first name. After making this correction I was lucky enough to find that the husband had a very unusual first name (love it when that happens), and had a son named after him. A quick check on Facebook and BAM!!! Two new third cousin connections!! I plan on doing a post later on how I make connections to living descendants using Facebook and other resources.

New Kids On The Blog

On By RootsGenieIn Musings6 Comments

It’s that time when everyone is focused on making resolutions to make themselves better for the new year. I decided long ago not to make resolutions, but rather set attainable goals to accomplish throughout the year.

While reflecting on my research last year I noticed that I was making some progress, but I had no clear focus. I was relying on my ancestors to guide me and help me discover what they wanted me to see, when they wanted me to find it. However, I lost the “drive” to follow those clues and I was struggling for inspiration. I gave up writing and attending webinars. I even stopped attending my local genealogy group’s meetings. I knew that if I wanted to continue to break down brick walls I was going to need to find something or someone to give me that extra push.

Almost like clockwork, my ancestors seemed to be screaming at me to keep going. I happened to click on a random email that told of an African American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research Group (AAGSAR) that would be having a blogging event in January. When I found their Facebook group I was so excited that I dove in and started reading all of their archives. Luckie Daniels had assembled people like me that understood the power of researching together and sharing with each other.

Now, I have a renewed sense of energy and enthusiasm to carry into 2014. One of the most important goals that I set was to continue my collaboration with living descendants I found in my research. I cannot put into words how satisfying it was to find and correspond with cousins that I hope to meet in person one day. They help me understand the individuals that were my ancestors, and even without any existing photographs I can see them clearly. I need to fill out these profiles completely and remember that they are more than just data from records. I am more than confident that my new family at the AAGSAR will help keep me on that path and I hope that more people will catch that fever!

Follow our journey at New Kids On The Blog.

The Book of Me

On By RootsGenieIn MusingsLeave a comment

One of the first tasks of a genealogist is to write their life story. I never realized the importance until I compared it with the amount of information I wish I had about my ancestors. I have decided to include a project called “The Book of Me” on my blog to discover more about myself, and perhaps help me become a better interviewer and family historian in the process. The project will span over the course of about a year with a series of weekly prompts that I will provide answers to in the “About Me” section. I hope that I can inspire others to follow me on what I believe will be a fascinating journey.

Brick Wall

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Posted September 3, 2009
The past few months have been very frustrating for me. I seem to have hit every brick wall there is as far as my family is concerned. I thought about trying to research one of the other lines of the family, but I have limited information on the Allens or Baxters. Maybe I will try to contact the Pattersons and see if they have any info to share. I have not heard back from any of the mailers I sent to possible Neal relatives in Ohio. My fingers are still crossed!

Update!

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Posted May 21, 2009
I haven’t had time to post a lot lately, but here’s an update on where I’m at. I decided to try to contact possible living relatives. I’ve been using sites like Zabasearch and Intelius and they have really been helpful. Unfortunately, you do have to pay do read the entire record, so I’ve been using the relatives listed to try to match them up. I still need to find some sort of confirmation of my grandfather’s businesses in Bronzeville. He owned a record store and a dry cleaners. I can’t find any official records and I was told that I should try City Hall, but those records aren’t organized at all. My hope right now is that someone from my contact list in Ohio writes me back. My fingers are crossed!

First Post

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Posted December 17, 2008
I try to do some research on my family everyday and I find something new everytime I look. I would like to have a daily post just to remind myself, if noone else, what I have accomplished so far and what I have to look forward to. This way I have a diary that I can refer to when I feel like I’m getting nowhere! I know many genealogists can relate to that! When I first started I was using a free trial to Ancestry.com and I had no idea where to start. I put in my last name and found nothing. Then…bingo! I realized that my grandfather’s name was misspelled in the 1930 census and the rest is history!