Sadly, the horrible act of splitting children from their parents is deeply entrenched in American history, especially African American history. Rather if we know the specifics or not in our family histories, it happened a lot. One of my passions has always been unearthing and reconnecting those lost ties that have been unknown for generations. …
Different Research Approaches, Same Successful Results
Hector & Lucy Davis, Panola County, Mississippi Fortunately, my uncle had this picture of my great great grandparents in his attic. It had belonged to my maternal grandmother, Minnie Davis Reed. The couple are her paternal grandparents, Hector Davis & Lucy Milam Davis, who had been born into slavery about 1842 and 1846, respectively. I …
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Read the Entire Probate File: Don’t Miss the Storytelling Gems
North Carolina Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina; Picture taken on 28 June 2013 while researching there. When slave-owners died, their estates had to be probated in order to properly distribute their property to lawful heirs. The executor, who was named in the will or who was appointed by a judge, has to prove the validity of …
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Colorado’s First Black Licensed Female Barber
Entering a barbershop, people usually see a business full of men who specialize in cutting and styling men and boys’ hair, shaving faces, and grooming facial hair. Barbering is and has always been male-dominated. In fact, a USA Today article published that only 16% of the 135,000 barbers on record in the U.S. in 2017 …
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DNA Makes the World Incredibly Small
Source: Detroit Free Pass, "Flint mayor wins praise for highlighting water crisis," 22 March 2016, page A5, accessed from newspapers.com. I take time weekly to check my DNA accounts for new DNA matches that are worth investigating. While browsing the new matches in my uncle’s AncestryDNA account, I saw “Cousin Weaver.” AncestryDNA identified her as …
Grandma Lucy and Her Puzzling History
Believed to be my great great grandmother, Lucy Kennedy Cherry of Leake County, Mississippi (Picture courtesy of Perry Bishop) When my cousin Perry e-mailed this picture to me, he was wondering if this was a picture of his great great grandmother, Isabella "Bella" Kennedy Hansford Dillard (1851-1930) of Lake Providence, Louisiana. Aunt Bella was Grandma …
Just Another Cool DNA Story
Ms. Hattie Abram (1909-2002), Picture courtesy of Angela Moses Many people are often captivated by their admixture results from Ancestry.com, 23andMe, MyHeritage, FTDNA, etc. However, I am most fascinated by those revealing autosomal DNA matches – people who share identical DNA with me and my family. DNA can also be heart-breaking. It can certainly unearth …
