Family Reunion

As we're half way thru the summer, most of us have to remember this is the season for interviews. Don't forget your tape records as you plan on going to your family reunions this year.

Family reunion season is in full swing. If you're a genealogist also trying to connect the living, a Ning.com website could be helpful. I started my website after my Blog friend, Mechie, showed me the site.

Our family has our own social networking site for free. Thru our site we can connect, share and plan to stay in contact. I've been able to meet cousins I didn't even know about.

It's a useful tool and is LOW maintenance.....

Childless Ancestors

I think one of the most frustrating things with my research is coming across my ancestors that do not have children (or evidence of legitimate children). To think, that their story will end at the point of death. It will be harder to know the stories of their life. Finding relatives that remembers these ancestors, or remembers what was told to them about these ancestors, is always difficult. Sure, we’ll have little clues and indications of their life.

Yes, there were ancestors that ‘couldn’t’ have children for whatever reason. But, I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about the ones that just didn’t. I have a group of ancestors (my great grandmothers nephews) who didn’t have children. I believe there were 4 of them. All of them married. Only 1 of the nephews had children. The other 3 did not.

When I read and article on CNN about being childless, I couldn’t help read it from a genealogist perspective. Somewhere down the road, someone will research your family tree, and to not leave a legacy is to carry on your traditions, characteristics and stories is upsetting.
I’m sure our ancestors had their reasons for not having children. I’m also sure, they didn’t have us in mind when they made their decision. However, I still can’t help but say that I wish they did leave a legacy for us.

Ancestors Lost!!!

Four people face felony charges after authorities discovered that hundreds of graves were dug up and allegedly resold at a historic African-American cemetery near Chicago, Illinois, authorities said Thursday.

Afrigeneas has new blogger!

David Paterson's Journal will now be blogging for Afrigeneas.com.

As most African American researchers know, Afrigeneas is the #1 resource for African American Ancestry. The introduction of a blog by Afrigeneas is a wonderful thing.

A lil about David.

David E. Paterson, AfriGeneas Slave Research Forum Manager, was born in Scotland, UK, grew up in Seattle, WA, and earned a BA in History from University of Oregon before joining the U.S. Navy in 1975. Although an avid reader as a child, David became so busy with his seagoing career that he did not read a complete book for fifteen years. His passion for history reawakened in 1988 while he explored the antebellum records in the basement of the Upson County courthouse. Now David’s idea of fun and relaxation is reading a book or spending 12-hour days researching at the National Archives.

Thru the blog, more doors will be opened for many of the African-Americans still trying to connect the dots in their tree with straight lines.

I have no shame.

Besides my bad interviewing skills that is. But I have no shame in cold calling or e-mailing possible family members. We have a large family that branch out to the east coast (even a few in the west).

The way I was brought up, you are our cousin. There is not just 3rd cousin 4 times removed. It was passed down from my great grandmother who is and who isn’t family. She pointed out to all of her children cousins and aunts. However, she left out the little detail of exactly how they were related. So, growing up, they just knew that this person and that person were cousin. Come to find out, they were all distant cousins. Either way, they are our cousin and loved no less.

Every year at our family reunion, we have the most recent and most distant of cousins that come. We’re that type of family. Heck, we even have friends in the neighborhood that show up because they know we’re going to have food.

However, as I’ve begun the search thru my family tree, I’ve noticed a lot of branches missing. Missing because the information that my great grandmother passed on to her children didn’t trickle down like it should have. When the elders passed away, their children missed the information also. I’m trying to reconnect those branches of my tree.

Plus you never know, they may hold the missing link to go even further back. So, if you’re a distant cousin that got the Cousin Connections newsletter, it’s because you’re family. Now it’s time you figure out how.

I wish I knew

I wish people would just write on the back of pictures. Don't they know that people will come looking and wonder who they are.

In my Wordless Wednesday picture, you can barely see the faces. It's obviously a picture of some people at a military camp. There are 4 people sitting in this care and I can't make them out for anything!!!

So, if you have pictures at home, take time out and write who's who on the back of them!!! Please.

Thank you,

Wordless Wednesday - Unknown Picture

NC Archives - Wrong Link!!

Well, I just received my copy of Carolina Trees & Branches and it had an article in there about accessing Wills on the NC Archives MARS SYSTEM. While the information was correctly printed, I found error with the NC Archives website that will cause issue unless fixed soon!!!!

I followed the instructions. Here they are:

1. Go to the MARS search Page.
2. Scroll Down to "Records of Probate: Wills.."
3. click on the "+" sign at the left.
   
4. Find the alphabetical range of the last name of the testator.
   
5. Scroll to the name you need and click on 'View Description' at the right.
   
6. to see images of the pages, click on "view documents" at the right side of the page.
   

Now this is where I take issue. Unless you have the DjVu Plugin installed, you're going to run into a problem. When I initially clicked on the link to install the plugin, it too me to this page. Well, apparently the company, Celartem, granted the rights of the DjVu Plugin to another company.

However, in order to download the plugin to view documents, you'll have to go here. I was able to download the plugin and now I'm able to view documents on the NC Archives MARS System.

I hope this helps someone. I sent an e-mail to the IT Branch of the NC Archives. Hopefully, they'll fix it soon. But, how annoying.

I should also note, if you want to use this archive, be aware...IT TIMES OUT WITHIN ABOUT 15 MINUTES OF INACTIVITY!! You'll have to redo the steps above to get to where you were at last.

My interviewing skills SUCK!

On 2 sheets of paper, is an interview with an knowledgeable family member. She is the granddaughter of my 3rd great grandfather. To me, that blows my mind. Let me say it again, she is the granddaughter of my 3rd great grandfather, Caleb Banks. This is his land that was divided after his death among his children. I had the best time talking with her during my trip. The amount of knowledge she has is amazing! She's 85 years old and you would think she's 25+ years younger. She's is sharp, vibrant and active. Compared to some of the other elders that I've talked to in the family, she is a young woman. However, she may be the oldest out of everyone!

But anywho, back to my sucky interview with her. My 2 pages of notes that I have are only legible my me. lol. The 2 pages started off professional enough. Several questions listed, space for me to write the answer and space to add more. Easy right? HA..not for me. Apparently, I write as scatterbrained as I think. I have notes every were on the paper. Sure, the questions were answered, but she gave so much more information during the interview, I didn't have time to find an appropriate place to write it. So, I have words jotted here, and names jotted there. Of course, it only makes sense to me.

For example from my notes:

Laura Mae Lowry & Hazel Lowry first cousins but brought up together
John Banks owned land on 158
Henry was William Henry Banks.
Almond Banks Jr. owns family land

This is an example of my scatterbrained interview. I'm going to try and transcribe it into a legible interview that will make sense in the future. I need a better interview strategy.

Maybe next time, I'll try a recorder instead.

Who are you?

This picture was in a box of things that belonged to my great grandparents, Ed & Bessie Spence. While I was in NC in May 2009, I asked my grand uncle to go by the house and see if there was anything left that belonged to my great grands.

My great grandparents had alot of things, but most of everything went missing after my great grandma, Bessie, passed away in 1998. One of her children took the items from the home and somehow lost them. This includes a picture of Bessie's mother that had been in the house for years. That's part of a bitter family issue that's always a murmur thru the family, but never a loud noise.

Well, apparently the ancestors were working and knew I was coming eventually. In an old decreped box of papers, there were only 2 pictures. This picture above and this one.

The picture above is the one I'm curious of. I have no idea who he is. He looks like a Spence and closely resembles my grand uncle. I thought at first it may have been my great grandfather, but when I look at the pictures, they don't seem to look much alike.

The top picture was printed on a postcard. There is nothing written on the back and the picture, as you can see, is quite old. Does anyone know how I can identify the year this picture was taken?? Maybe that will help me identify who this is a picture of.