But Now I'm Found

Silence must not fall

2011-12-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

It is my endeavor to write an updated version of my family history in 2012. To help get started, I have decided to interview to my mom and her brothers as well as my aunt Hortense and get some of their experiences down in print.

So this morning I started with my mom. I think I may have to polish my interviewing skills some more. My mom was extremely defensive. I tried to explain that if she didn't know the answer it was okay but she seemed to feel I was judging her lack of knowledge. It made the interview very long on excuses and explanations and very short on interesting tidbits. Or is that a tidbit in itself?

My mother doesn't share my curiosity about our ancestors. It may be a generational thing. She was taught not to question her elders and that may also be why she is uncomfortable with me questioning her about our past. That is unfortunate, genealogically speaking. She knows very little about her father's people. She wasn't told much and she didn't ask. That definitely does not describe me. I will keep on digging and asking until I am satisfied no matter how long that takes.

Back to work

2011-12-03T12:07:00.001-08:00

I was contacted by two people this week that has stirred me out of my hiatus. One was a relative of Isaac Koonce's ward. And another was one of my cousins with contradictory information on Mosella Koonce Dodson.

It will take a little while to get my research muscles going again but I have a break from real life coming up. I will use that time to give those muscles some exercise.

It was very interesting talking to the descendant of Isaac's ward. She told me that the original farm belonged to President Andrew Jackson. She told me of seeing two beautiful antique quilts made by one of the slaves. Unfortunately she didn't know which slave quilted the piece. I wonder if it was Amy.

Since I have done little research since August, the mystery remains. I did look over my blog where I detailed the different ages and gender of Isaac's slaves. I think in my zeal to find Amy, I committed a genealogy sin. I assumed.I haven't been able to gather any more oral stories but I know they're out there. I just have to look under every rock and tree until I find it.

And I think the info on Mosella is just a little confused. Once it is unraveled it will prove to be as we always believed. She is definitely Solomon's daughter.

And the digging goes on

2011-08-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

I have been silent but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. The family reunion is fast approaching and I have been working diligently with the committee to make sure the event is successful. I've also been on the phone talking with relatives, following up on the little bit of information I received on my road trip.

The more I look at the evidence, the more I am sure that Amy did not die right after the birth of her son Moses Koonce. According to Solomon's granddaughter Evelyn, she was told by Alfred Claybrook, a husband to one of Solomon's many granddaughters, that Amy had long, straight black hair. Claybrook could not have seen Amy unless she was alive in the 1900's. And if I believe the 1900 census, she was still alive.

I need to go back to Tennessee and search some more.

Things I learned on my road trip

2011-07-15T04:56:00.000-07:00

I'm home. My trip was relaxing, fruitful, hot. I'm glad I went but I didn't accomplish as much as I hoped.

We stayed in a very nice hotel in the Brentwood neighborhood of Nashville. We got a very good deal. Tip #1- The research is the priority, even over good hotel deals. Everything else is secondary. Tip #2 - if you can, stay closer to the libraries even if it may cost more. Traffic takes away time you can use in the library. Also, if you're with someone, you don't have to depend on them for transportation. They can leave or you can leave on your own time schedule.

From Nashville we went to Jackson, TN. My ancestors come from this area. At the Crockett County library I found a will for Joshua Nunn for 1831. This Joshua was Francis' brother and David's father. David Nunn was the administrator of Francis estate and the executor of Joshua's. He was also the brother-in-law of Isaac Koonce, the last slave owner of Solomon.

On this will is listed many of the same names of slaves found on the inventory of Francis' estates. Joshua died in North Carolina. In 1830, Francis bought land (over 1000 acres) in a part of Dyer County that became Lauderdale County. I think Francis may have acquired some of Joshua's slaves from his nieces and nephews for his land. One of the slaves name was unique-Britton. That's what made me think this. One of the other slave is named Sall. I think this may be Solomon. It's a leap, I know, but it makes sense to me.

Tip #3 - It sucks when the persons you're looking at have no heirs. Heirs want to know their heritage. Without them the trail goes cold. Isaac Koonce had no heirs. This Francis Nunn had no heirs. It is more difficult to find background information concerning their lives but I trudge on. It also makes me work harder to leave information for future generations.

On the road, finding clues

2011-07-10T05:15:00.000-07:00

I got out of my comfy chair and hit the road so I could find more answers to my ancestry. This year I'm concentrating on my maternal line so I headed toward Nashville. First stop, however was St. Louis. My cousin and genie buddy lives there and she is sharing the journey literally and figuratively.

We stopped at the archives bright and early Friday morning. For me, it was slow going but I kept going. The one thing I wanted to learn was what estate Solomon Koonce, my g-g-g grandfather came from before being sold to Isaac Koonce. The receipt said "from the Nunn's estate." I looked for data on the Haywood County book and figured out that the only Nunn it could be was Francis. However, I couldn't find the will.

A librarian showed me a book that had the index to all the wills in Tennessee. I looked for Francis Nunn and found three. One died after Solomon was sold. Two died around the right time but neither were in Haywood County. One was in Williamson county and the other in Lauderdale. I thought I had hit a dead end but I looked up the microfilm any way.

There was no mention of Solomon on the will in Williamson and I think I pulled the wrong microfilm for Lauderdale because I couldn't even find Francis Nunn on it! I was getting frustrated and discouraged but I went back to the Lauderdale microfilm again. This time I found Francis Nunn and, hallelujah, I found Solomon! He was listed among 27 slaves.

I am positive this is my Solomon. There was also the name Ned on the list. According to oral legend, Solomon had a brother named Ned who sold to a family out of the state. There was also a woman named Ann. On the 1870 census. an elderly woman named Ann Nunn is living with Solomon.

It is also possible that Amy, my great great great grandmother is among the 27 slaves but I'm not sure about that one. There were some discrepancies concerning the names. The names are listed in two places-one in the inventory and one in what happened to them during the interim before being sold. Amy is not listed in the inventory but she is listed at the end. I believe she is called Ann in the inventory but Amy in the last list. I also surmise that she is very young because they don't sent her out to hire like some of the others. Instead they use some of the money as expense to take care of her and several other slaves. Solomon was hired out but for a lower amount than some of the others. I think that is also because he is young, around 12 years old, or possibly of a small stature.

Regardless, this alone has made my trip worthwhile. Everything else is gravy.

Ready for a road trip

2011-06-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to Nashville, TN since 2003. A random stranger told me yesterday that it has changed so much and for the better. Nashville is one of the cities I have thought of relocating to.

Most people think of music when they think of Nashville. I think of genealogy. I found the state archives there to be so fruitful. It spoiled me for Mississippi's archive. I found so much more information in the Tennessee archives than the Mississippi archives. I expect another Tennessee bounty now that I am more experienced in genealogy research. I'm getting excited.

Before I go, I will look up what records I will find at the archives that relates to my ancestors. I also plan to watch episodes of "Who Do You Think You Are?" again. The episodes with Lionel Ritchie made me aware that I should also go to Nashville's public library. I didn't watch all of the Tim McGraw episodes but I remember that his ancestors had a similar story to Solomon's slave owner Isaac Koonce. I will also check out Vanessa Williams just to get some helpful hints. Although that show gave me extreme genealogy envy, it also had lots of good information and tips.

The road trip begins after the Fourth. Look out Tennessee.

Time for a Road Trip

2011-06-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

This summer I will be traveling to Tennessee to do a little research. A couple of years ago I went to Jackson and McComb, MS to work on my paternal ancestors. It was a big disappointment but I have learned a few things that I hope will make this upcoming trip more fruitful. First, I am going with my cousin Barbara and she has a car and connections in Crockett County. It will be so much more convenient than when I went to MS--no car, no connections that were available.And it will also be nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

Also, I plan to go to Nashville to do research at the archives there. I was advised by many wise fellow genealogists that this will save me time and trouble. I can get the information I need that is available there first and save the harder searches for the county courts and local libraries later. And I also hope to finally meet Taneya, my unofficial cousin. She is very learned and all her advice has been very helpful.

A Little Detective Work

2011-05-31T05:20:00.000-07:00

I didn't make any real resolutions for this year but in my mind I vowed to figure out more of my ancestry. The year is nearly half over and I'm still chipping away at that brick wall.

I'm so glad I have this blog to remind me--to remind me of those silent vows, of promises to keep, of avenues to follow. I was rereading some of my entries and found this from a couple of years back.

"Negro boy, Ben, age 14, sold to John Koonce by Abner Green - Jones Co, North Carolina , January 1814

Negro woman, Betty age 20 from George Mitchell to John Koonce - March 1808, North Carolina

Gorge and Hanah from John Koonce to son Isaac Koonce, Jones Co, NC December 1822

Elijah, age 20, sold to Isaac Koonce in Haywood Co TN (not Transcribed) 1829

Mariah, age 12 – to Isaac Koonce from Alfred Kennedy, Haywood Co, TN - August 1832."

I don't even remember receiving this information let alone writing about it. This was given to me by a relative of Isaac Koonce along with the receipt of the sale of Solomon. It is possible that this holds important clues to Amy, my great-great-great grandmother. Here is how I break it down.

Isaac Koonce came to Haywood County, Tennessee in 1828 with brother-in-law David Augustus Nunn. Along with David's brother John (Jack) Nunn and uncle Francis (Frank) Nunn, they settled into western Tennessee. All of the North Carolina natives came with slaves. Isaac only had a few. Two of them, George and Hannah, were gifts from his father John Koonce.

On the 1830 Haywood census, Isaac claimed six slaves--three males and three females. The three males were between the ages 10 to 23. Two of the females were of those ages with one being younger than 10. Looking at the information given me, I deduce that the two adult slaves were George and Hannah and that the child was probably their daughter. Also, Elijah was one of the male slaves.

On the 1840 census,Isaac Koonce still has 6 slaves, but only two males. One male is under 24 to 10. I thinks this is Solomon who he just bought in 1839. The other male is between 24 and 35. This is either Elijah or George. I speculate that it is George because he was a gift but I know this is just speculation. Something may have happened to one of the men and that is why he bought Solomon. Of the four female slaves, two are under 10, one is between 10 and 24, and one is between 24 and 35. Isaac bought 12-year old Mariah in 1832. Is she the one between 10 and 24? I deduce that the one between 24 and 35 is Hannah. The two under 10 are possibly her daughters.

Jumping to the 1850 census slave schedule, Isaac now owns eight slaves. One was a male, 23 years old. That would be the right age for Solomon. There was also a 38 year old male (George?), a 40 year old female(Hannah?), a 28 year old female(Mariah?), and an 18 year old female. I think that the 18-year old may be the elusive Amy, mother to Solomon’s first set of children. There were also a twelve, a nine and a two year old female slave. If the 18 year old female is Amy, then she could have been one of the slaves under 10 on the 1840 census. I don't think she is the 28 year old female because Amy's oldest daughter was born around 1849. Twenty-eight is kind of old during this time to bear your first child. The 2 year old female is probably Mosella.

On the 1860 slave schedule, Isaac now has twelve slaves. There is now only one male who has to be Solomon at 35 years old. The 48 year old woman is probably Hannah. Here comes the tricky part. There is a 32 yr. old female and a 22 yr. old female who is designated a mulatto, the only one of the slaves that is so. I know that the ages are usually inaccurate and change from census to census. Amy is definitely there. She has born at least two more children--James, my great great grandfather that correlates with one of the nine year old males on the census, and Solomon Jr. who correlates with the 6 year old male. The 12 year old female has to be Mosella. So which one is Amy? Is Mariah still there? Is she the 32 year old? Is Amy the 22 year old? One oral legend says she is part Cherokee. Could she be called mulatto because of this?

I do plan on going to Tennessee this summer. Haywood County is a must see stop now to see if there are any records that corroborate any of my conclusions.

Another Mystery

2011-05-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

I started using the new and improved Family Search. I am having lots of luck especially when it comes to viewing death certificates. Not 100% luck. More like 85 but that's a whole lot better than nothing.

So I'm trying to pin down the spelling of Susan Buck Brasfield Avery's first husband, my great great grandpa. I look up Uncle Howell's death certificate. He's Susan's son and he died in 1922. And what do I find but two death certificates for him. One says he was born in 1878 and died June 7, 1922. The other says he was born in 1872 (the more correct date) and that he died June 18. The first certificate says he was single and died in Maury City. The other says he was divorced and died in Dyersburg. One is witnessed by my great great great grandpa James Koonce and a Dr. Frost who said he attended him from June 4 to June 7. The other was witnessed by a Miss Davis and a Dr. Baird who attended him on June 18th when he died. On the first certificate his occupation is listed as farming. On the second, he is a laborer.

So now I'm scratching my head trying to figure out what is going on. Was my poor uncle a zombie? I'm kidding but what the heck happened? On the first certificate the doctor signed it on July 8, the date of his burial. That's one whole month after Howell supposedly died. The second certificate has him being buried in June. The exact date is scratched off. The only thing both are consistent about is that he is buried in Maury City. The first certificate lists the cemetery-Nunn which became New Cemetery where many of my ancestors are buried.

I doubt I will ever find out what happened but I will try. And after all that dubious info neither one lists his mother or father. And here I was thinking old uncle Howell may have been gay because he was so good looking and still living with his mom in 1920.

Kinfolk

2011-05-10T04:28:00.000-07:00

I love genealogy. I love the mysteries and the sleuthing. I love the rush I get when I find even the tiniest of thread in the patchwork which is my family tree. To me, it is an example of critical thinking at its best.

So why don't more people love it? To be specific, why don't more of my relatives love it? The reason I am complaining is because it would make my research yield so much more if there were more of my kinfolk researching.

I use ancestry.com as a base for most of my online research. After you find a record of one of your ancestors, there is a link to all the other people researching that particular person. It is so frustrating for me that whenever I click on that link, it rarely leads to anyone. I have found one person--ONE person--that was also researching a shared ancestor. It felt like I had discovered a new planet. In the other cases where there was another person looking for the same ancestor, I either knew more than they did or their information was incorrect.

Sometimes I send out queries to people whom I have deduced may be related to me. They rarely respond. I think some may suspect my motives but mostly I believe they're indifferent.

Maybe that is why it so exciting to me to find out that I have at least one cousin--Barbara-- that shares my love and thirst for knowledge when it comes to genealogy.

It's Hammer Time

2011-05-07T05:30:00.000-07:00

I don't even know what that means but I'm using it to mean time to research at my leisure.

I am taking the summer off once again to do some in depth research into my family. The goal is to go to Tennessee with my cousin Barbara. So I am watching the news with some trepidation. It is horrifying to watch the slow flooding of the area where my ancestors lived and some relatives still live. I am praying for them.

In the meantime, I will continue my armchair research. It's cheaper. I wanted to go to D.C. and look at the records at the archives but it was too pricey for just a couple of days. Instead I will send off for the civil war pension records of a John Alexander and a Sylvester Ames and hope they are my relatives. And I will also travel to Ft. Wayne and look at their records.

Five surnames among four siblings

2011-04-17T05:11:00.000-07:00

That is my conundrum. On the 1870 census in Amite County, Mississippi census, Winnie Anderson is living with Oscar Dears and her four children: Hiram, Richard, Napoleon and Elizabeth. I haven't been able to locate anyone on the 1880 census except for Winnie who is now married to Oscar. However, I found an Elizabeth Cotten marrying Sylvester Ames in Amite County.

In 1900, I find my great grandfather Napoleon who is now a Cotten. Down a few lines is his brother Richard who is now a Cain. He is living with his widowed mother Winnie Dears. I still can't figure out where Hiram is but according to the 1900 census, all of Winnie's children are alive. He could be going by the surname Cain, Cotten, Dears or Anderson.

Also living in the neighborhood is Sylvester and Elizabeth Ames giving credence to my theory that Elizabeth is my great aunt.

So I'm checking Cotten, Cain, Anderson, Dears and Ames to get more info about my great grandfather Napoleon.

2011-03-11T15:12:00.000-08:00

This week has been one of those where I find things that have been there all along, right under my nose. I have searched the Freedmen's Bureau many times looking for ancestors' surnames. I ran across Brasfield early and wanted to claim it but knew I didn't have enough information to do so.

This week I looked at D. and Sue Brasfield up close on ancestry.com. I was determined to figure out what my ggrandfather's name was. Looking at the census for 1880, I'm still unsure. It looks like Domic which is a name I've never heard of. Could it be short for Dominic? Or could it be misspelled?

Next I looked at the marriages at the Freedmen's Bureau site for Tennessee. There is a D. Brassfield and a Susan Buck. Looking again on ancestry at the original document and I observed the same strange spelling of Brassfield's name. Therefore this must be the marriage of my gggrandparents!"Donic Brasfield of Gibson Co., Tenn and Sousie Buck of Gibson Co., Tenn."

At Quincy, TN the two were united in matrimony on Dec. 22,1865. He was said to be a copper color, she a bright mulatto. No other details are given except neither had previous children.

Following the Trail

2011-02-02T06:47:00.001-08:00

Above is a photo of James and Jane Koonce and family.

Real life has been intruding but I'm doing fairly well at not getting off track when it comes to focusing on my research.

I was finally able to talk to a cousin I met during one of the Koonce family reunions. She answered one of my questions about the family oral legend. All of my life I have been told that part of my heritage was Cherokee. I remember looking years ago at a pictorial history of native Americans and noticing one lady looking so much like my grandmother. I thought that blood line was through the illusive Amy. However, I have almost eliminated that possibility due to the fact that the trend toward enslaving native Americans ended before Amy was probably born.

My cousin Barbara told me that my great-great grandmother Mary Jane Roberts Koonce was half Cherokee. Her mother, Judie, according to Barbara, was a full-blooded Cherokee. Here's the thing that surprised me. Mary Jane Roberts was not black at all. According to Barbara, her father, unknown, was white. Barbara says that Judie and Jane arrived in Tennessee in a wagon. They stopped because they were tired. Judie subsequently married Will Roberts who was not Jane's father. She also tells me that Jane's half-siblings were much darker than her.

Barbara didn't seem to know that Jane had an older brother named Joseph and younger sisters Partuna and Willie who were all said to have been born in Alabama. I have found them on the 1870 census in Haywood County, TN. There is also a one-year-old brother Edmond born in Tennessee. The elder Willie is also said to have been born in Alabama. Barbara's story seems to be that Judie and Jane came alone. She had surmised that they may have been part of the "Trail of Tears." After further research I know that this is impossible for Jane. The Trail of Tears for the Cherokee nation took place in 1838. Jane was born in 1861. Judie was born around 1825 so the legend may be about Judie and her mother (unknown). Barbara also recounts that Jane would often take trips to Hot Springs, Arkansas and some place in Oklahoma. She didn't know why but assumed there were relatives there.

This is another example of why you can't believe word for word the oral legends. You must investigate and verify. It is also an example of how when one question is answered another question is formed. I love genealogy!

More on Solomon

2011-01-21T09:35:00.001-08:00

This blog is my way of keeping up with my research into my family. It records my first impression of data I find. Instead of keeping a written journal that I may lose, I write here. I don't mind sharing what I find so that it can help others and also so it can help connect me with others. That's just a benefit.

I'm concentrating on going back farther on Solomon Koonce, my great-great-great-grandfather. I am looking into whether he was sold from the estate of Francis Nunn of Williamson, Tennessee. The information should be in the court records according to "Nunns of the South," an old book written about the Nunn family. I'm looking into having those records sent here from the Tennessee state archives through the inter-library program.

While looking up Solomon on ancestry.com, I noticed for the first time that Solomon claimed he was a mulatto. How did I miss that? Of course, I'm not sure what that means. Sometimes Blacks were called mulatto because of the color of their skin. Sometimes because the person was acknowledging that his or her parentage was part white. In the photos, Solomon does not have a light complexion. However, his features are somewhat keen. As one of my cousins noted, the nose the family calls the Koonce nose didn't come from Solomon. His nose was more aquiline. Our family nose actually came from Lizzie Brasfield, Willie Koonce's wife and my great grandmother. So it is really the Brasfield nose.

The mulatto designation is on the 1880 census. Solomon also says he was born in 1828 in South Carolina and that his parents were born in North Carolina. I am seasoned enough to know not to believe everything I see on the census. I know the birth year is probably wrong but are the other things wrong as well?

On the scent

2011-01-16T07:50:00.000-08:00

I guess the family reunion has spurred me on to do more than I have been doing in my research. Thanks for the encouragement, Mavis and Mary.

I am, as we all are, the product of several threads in this genealogy quilt. I have chosen not to concentrate on just one thread but to keep pushing to discover as much as possible about all of them. Sometimes that is daunting, sometimes it is exhilarating.

For the past day I have been looking closer at Solomon, the patriarch of my maternal grandmother's family. I am fortunate to be in the possession of the receipt of his being sold in 1839/40 to Isaac Koonce. I was so enthralled with this relic that I didn't even look at the obvious. Solomon was between 14 to 19, depending upon the source, when he was sold to Isaac from the Nunn's estate. I made some weak attempts to discover Solomon's earlier years but now I am in earnest. I want to go back and possibly find his parents as well as his first mate Amy.

According to the census, Solomon was born in Tennessee, South Carolina or North Carolina. I know that the white Nunns and Koonces came from Lenoir County, North Carolina so I approached the moderator of the North Carolina genweb page, Taneya Koonce (so far no relations. I asked her if any Nunns had died in Lenoir County around 1839. No luck. Then I went to ancestry.com. I looked for Francis Nunn, David Nunn's uncle, who passed away around that time. Instead I found something that may be more promising. In 1816, Francis Nunn IV died in Williamson County, Tennessee. This Francis is not the uncle but is a distant cousin to David. What was more interesting is that Francis Nunn's will was not probated until his widow died. Marcy Nunn died in 1839 and there were slaves. Upon further research I learned she had lived in Gibson County, Tennessee. Parts of Gibson became Crockett County after 1870. Crockett County is where Isaac Koonce and David Nunn lived after 1870. Although I could not find Marcy on the 1830 census, I did find several of her children. Two of them, Sally Nunn Mayfield and Joel Nunn, owned a slave that could have been Solomon.

I think this a strong, possible lead. We shall see.

It's a Family Renuion

2011-01-04T03:45:00.000-08:00

Every two years the Koonce family hold a family reunion hosted by different individual families. This year it is my mother's family's turn. Of course, I am on the committee and I am very excited about the upcoming event. It is to be held, as is our custom, during the Labor Day weekend. Although I'm excited, I still feel some anxiety and annoyance. I look at envy at those families that are able to attract hundreds of kin to attend their reunions. My family can't seem to get even 100. My grandmother had 11 children. Out of those 11, the family has grown to nearly 100 by itself. Yet, the interest in family has dwindled. My uncle says that we are fragmented and seems to have no optimism about that changing. I don't want to accept that.

I contracted the "genie" bug from an aunt who has since died. Unfortunately, no one else has gotten the addiction. It would make such a difference in my research if I had at least one partner to share it with me. So part of this year I will try harder to infect a few others of my family with my genealogy obsession and figure out how to entice more family members to gather together. (I'm not calling that my resolution but it sure sounds like it.) Any suggestions?

Loose Ends

2010-12-28T16:53:00.000-08:00

Slowly I'm getting back into my addiction. School is closed this week so I have lots of free time. I finished my pictorial family history book which I plan to sell as a fundraiser for the upcoming Koonce family reunion. I looked up several names on ancestry.com to see if anything new had been added. There hadn't. It is frustrating that those brick walls haven't come down yet. It is unrealistic of me to wish they had but I still had that dream. That frustration is what led me to take my hiatus.

Here We Go A Sleuthing

2010-12-23T14:08:00.001-08:00

Others may see this season as the time to be jolly. For me, it is a chance to get back to my hobby that I have neglected for too long. I feel like a knitter that has put down that baby bootie and lost some stitches. Got to pick them up again but it isn't that easy.

First order of things, I went to ancestry.com and looked up Napoleon. He still remains somewhat of a mystery. I looked at the 1910 census which is the last public place I can locate him so far. He dies some time before my grandfather goes to draft board for WWI. What I notice on the census is Felix Cotten. He is living next door. Everyone else living in the vicinity are relatives of Mary. Who is Felix? Napoleon's brothers' names are Hiram and Richard. Felix was born around 1867 and isn't on the 1870 census with Napoleon's immediate family but there has to be some kind of connection.

Dead People Talking

2010-07-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

Back in 2008 I blogged about conversations I wish I could have with dead people. One of my conversations concerned Charles Featherston. "I wish I could talk to Charles Featherston and find out if he loved Matilda and her children. Did the rest of the family know about them? Was he ostracized because (sic) he was white and she was a former slave or was it accepted?"

Would you believe that I have had that conversation? After renewing my research on the Featherston family, I came across someone on ancestry.com who was also researching Charles Featherston and Matilda, my great great grandmother. I almost couldn't contain my excitement. Of course, I contacted the person immediately. After several tries, I finally spoke with her.

I am not disclosing her name for privacy reasons but she was an individual who was related to Matilda's daughter Dollie's husband. She had photos of Dollie Melvina and her family. Even more important, she had interviewed Dollie's granddaughter. According to the granddaughter, Charles' family knew of the relationship and children between him and Matilda. After Charles died, his sister visited them often and sometimes contributed financially to the family. The sister believed that this was a love story! I didn't even ask the question. It was volunteered. See, my questions were answered posthumously.

However, there is a bone of contention here. Dollie's granddaughter disputed the love story idea. Maybe the love was only in Charles' mind and not Matilda. Maybe the children resented the situation. Consider the idea of a relationship between a slave owner and his slave. You can romanticize it but the fact remains one person owns the other. That is the definition of statutory rape.

But I am not dealing with that at this moment. It was just so fantastic to see the photos and hear new stories. It has energized me and opened up new avenues to research.

The photo is of Katie Featherston Wilkins Hardy Warren ? She may have married again. Katie is Matilda's daughter, sister to Dollie Melvina and my great grandmother. My grandfather looked like Katie. In the photo that I saw, Dollie looked like an elderly white woman. According to her grandson, she was often mistaken for being white when she was riding in the "colored" section on the train in Tennessee. The conductor would put her in the "white" section.

Armchair genealogy can take you only so far

2010-06-25T05:32:00.000-07:00

This blog is FMI--for my information. I am tracking down several lines and there are road blocks for every one of them. That is the reason why I am tracing so many lines at once. I would get so discouraged (I still get frustrated) if I was tracing only one line and kept bumping up against those blocks. By doing several at the same time, I make incremental progress and it keeps me going.

These are the mysteries I am working on. I have the most detailed information on the Koonce line. I can trace it back to our patriarch Solomon who was born in the Carolinas around 1826, possibly as early as 1822. I wish I could go back farther. My second wish is to find out more about Amy, the mother of his first set of children.

My great great grandfather is supposedly Charles Festherston of Dyer, Tennessee. I would like to trace that line back to England. Goodspeed says his people are from there but I can only trace the line back to another Charles Featherstone, born in the early 1700's in Virginia and who died around 1790. There is a will probated in Brunswick County, Virginia. After that, there is only uncorroborated data.

I wish I could figure out why the Cottens changed their name. If I could do that, maybe I could locate my great great grandfather Napoleon's siblings. It could also help me locate their Mississippi slave owner.

The same goes for the Warrens in Tennessee. I am 75% sure that the Warrens had another surname right after the emancipation of 1863. I can only locate them from 1900 on.

There are more mysteries popping up as I continue researching but these are the ones I am concentrating on. I keep hoping when I come back from a hiatus that the information will be easier to locate but this armchair genealogy research can only take you so far. That's why my biggest wish is to have all the time and money it takes to do nothing but concentrate on this research. Genie, did you hear that?

Back to the Drawing Board

2010-06-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's good to get away from genealogy. When you come back, you have fresh eyes.

I'm doing that with my Featherston line. In the past, I was quick to accept documentation from others that did the work. That was not always the correct choice because much of the information was wrong or not collaborated.

For example, I am trying to trace the Featherstons back to England. I have good sources for tracing my great great grandfather Charles R. Featherston back as far as 1790. His father was William J. Featherston Sr. William's father was Carolus Featherston of Virginia who died in Franklin County, Kentucky. There is a will as well as other sources. Carolus father was Charles Featherston of Charles City, Virginia. He left a will in Brunswick County that was probated in January 1790. That's where the line gets squiggly. There are so many Charles and William Featherstones that the lines need detangling like Christmas tree lights. To make matters worse, one Featherston family named two of the sons William so there's a William the elder and William the younger.

When I look on ancestry.com or family search, the lines are not distinguished from each other. It makes a big difference. So my family may or may not have come from Warwickwshire, England. So it's back to the drawing board for much of my information.

Yeomen Featherstones

2010-06-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

Slowly I'm getting back into the groove. This obsession won't ever let me completely quit.
I began researching more on the Featherstones since visiting the castle and town. Looking on Ancestry.com, I was able to trace the line back to 1428 in Warwickshire, England. The thing is, Warwickshire is not very close to Featherstone. Featherstone is farther north near the Scottish border. Warwickshire is south near Stratford-on-Avon.( It's kind of exciting to think that my ancestors may have known Shakespeare.) The Featherstones were yeomen. If I understand the title, yeomans were medieval middle class. The Featherstones of the castle were noblemen. They were first mentioned in the 13th century. Sounds like I have some more researching to do.

Visiting the area does make it feel more real. Maybe next time I will visit some of the genealogical sources and libraries.

Brick walls

2010-06-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

I finally watched Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" yesterday. I had seen snippets before and was already in awe of the late professor. Now I am inspired to come out of my lethargy and achieve my dreams.

I only had one childhood dream--to be an author. I wrote my first play when I was nine. It was an Easter play that they put on in my 4th grade class. I can't remember if it was any good just that I did it. I started a novel when I was 11. I remember the title--"The Devil and the Joneses." I never finished it. I use to create family newspapers during that time complete with a comic strip. Since that time I have written professionally off and on and finally self-published my family history. But I feel that I have stop short of actually reaching that dream.

Now I have another dream, a grown-up one. I want to go as far back as I can go on as many lines of my ancestors as I can and to chronicle it so that my family and other interested people can profit from my research.

And I can't let the brick walls stop me. Pausch said in the video, "Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something." To me that also means that brick walls are not insurmountable. They can be conquered. It may take years. It may take someone else taking up the gauntlet. But they must be scaled, torn down or whatever to get to the information.

So these are my goals--to become an author and to tear down those brick walls.

Long time

2010-05-31T05:41:00.000-07:00

I smashed some of my New Year's resolutions into tiny pieces. I'm talking about the one where I post more. In the past few months, I became very paranoid and also a little self-deprecating. You know, that "vanity, vanity, all is vanity" kind of thinking. That plus work and brick walls sapped my enthusiasm about blogging.

I'm not saying I'm ready to blog every day again. I'm still a little suspicious of how little privacy we have on the internet and how much we give away for free. But I am facing the reality of life in the millennium. And if you can't beat them, rejoin them.

So I'm kind of back. And I'm literally back. I did keep that resolution about visiting the ancestral castle in Featherstone. The sight of the castle as it came into view was magical. I could imagine the horses galloping down the road to the castle, over hills and dales, real ones, past a running brook full of stones. It was one of the highlights of my trip.

Unfortunately I was not able to get inside. The castle is privately owned. I knocked several times on the door but no one answered. I was too shy to venture further. Alas, I found out the next day that a friend of the owner was at my B & B and could have gotten me an invitation. Must not have been meant to be. I did get several photos, some of which I will enlarge for art and the rest will be in my book. I didn't see the side of the castle shown in an earlier blog. I didn't want to trespass more than I did.

Is it Spring yet?

2010-03-13T04:38:00.000-08:00

I took an unplanned hiatus from research. Teaching is using up all my gray matter and leaves very few discretionary brain cells for other pursuits. That is my reason not my excuse. On a higher note, I am working at my 2010 resolutions. It's kind of a good news/bad news deal, though. Good news: I finished formatting my last edition of "Say My Name." Bad news: my computer froze and when it unfroze, all my stuff was gone. Did you hear me screaming for 30 minutes? That's when it happened.

Yes, I have a copy of the book saved to an external hard drive. I also have a hard copy. But it's a lot of work to format it and tweak it and I don't have the energy to do it again. At least, not until the summer.

About my other resolution, I have booked my trip to England. I will see the ancestral castle in Featherstone. It took me weeks to click the button to book but I womanned up and finally did it. I will leave as soon as my last class ends. On my own. Aren't I brave?

Family Secrets

2010-01-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

My grandmother Posie told my aunt Carolyn that there were some things she was taking with her to the grave. And there goes a treasure full of information or does it?

One of my arguments about full disclosure is that while the interested parties may be sheltered from the truth, uninterested parties are walking around talking about other people's business. So the family is actually being an ostrich with its head in the sand while everybody else sees the butt.

This became my argument because of another family scandal I became privy to. This scandal happened decades and decades ago and the people are only names to me. It was a matter of incest (most secrets seem to be of a sexual nature since criminal acts are usually in the public domain). I was told about it over 10 years ago by a distant cousin. The thing is, she was told by an elderly lady in a nursing home. This elderly lady relished reporting the juicy details to her. So how many times had the lady told this story? How many others knew?

I still don't know if I will tell my relatives about the current piece of information. I mentioned it casually in very general terms to my sister whose interest in genealogy is casual at best. She wonderered what was so important about telling the story.

That struck me. That is the question at the root of every genealogical pursuit. And I heard the answer today on television when George Stephanopoulos was discussing how many Haitians would just disappear into history as if they never existed because of this tragic earthquake. Bodies would be shoveled into empty graves with no markers like the participants in a horrid magic trick. This is what happened to my black ancestors hundreds of years ago. I can't allow this to happen to my people if I can help it. I must mark their existence and record that they mattered to someone once upon a time.

It's Complicated

2010-01-13T12:33:00.000-08:00

Several months ago I tweeted and commented about whether embarassing information should be disclosed in the name of genealogy.There had been a discussion about this during one of my genealogy group's meetings. I was on the side of disclosure. Others disagreed. They believed the information should be tabled until the parties were dead.

Now I have been presented with an actual dilemma. I was told that one of my relatives assaulted someone 50 years ago and fathered a child. This is something that I don't think the family knows about. The relative is dead and now the child is dead. The person that told me is an outside observer. The mother is still alive and there are grandchildren.

Now do I put my money where my mouth was? This relative has children still living and I have no idea how I would tell them about their unknown sibling. There is also a side of me that wants to embrace the grandchildren. They are innocent and they are blood. Things are so much more complicated when it isn't theoretical any more.

New Year, New Decade

2010-01-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

New beginnings mean new starts. So of course, I resolve to do better than before. My resolutions include:

* First of all, posting more.

* Solving at least one mystery of my family's ancestors.

* I intend to visit Featherstone Castle in Northumberland County, England. This castle may have some connection to my Warren/Featherston roots. It will be mostly a trip of curiosity. I do not expect to have some profound epiphany while there.

* I hope to go to Mississippi once again but this time I will venture into the county courts. The trip to the state archive was monumentally disappointing.

* I will make at least one pilgrimage to one of the genealogy libraries, probably Fort Wayne, although I would love to get back to the Tennessee state archives and the national archives in D.C.

I realize resolutions are often broken so I'm trying not to reach too far beyond my grasp.

My first award! Thank you, Mavis

2009-11-15T05:46:00.000-08:00

Well, this is a very nice surprise. Most of the time I feel like I'm having a conversation with myself when I blog. Mavis, who blogs Conversation with My Ancestors and Georgia Black Crackers, has presented me with my very first Kreative Blogger award. I am honored.

According to the rules in accepting this award, I must now tell seven things about myself before passing it on to seven bloggers. Although I love writing about my family, I rarely write about myself but here goes.

1. I am the oldest of four girls. Actually, I am the oldest child of my mother who is the oldest child of her mother who was the oldest child in her family. My grandmother started that link and I continued by having my daughter Arianne first.

2. I was born, raised and live in Gary, Indiana. In fact, I live within walking distance to Michael Jackson's home since his home is in the shadows of my alma mater, Roosevelt High School.

3. Although I was the oldest in the family ( and the oldest grandchild in my mother's family), I was the last of my sisters to get married.

4.One of my fondest memories is of my father walking me to the library to get my first library card. I had to be five years old. My father and his father were also bookworms.

5. I am an anglophile and addicted to British TV. I watch Eastenders on the computer every week among other shows.

6. I wrote my first play at 9. I'm still waiting to be discovered.

7. Even though some may say that at my age I'm over the hill, I believe I'm still standing at the top. One of my heart's desire is to fall in love again.

I pass this award on to
Taneya
A. Spence

Low Country Africana
George Geder

Amanda's A Tale of Two Ancestors
Claudia's genealogy blog
and Bill West West in New England

Six degrees of separation

2009-11-14T17:50:00.001-08:00

Another day of trolling the internet for data and I'm coming up with more and more coincidences. Coincidences -- "the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection." These following things do have a connection but are they pertinent?

Oscar Dears, Winnie Anderson and family are living a couple of lines down from Lucretia Dears on the 1870 Amite County, MS census. Lucretia Dears was married to William Carraway before marrying William Dears. William Carraway's brother was Bruce A. Carraway who was married to Lucretia (may be Letitia) Cotten. Lucretia was sister to Joseph R. Cotten. When the Carraways died young, Thomas L. Cotten was appointed guardian to their children for a short time. One of those children, Bruce M. Carraway, married Huldah Cain. The only surname I'm missing is Anderson. Could that be why my ancestors changed their name from Anderson?

It feels like I'm playing six degrees of separation here. Time and research will tell if it is only a game of coincidences or if it is a realconnection.

On the trail again

2009-11-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

It has been two weeks since the International Black Genealogy Summit ended. I came back with renewed fervor. Then I went back to my job. But I am endeavoring not to let all that good information and zeal go to waste.

Working on a tip written in my previous blog, I looked up H.S. Anderson on the 1850 slave census for Franklin County in Mississippi. The "H" stands for Henry. I was pleasantly pleased to find that Henry was living next to Joseph R. Cotten in 1850. This is the same Cotten that I once thought was Winney's slave owner. There is a female slave and male slave listed under both Joseph's and Henry's name that correspond with the ages of Winney and her oldest son Hiram.

I googled Henry's name and found some minutes for Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Franklin County, Mississippi. Henry, Joseph and a few Cain's were members of the church in 1852. Now I'm getting excited.

Could this be the smoking gun for my ancestors? Of course, I don't know the answer to that yet. I have looked up several Andersons that I thought may be the slave owners. However, the coincidence of Joseph and Henry being neighbors is making me think this may be the right trail to follow.

From the Internation Black Genealogy Summit

2009-11-09T05:32:00.000-08:00

These are photos of our small genealogy group at the summit. It also shows how many people were at the conference luncheon held on Saturday, October 31st. The keynote speaker was Hanna Stith, the driving force behind the creation of the African American Museum in Fort Wayne.

Black Genealogy Summit

2009-11-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

Wow! I didn't know it had been so long since I blogged. School started the last week of August, enrollment is way up, and I am far behind in grading papers. Those are the reasons not the excuses for me not writing.

But I'm back. Not just to blogging but from the first International Black Genealogy Summit that was held this past week in Fort Wayne, IN. It was a wonderful conference. I learned a lot and met some wonderful people. I am inspired and energized to get back to work.

However, I also learned one disturbing fact. I have been searching for my Cotten ancestors for years now. Cotten is my maiden name. Napoleon Cotten is my great grandfather. Several years ago, I learned that Napoleon's surname on the 1870 MS census was Anderson not Cotten. That threw me for a loop and I've been trying to recoup ever since. Well, I learned at the conference that not only was it common for surnames to change constantly, the reasons for the different surnames are numerous. This makes it even harder to track down my ancestors' beginnings.

I searched the Allen County library, the second largest genealogy collection in the U.S., for hours. I came up with nothing, zilch, nada. Then on the last hour of the last day, I talked to a lady who sat across from me in the library. I was helping her locate the MS files so I asked what were her surnames and who was she searching. Her counties were close to my counties. When I looked at her family group sheet, she had the name "Anderson" as one of her ancestors. After talking with her, she said she had come across lots of Cotten's that were owned by H.S. or H.R. Anderson in Franklin County. That name sounded familiar. I checked it right away but time was waning so I couldn't verify the information. I will.

I also found, after her urging, that my family was using the last name Cotten in 1890. I found this on the school records of Pike County by Serena Haymon. It was a small fact but hey, it was better than nothing.

The search goes on. I'm not giving up. Genealogical pursuits are what I love to do.

Slavery - Can We Talk?

2009-08-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

I just read a blog by Luckie Daniels, Our Georgia Roots that got me to writing. It is a subject that I have thought a lot of about as I research. Luckie asks the question Could we be desensitized to slavery?

My maiden name is Cotten. When I was younger, some would call me "cotton picker." I hated it. Other than that, the subject of slavery didn't bother me. It was a fact of life, my ancestry. Besides, it was very far away. It didn't touch me.

Now, though, I am fascinated by the subject and the history of the Civil War. I know it is because of my addiction to genealogy. I now know that some of my great grandparents were slaves. My grandparents who I knew very well were just one generation away from slavery. I want to know all I can about them and my ancestors. It is frustrating that I can't find more out because of the institution. Slavery is a taboo subject for many slave and slave owner descendants. It prevents the sharing of information because of some subliminal guilt and resentment held on both sides.

So my answer to Luckie's question is no, most people aren't desensitized to slavery. I wish they were. Yes, slavery was evil but it is on a long list of the inhumane, evil things people have done and still do throughout history. If we could become desensitized to the subject of slavery, there would be no old wounds that need healing. If we could respect each other as part of the one family of man, then we could have objective discussions on so many levels. But I'm not holding my breath for that to happen soon.

I am desensitized. Just give me the information I am searching for. I don't hold you accountable for what your great-great-great-granddaddy did to my great-great-great grandma. I don't blame you. I want just the facts, thank you very much.

My genealogy habit

2009-08-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

It is ironic to me that I am addicted to genealogy. The irony lies in my perception of myself as an outsider to my own family.

I first became interested in genealogy because my husband’s family and my father’s family came from the same section of Mississippi. My husband Craig had a cousin that everyone said looked just like me. Craig’s mother’s maiden name was Dillon. I knew I was related to Dillons. So I embarked on this ancestral trail to make sure I wasn’t related to my husband by blood. So far we are not.

I also was competing with my aunt Adrene Warren for archival information. Adrene did a considerable amount of legwork in finding out who the Koonces were. This was my maternal grandmother’s family. But my aunt stopped at that one line. She refused to research any other surname. She wasn't interested. So I jumped into the search in defiance to my aunt.

Wanting to know how in the world I fit in this crazy quilt of a family was probably another incentive to me as I continued to search for more ancestors. That and being nosy probably are what keeps me going after I hit my head on the brick walls of genealogy. Yet I still wonder why is it so important for me to know.

There are so many people that don’t care about their past. They are more interested in the here and now. Isn’t that the way it should be? But I believe there also needs to be someone that keeps checking the rear view mirror of our lives so that we don’t go off the straight and narrow path; so that we treasure what is beautiful and unique about our particular family; so that we don’t forget the precious and the notorious individuals that share our genes. There’s usually at least one person in the family who is the clearinghouse of that information. Maybe that's it. Maybe that's the reason I am hooked on genealogy. I'm on a mission. My mission to be the clearinghouse publisher.

Oral Legends

2009-07-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Oral legends are the beginning points of most genealogical pursuits. We take them with a grain of salt knowing that they must be corroborated before the legend can become history. We hope that there is enough truth in the legend as we search for evidence.

I am following several family lines each with an oral legend. However, when it comes to my Alexander line, I have a wealth of oral legends and they all contradict each other.

The facts: John Alexander and his wife Catherine lived in Lincoln County, Mississippi with several of their children in 1870. According to the census, John was from Virginia and Catherine was from Maryland.

Oral legend as told to me by my aunt Hortense: John took the name Alexander as his surname because it was Catherine's and because he had some beef against his last slave owner whose surname was Huffman. There are Huffmans living close by on the 1870 census so it kind of made sense. Still, it is conjecture not fact.

Oral legend as told by Florence Octavia Townsend in her bio: "My grandfather, John was born in Liberia and captured and brought to this country when he was twelve years old. He was a slave on the Lambright plantation in Virginia. He was sold to the Huffman plantation in Alabama. He married another slave named Catherine (originally from India) on the Huffman plantation. During the Civil War he ran away and worked for the union forces. After the war he returned home and took his wife and children to Mississippi. Because a union officer named “Alexander” had impressed him he changed the family’s name to that of Alexander. He and Cahterine had twelve children, nine sons and three daughters." Catherine is identified as black not East Indian on the censuses. I have not been able to find a Lambright or Huffman plantation yet in the named states. I have not determined if the John Alexander that I located in the Civil War records is my ancestor or not. I am dubious that someone moved to Mississippi by choice. Still, these are not facts, just legend.

Now I have been told another story by another Alexander. She said as far as she knows John was always an Alexander who lived on a plantation in Virginia called Strouder (sic). She does not know how he got to Mississippi and she never heard of John being in the Civil War.

The one constant is Virginia in this story. The rest are loose strings hanging out on my ancestry tapestry. But this is what is fun about genealogy--being a detective in my own detective story.

Baclk in Indiana

2009-07-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

I am back from short trip to Mississippi wiser but not much more informed. I learned that I need to go to the courts because the records that I need are not in the archives. I learned that it is going to take a lot of patience unearthing the data. I'm an information archaeologist. Discovery doesn't happen over night.

It is frustrating and disappointing but I am more determined than ever to find my ancestors. Whenever I google my great grandfather's name, the search only turns up my references. That doesn't help me but just think, it does turn up.

Cemetery Abomination

2009-07-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

It is heartbreaking to mourn and bury a loved one. I know. I buried my husband 10 years ago. That is why I am so appalled and outraged by the actions of several individuals that defiled graves so that they could resell the plots over and over again. It is estimated that the crooks made as much as $300,000 in the last few years. According to the newspapers, three gravediggers and a cemetery manager unearthed hundreds of corpses, dumping some of them in a weeded area and double-stacking others in existing graves.
Burr Oak Cemetery of Alsip is the final resting place for many Chicago African-Americans, some famous. Emmett Till was buried there. His casket has been found neglected and rusted in a back storage room at the cemetery. This is wrong on so many levels.
In a week I will be heading to Jackson, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee. I hope to visit some of my ancestors' graves. The joy I will feel if I can find my great grandparents headstones will be so monumental. They died decades ago. That's why I am so angry that some people took that joy, that peace, the permanence away from so many families for money. If there are such things as spirits haunting those that disturb their final resting place, I hope they get to haunting those felons.

2009-06-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

A blast from the past. The Jackson 5 in 1966. I think Michael is on the bongos in the top shot.

Michael Jackson - a part of HIStory

2009-06-26T05:32:00.000-07:00

It was a shock to hear of Michael Jackson's death. He was born in my hometown so he is a part of my story. More importantly, though, he is a part of world culture's history.

I remember seeing posters about the Jackson Five on light posts all over Gary all the time. They constantly were performing. The family grew up in the shadow of Roosevelt High School, my alma mater. The boys were always performing on the talent shows and always won. My husband's claim to fame is that his jazz combo beat the Jackson Five in a talent contest there. It was unheard of for someone to beat them. In my high school yearbook there is a picture of the Jackson Five performing at the Masque and Gavel Talent show. This was before they became a national phenomenon. Jackie, Michael's oldest brother, even sang in the Madrigal Choir, the elite singing group of my school, with my sister.

When they appeared on the Ed Sullivan show it was a major event for every Black person from Gary. It may be difficult for this generation to understand how important that was to Black people. Whenever any Black entertainer appeared on the Ed Sullivan show it was a red letter day. I remember the day I heard that the Jackson Five would be on TV and would sing "I Want You Back." Of course, I watched. I got to see them in person before they disbanded and observed the madness of fans' obsession at close range.

The citizens of Gary were so proud of the Jacksons. We got bad press all the time but we could point to the Jacksons and Avery Brooks and Deniece Williams and William Marshall and Ernest Thomas of "What's Hapening" and say Gary can't be all bad. It produced all these people.

Before Michael Jackson, music was divided by race. He changed that. That was monumental. Today's generation doesn't realized that. He transformed the music video into a necessity for marketing music.

I am so very sad. I have always been a fan and ignored the bad publicity that followed him. He is gone too soon like his song. And like his song, we never can say good bye. He was not just a super star. He was a super nova, shining so brightly and extinguishing too quickly. Rest in peace. The king is dead. Long live the king.

Family History Research and Writing Workshop

2009-06-21T04:06:00.001-07:00

I am giving my first genealogy workshop this Saturday, June 27th. This is not a stretch for me since I teach already and I love talking about genealogy. The workshop will concentrate on the two most important steps in genealogy--the beginning and writing it down.

It is being held at Indiana University Northwest, Hawthorne Hall Room 332, 3400 Broadway, Gary, IN. There are two sessions. The first one begins at 10 am. It will focus on just getting started with the research with an emphasis on African American genealogy since that is my area The second session starts at 12:30 and will give tips and strategies about writing the information and publishing it so that it can be shared with others.

It is free and open to the public. I'm not sure how many will come. I suck at marketing and promoting myself. But like I tell my students, if only one comes, the show goes on.

I first planned this workshop to raise a little cash for my road trip to Mississippi and Tennessee. I'm leaving in July to do more research on my family. I decided to make it free just because I want to share what I know just for the love of it.

Happy Day

2009-06-21T04:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I posted. The last post is appropriate for this day too. I do miss my father.

Father's Day has become a forced celebration because both my children and I are fatherless. But it is a celebration of memories and good times, so I cling to that.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

This is a day set aside to remember our fallen heroes of the various wars. My family's tradition is like most in the country. We barbeque, relishing the fact that the weather is now warm enough to enjoy eating outside. When I was young, Memorial Day also meant parades. Gary had the best parade on that day. For a couple of years, I was in the parade, part of the Roosevelt High School marching band. I played a french horn--the "pah pah" part of the "oomp pah pah," the musical beat of every marching band. I hated it. I never got the hang of trying to keep my lips on the mouthpiece as I marched and followed the leader. And "pah pah" was so boring. I dropped out. But I digress.

We have now added a new part to our Memorial Day tradition. This is the day we visit the cemetery. It is usually very crowded on Memorial Day. Sadly, there are too many loved ones that reside at the cemetery. My father and my husband are there. Minutes are spent wondering around the graveyard trying to locate various others deceased relatives. Not a happy tradition but a respectful one.

My father, Stanley Cotten, was a veteran of World War II. He was part of the cavalry. When I would tell my fellow high school students that, they would ridicule me. They didn't know that the army still had a cavalry during that time. There once was a photo of my father, his friend Jay and one of the horses. I don't know if it still exist but I will search for it. My father spent a lot of his time in Rome which he never appreciated. Maybe it was because of what he had to do there. He didn't speak much about it except to say "if you've seen one place, you've seen them all." He did not share my love for travel. I do know that he saw the Colosseum. It may be during the war that he developed his hatred for flying too. I'm not sure. Unfortunately he is not here for me to ask him.

Currently, one of my nephews is serving in the Marines. He has made a career out of it. He has been deployed to Iraq once again. He has also been based in Japan and South Korea. I'm sure my father would have been proud of him. Erik Wilson was his first grandchild, a boy after having nothing but daughters. He was the light of my father's life.

So on this holiday I will remember the loved ones that are gone. I will also honor and pray for my nephew and others who are serving this country in the different branches of the armed forces. They are living heroes.

Road Trip

2009-05-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

It's the Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of summer. The thing most on my mind is getting out there and physically digging for my roots. Not literally, of course, but I am getting off my comfy chair and going into the archives and libraries of Mississippi and Tennessee.

Genealogy isn't a cheap hobby although the internet has made it more accessible. I had my own personal recession 5 years ago so I am looking for the most frugal strategies to make my trip possible. For example, this July I am taking a bus to Nashville and Jackson and McComb, Ms. I am buying my tickets 21 days earlier. My trip will cost me around $143 round trip! By traveling overnight I will save one night in a hotel. Of course, some may think I'm crazy going by bus. I look at as an adventure and a small price (really small price) that I pay for my hobby.

Unfortunately there are no bus stops near the cities I need to visit in Tennessee except for Newbern. It stops there at three am. That's not a good time to be stopping in a strange southern city. I do draw the line somewhere. The Koonce reunion is supposed to be in Tennessee this September and I will try to get ro some libraries and/or courts around during that time. I'm hoping to get enough new information at the archives in Nashville to update my book in time for the reunion.

All in all, I'm excited about my road trip. It will be interesting. No doubt.

2009-05-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

This is on the occasion of Inez Koonce Jacox's 100th birthday. I am standing on the far left next to my mother.

Lost

2009-05-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

I'm back from my short journey to Tennessee. It was an eye opening experience but not in the way I had hoped. Several things hit me and I'm still processing them.

First, the area where my maternal ancestors lived is still very rural and sparsely populated. For example, my grand aunt Inez lived a few feet from the church where she was eulogized (and a few blocks from Alex Haley's birthplace). However, we traveled 45 minutes and through two counties to get to the cemetery where she was buried. My sister, who was driving, was concerned about running out of gas. She was advised to get gas when she went through downtown Maury City. Unfortunately, we didn't recognized downtown when we went through it. It was one short block of family businesses.

My aunt lived in this area all 102 years of her life. That had to shape her vision of the world. I see that same vision in my mother even though she has lived in an urban area most of her life. The viewpoint is narrow, comfortable and void of inquisitiveness.
That speaks to the other thing that struck me. All the knowledge my aunt had of my side of the family has now gone to the grave. I had accepted that my aunt did not want to talk about her family because that's what my mother and my aunt Adrene told me. Then at the funeral, a woman, a niece of Inez's husband, talked about how she asked questions about the family and how Inez gladly recited family stories to her. It makes me so mad and sad at the same time. I asked my mother if she ever asked my aunt anything to which she said never. My mother is now one of the oldest living Koonce so I will have to unearth whatever I can through circumstantial evidence not oral stories.

I can't imagine not wanting to know everything about my family history. My mother is interested and satisfied with her minute knowledge. She doesn't understand my thirst and my endless questions. I don't understand her nonchalance and acceptance. The worst part and the best part is that I seem to be "that one" in the family that pursues the answers. It's a lonely job but, I believe, somebody's gotta do it.

This summer, I will go back to Tennessee and delve into court documents and look up books in the local libraries and talk to people who may know about my family history. Too bad I wasn't able to do it before my aunt passed away.

Inez Koonce Jacox - 1906-2009

2009-04-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

My oldest living relative was Inez Koonce Jacox. She lived to see two World Wars. She lived through the Great Depression, Jim Crow laws, Civil Rights demonstration. She lived to see a Black man elected president of the United States. She lived an exemplary Christian life, praising God and wanting to be in the center of His will until she passed away yesterday morning. She was 102 years old.
Inez was my grandmother's sister. She lived all of her life in Tennessee but I got to meet and see her several times. She was frank and honest and reminded me a lot of my grandmother. My mother has grown to favor her as she has gotten older. The one thing I remember most about her was that she didn't like photos of dead people. She claimed "haints" were attached to them. I've never understood how a God-fearing woman could also be superstitious but it seems to run in my mother's family. That superstition kept her focused on the present so I never got any information from her. What a loss. What an accomplishment. She lived long and well.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet -That Isn't The Question

2009-04-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

I confess. I have been tweeting when I should have been blogging. It is easier to write a quick line or two than a paragraph. I have more excuses for my lack of posts. March was a very stressful month for me. I moved from my home of 18 years to a temporary (I hope) stay at my childhood home. Economics bit me in the butt and I had little choice but to move. It was hell. Distilling 18 years of collections, furniture, paper and memories is hard enough. My home was 2100 square feet. My space now is considerably smaller. But a woman's got to do, what a woman's got to do. I will survive.

That being basically over, I am now planning my summer break. I am going to take off for five weeks and visit Fort Wayne's Allen County Library, the archives at Nashville, TN and Jackson, MS, possibly the National Archive and a few courthouses and libraries in between. At least, that's the plan now. If I can do that, I will be a very happy genealogist.

Genealogy Rule Number One - Never Assume

2009-03-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

I keep getting reminded of this rule all the time in one way or another. I assumed that my g-g-g-grandfather couldn't be a slave captured from Liberia. While I haven't corroborated this--it is stated on the census that his birthplace is Virginia--I did find out that there were native Africans on the land before it was usurped for the imported freed slaves. There was naturally a lot of tension between the natives and the "Americo-Liberians." The Americo-Liberians were always considered foreigners not citizens by the natives. Liberia was even used as a temporary shelter by Americans for re-captured slaves for a while. So it is possible that maybe John's father did come from the land renamed Liberia. I know that his son, my great grandfather was very dark.

Then about Catherine being an east Indian--it is possible. I followed the lead of fellow blogger Miriam and googled east Indians as slaves. To my surprise, I found that east Indians were part of that melting pot that made up Jamestown in the 1600's. According to Francis C. Assisi (I don't know if that's his real name or his pen name) in an article for the India Currents, east Indians were brought to US shores as indentured servants and slaves first by the Dutch and then the French, the English and lastly the American captains. So it is possible that Catherine was part east Indian.

So I am reminded once again, don't jump to conclusions or make general assumptions. Research, corroborate, and verify.

Genie Meeting

2009-03-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

Our little genealogy club meets the first Saturday of each month. It was convenient that talking about local genie clubs was part of genea-bloggers weekly prompt this week.

It was a decent turn-out. Our club is very informal. We bring each other up to date on where we are in our search. In turn we help those who are stumped, if we can, and try to inspire others not to give up. I was able to report on my latest doings--the book signing, the ancestry.com webnar about african-american genealogy, and my trip to Newberry Library. I was so proud of myself especially since I had kind of slacked off there for a while. I can feel the old bug now, though. I mean, two posts in two days!

What is also helping me is that I got to talk to Florence Octavia Alexander Townsend. I followed up on the clues I found yesterday and was able to track her down. She was friendly and enthusiastic. We are planning to meet very soon. She shared something very interesting in our short conversation. She said her grandmother's ancestry is part Indian--east Indian. According to her, some Indians had immigrated to Kenya and intermarried. I never heard that before. So maybe it is possible that Catherine has East Indian blood after all. Of course, I will verify first, though.

Oral Legends - Got to check them

2009-03-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

It started with me just editing my revised book so I can upload it to the internet. I was checking for dates for my family tree. I googled "Florence Octavia Alexander," a great aunt. On the census she is listed only as Octavia. I was trying to make sure she was one and the same as Florence. One of the hits I got was for a Nkechi Florence Octavia Alexander Townsend. She was listed in a book about prominent black psychologists. I read her biography. She did turn out to be a cousin. What got my attention, however, was her story about her great grandfather.

This is her story. "My grandfather, John was born in Liberia and captured and brought to this country when he was twelve years old. He was a slave on the Lambright plantation in Virginia. He was sold to the Huffman plantation in Alabama. He married another slave named Catherine (originally from India) on the Huffman plantation. During the Civil War he ran away and worked for the union forces. After the war he returned home and took his wife and children to Mississippi. Because a union officer named “Alexander” had impressed him he changed the family’s name to that of Alexander. He and Cahterine had twelve children, nine sons and three daughters."

I got so excited. This was more information than I had ever known about my great great grandparents John and Catherine. I called up my aunt Hortense to see if she knew of this lady. She didn't. I googled Townsend and located her nearby. I plan to call tomorrow.

Then I looked at the story again. I should have known there were holes in her story. She misspoke about her great grandfather calling him just her grandfather. Next, I remembered that Liberia was a country in Africa founded by freed American slaves. So John being captured from Liberia sounds off. Catherine came from India? Really? I am searching for more information on Lambright plantation and the Huffman plantation. The funny thing is that there is a Lambright farm in Copiah County, MS and there is a John Huffman lving close to Columbus Alexander, my great grandfather, on the 1880 Mississippi census. I checked the 1860 census and old John Huffman had a male slave that is the right age for John Alexander. There was a female slave living there too and an infant. However, there should be two infants. I need to check that out more.

One thing that may be accurate from her biography is John's service during the Civil War. That's the next thing I am going to check. There is a gap between 1860 and 1865 in the births of John's and Catherine's children. After 1865, they started churning out children every year. So there's a good chance he wasn't around during that gap.

It just goes to show you. You have to corroborate. It is so tempting to believe the stories but that's all they are until you have proof.

"Mississippi to Africa" Book Signing

2009-03-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

Saturday was an inspirational day as far as my genealogical journey is concerned. I went to Chicago for a book signing. The author is Melvin Collier. The book is Mississippi to Africa."

I met Melvin on Facebook. He mistakenly thought I was a cousin but he was correct in identifying my obsession for genealogy. I have decided I want to be him when I grow up. First, he was able to trace some of his ancestors back to Africa. That is monumental and downright impossible for many Black Americans. Secondly, he has been able to distribute and sell his book all over the country. Although my book is finished, I have only sold a few copies to relatives. He sold out of copies at the Chicago book signing so I haven't been able to read it yet. I want to find out more about how he was able to trace his ancestors so far back even though my Mississippi relatives come from a different part of the state.

At the signing was Dr. Rick Kittles of African Ancestry DNA. Dr. Kittles wrote the forward to Melvin's book and was instrumental is narrowing down where Melvin's ancestors came from in Africa. Although I am skeptical whether the genetic database of the company is large enough for accurate testing, Dr. Skittles insists that the database is large enough. The price is hefty too. He quoted me $275 but I have noted that the fee can go over $300.
What was most impressive for me at the book signing though was the number of people attending and the great enthusiasm for information. It made me feel like I was a "cousin" after all.

Loose Threads in the Ancestry Tapestry

2009-02-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

Months ago I wrote "I looked at the 1900 census again. This is the one where Napoleon reappears after being missing (to me) since 1870. A few lines down is his mother and brother Richard. I just noticed that Winnie said all her four children are still living. That means somewhere Hiram and Elizabeth is hanging around just waiting to be discovered.

Napoleon is living next door to his in-laws also. These in-laws are also my ancestors, related to me through Mary Saunders, Napoleon's wife, my great-grandmother. Charles and Rose are a few doors away. It got me to thinking that maybe Elizabeth is nearby. There happens to be an Elizabeth who is the right age living next to the Sanders. I know. I know. That means nothing. But it is a splinter of possibility."

That Elizabeth was married to Sylvester Ames. Not long after posting the above, I found out that Elizabeth's maiden name was Cotten. I was so excited but somehow forgot to post it here. Elizabeth had died by the next census and I have not found out any more on the family.

Hiram has been much harder to find since I don't know which surname he used. One candidate is Hiram Cain in Franklin County, MS. I found a Hiram Anderson in Franklin County, on the 1880 census. He is a servant at the time and single. The hitch is that Hiram Cain claimed he married in 1878 on the 1900 census. It means more sleuthing for me to do.

Getting back in the genealogy saddle

2009-02-21T06:46:00.000-08:00

Well those New Year's resolutions didn't last long.
I'll try to rectify that now.
Blogging and genealogy is a full-time hobby. The rewards are rarely monetary. If I could marry the hobby to my job, I would be a happy woman. Until then I will do this in spurts and starts; do the happy dance when I unearth new information; take dozens of aspirins for all my brick-wall headaches; and never ever give up this labor of love.

Beware Spam Bloggers

2009-01-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

In my efforts to keep my New Year's resolutions, I went on google and blogged genealogy. At the top of the list I saw my blog or so I thought. There was some person masquerading as a "genealogy expert" who had stolen my whole blog from yesterday. When I clicked on other blogs by this person, I saw he had stolen material from other genealogy bloggers. If it wasn't so despicable it would be laughable.

He/she calls him/herself Dragan Mizeric, an obvious made up name. This person is commiting a crime because he is plagiarizing material. I don't know what can be done to stop this person. I did send a message to blogger.com. but so did another blogger over a month ago and the "expert" is still there.

I also noticed other spam bloggers are doing the same thing with other information. They use a legitimate posting from someone else but have a heading like "earn more money" or some other enticing wording on the page.

I think these people are finding the blogs through the tags. Let's see if they use this one.

International Black Genealogy Summit

2008-12-31T09:33:00.000-08:00

I found this while surfing genealogy blogs. It is one of the events I am looking forward to in 2009. The summit will be held October 29-31, 2009 at the Allen County Public Library, in Fort Wayne. This event signifies the first time that all of the black historical and genealogical societies in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean will come together to discuss the challenges and rewards of researching black genealogy.

I have put it on my calendar. Fort Wayne is a two hour drive from where I live so I should have no problems attending. More information can be found by clicking on the title.

Genealogy New Year's Resolutions

2008-12-31T07:51:00.000-08:00

Resolutions are such a hackneyed term. Let's used "goals" instead. My goals for the new year including writing more on this blog. I didn't realize it had been over a month since my last blog. And I plan on reading and commenting on other blogs on a regular basis.

I will reprint my first book and begin my second book which will share this blog's title.

I will find money in creative ways to accomplish my goals of traveling, researching and publishing. Cash is king. Credit is in disgrace. I haven't used it in years and now I am proud of that fact. It is inconvenient not to use credit. I believe convenience is what prompted some of the current economic woes. I plan on raising lots of capital in many ways that do not include owing anybody any money.

I will travel this year. Last year I didn't. I will rectify that because my writing and research will be more of a priority this year.

I am confident I will be able to keep these resolutions. They are much easier than eating less and exercising more.

Really Famous Cousins

2008-11-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

If you have a paid account on ancestry.com and you have created a personal family tree, you can check to see if you are related to somebody famous. And I mean really famous. You have to go to your family tree, select an individual. On that page, on the right hand side, near the bottom is the link. I have been having trouble loading ancestry today so I'm relaying this from memory.

I am possibly related to even more famous people than the link shows, however, it isn't a coincidence that all the famous people come from my white ancestor line. This is the line that is most documented. All of the cousins below are related to me through Charles Featherston's grandmother Lucy Elmore and mother Sarah Vaughn.

According to ancestry.com, the Fred Warren family is related to First Ladies
Lucy Ware Webb Hayes, Mamie Eisenhower, and Frances F. Cleveland; presidents Woodrow Wilson and Jimmie Carter, writers F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Milton, Alexandre Dumas, Elizabeth Browning, Emily Dickinson, George Eliot, George Orwell, Clement Moore, T. S Eliot, Alfred Tennyson, Robert Penn Warren, Jane Austen, Aldous Huxley, actors Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Audrey(Kathleen Ruston) Hepburn, and royalty, Empress of Russia, Anna and Queen Consort of Scotland Margaret I of Denmark, and one inventor, Eli Whitney, the cotton gin inventor. There were quite a few politicians but they are not as well known.

As you can see there is a preponderance of literary figures in my family. This makes me more excited and proud than being related to royalty and equally as proud as being related to presidents. Is this the reason why I have always wanted to be a writer. Is it in my genes?

Famous People in the Family

2008-11-15T09:22:00.000-08:00

I think there is a large percentage of people that start researching their family tree in hopes of finding someone famous or even infamous. I'm no different. However, my rationale is that it is easier to find people who have been documented by other sources.

I am aware of a few relatives that have achieved a little bit of fame. The one that was probably the most well known is related through marriage. My great aunt Maude Alexander married the Reverend Joseph H. Jackson, once president of the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. This organization claimed 6 million members at one time. Jackson met with political leaders all over the world due to his position. Martin Luther King, Jr. was Jackson's vice president. Due to intense feuding between Jackson and King over the tactics of civil rights demonstrations, the group splintered off into another group, the Progressive National Baptist Convention. King joined this new group. I used to say that Jackson was my rich uncle even though he didn't know I existed. When his daughter Kenny got married, my father and mother went to the wedding. My parents talked about how fancy the reception was and how Mahalia Jackson, a famous gospel singer of the time, sang at the wedding.

Then there's my uncle Ernest who is actually in the Doo Wop Hall of Fame as part of the original "Spaniels." This group is known as one of the great R & B singing groups of the 50's. They're best known for the song "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" from the 50's. They are the original singers of that song not the "Sha Na Na." I remember their station wagon with the picture of a Spaniel. The car would be parked in front of my grandparents' home whenever Ernest was in town. I had to google the group to find out that they were on the same tour as the one that ended with the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. My uncle left that life behind in 60's and became a preacher and a pastor. He's not proud of that part of his life so he doesn't talk about it much but he still has that sweet tenor voice.

Those are the two relatives I knew about before I found the link on Ancestry.com. After finding the link, I discovered I'm related to royalty and presidents and writers and actors.

Three things I like about Ancestry.com

2008-11-08T06:27:00.000-08:00

So I was searching ancestry.com for information about Mosella Dodson, Solomon Koonce's and Amy's oldest daughter. I knew where Mosella lived in 1870 and 1880 because I had found it on the census transcribed on Tennessee's genweb page. That page's webmaster, Natalie Huntley, has done a fabulous job with Dyer and Crockett Counties. For some reasons, however, my great-great-great aunt has never surfaced in any of my searches on ancestry.com even though I narrowed and broadened the search parameters.

This was extremely frustrating but while I was tearing my hair out I discovered a few great tricks on ancestry.com. It was a good thing too because I was nearly ready to give up on site.

First of all, let me acknowledge that ancestry.com is great for viewing the original documents--if you can locate your ancestors first, of course. It is easier on the eyes than actually looking at the microfilm.

Lately I have tried a new tact on locating relatives, a sort of sideways search. It has proved very fruitful, at least at finding living relatives. I clicked on the link that leads to other persons researching the same names that I am researching. So far it has yielded two cousins--one I knew and one I didn't. I've emailed them both and they responded. It is a wonderful tool because hopefully the other person may have data that I don't. Plus it is wonderful finding another cousin who is as addicted to genealogy as I am. Two heads better and all that.

The third thing I found on a whim. Ancestry.com has a link that will tell you if you are related to somebody famous. I never expected to find anybody but lo and behold and I found several somebodies, the most exciting one being Audrey Hepburn! I have always been a fan of hers. I think she was the epitome of class. And now I find she was my distant cousin. In fact, I found so many famous ancestors that I will have to write about it in a separate blog.

Using these two new links have slowed down my hair-pulling. Both are definitely worth a look see.

History!

2008-11-05T04:04:00.000-08:00

My great aunt turned 102 years old November 4th. She lived to see what many of her generation thought impossible. That implausibility was that America could elect someone president based on his ideals and his message and not the color of his skin. It gives me hope.

Last week I talked with my younger co-workers about the election. They found it exciting because they felt a part of history. It made me think back about how many historical moments I have witnessed in my life. Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog," the invasion of the Beatles, Hippies, Martin Luther King's march on Washington, the civil rights struggle, the assassinations, the wars, 911. And now this.

I have no illusions about Obama's presidency. He has a very harsh world of problems to face. But I do feel as many that this is a transformational moment. Change is not just a noun or verb. It is a movement. And I am alive to experience. Hope and awe.

Newberry Library

2008-11-02T06:23:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I finally made the trip to Newberry Library in Chicago. I usually go about once every two years. It is a great research library, houses many rare maps and hosts excellent exhibits. However, I have never been very successful at finding new data there. This trip was no exception. The time passed by fast, of course. I was able to find some data in the Mississippi Soundex for marriages before 1926. It gave me a few leads on possible ancestors on the Cotten side--leads but no answers.

What I did find out through surfing after I visited the library is that Newberry is a Family Research Center. That means I can have microfilm sent there from the Salt Lake City Family History Library. Although there are two centers closer to me -- one in Griffith and another in Valparaiso, Indiana --their hours are very limited and their staff is small. I am thinking of making another sojourn to Newberry sooner rather than later once I designate which records they have that are pertinent to my family.

Blind Spots

2008-10-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

This blog is sometimes just me talking to myself, working out problems.

So in that vein . . .

I got an email from Benjamin Cotten, my newfound cousin. He has been so inspirational to me. He sent me information about a Hiram Cain who got a land grant in Mississippi in 1898. He could be the brother to Napoleon Cotten. Following the advice from the convention, I looked up Franklin County, the county of Hiram's land grant. It is next to Amite where I first found Napoleon's family.

I looked at the 1900 census again. This is the one where Napoleon reappears after being missing (to me) since 1870. A few lines down is his mother and brother Richard. I just noticed that Winnie said all her four children are still living. That means somewhere Hiram and Elizabeth is hanging around just waiting to be discovered.

Napoleon is living next door to his in-laws also. These in-laws are also my ancestors, related to me through Mary Saunders, Napoleon's wife, my great-grandmother. Charles and Rose are a few doors away. It got me to thinking that maybe Elizabeth is nearby. There happens to be an Elizabeth who is the right age living next to the Sanders. I know. I know. That means nothing. But it is a splinter of possibility.

I'm trying now to research that possibility on ancestry.com and I am becoming so frustrated with the database. No matter. I am newly inspired and recharged.

2008-10-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

A photo of me and a photo of Tony Burroughs at the convention. Not together unfortunately. I wasn't thinking.

Convention Report

2008-10-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

The convention in Chicago was so inspiring and informative but it made me even more frustrated. The keynote speaker, Dr. Abbott, spoke on finding a needle in a haystack. That's an analogy for genealogy enthusiasts's efforts in trying to find Black ancestors past the 1870's. She made us see that it wasn't impossible but that it will take a lot of work and a lot of thinking outside the box or sometimes, outside the counties we think our ancestors are located.

I came back all fired up and ready to go. I looked in some of those places that were mentioned at the convention--The Freedmen's Bureau, The Southern Claims Commission, and Familysearch.org. And still my ancestors remained elusive. I know that it only means I need to dig a little harder and get my hands dirty. I have to go to the places where they lived and not just sit in my pj's surfing on the web for the information.

Still it was good to network with all those people of like minds. I was able to meet Tony Burroughs in person and got his photo. And I also got to see Barack Obama's house. It was down the street from the church where the convention was held. All in all, it was a very good day.

African American Genealogy Conference

2008-10-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend the African American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago (AAGHSC) is holding their 2008 Conference at 5200 S. University Avenue in Chicago. The 26th Annual Family History Conference is being hosted by the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) which is located at that address. The theme of the conference is "Starting, Restarting, and Continuing Your Family History."

It's a two-day affair. My genealogy group is going just for the Saturday session. The keynote speaker, Dr. Deborah Abbott, will speak that morning on "Finding a Needle in a Haystack." Dr. Abbott is the president of the African-American Genealogy Society of Cleveland, Ohio.

I'm really looking forward to this conference. Not only will I learn more tips and strategies to help me in my research. I will also be able to network with people of like mind when it comes to genealogy. Plus, with it being at a Mormon church, I'm hoping there is a library where I can do some actual hands on stuff.

If you are interested in attending, you should contact the society. The email address is aaghsc@yahoo.com. For more information, their web page is http://www.aaghsc.org.

Back to the Beginning

2008-09-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

When I first started my research, I built it on oral legends and previous research. My aunt was told that Solomon was sold to Isaac Koonce when he was 19 years old. Some places say he was born in 1822 and others say he was born in 1826. According to the 1870 census, his birth year was around 1828. The following census, however, claim 1826. This is important because I'm trying to find him and Amy on the slave census.

I know that he was sold to Isaac Koonce in 1839. On the 1840 slave census for Haywood County, Tennessee, Isaac owns 6 slaves - one male between 10 and 24, one male between 25 and 35, two females under 10, one female between 10 and 25 and one between 25 and 35.

On the 1850 census slave schedule for Haywood County, Isaac Koonce owned eight slaves. One was a male, 23 years old. Is that Solomon? There was also a 38 year old male, a 40 year old female, a 28 year old female, and an 18 year old female. I'm not sure if Amy is the older or younger of the females. There were also a twelve, a nine and two year old female slaves.

On the 1860 slave schedule Isaac owned 12 slaves. There were five adults and seven children. One was designated as a mulatto while the others were listed as black. The ages don’t match the 1850 schedule. There is now a 48 year old female, a 35 year old male, who I believe is Solomon, a 32 year old female who I believe is Amy, a 22 year old female mulatto, and an 18 year old female. The children range in age from one to 12. Three of the children correspond with the ages of Solomon’s oldest children.

I have to remind myself that back in those days, people weren't so concerned with accuracy. It's just another hindrance in finding ancestors.

Back to Work

2008-09-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. My computer crashed making it difficult for me to write and research at home. So I took one of those breaks that I need from time to time. But I'm ready to get back to work now.
This has been the perfect week. School has been out for a week due to flooding. No, I don't live in Texas. Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area got more rain than Texas from Hurricane Ike.
So I finally sat down and started searching. Maybe it's because I'm coming back to the research cold but some data popped out at me that hadn't before. I'm still on this search for my great-great-great-great grandmother. We were told her name was Amy and that she was Cherokee. We were also told she birthed Solomon Kooonce's first children.

I have already written about an Amy Nunn living on one side of Mosella Koonce Dodson while Solomon lived on the other side. This is on the 1870 census. Amy is married to Mose Nunn who is 61 on that census. She is 47 making her birth year around 1823.

On the 1880 census, she and her husband have only aged five years making the true birth year questionable. Now it would put her birth year around 1828.

There is an "Ammie" Nunn living with Mosella's family in 1900. Mosella has now passed away. Ammie's status is that of grandmother not mother to Joe Dodson, Mosella's widower. Her birth year is 1819. However, it is stated that Ammie was born in North Carolina just like Amy Nunn of 1823, 1828.

So is this a stretch? What keeps popping out at me is that Amy's first child with Solomon is named Mosella and her last is named Mose. Amy is married to Mose Nunn. It was not uncommon for slaves to be forced to reproduce for the slaveowners regardless of their affections or the lack of them. Could this be the case with Amy and Solomon and why she disappears after emancipation? That she went back to her first love-Mose Nunn?

I wanted so bad to travel this summer to find out more about these theories but lack of money and time hindered me. It's times like these that I miss talking to Adrene about the "what if's" and wish that I had some relative who was just as interested as me in these dusty trails.

Cotton/Cotten DNA

2008-07-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

I also posted this on my web page at freewebs.

Today I received an email from a Michael Cotten. He is involved in a Cotton/Cotten DNA project. The purpose of the project is to create a database to help identify the various families bearing the Cotton or Cotten surname.

I have been sitting on the fence about DNA projects. On the negative side, the results cannot prove a paper trail. It costs. And it depends on the amount of people in the database. But on the positive side,in the future when the database is more extensive, it may be more conclusive. And of course, if few participate, the database can't grow. Plus, as it states on the Cotten webpage, it can help to back up research, and a negative result can disprove many incorrect assumptions.

According to Michael, the information I have on the origin of the Cotten name is false. He wrote, "You mentioned a Cotten family who was descended from a John de Cotentin. Unfortunately there was no such person. The "De Cotentin" descent was invented by a man named Matlock who drew up an extended fake genealogy."

So it seems like it's back to the drawing board. I found a pedigree for Joseph R. Cotten on familysearch.org but the url for the source is xtremechat.org. Very suspicious! The person who submitted the source went to a lot of trouble posting information that goes back to the 9th century but of course that doesn't mean he is correct or legit.

Although I don't believe we are related by blood to the Cottens, I am certain that they are the reason my grandfather chose that name. That is the reason why I am interested in the origin and the genealogy of the Joseph R. Cotten family.

Square Pegs in the Family

2008-06-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. The weather is warm so I have no excuse except for lack of funds and an abundance of laziness. However, next month I plan to make my pilgrimage to archives and courts and distant relatives.

During my hiatus, I almost lost my focus. Often genealogy is a lonely quest. My nest just became completely empty, so I was wallowing in my aloneness. I assailed myself with how I don't seem to fit in with my family or even my community.

During my wallowing, I remembered something. Many, many years ago I visited my late aunt Pauline Cotten and was surprised to find out that she collected dolls and Lladros figurines. I collected dolls and love Lladros, too. When my cousin Kenny Williams passed away four years ago, I found out she had an extensive collection of dolls. That affinity for collecting dolls and figurines must run in the family.

That is one of the incentives for me to research my family-- to discover how I do fit in. I am not the square peg. Or if I am, I believe there are few of us in this family and we do fit. So this is me, snapping out of it and getting back to work.

Meeting David Wilson

2008-04-17T06:28:00.000-07:00

"Meeting David Wilson" is a documentary that follows David Wilson on his mission to discover to find more about his family roots in Caswell, North Carolina. That mission includes David Wilson, the descendant of slaves, meeting David Wilson, the descendant of the owner of those slaves.

I missed the airing on MSNBC last Friday. I surf the television schedule hoping there would be a rerun. Unfortunately, they did not air the show again but luckily they did post it online. However, when I went back to the MSNBC page to find a link for the video, I discovered it was no longer there. Instead they are promoting the DVD.

I am glad I watched it. It was an amazing story that inspired me to visit my ancestor's homes sooner rather than later. It brought out points I hadn't considered in my own research such as trying to envision the hardships of the life they led. David Wilson was able to work in a tobacco field, a feat I will not try to recreate in the cotton fields of Mississippi or Tennessee. I am not that dedicated. But I was impressed with Wilson's dedication. He was also able to find an abandoned slave quarter that could have been lived in by his ancestors. That scene was haunting. He also made the trip to Africa and visited the slave fort that housed two million Africans destined for slavery.

After watching the video, one impression was engraved into my spirit. It wasn't anger as some expressed during the video. It was gratitude that I have "choice." That sentence sounds so inane but the emotion it evokes in me is monumental. I can choose where I live, what I eat, who I marry, where I work. I can keep my children close. No one can come and separate me from them. Tears comes to my eyes even as I write this. This is what the USA was supposed to mean for everyone born on its soil. Now it actually does. Yes, I know America is not perfect and there are still lots of inequities. But think about it. A man is running for president who just happens to be black and he has a good chance of winning especially if we as Americans judge him not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. It makes me so very proud to be an American right now.

Conversations I wish I could have with dead people

2008-04-08T10:11:00.001-07:00

This is not an original thought. I saw this on a blog some weeks ago. And I'm sure every one into genealogy wishes they could sit down with a few dead people and ask some questions.

I wish I could ask my great grandmother Katie Featherston why she named my uncle "Ester." I met my uncle Ester. I remember him as a round, pleasant man with a bright complexion. I was just a child and I never thought anything about him having a girl's name. But I do now. What was Katie thinking? All her other children had nice common names like my grandfather Freddie so I'm thinking there was a purpose to it. Did she want a girl and got my uncle instead?

I wish I could talk to Charles Featherston and find out if he loved Matilda and her children. Did the rest of the family know about them? Was he ostracized because of he was white and she was a former slave or was it accepted?

And of course great-great-great-Amy and Solomon Koonce would be special guests of my interrogation. I would finally find out who she was and what happened to her. And while I had them, I would ask about their parents too and if they were born in America or Africa.

Wouldn't it be great if the television execs could produce "Ghost Whisperers--the Genealogy Edition." It would be a hit. People would be clamoring to be on the show to solve all their genealogy mysteries.

Race, Color, and Nationality

2008-04-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

When it comes to certain labels in America, I am confused and I don't think I'm alone. It is not as simple as black and white, pun definitely intended.

The issue came up during our monthly genealogy meeting. I think it started because one of the members was displaying her DNA results. She was happy that her African roots had been identified but she was mystified that there was no trace of Native American DNA. She always believed she was part Indian. It forced her to accept her European ancestry. This led to a lively discussion about our collective identities.

I consider myself a Black American. Others see themselves as African-Americans. My confusion comes because I believe that anyone with ancestry from Africa and citizenship in America can be called African-American. Charlize Theron can be called African-American. And what about African slave descendants that live in the other Americas like Canada or Brazil? To compound my confusion, some people including some of my club members believe that Barack Obama can't be called an African-American or Black because he isn't descended from African slaves. But his father was African and he even knows what part of Africa from where he came unlike the majority of Black Americans. Crazy

When you add Native Americans into the mix it gets even more confusing. There are Black people with Native American genes and Whites who married Indians that are being denied their Indian heritage by the ruling tribal councils. Even though these individuals are descended from people on the Dawes Rolls (the Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes) and have documented proof of their ancestry, they aren't recognized as citizens of their tribes. Those that are disenfranchised are accusing the Indian tribal councils of racism.

There are other divisions in our society and within the sub-cultures. It was pointed out at the meeting that someone knew a lady who was American but whose parents were from Japan so she considered herself Japanese not American. Puerto Ricans consider themselves Puerto Rican, not Black or African-American even if they have ancestors from Africa.

I guess it comes with our melting pot culture. And it is a testament to our democratic society that we all sort of kind of get along even with all the labels and hyphens. But it sure would be less confusing without them.

I remember MLK 4/4--40 years ago

2008-04-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Even though my search is for long ago ancestors , I am cognizant that my own experiences are also important. They should also be recorded. This is not conceit. It is for future curious generations. If only my ancestors had been able to leave more bread crumbs, this research wouldn't be so difficult.

April 4, 1968. I remember exactly what I was doing on that day. That was the day that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It also was the day of my first ever date. It was a double date me, my first boy friend "Pluke," my aunt Adrene, Smitty and Mickey. I guess that is a double and a half date.

My church was holding a state convention in my city. Pluke and Mickey were from South Bend and was there to attend the convention. Smitty was an evangelist and he was holding a revival afterwards. We left church to get something to eat. I suggested Bianchi's, a restaurant that our family usually frequented. When we arrived, the whole restaurant was in a jovial mood. There were nothing but White customers and they were loudly celebrating the death of MLK like it was a new holiday. This freaked Adrene out. She demanded that we leave immediately. So we did.

The next day I read of the violence in other cities. Eventually some of it came to our city. Buildings were burned. Store owners marked their own businesses as "black owned" or the such. It was a very scary, very sad time.

I remember that many people did not like Martin Luther King, Jr. Blacks didn't like him because he wasn't militant enough. Whites didn't like him because he was against the Viet Nam War and wasn't patriotic enough.

Forty years later things have changed a great deal for the better. But this is the 21st century. We should have improved so very much more as human beings and citizens of the world.

I wonder what MLK would say about Obama's candidacy. I think I know what he would say about the Iraq war.

In memory of MLK

2008-04-04T06:23:00.000-07:00

These are photos that I shot while in Atlanta and Memphis:
Martin Luther King's childhood home in Atlanta, Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church he and his father pastored, Martin Luther King, Sr., Mason Temple COGIC, the site of his last sermon, (also the headquarters for the Church of God in Christ, my church) and the pulpit from which he delivered it, Lorraine Motel in Memphis where he was murdered, and his memorial in Atlanta.

Missing things

2008-03-24T06:38:00.001-07:00

The ground work for all of my research was laid by my aunt Carolyn "Adrene." She started many years ago while she was living in Atlanta. It was easier for her to visit courthouses in Tennessee and interview relatives living nearby.

When I caught the genealogy bug, I would call her with any theory or breakthrough. We would discuss our findings for hours like true "genie" geeks. Sadly, my aunt passed away four years ago. All of her documents, all her photos, all of her findings were passed on to me. And even though I immediately poured over the treasured inheritance, I am finding out that I missed things.

I missed things like the pages torn from the family bible. I didn't realize they were the originals until this year. I missed that my grandmother had another brother, a name I never heard of. He died young and in between censuses. As mentioned before, I missed that my great great great grandmother Amy was supposedly full blooded Cherokee. When I asked Adrene before, she told me it was another of my great grandmothers.

But what I miss most is my aunt Adrene. She was only two years older than me, the youngest of my mother's 11 siblings. We were more like sisters than aunt and niece. When we were growing up she was my confidante and my mentor. We lost touch as our lives went in different directions. Through our love for genealogy, we had connected again until death disconnected us. All I can do now is wonder what Adrene would have said about this or that.

Dead Ends

2008-03-19T06:19:00.001-07:00

I checked the slave census for Mississippi. According to the censuses, my Cotten family can't have been slaves on any Cain family farm in Amite or Franklin county. So I'm back to square one.

It may be as simple as was the case for many emancipated slaves--Winnie first took the name of her last slave owner, Anderson. The Andersons had very large plantations in Amite and numerous slaves. I will check the Amite records when I visit Mississippi. At least the Amite County court records weren't burned like Pike County's.

The other dead end is the trail of my great-great-great grandmother Amy. After a quick look at the Cherokee history, I found out there is practically no way Amy could have been a full-blooded Cherokee. It is true that there was a large presence of Cherokees in North Carolina and Tennessee where my Koonce relatives lived, so it is possible she could have been part Cherokee. However, enslaving tribal natives proved to be so dangerous that America stopped doing it by the 1820's. There is only a slight chance that Amy was full-blooded Cherokee since she was probably born in the 1820's.

I was wondering if her heritage had anything to do with the absence of her stories in our family's oral legend. This tangent deserves more research. I am finding out that there is a strange relationship between Cherokees and slavery. I wasn't aware of how many slaves were owned by native Americans until I watched the African American Lives 2. The documentary traced actor Don Cheadle's ancestors back to slaves owned by native Americans. It also stated that many black Americans claim to be "part Indian" but actually aren't.

At an early age I was told that I was part Indian and part Irish. Being young, I just accepted it as a fact. Now, as I research my history more, I question the possibilities. It could be true but I need proof.

Mysteries to Solve

2008-03-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to make much headway into finding my great-great-great-grandma Amy. I've been rereading a lot of material that I inherited from my aunt. I found something I missed from my first perusal. According to the oral legend, she was supposed to be a full-blooded Cherokee.

I don't know why I feel she abandoned her family. She could have died right after the Civil War. It's the absence of stories about her that makes me think she decided not to stay with Solomon.

I am also trying to find out more about my Cotten line. I want to know why they changed their name from Anderson to Cotten. Knowing why will make it easier to trace the family. I now have a new theory to disprove.

My great-grandfather Napoleon Cotten had a brother who chose the surname Cain. After googling the name Cain in the Mississippi archive, I came up with several families in Amite County, the same county where my family lived in 1870. Here's an excerpt from Cain, a book by Mildred and Margaret Ezell which I found interesting.

"Descendants of Isaiah and Polly (Butler) Cain: 1) Mary B. Cain, b 21 Nov. 1822 Amit. Co., d 8 Sep 1843, bur Zion Hill Cem., Amite Co.; m 5 Mar 1840 (Amite 3-81 by T W Pound J.P., George W. Carmack bondsman) Joseph Robertson Cotten, b 7 July 1818, d 17 Mch 1885, bur Cotten Cem., Fr. Co. MS (S32 T5 R5)."

Joseph and Mary had one daughter. Mary died young and Joseph remarried. Isaiah and Polly (sometimes called Mary too) raised Mary's daughter Mary Cotten, not Joseph. Joseph is also the father of Thomas Cotten by his second wife. This is the very same Thomas that lived next door to Ammon Cotten, Napoleon's son, on the 1900 Pike County census. Both Thomas and Ammon listed their profession as merchants. I found that too much of a coincidence. That was why I first thought Joseph was the slave owner of Winnie and her children. There had to be contact between the two families because of Mary Cotten.

In addition, I found a white Hiram Cain and a white Elizabeth Cain and a white Napoleon Whittington, a Cain cousin all in that family group in Amite County. These were my family's names too. I know that doesn't mean much by itself. These names could have been very popular during this time. But it has made me think about checking in a whole new direction.

What if my gr-gr-gr-grandmother Winnie and her children were originally on the Cain plantation? What if Winnie married someone named Anderson and he was not the father of her children? What if they were befriended by the Cottens after the Civil War? I know these are a lot of "what ifs." Hopefully, by following these "ifs" I will run across more family members and the answers to some of the mysteries.

My Alex Haley Connection

2008-03-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

Of course, every genealogy hobbyist knows who Alex Haley was. He inspired many Americans to begin tracing their family tree. He also made it okay for a generation of Black Americans to accept their heritage as slaves.

I have always felt a connection to Haley. We share the same birthday, August 11. In addition, many of his ancestors grew up in the same area of Tennessee as my ancestors. I was curious to see if we shared any relatives as I researched my family. We don't. However, we did end up having a very close connection.

My first love was born in Savannah, Tennessee. I have since found out that Savannah is also the birth place of Haley's father. While talking to my boyfriend's uncle about his own numerous romantic escapades in Savannah, one name kept cropping up--Queenie.

The next time I heard that name was years later. About two years ago, I was talking with a new co-worker, sharing bits and pieces of our lives, I was astounded to find out she was also from Savannah, Tennessee. Not only that but that she knew my boyfriend and his uncle very well and the Queenie I heard so much about was her cousin. That is when I found out that Queenie was one of Haley's cousins and so was my co-worker. Queenie is a family name handed down from Haley's great grandmother. Remember the TV follow up to "Roots," "Queen," starring Halle Berry?

So this is my six degrees of separation from Alex Haley. Actually, it's more like two degrees. Sometimes it amazes me how small the world can be at times.

Maternal difficulties

2008-03-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

As already stated, I have a wealth of information about my grandfathers, greats and otherwise. My grandmothers are a lot harder to flesh out but I'm not giving up.

Last week I discovered that my great-grandmother Katie Featherston, the woman on the left in the photo, had even more children than I was previously aware. I happened upon it after looking for information for a cousin by marriage. The cousin is a Wilkins and had heard of Katie. She tried to put two and two together but it didn't add up to four.

Katie married Tom Wilkins in 1881. By 1898 she was married to a Henry Hardy. On the 1900 Dyer County Tennessee census, she listed all her children as Hardy's. Not only that, she stated that she had been married to Henry for 16 years. Not true. She also stated that she gave birth to 11 children but only 6 were living. That math didn't add up either. On the very same census eight children are listed. Obviously the younger 6 were hers from her first marriage. The census taker didn't catch that or didn't care.

Two years later she is married to my great grandfather Ike Warren. By the 1910 census only my grandfather and her youngest child by Wilkins, Joseph, are living with her. She states here that she had three children but only one is living. The census taker didn't correct her again.

These are just some of the discrepancies genealogy geeks have to weed through in our search.

Websites worth a visit

2008-03-04T06:26:00.000-08:00

I am always googling for information on African American genealogy and corresponding blogs. These are just a few that I thought worth mentioning.

I happened across this blog a few days ago. The top ten worst ways to begin family history is hilarious. Chris Dunham is the author with the wicked sense of humor.

The Missouri State Archives has created an on-line video for researchers of African Americanc genealogy. Entitled "Putting Together the Pieces of Your Past," the video contains five parts with accompanying links to transcripts. Family History Research Consultant Traci Wilson-Kleekamp is responsible for the information. She provides helpful tips on which Web sites are best for African American genealogy research. She also points out which documents are most useful and how to get the most out of these records.

Two great reference and genealogy news blogs are Everton's Genealogy Blog and Eastmans' Online Genealogy Newsletter. Both are great for news in the genealogy world. The link for Everton is for the African American category but you can find other information by clicking on the home link.

Mutts and Cousins

2008-03-03T06:37:00.000-08:00

My local genealogy club met Saturday. It was exciting to see all those people interested in tracing their roots. I don't know what is more intriguing--the people who have been researching for over 20 years or the ones just beginning.

Genealogy can easily become an obsession. All it took for me was finding my grandmother as a little child on a soundex card. I didn't know what I was doing. I had no one guiding me. It was serendipity that I even found her name. But when I saw her name, her age, her grandparents name (she was an orphan), it gave me such a rush. The thrill that I felt when I saw the document where my grandmother Posie's great-grandfather Solomon was sold to the slave owner was no more nor less than that first rush.

Back to the club meeting. I was struck by the various degrees of hostility toward ancestors that are white. My club is all Black and as far as we know, all descendants of slaves. One woman was very proud that she could not trace her line back to whites--so far. Another woman cried at the injustice of bigotry and cruelty that happened to her ancestors centuries ago.

It makes me wonder why I am so far removed emotionally. Could it be because I was told all my life about my mixed heritage? I am not ashamed that my ancestors were slaves. It was not their fault. I am proud that they were able to survive. I don't give a thought to the fact that my great-grandfather was a corporal in the Confederate army. I am guilty, however, of romanticizing his relationship with my great-grandmother even though I know it could not have been easy nor pretty. Mostly I just think that the whole world is full of mutts.

Cemeteries in Tennessee

2008-02-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

I'm finding little tidbits of information, adding more flesh to the skeletons. Ironically, the information I am finding is from cemeteries which can be a wealth of data.

I found the burial place of Charles R. Featherston, my great-great grandfather. The cemetery is listed on the Dyer County page of the tngenweb site. Charles is buried in Shaw Cemetery in Dyer County. The vital information is also listed there. He was born Aug 6 1824 and died Jan 12 1873. His father, William Featherston, which would be my great-great-great grandfather, is buried there too. He died Jan 21 1870 at age 76. The cemetery is in danger of being abandoned. I can't find where or when Matilda, the mother of Charles' children, died and was buried although by sleuthing on the same website I found out she married Henry Hall in 1883 and was dead by 1900.

There was a sad notation about one of the abandoned cemeteries in Crockett County. According to Jonathan K. Smith, who compiled the cemetery inventory for the county, the African-American Nunn cemetery began as a slave burial ground. There are many graves here, some marked with cedar trees, but only one tombstone. The tombstone is for the daughter of my great-great aunt Mosella Koonce Dodson. It reads:

Fannie L. Dodson
30 Apr 1883 - Nov 11 1885
Daughter of J.D. & M. Dodson.

That means that the unmarked graves could very well be for other relatives of mine and I will never know who they are. It is also another piece of information that connects my family to the Nunns in some way.

My family maintains the New Cemetery (that's its name) in Crockett County. It was formerly known as Nunn Cemetery. This is where Solomon and his wife Cherry Koonce, my great-great grandparents James and Mary Jane Koonce, great-grandparents Willie and Lizzie Koonce are buried as well as several other relatives. I am very proud of the fact that the cemetery is still being used for family. I love the continuity. Mosella, mother of little Fannie is buried here and is the oldest grave. There are also graves as recent as 2005.

I must make a note to speak with my cousins who maintain the cemetery to see if they know anything about the old Nunn cemetery.

Happy Trails

2008-02-25T06:59:00.000-08:00

It's been a long, trying week. I caught the bug that has been going around. It made it difficult to get my head above the covers. I wasn't able to do any follow up on my remarkable gift. However, I had quite a few comments which made me feel a little better. Thank you all. You've given me a lot of encouragement and some a few hints of where to look next.

It's a new week. The snow hasn't hit yet and I almost feel normal again. Time to get back to work.

I love genealogy!

The Paper Trail--One Down--Thousands to Go

2008-02-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

Here it is. Click to enlarge.

The Holy Grail

2008-02-16T09:01:00.000-08:00

I am so excited! I received an email from someone who had the actual receipt naming my great-great-great grandfather.

Now that may sound strange to someone who is mired in guilt or shame or anger. Slavery is a fact of my history just like the fact that some of my ancestors were slave owners. It happened. I am here. Now I just want to learn as much as I can about all of my ancestors.

I was thrilled to see the actual document. It states:

"Received of Isaac Koonce five hundred and thirty one dollars for boy Solomon purchased from Nunn’s estate & I am to give a bill of sale for ____ boy.

January 6, 18?? Sheppard M. Ashe "

The date is marked over. It looks like it was first written 1839 and then changed to 40. After looking at abstracts from the 1840's, I determined the date to be 1840. This is mostly due to finding Sheppard M. Ashe on these other abstracts and that it fits Solomon's oral history.

I've been pouring over other data online and off. Years ago, a fellow genealogy hobbyist and distant relative of Isaac Koonce gifted me with a family history book named "Nunns of the South." It was written decades ago and is very hard to follow but it does mention Isaac Koonce and David Nunn several times. I was hoping to find the Nunn whose estate Solomon came from. No luck so far.

And in addition to this bill of sale, the wonderful lady also has bills of receipt for other slaves of Isaac. They are:

"Negro boy, Ben, age 14, sold to John Koonce by Abner Green - Jones Co, North Carolina , January 1814

Negro woman, Betty age 20 from George Mitchell to John Koonce - March 1808, North Carolina

Gorge and Hanah from John Koonce to son Isaac Koonce, Jones Co, NC December 1822

Elijah, age 20, sold to Isaac Koonce in Haywood Co TN (not Transcribed) 1829

Mariah, age 12 – to Isaac Koonce from Alfred Kennedy, Haywood Co, TN - August 1832."

I tried very hard to save the document as a gif or jpg so I could upload it but my computer wouldn't let me. As soon as I can (printer issues), I am going to scan the documents and put it on my blog as well as on my family history page, Say My Name.

I received all of this late Friday. Some of my giddiness has died down, but not much. It has inspired me to keep on searching.

Faith Leaping or Conclusion Jumping

2008-02-09T08:13:00.000-08:00

It is a cardinal sin for any genealogist to jump to conclusion. Everything must be collaborated and documented. It makes it real, real hard for those of us researching our African-American ancestors. There is very little documentation readily available and much of that is inaccurate. It is so tempting to jump to conclusion.

For example, my cousin Juanita found her grandmother Rosa Nance listed on the Tennessee census as the daughter of Harvey Dunnagin. She immediately claimed that we were not related based on that information. However, it turned out that Dunnagin was Rosa's grandfather. The census was taken during a time when Rosa and her siblings were living with their grandparents. Rosa's mother Malessie was living in Memphis while Rosa's father, my great-grandfather Ike Warren, was living elsewhere. The information was there in black and white but it was wrong.

Right now I'm on the trail for Amy, mother of Solomon's children. I already mentioned my theory in a previous post. After searching the 1900 census, I found an "Emmie Nunn" living with Joe Dodson and his family. She is listed as a widow and "G-mother." I checked other Tennessee censuses and could not find an Emmie Nunn. I want so much to believe that Emmie is mispelled for Amy. Joe's children would be her grandchildren since his wife was Mosella Koonce, Solomon and Amy's oldest living daughter. Mosella had passed away ten years earlier. I want to believe but I have to keep digging for actual proof.

There is also evidence this is not my Amy. First of all the name is wrong. The birthdate is listed as March of 1819. And she had 10 children but none of them are living in 1900. So there is a good chance she isn't who I hope her to be. I plan on taking a trip to Tennessee soon to find out more. No matter what I wish, it has to be verifiable proof.

The Whole Truth and Nothing But

2008-02-06T07:04:00.000-08:00

It was a rude awakening for me to discover that the information on the census is not necessarily true. The birth date often changes. I don't know if this is due to memory or vanity. Some of my female ancestors do seem to get younger on each census.

The same happens to the location of their birth. It can be different on each census but I am inclined to believe earlier census may be more accurate than later ones.

Some of the mistakes are made by the census takers. For example, on the 1880 census Solomon's birthplace is listed as South Carolina and his wife Cherry as Tennessee. However his children's father's (Solomon) birthplace is listed as South Carolina for the older children and Tennessee for the younger children. The census taker didn't catch the discrepancy.

To make matters more confusing, his birthplace was listed as Tennessee on the 1870 census. This is different from the oral history. Did he misunderstand the census taker's question?

It has made me realize that being factual was not as high a priority in other centuries as is it is now. It makes the genealogist job that much harder.

There are all kinds of love affairs

2008-02-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

My love affair with genealogy has been an off and on thing. Not that I ever give up on it. But sometimes I get so exhausted that I have to take a long vacation from it. I was in the middle of a long, long break when a new-found cousin wrote me last year and now the affair is back on.

With some distance from my last stint, I've been going over notes and details with a different perspective. It's exciting because I am seeing things I overlooked before. For example, with my fresh outlook a new theory is evolving about my great-great-great grandmother. We have been trying forever to figure out who she was. All we have to go by is the name Amy and that she may have been related to the Winstons. That's it. She disappears from our story immediately after the Civil War. We assumed she died.

Solomon had at least six children by her. The oldest daughter was Mosella born around 1849. The youngest son was Mose born around 1865. It struck me that both children were obviously named after Mose. Could Mose be a real person and important to the family in some way?

On the 1870 Tennessee census there is a Moses and Amy Nunn living next door to Mosella. Two doors down is Solomon with his wife Cherry and a centenarian named Ann Nunn. Is this just a coincidence?

All ex-slaves did not stay together as a family after emancipation. Some families were forced during slavery, only cohabitating together because the the slave master wanted them to reproduce. Some had two families having been sold away to other farms. Once they were free, some went looking for those family members they had been separated from during slavery. Some went looking for separated loves too. Could this be the case in my family?

Right now, I am surfing message boards to see if anyone knows about Mose or Amy Nunn. I am also going to go back and ask older relatives if they ever heard about the possibility of this. It is during times like this, I wish my aunt Adrene was alive so we could figure this out together.

This will not be a popular theory. It would mean Amy gave up her younger children voluntarily. It will also be a very difficult theory to prove. Ah, a challenge.

Genealogy and the Internet

2008-02-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

The internet is a great resource for information but it does not replace the hard work of hands on research. The databases are limited to the information which has been inputted. Also, the passion (obsession) that you have in discovering your family drives you to look past misspelled words, illegible handwriting names and seemingly inconsequential details.

For example, I am constantly disappointed with www.ancestry.com. I have searched unsuccessfully for names in their database which I found on my own at archives and libraries. The handwriting seems to throw the site. Dobson is seen as Dadson. Napoleon becomes Nopson. Warren is recorded as Worn. It is a plus that you can view the actual census pages on ancestry.com but you can't rely on the site to find the names.

To get around that go to www.familysearch.org. It is the free web site of the Family History Library's database, a project of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). The entire 1880 census of the United States is available there. What make this so great is that the names you search don't have to be spelled correctly in order to find them. Once you find an individual, there is a link to a corresponding census page at ancestry.com. The only hitch is that you must be a paid subscriber of ancestry. com to view the page.

The most helpful site online for me has been the Tennessee site on the www.usgenweb.org page. The website is free unlike ancestry.com and manned by dedicated volunteers. Unfortunately, all states are not equal. The Tennessee site is so superior to the Mississippi page, the two pages I visit the most. Natalie Huntley has done a superb job for the counties of Dyer, Crockett, Gibson, and Haywood as coordinator even though she lives in Illinois. I recommend the site to anyone looking for data in those counties of Tennessee.

Aside from databases, the most valuable commodity of the internet in genealogy research is the connecting of like-minded individuals. Some of these people have been relatives I would never have met otherwise, distant in miles as well as on my family tree. Finding and communicating with these living cousins has been as exciting as finding obscure ancestors. And it would never have happened without the internet.

Genealogy's Brick Wall

2008-02-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

I forget sometimes that not everyone knows about the brick walls Black Americans run into while researching their family tree. I've been doing this for so long that I assume that it is common knowledge that the 1870 census is the first census that list Black Americans by name. Before then, if Black citizens were not free, they were just a number, an age and a gender on the census.

Another brick wall we face is the surname. After emancipation, Black Americans could pick the surname they wanted. Statistically, only 15% kept the name of the slave owner. The other 85% selected names for various reasons. Sometimes names were tried on to see if they fit and then were discarded willy nilly.

Right now I am trying to figure out why my great-great grandfather Napoleon chose the surname Cotten. On the 1870 Mississippi census his family's surname was Anderson. I can't even find him on the 1880 census. On the 1900 census he is now a Cotten. His oldest son is living next door to a White Cotten. They both list their occupation as merchants which I thought had to be more that a coincidence. However, I haven't been able to discern what the importance of them being neighbors is. To make things more curious, Napoleon's brother is using the surname Cain on the 1900 census. Just another mystery to unravel.

I wrote to Sandra Craighead, a Mississippi plantation expert, after a disappointing trip to the Mississippi State Archives. At that time I still thought my ancestors were slaves from a Cotten plantation. Craighead dispelled that notion. With very little oral history to go on, I don't know which documents to look for to tell me what I need to know.

Hitting your head against these brick walls produce lots of frustration and headaches.

African American Lives 2

2008-01-30T07:24:00.000-08:00

Between February 6th and 13th, PBS will air "African American Lives 2," a new four-part series that explores roots, race and identity through the ancestry of a dozen Black celebrities. This is a sequel to the previous series that traced the family lines of such persons as Oprah Winfrey, Chris Tucker, Quincy Jones and Whoopi Goldberg. This time around the celebrities include Chris Rock, Morgan Freeman, Tom Joyner and Tina Turner. It is worth a look.

I must admit to being extremely envious and jealous of this show. I watched some excerpts on www.theroot.com and marveled at the extent of the research. The average person does not have the kind of time and money it takes to uncover the manner of documents represented in the show. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., who is also the web page Editor-In-Chief and host of the documentary, was able to acquire grants from several sources which definitely made the research possible.

I know most inquisitive people hire genealogists but I want to be the one to find the data. The hunt is as important to me as the discovery of the trail. The tedium does not bother me and believe me, sometimes looking at all the microfilm and searching through library stacks could be very tedious. But when you find that end of a piece of thread that leads to more and more information and the mystery begins to unravel, there is such a thrill. I guess that's why I am hooked on genealogy research. I just need more money and time to feed my habit.

Discovery

2008-01-29T06:23:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I chose the caption of this blog is because genealogy is about finding lost relatives. Then I think about the old Flip Wilson joke about Christopher Columbus discovering America. He may have discovered it for himself but there were people living in America that didn't think they needed discovering. They weren't lost.

While surfing the web for information on African-American genealogy, one name kept popping up. When I started searching for information on the Koonce family, this name popped up again. I had to check it out then.

Taneya's Genealogy Blog is full of useful information. She's a librarian so that explains her thoroughness. I don't know if we're actually related. Her father was William Koonce and there is a connection to the Koonces from North Carolina. I'm just glad to find a fellow genealogy hobbyist. We made actual contact and I hope it is the beginning of more communication and discoveries.

Looking for the Paper Trails of Slavery

2008-01-27T07:15:00.000-08:00

I went through the material my aunt had gathered during her research. She shared much of the information verbally with me but not the documents. Unfortunately, she passed away four years ago due to complications from diabetes. I claimed her documents since she always promised them to me.

One thing that she never found during all her hard work was a paper trail about Solomon Koonce while he was a slave. There is a lot of oral history. He was supposedly sold at 19 to Isaac Koonce, a farmer in Haywood County, Tennessee. We do have anecdote about Isaac's brother-in-law David Nunn buying or receiving slaves for unpaid debts in North Carolina and transporting them to Tennessee. My aunt Adrene believed that Solomon was one of those slaves.

I am more of the mind that Solomon was inherited or sold after being inherited. Of course, I have no proof. It's just a hunch. We're not sure when he was born. The sources purport his birth to be anywhere from 1822 to 1828. The year 1828 is when Nunn and Isaac came to Tennessee from North Carolina so they probably didn't bring him during the move. If he was born in 1822, he would have been 19 around 1841. Between 1841 and 1842, an aunt of Nunn died. She didn't have any children so her property went to her nieces and nephew. Some of her property were human and she was from North Carolina. I'm going to follow this trail and see if I can find documents with names or at least ages that coincide with Solomon.

Surnames I Am Researching

2008-01-26T05:04:00.000-08:00

I am descended from Solomon Koonce who was born around 1822 in North Carolina. He was a slave on a farm in Haywood and Crockett County, Tennessee. I am also descended from Napoleon Cotten. He was born in Mississippi around 1857 and lived in Amite and Pike, County. His mother was Winnie Dear. Napoleon married Mary Saunders of Mississippi. My grandmother Lula Alexander is a descendant of John and Catherine Alexander of Lincoln and Pike County, Mississippi.

I have not been able to go back farther on the Black side. Other names are Warren, Featherston, Brassfield, Roberts in Dyer, Hawyood, Gibson, and Crockett, Tennessee and Wallace of Mississippi.

For more information, you can email me or follow the link below to "Say My Name."

Slaves in the Family

2008-01-26T04:42:00.000-08:00

After writing my first family history, "Say My Name," I was exhilarated and exhausted. I edited it, abridged it, added to it, but then put it aside. Lately, I've been wanting to go back to it. For me it's a skeleton. The story needs flesh and blood. I want the ghosts to speak.

For inspiration I went back to a book I bought many years ago. "Slaves in the Family," by Edward Ball was published 1998. I read bits and pieces of it while I was doing my own research. It was a unique perspective of a descendant of slave owners. As I reread the beginning, it struck me. One reason Black Americans are having so much trouble finding more genealogical data is because the research needs to be done in conjunction with our White ancestors. They have the names and the documents, if they still exist.

I have communicated with a relative of Solomon Koonce's slave owner. He was the nicest man and also a genealogy hobbyist. I also emailed a relative of Charles Featherston. She never knew of the family that claimed him as father. Both persons were very receptive. I know all White relatives won't be helpful. I did receive a racist email while I was looking for more information about Winnie Dear.

I have also talked with many Black Americans who deny their White heritage. On a similar vein, I had a discussion recently with a co-worker who thought birth data should be kept secret from adopted children. She believes there are things in the dark that should remain in the dark.

I disagree. The truth may sometimes be ugly but I feel it should be uncovered. The truth is the light. The dark breeds shadows, lies and ugliness. The trick is to stare into the light without flinching. I'm about the light.

In the Beginning

2008-01-25T06:58:00.001-08:00

This is the first of many blogs (I hope) about my journey to discover ancestors. I have been on this journey for over ten years. I have travelled all over the country, visiting archives, relatives, libraries, in an effort to learn as much as I can.

I'm just plain nosy. That's what my family think. However, I argue that inquisitiveness is a by-product of critical thinking. I want to know the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, the mundane, the extraordinary of all my people. Besides, I truly believe that everybody has a story. To tell the story is to breath life into a memory. It is archaeology on a small but no less important scale.

I have already written my family history but a family history is always a work in progress. There is so much more I want to learn and transcribe.

So what?

The answer to that is perhaps as I learn and write about my family, it may help others who are interested in doing the same. It may shed a tiny glimmer on the human condition because a major portion of my ancestors were slaves and those who slept with slaves.