Tag: Genealogy

Countdown to RootsTech 2025!

Published on by CheriLeave a comment

Editor’s Note: At this time, only a limited number of details about the conference have been released and as the conference gets closer, new exciting details will emerge. Be checking back with this post to learn more as we get more information!

As we head into the holiday season, it’s a great time to be looking ahead to 2025 – and RootsTech is one of those big events on the horizon that’s only about three months away! For 2025, the event is slightly later in the year – March 6-8 – in the same location – Salt Lake City, Utah – inside the Salt Palace Convention Center.

Once again, I’ll be seeing you in person – covering the conference for this site and the BloodRoot Podcast- but also as a speaker once again. One of my brand new sessions will be available on the website, going live during the conference dates. Be looking for The Revolutionary War Pension Papers of the Vrooman Family. This class will provide an in-depth examination of one family’s journey through the pension application process – from the veteran, to the widow, to their adult children. Once the session goes live, I will add the link to this post.

New for December: The names of four of the keynote speakers were just released! Ndaba Mandela, Dana Tanamachi, Tara Davis-Woodhall, and Hunter Woodhall.

According to the Press Release:

Ndaba Mandela, a renowned speaker, author, and social activist, grew up in South Africa. His grandfather, Nelson Mandela, was a prominent politician and public influence, spending 27 years in prison for his activism against Apartheid. When he was released, he invited Ndaba to live with him. While living with his grandfather, Ndaba was taught many lessons that inspired him to become a happy and effective global citizen. He attributes many of his teachings to his grandfather. Ndaba Mandela’s virtual keynote message will be available to watch at RootsTech.org starting Thursday, March 6.

Dana Tanamachi is a world-renowned artist, well-known for her 3 story mural at Starbucks inside New York City’s Empire State Building, as well as many other projects, including features on the covers of O Magazineand Time Magazine,and her art on the US postal stamp. Dana is coming to Rootstech to share her own family story and its influence on her journey of becoming the artist she is now. Listen in online or watch in-person on Friday, March 7.

Olympic Gold medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall and husband, Paralympic Gold-Medalist Hunter Woodhall, met at a high-school track meet in Pocatello, Idaho, in 2017. They were married 5 years later. They both competed for Division I universities on their respective journeys to the Olympics, Tara at the University of Georgia, then the University of Texas, and Hunter for the University of Arkansas. Their journeys and relationship have captured the attention and hearts of fans all across the globe. They will share their incredible relationship and story with RootsTech on Saturday, March 8, available to watch in person or online.

What Is RootsTech?

RootsTech is a place to learn, be inspired, and make connections through family history. Hosted by FamilySearch and sponsored by other leading genealogy organizations, we have hundreds of expert classes, tips and tricks videos, and inspiring stories that can help you experience family history like never before. Visit our on-demand learning library, or make plans to join us for our next virtual or in-person conference event.

Disclaimer: I am an official media representative of the RootsTech Conference.

The Plot Twists of Nellie Cox

Published on by Cheri
Nellie Isabelle Cox Beyersdoerfer

Last year, at my mother’s funeral, my cousin Jana called me over to her car to present me with a small collection of family things that had belonged to her mother, Ada – who had passed away back in 2009. Some of these items had been made by Ada for our family – beautiful quilts for me and my mother – but other items had been gifted to her or inherited by her long ago. Two small boxes had formerly belonged to Ada’s mother, my great grandmother, Nellie Cox Beyersdoerfer, of Pendleton County, Kentucky.

The contents of the boxes were rather undynamic – mostly newspaper clippings, notes, and small cards with envelopes. But two things stood out that enabled me to expound more on Nellie’s story.

The first item that made me pause was a teaching certificate she obtained in 1910. In the stories my mother had told me about Nellie – or “Ma” as we all called her – she mentioned that Ma had wanted to be a schoolteacher. But in the early part of the 20th century, that was not an easy choice for a single girl. Right out of the gate, her father had already vetoed the idea. He flat out forbade her from becoming a teacher. I suspect one reason for this denial was the lifelong commitment necessary for such a choice. At that time, teachers were not allowed to be married – and had to remain single. My guess is that he knew this choice would not provide the financial and social stability necessary to live on and would result in a very lonely existence. Plus, she was one of the two remaining children he had, and I’m sure they wanted grandchildren.

As far as I knew from the stories, Nellie never made it to becoming a teacher. She met my handsome great grandfather, John Beyersdoerfer, with his dark wavy hair and she was a goner. They eloped to Newport, and the rest was history – hence, our line’s very existence. But this document adds a plot twist for Nellie. She not only went against her father’s wishes, but she did so in a grand and determined manner. She went after her certification – and was successful! This meant testing her way to the piece of paper I held in my hands – a tangible expression of female rebellion! Go, Nellie!

My only remaining mystery is the timing of the certificate. This was issued five years before she married “Pa” – and folks didn’t have long engagements in my neck of the woods. So, what did she do with this certificate for five years? Did her father find out about it and then succeeded in preventing her from teaching? Or did she go teach for a while? She is now on my to-do research list for the surrounding counties to see if I can find any mention of her as a teacher in the local rural schoolhouses of the time. That’s not going to be a super easy task, but I owe her that much – so I’m officially on the hunt – stay tuned.

One other discovery in the boxes provided a secondary potential plot twist for Nellie. Or should I say, an additional clue to a plot twist I already knew about.

Nellie’s line stretches very far back into Kentucky. It’s her 2nd great grandmother’s birth in the Commonwealth that makes me an 8th generation Kentuckian. But it’s also that grandmother who (I believe) accounts for our one percent of African DNA that showed up in my test results. For those of you rolling your eyes at holding any value for a one percent result, I really hadn’t credited it either until I discovered documentary evidence that pointed me to a certain ancestor. I uncovered evidence that her family was legally known to be mixed-race – and with this remaining piece of paper, another puzzle piece may have fallen into my lap.

Ironically, I had seen this piece of paper before in my great aunt’s things and made a photocopy of it decades ago – simply because I thought it was neat. At my current stage of family research, this item now holds much more significance.

The paper itself is notebook lined, but very old – for context, lined paper was invented as early as the 1770s. It is very dirty and worn – not quite falling apart at the seams, but very nearly. The writing is in ink – appears to be iron gall, which was in use from the 5th century to the early 20th century. For an added element of context, my great grandmother was born in 1891.

Upon this very worn piece of paper is written the lyrics to the song, Darling Nelly Gray. While that is a fun coincidence, a song with Nellie’s name – further research into the origins of this song gave me pause.

This song, written by Benjamin Russell Hanby in 1856, told the story of an enslaved man in Kentucky, whose sweetheart was just sold south, never to be seen again.[i] Hanby wrote the lyrics while he was in Ohio – and very much a part of the Abolitionist movement. Its favorable reception in the region led to it being added to the arsenal of nationally popular music to sway public opinion. It was also said that the Hanby family was involved in the Underground Railroad – and the background story for the song came from an escaped slave.

All fiction aside, the theme is steeped in well-known facts for the Ohio River Valley. Without revealing my 2nd great grandmother’s full identity, she came from a family who settled within a known free community of color in Northern Kentucky. This region had been rather liberal in their treatment of different races – up until things got socially worse. By the 1830s, instead of embracing the abolitionist movement across the river, the local factions became hostile towards these opposing viewpoints. So much so that many families relocated out of the area to not only better align with their belief systems, but to remain safe. Just ask John G. Fee what life in Northern Kentucky was like in the 1830s.[ii]

By the late 1830s, my 2nd great grandmother moved across the river, into Ohio, to live with one of her sons who had already settled there with his wife and children. Her other son stayed in Kentucky with their father, and our branch descends from him. Was this move due to illness or changes in local attitudes?

The written song lyrics discovered in my great aunt’s belongings are not entirely unique for the area simply because this song became popular among minstrel and vaudeville troupes well after the Civil War – into the early part of the 20th century – including an evolution into “blackface” performances.[iii] Plus, with the story taking place in Kentucky, I’m sure there was a bit of fondness for a geographically relatable topic.

But knowing our family history and seeing the worn nature of this written note – which appears to pre-date Nellie’s birth – I can’t help but look upon it as a potentially important piece of family history. The social type of family history – the pieces that weren’t supposed to survive, and yet did. While my great grandmother was excellent at keeping the family photos in a safe place, she had very little written items that got passed down. But somehow, this old, worn little piece of paper, containing the lyrics of a well-known abolitionist tune survived. Was this simply a cultural inspiration for her name choice? Was this something sung to her in her youth by a sweetheart? Was this something passed down through her mother’s family that led back to a generation when the shade of their skin was problematic? Meh – maybe it’s just a coincidence?

 

 

 

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[i] “Darling Nellie Gray (song),” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed July 31, 2024, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/2596.

[ii] “Fee, John Gregg,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed July 31, 2024, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/300004113.

[iii] “Darling Nelly Gray,” Voices Across Time Database, University of Pittsburgh Library System, accessed July 31, 2024, https://voices.pitt.edu/TeachersGuide/Unit%203/DarlingNellyGray.htm.

Gearing Up for RootsTech 2024!

Published on by Cheri

I apologize for this message being so late since the RootsTech Family History Conference is now breathing down our necks – less than two months away! Unfortunately, during much of the RootsTech planning and announcements, my mother fell ill and passed away this fall. Naturally, RootsTech was the last thing I was thinking about with the grief swirling throughout the Holidays, etc.

As we close out another crazy year, with all of the losses and difficult chapters we’ve lived through, once again – happiness can only gradually return by focusing on the future with hope of better days. For my family, RootsTech will always be a steadfast marker of “better days”. Regardless of the bad times we’ve endured, that genealogy week in the winter always provides a light of fun and learning that inspires us to push forward with the purpose we were gifted as the family historians.

That precious purpose and the limited time in which we have to fulfil it is the main theme of RootsTech 2024: Remember. Over the years, I have written about the shift of RootsTech from a genealogy technology conference to that of story telling and education – with a little dash of technology mixed in. However, with the new AI, DNA, and other tech tools swiftly impacting the genealogy field – I feel like RootsTech is coming full circle. The genie tech is rising, but largely in the areas of aiding in the capturing and preserving of family stories. This is a most exciting time to be in the genealogy field – and even more so at RootsTech (once again – both at home and in person)!

Let’s get to some brass tacks about what is happening for RootsTech 2024 (February 29 – March 2):

  1. This list will NOT be comprehensive because the RootsTech Team will be releasing new information as we get closer to the event – some big announcements coming in January!
  2. Theme: Remember – is focused on telling our stories – down the ancestral lines, and in our own backyard. Capturing our stories is tantamount to beginning our genealogy journey and bringing the ancestors back to life through new tools that will help us share those stories in dynamic ways!
  3. First keynote has been announced and the selection is spot on for reminding us about the journey and the larger connections of genealogy to history: Lynne M. Jackson – the great great granddaughter of Dred and Harriet Scott – from the famous U.S. Court case of 1857 that pushed the subject of slavery to the boiling point in the final years prior to the Civil War. Jackson will be sharing her family’s legacy and how their place in history impacts her today.
  4. So far, the class lineup is amazing with 250+ sessions only available in-person in SLC with another 200 sessions available online for FREE! Registration is already open, so grab your seat! Pretty customary for the world’s largest family history/genealogy conference!
  5. Yes – I am super honored to be presenting again at RootsTech! Both sessions are in-person in SLC: My 2023 workshop – Picture It: Photo Identification and Preservation – is BACK by popular demand – one last time in the Salt Palace! I also have a NEW session coming in 2024: Hiding Behind the Liberty Tree – Finding Patriots Among Underrepresented Groups.
  6. Also, yes – Once again, I am a member of the official RootsTech Media Team – so you can keep watch on my social media accounts to get some of the latest announcements as they are released – Another keynote will be announced in the next couple of weeks and your ability to schedule your classes should be arriving in a little over a week. Rapid fire announcements coming soon!

As I mentioned earlier, the theme (Remember) is going to hit us all hard with the feels – here are a couple of links to the promo videos being released – including a new theme song about Running Out of Time:

And in honor of my mother – who loved RootsTech, I produced a small slide show to remind everyone that RootsTech is a GREAT way to build family memories!

Thanks, all! Hope to see you there!

 

GSI: Genealogy Solves It – DNA Mystery Event

Published on by Cheri

One little detail that I left out of my previous post was a very special RootsTech Eve event: GSI – Genealogy Solves It – DNA Mystery Dinner! This brand-new DNA/genealogy based murder mystery dinner was created by authors and DNA chums, Nathan Dylan Goodwin and Diahan Southard. These two are well known genie celebrities – you may have read one of their books, or attended a class given by either. Regardless, I’m sure you’ve heard their names over the years.

Just in case you haven’t a clue who I’m talking about…. With DNA as the foundation of their work (and careers) – Nathan writes genealogy/DNA murder mystery fiction books – Diahan writes and teaches about DNA and genealogy – the pair decided to create a unique experience that not only educated but greatly entertained their audience!

R-L: Author Nathan Dylan Goodwin, Robert Bristow
Author Diahan Southard signing one of her books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sealed evidence bag – they warned us not to open them until the proper time – “we’ll know if you tamper with them!”

In review, I can honestly say I was a tad jolted at the attendance price tag when one of my friends excitedly sent me the announcement. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $150. However, here’s what we got for that price – personally signed copies of both of their current titles: Your DNA Guide and The Sawtooth Slayer (a $50 value). Attendees also received a lovely dinner with dessert. A goodie swag bag (embellished with gold glittery event acronym on the side) was also provided that included the case workbook, a mechanical pencil, a 60% off coupon from MyHeritage, and a sealed evidence bag with tons of little clues to help solve the case. (Really loved the sealed evidence bag – nice touch!) In other words – all of this fit very nicely into that price tag.

Then, for the next four hours, each attendee had to work on solving the case – with their fellow team members at the table. If you just groaned at the thought of four hours – I am delighted to report, it passed very quickly because we were all having so much fun! I really had my doubts about their ability to create an event that could entertain and educate without overwhelming us with DNA fundamentals. But the details that went into the creation of this event made it a delight from start to finish.

Can you see that our table got just as messy as if we were trying to solve a real case? Proof we were really into it!

I’m going to concentrate on the details for a second – without revealing the nuts and bolts of their event. The hosts were all dressed in steampunk inspired costumes. The workbook was professionally printed on very high quality paper with gradual lessons that utilized the clues encountered along the way. There were fun moments when we had to roam about the room and ask for other clues, which got us up out of our seats. There were special celebrity genie guest appearances in the form of videos that took on character identities from the Sawtooth Slayer – including a surprise guest in the room (Shhhh – Rich Venezia!) and surprise video from CeCe Moore congratulating us on our work!

Where’s Rich Venezia? Do you see him in the crowd?
Surprise! It’s CeCe Moore!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we got to open the sealed evidence bag, the red viewer and sealed envelopes for phased openings kept us all busy and in hot pursuit of the killer. What a feat they pulled off! To keep a large group of seasoned genealogists laughing, entertained, and engaged for four hours is nothing short of a miracle. I don’t think I spotted one bored person in the room. Oh – and BTW – I was one of the winners of a year’s subscription to the full MyHeritage site! That was a fun little nugget of adventure as we looked for gold stickers on our chairs.

Top Secret – Some of the tools and clue packets inside the evidence bag.
GSI Swag Bag

This was such an epic night – and I am comfortable declaring it a rousing success! The word on the street is that they intend to create more of these events in the future – and perhaps – even some virtually! My advice to them on a virtual model – make sure the cost includes shipping everyone the swag, evidence bag and clue packets – these demonstrate the time and effort that went into making this event – plus, it’s a fun, tactile, way to get your hands dirty in the genealogy and DNA!

Be watching their websites to catch future events – you don’t want to miss out on this unique genealogy/DNA experience! BTW, as a post script – Nathan put out a link to gauge interest in future events (both in-person and virtually) – please visit his site to express your support!

RootsTech Connect is Here!

Published on by Cheri

As most of you know, the RootsTech Conference has been transformed into a FREE virtual world-wide event for 2021 – Called RootsTech Connect! This new experience just went live today, so, what can you expect? Many of the same exciting elements we are used to during the on-site event, such as great sessions, inspiring keynote speakers, an expo hall, and making connections with your fellow attendees. It’s just a remote experience, with the world audience in mind – speakers from many countries with sessions in many languages! And while we will most definitely miss the hugs, library research, vendor talks, catching up, and great food, this is the next best thing.

Here are a few things to note:

As of the conference launch, there have been over 500,000 registrations from around the world!

But if you did not register – have no fear – you can still experience the full conference even without registering! Simply head over to the main website and enjoy the many videos at your fingertips. If you would like to develop your own playlist for the coming year, and communicate with speakers, friends, and vendors, just create a free FamilySearch.org account to connect you to the fun!

Also, there is NO schedule for the regular sessions – these have all been pre-recorded and placed online for you to consume at your leisure. Think GenFlix for us genealogy junkies! The keynote sessions are scheduled, there on the main page – but if you miss one, they are recorded for you to enjoy later.

While you’re enjoying this new experience, please stop in to view the four sessions I have in the video docket:

471123 – Beyond the FAN Approach: Inclusive Research Strategies

471127 – Airtable: Organizing Your Research with a Relational Database

471179 – Practical Preservation Demonstration

471215 – Successful Remote Research Strategies

Officials have reported that 80% of those registered are first time RootsTech attendees. For those new to the RootsTech experience – or for those missing the in-person fun, I have a created a special episode of the BloodRoot podcast devoted to RootsTech Connect! I’ve had a few friends drop by to share their favorite memories from the past, and tell us what excites them about this new format for 2021. (Linda Colston, Cynthia Maharrey, Miles Meyer, Tami Osmer Mize, Elizabeth O’Neal)

 

But first things first: For the next three days, you should focus your attentions on CONNECTING to your fellow attendees, experts, and vendors. Those connection features will disappear at the end of the conference this February, so prioritize your experience, and get connecting! Beyond the huge list of sessions available for the next year, I hope and suspect that the connections will remain strong, even through this virtual format. Please prioritize your experience – seek out the speakers, vendors, groups, panels, and friends you want to connect with – for this portion of the event is time sensitive. Once the conference is over, you’ll have to find ways to reach out on your own, or just settle for binge watching the sessions. I mean, we’re going to do that anyway, but do not let this connection opportunity pass you by!

This time last year, many of us were happily traipsing around the Salt Palace in downtown Salt Lake City – wallowing in genealogy bliss – oblivious to the approaching Pandemic storm. Those memories will always be very poignant as the years progress, because as soon as we all got home, the world shut down. And indeed, I believe our world changed forever in many ways. One of the largest changes to hit was the inability to travel or gather in large groups. Effectively removing the on-site conference experience.

After such a difficult year for the world, this new experience is a sign that our genealogy world will never be the same. As officials have said, in the future, RootsTech will always have a much more robust virtual experience – regardless of whether we can attend in person or not. This is wonderful news – especially for the world-wide community that we are now connecting with in 2021. For all of the first time attendees out there, welcome to the RootsTech family! If you want to connect with me during the conference – visit the chat rooms for my individual sessions – or give me a shout out via my social media channels!

These are exciting days for the genealogy/family history community! Enjoy it to the fullest!

 

Introducing: The BloodRoot Podcast

Published on by Cheri

Well everyone, I can finally announce the release of a project I’ve been working on for much of this Pandemic – The BloodRoot Podcast. Even though live since August – it has now been shared across multiple platforms and can be accessed via most of your favorite listening tools!

In fact, I’ve been working on this for most of the pandemic. Being trapped in my home for months on end got me to thinking about new ways to stretch my creativity. And as usual, creativity is always tied to the past for me. After exploring the options and doing a lot of logistical homework, I have embarked on what will hopefully be a fun experiment in storytelling and family history healing. My goal is to provide a listening experience that takes listeners through a family story or challenge slowly – in a way that makes them think along the way.

With each new episode I hope to empower listeners to explore the deep roots of their family history by preserving stories, advocating truth, restoring context, and fostering healing. Who we are is a fundamental question that often inspires genealogists to begin their journey. The search for our roots is deep seated in our blood and DNA, and yet it’s all more complicated than those two simple concepts. In fact, our humanity makes everything more complicated – which begs the question, why would our history be any different?

Civil War Letters from Episode 2.

So settle in, grab a cuppa, and prepare to be inspired by our ancestors and their life journeys.

Not the sterilized versions we’ve come to know – but the real stories, rooted in real people with real challenges and flaws. By celebrating our ancestors within their human complexity, we learn so much more about ourselves, what it means to be family, and how we are all connected to one another.

Since August, I have been slowly publishing episodes, with a total of four available at the present time – on most of your favorite podcast listening platforms. My current rate is only about once a month as I explore the possibilities of this new outlet. The episode guide can be found on the “BloodRoot” page of this website – and may contain some supplemental information if the episode warrants.

If you have a story that you’d like to share with the listeners, or a topic you’d like to see covered, you can send me an email, message me through my various social media platforms, or leave me a voice message through the Anchor app. If you leave a message, I may include it on a future episode!

Join me as we uncover the BloodRoot of our family history!

Genealogy Book of the Day

Published on by Cheri2 Comments
Bibliophile in the making: Reading Wuthering Heights on the back of my Grandpa’s pick-up = goofing off for an AP English assignment back in High School.

As you can probably tell, I’m addicted to books, and have been all of my life. Yes, I do take advantage of e-book offerings from my public library, as well as request e-journal articles via Interlibrary Loan – but I still enjoy the feel of picking up a book. And yet, with the shift to online databases and digitization, I sometimes have to remind my staff and patrons that the books on our shelves contain many things not found online. Here are just a few features that a genealogist may find useful:

  • Family and local histories that were only published in very small runs – sometimes, only a few of these titles exist worldwide – but still firmly under copyright protection.
  • Land record/plat studies – again, usually only published in short runs, but amazing work that can help you map out your ancestor’s land.
  • Personal memoirs – either for one person, or a collection of local memories – again, usually published in a small run, and still under copyright.
  • Record transcription collections – so, why not go look at the original? The original may no longer exist due to disaster, or illegible writing/ink.
  • Subject bibliographies – these collections can help with identifying extant records and repositories.
  • Atlases – getting a birds-eye view of migration routes or the local community of your focus.

Stalking Genealogists:

Print resources in the Kentucky Historical Society Library

I have a confession to make – I recognize the seasoned genealogists who come into my library on a regular basis – and I stalk the resources they use. These are not the genealogists that run to Ancestry the moment they settle in for research – nope – they usually grab a cart and load up on books. Regardless of the fact that I have been researching genealogy for decades, I believe it is vital to maintain a learning spirit. Understanding that as we follow different research paths with each new project, we continue to develop our skills with each new resource we use. We could all research for millennia and not fully know about all of the resources out there. But by examining the pile of books these genealogists are using, I have been introduced to wonderful resources that I may have never discovered without a bit of genealogist stalking. And this is a lesson I often give my staff – When you are back in the stacks reshelving, pay attention to what you are putting away. Is this something that could be useful to your research in the future? Is this something that may be useful to another patron who asks for this type of information? We are fortunate to be surrounded by so many wonderful resources, and even shelving should be an act of learning.

Information Seeking Behavior:

Book Scanning Station at RootsTech 2019 – hosted by Family Search

How we seek information is vitally important to our rate of research success. After all, even the GPS requires a “reasonably exhaustive search” when formulating a genealogical conclusion. And just to be clear, a reasonably exhaustive search cannot be completed online only. Some of you may argue that there are enough primary sources in digital format that removes the need to seek anything further. Well, someday, that may be true, but statistically, in 2019, that’s just not feasible. While digitization has multiplied electronic resources at an enormous rate, there are still billions of records that have not been digitized, nor will they be in the near future. And I’m not even including archival collections in that number. The staff numbers alone will not support digitizing complete archival collections – at least not in our lifetime, unless resource and technology catch up to the weight of the task. Also, don’t forget that copyright will always be an obstacle to digitization unless strict access standards are applied. And by ignoring these digitization limitation facts, your information seeking behavior will fall flat in the success department.

Genealogy Book of the Day:

Share those books that make your genealogy glitter sparkle!

Calling all bibliophile genealogists! As we post our favorite family photos, recipes, ephemera – we rarely post about our favorite genealogy books. Of course, “favorite” is a misleading word. It would be better to say “favorite at the moment”. Because the project we are currently focused on guides our research path – often introducing us to new or forgotten research gems. So…be watching my social media feeds (Twitter/Instagram) for those moments when I discover a great genealogy or history book worthy of sharing. I will use the hashtag #genealogybookoftheday or #historybookoftheday to alert followers to a new discovery, or rediscovered favorite. Feel free to join along as this is not a daily prompt, so you don’t need to feel any pressure about scrambling to find a book each day. But think about your favorites and share them periodically to remind us all about the wonderful print resources available. As you post, just explain why this is your current favorite, and what you learned by using this resource. What is it about this book that makes your genealogy glitter sparkle?

Drumroll, Please!

Just kidding – my first selection will appear in about 24 hours.
Until then, start showing your #genealogybookoftheday love!

RootsTech 2019 Review

Published on by Cheri

Psssst….RootsTech is back, Y’all…in a BIG way – so spread the word! Not that it was ever really gone – but the bad reports from last year had me worried. Despite my inclination to be a wordy blogger – I must admit I am almost speechless where RootsTech 2019 is concerned. This year’s conference surpassed my grandest expectations – and I can safely declare that this was (by far) the best one I’ve experienced yet.

To be clear, there was never a point when I could not get into a class, nor felt overwhelmed by crowds, nor had to stand in line for anything – except at the concession stand for lunch one day – which is to be expected, and even that was only about 10 minutes. The attendance totals have been in for about a week, and the general conference numbers hit over the 15,000 mark (with over 23K for Family Day) – signaling a rousing success, as usual.

For those of you who did not get to attend this year, here are a few changes that I think made a significant impact:

    1. Conference badges by mail: This meant many of us walked into the Salt Palace ready to hit sessions, instead of standing in line to pick up packets. Lanyards, badge cases, and conference bags were in multiple places throughout the Palace, making pick-up a breeze.
    2. Spreading out – By placing check-in over on the far side of the Salt Palace, along with a few of the sessions, there was more breathing room. Heading over in that area brought back memories from the early years when RootsTech was only on the north side of the Palace. Look how far it has grown!
    3. No badge scanning, except for lunches and labs. No session lines, and no one chased you out if your next session was in the same room.
    4. Opening sessions at 11am – Some folks grumbled about this, but not me – I loved this change! This allowed folks to wonder over there to find a seat in their own good time – instead of everyone running over to find a seat first thing in the morning. I am not a morning person, and getting to the 8am sessions is hard enough – but with a half hour to get over there after the earlier morning sessions, I didn’t feel rushed. Besides, once the lights go dark and you’re enjoying the festivities, you have no idea what time it is. Plus, after the program is over, folks are in a festive mood, and enjoy talking with each other – they can go to lunch, hit the exhibit hall, engage with fellow attendees, or plan for the afternoon sessions – instead of rushing off to the next session. This change also means the livestream opening sessions were hitting the central/eastern time zones around lunch time – making contiguous enjoyment (and social media engagement) more possible.
    5. Easy to identify, helpful staff – perfect number ratio of helpers to attendees. If I needed help, they were always just a few steps away – and very attentive.
    6. Great signage! Vertical and horizontal signage everywhere – even under your feet!

Highlights:

One of RootsTech’s greatest strengths has been the electric atmosphere of inspiration that builds each year and leaves you with the impression that you serve a great purpose – and that with the right knowledge, skills, and tools, you can achieve your genealogy goals. Obviously, the inspirational opening sessions always provide highlights, and become some of the best memories of the conference. And the sessions are amazing! But here are a few others:

The Find Relatives at RootsTech Game – If you had ever entered even a small amount of generational information in the Family Search Family Tree, you were connected to the cousin three ring circus. But what a hoot it was! As the conference grew, there were over 9,000 people participating, and I matched as a cousin to over 2,500 of them – including David Rencher and Crista Cowan! One of the funniest moments was when I connected to a local Kentucky genealogist whom I’ve known for years, and live within 10 miles of, and who comes to RootsTech every year – Here we are – our cousin selfie! :

Me and my Kentucky “Cousin”, Tom Beatty!

The SLVGS Board trying to wrangle new members at the Unconferencing Table – It was so much fun to work with these dedicated folks whom I’ve only met previously as virtual avatars. We connected with several potential new members at the Unconferencing area.:

SLVGS Board Members: President, Miles Meyer, Vice President, Sue Taylor, and Secretary, Cheri Daniels.

Giving My Presentation on Consumable Genealogy – Such a great engaged crowd – they seemed to really have fun with the examples of packaging genealogy bites into consumable portions for print or social media. My largest crowd ever, at about 400 – and the tech staff/room monitors were wonderful. This was my second time speaking at RootsTech, and it was a fantastic experience, as usual!:

The Discovery Zone Heritage Toys (Also in the library) – These toys were also active if you participate in the Family Search Family Tree – I felt like a kid again with all of these cool discovery tools. Sometimes, it’s very revealing to step back and look at your family data to see the worldwide connections. My only gripe, was that I spent a couple of hours playing in the library Discovery Center with the same toys, and my fun elements produced that day were never emailed to me – huge bummer! I was only sent the location images.:

The DNA Learning Center – Introductory DNA sessions to help with this topic: Always crowded, with loads of mini-sessions, various speakers, with helpful videos and knowledgeable staff.

The RootsTech Store: I LOVE swag! And even when it’s not free swag – I am very willing to purchase more! It was a nice open store, easy to shop with so many cool options! My suggestion for next year – Please produce a sweatshirt or hoodie! It’s cold in SLC in late February! I would have snapped that up! Hey, RootsTech officials – you might want to create an online store of RootsTech swag – I’d seriously send my family members there to fill up my Christmas wish list!

The Demo Theater: Smaller than previous years, and hidden towards the back – but always crowded. I always learn a lot in this space while I’m taking a breather in a very comfortable environment. They also have door prizes, BTW.

The Ancestry Photo Booth – and their wonderful cookies!: Confession: At first, I kinda rolled my eyes at this – but then thought, hey, I’m kinda dressed up and I had a new find to share, so I gave it a try. The result, in this glamorous backdrop, was pretty awesome! They not only sent me the digital image they took with their beautiful professional camera, but also a lovely print to take with me – topped off with an amazingly tasty cookie! Well played, Ancestry! Well played!

Meeting up with genie friends, as usual: I always love meeting old and new friends!

Added Bonus: Researching in the library!: We flew in a few days early to research for hours and hours – and I regret nothing!! Always a fantastic time – and so much brought back to add to my tree. Some serious brick walls damaged in that library! I’m still processing all that I brought home.

Hiccups – I didn’t encounter too many hiccups this year – and have declared this to be the best RootsTech yet – but if pressed, Id have to identify the following as my least favorite elements:

Unconferencing Sessions: I had not been to RootsTech in a few years, and my memory of the Unconferencing area was drastically different than I encountered this year. Gone were the small curtained off areas where you could talk to a group or even present something on the provided board, or diagram ideas. This concept has now been relegated to 8 tables crammed into the space of about two booth footprints. Really didn’t like this shrinkage, and while I did see groups using it – it was also placed in the very back of the exhibit hall instead of in the front where it used to be. Most people I talked to never found its location, and with very little signage – I would say this looks like the last year for the Unconferencing area – as I’m pretty sure we were witnessing the death knell. Some of the presenters mentioned their disappointment with the size and location in our Facebook group – but also complained about the name – saying it was unfriendly, and not appealing. Perhaps it could be resurrected as something slightly different? Break-out sessions perhaps? Obviously, the large exhibitors enjoy great success with their own areas of demos and discussions – so the concept is not a bad one. But it would be nice to have a more tailored area for folks to discuss genealogy issues – or meet up with speakers after their sessions, or programmers to discuss concepts with users (as was its initial purpose.) Conversely, I also understand usage and statistics – if people weren’t using them in the previous years, I can understand the reduction.

Access and Preservation Track on Wednesday: While this was a nice set of small, targeted sessions, I think many people misunderstood its purpose. As a librarian with special collections/archival training, I was going to attend this, no matter the purpose – but after squeezing in to the last couple of seats at 8am, and then watching the attendance bleed out like a trauma victim – until there was only about a third of them left – was a red flag that most people didn’t understand the intended focus. As a whole – I would say this was RootsTech’s version of “Librarians Day” – or “Digital Archivist’s Day” – etc. Which makes all of this more intriguing. With the huge crowd coming in to learn about “Access and Preservation” – regular folks who were not information professionals – doesn’t that indicate that the general genealogy crowd is very interested in preservation and access – for their own collections? Perhaps? Or were they wanting to learn more about the efforts being made to place more unique material online? Or did they want to learn more about digitization best practices? This is an area RootsTech should investigate. It sure caught my attention when thinking about this after the event.

Demo Stage: Thank heavens it hasn’t changed too much – but again, it’s been shrunk, and placed in the back, instead of being a focal point of festivity for the Exhibit Hall. Gone is the soda fountain bar and popcorn – and gone is the concept of walking around and hearing some of what was being demoed. I’m guessing that was the problem. As the Exhibitors have adopted their own demo areas and engagement clusters with microphone and large screens, their sound would be in competition with the Demo Stage instructors, and that would not be pleasant for the big sponsors. At least the comfy chairs and couches were still there – along with some really nice door prizes for those who sat through the individual demos.

Daily Sheets: They announced that there would be daily handouts with the general session info, as well as a list of the most popular classes that day. Ummm, first of all, I never found any of these sheets, until I stumbled upon a small pile on the very last day for Family Day. To be fair, I didn’t look super hard for them during the regular conference days. However, I’m not sure about plucking out a handful of sessions to highlight as “popular”. That could go one of two ways – either it drives a ton of people to these sessions, resulting in overcrowding, or it drives people away since they want to avoid the large crowds if possible. Plus, as a speaker, the speaker liaisons, kept trying to avoid giving us room capacity and info on popular sessions because they said they didn’t want to make other speakers feel less worthy by identifying popular sessions based on topic, speaker and/or room size. But then each day, they were highlighting popular sessions to hand out to everyone. Since we all have the app and the conference booklet outlining the offerings of each day – I don’t think they need these daily sheets – and I’m sure they could save a little money in printing.

Next Steps:

RootsTech is not really over – you have several options to take in more of this conference over the next several months: Watch the canned livestream videos; Download the Syllabus Material; Explore the Exhibitor List – and prepare to watch more when the international version of RootsTech premiers in London in October!

“A whole lot of healing going on.” Family Search’s Donation to the IAAM – Go Watch this video!

This type of experience is unparalleled, and should be experienced in person at least once. Obviously, for continued inspiration and exposure to the most current genealogy tech tools, it is encouraged to attend as frequently as possible. However, as a tech conference, RootsTech has ensured that there are multiple remote methods for attending virtually. Not only can you sit at home and watch several of the videos for free, but this year they also offered a virtual pass that allowed you to enjoy 18 sessions from the comfort of your own home. Coupled with the exhibit hall list for traversing via websites at your leisure, and syllabus material you can download, #notatrootstech folks have a buffet of learning opportunities available.

BTW, Next year is RootsTech’s 10th anniversary! Theme: The Story of You! Make plans to attend – I’m sure this will be a grand and unforgettable party!

Is Your Brick Wall Whitewashed?

Published on by Cheri2 Comments

From day one, I declared that Genealogy Literacy would be a truth zone – and after breaking through a recent brick wall, I knew I had to share this journey of discovery. For you see, this research unveiled an ugly truth: My long-standing brick wall had stood firmly in my path until I was able to strip away the whitewashing put in place to divert descendants from the truth.

Let me begin by saying that many researchers have encountered whitewashing in various forms. Most African American researchers with enslaved ancestors encounter systemic whitewashing of their history through heinous laws and customs put in place that stripped families of their identity to perpetuate the evils of slavery. And while I have always been an advocate for healing through a more inclusive research approach, the story below demonstrates how vital it is for ALL of us to strip away the mindsets of the past and dive headlong into a full FAN Club approach.

A hard truth about the FAN Club:

So, we’ve all been taught about the FAN Club research method – Friends, Acquaintances, & Neighbors (or Family, Acquaintances, & Neighbors) – but can I get a show of hands how many of us actively search African American records for our white family surnames? When encountering that title on the shelf about AA cemeteries or marriages – if we don’t think our family is inside, do we just breeze on by? Years ago, I would have said, “yeah, guilty as charged.” But in the past decade or so, the desire to help bring families together through research has shifted my information gathering strategies, and I find myself in AA records on purpose to help connect people and better understand communities.

A Big Crack in the Wall:

A few years ago, I was researching an African American family from Bracken County, Kentucky – and I have to say, some locals there have created a beautiful resource – African American records, Bracken County, Kentucky : 1797-1999 – a two volume set of transcribed AA documents discovered throughout the county. Marriages, Court Cases, School Records, Taxes, etc. You name it, they pulled it and transcribed/indexed it to create one of the most useful local resources I’ve ever used. So, while I was there, I decided to look up all of my Bracken County associated families in the index. This was rather quickly done, because I do not have a large number of branches from this county, and most are mid-19th century German immigrants – but I also descend from a long line of Anglo families from the county next door. As my search was not yielding any fruit, I decided to try a surname from the neighboring county that had remained a brick wall for myself and previous generations. What I found not only cracked the wall, but brought it tumbling down – and unveiled the whitewashing that had built the wall through a false family narrative.

Two Marys and a Barbary:

My brick wall began in neighboring Pendleton County. My 4th Great Grandfather, Samuel Cox, had married 3 women over his lifetime – the first two named Mary and the last named Barbary. With his estate division, Barbary was easy to identify, and even fill in her backstory as the former widow of a neighbor, Ross McCall. The other two Marys were much harder to distinguish. Over the previous generations, some family members had mixed up the women’s surnames. A divorce case for Mary #2 was able to identify her potential surnames (yes, she had more than a couple in the depositions), leaving the first Mary (my ancestor) with the pre-marriage surname of Dean. As my 4th Great Grandparents were not married in this area, we only knew her surname from the Barton Papers – a collection of family interviews taken throughout Pendleton County by Edward Everett Barton, a local attorney of the 1930s & 40s. Since he interviewed various descendant branches, the stories differed on who her parents might have been.

Abel or Michael Dean?

The family group sheets compiled from these interviews identified her probable father as Abel or Michael Dean, but did not include a location for either man. Even the Cox family was a bit of a location enigma. The Barton Papers said Samuel Cox was either “born at the fort above Augusta” or from Pennsylvania. OK, so with the surname of Cox, this was a needle in a haystack. All I knew, is that the Cox family came from farther points east. And I suspected the lack of Dean information indicated the same migration pattern. This turned out to be accurate, but unless I had picked up that book, I may not have discovered the truth for many, many years.

Deed of Emancipation:

In 1830, Bracken County, Kentucky, there was an emancipation filed in court to free an enslaved family: Jenny or “Jinny”, and her three children – Aaron, Emily, and John Caesar. As part of this process, Jenny, Emily and John Caesar were all presented in court to record their description along with a $500 bond to ensure they would not become wards of the county. Jenny is described as “black”, about 30 years old, left eye blind of cataract, standing 4 feet 2 inches. Emily was described as 6 years old and “yellowish” in color. John Caesar was only 4 weeks old with “yellowish” complexion. My biggest question about this document, was: Where was Aaron? Why was he not presented in court with the others? Obviously, with the children described as having “yellowish” skin, I’m thinking Michael was their father. But I had more research to do.

Michael’s Will, 1832:

The next item in this book connected to Michael Dean was his will of 1832. In this document he makes sure, once again, that all of his slaves are free upon his death, but with one addition. He then gives Jenny his 50 acres and residence for her to live in throughout her lifetime. After her life is over, the property was to go to Aaron and his heirs forever. There is no mention of Emily or John Caesar inheriting anything from Michael, only Aaron. As I was also trying to piece together the known white children of Michael Dean, there is a mention of one in his will, Rebecca Morris.

Researching Michael:

These documents gave me the push I needed to investigate further, with this new county of focus. From further research, I discovered that Michael was a Revolutionary War Pensioner, previously of Lewis County Kentucky, and that he had other white children documented: John, Rebecca, Thurisa, and Abel + others yet to be positively identified. His pension application in 1818/1820 described a sorry existence. A man (aged about 80) and wife (aged about 73) who were practically destitute and living in a meager cabin on 50 “rented” acres. He had served on the Virginia Continental Line for 2 years – ending his service in March 1778 at Valley Forge – Ironically, making it through the horrible winter at Valley Forge, but then high tailing it out once his service ended that March. He and his wife were both described as “decrepit” and only owning a horse and cow. More importantly, no mention of enslaved individuals. All of this testimony resulted in him receiving $8 per month until his death.

Bracken County Reveals:

In searching for Michael, there is no indication that he owned slaves around the time of his pension application. However, very soon after, his son Abel appears on the tax lists, and each man takes turns paying taxes on enslaved individuals for the next several years. The number of slaves fluctuates as well. At first there is only 1, then 2, and as these individuals either move from place to place, or are simply covered in taxes by each man in turn, the maximum number of slaves covered in the taxes, up until the emancipation is 4. After the emancipation, Abel is paying taxes on a few extra slaves, but his number is scratched out and reduced by 2 – perhaps indicating the odd nature of the ownership? Clearly Michael is claiming ownership by taking Jenny and her children to court to have them freed. Also, despite Michael claiming he only rented his land and cabin in the pension testimony, he clearly owns his property as he gives instructions on its dispersal in his will. When looking at the Court Orders for Bracken County, Abel would appear to fight some of this – I could not find an actual court challenge – but Abel is instructed to bring his father’s will to court, more than once – and it appears he did not comply as the will is later presented to court by the Executor Robert Elrod.

The Story Gets Lost:

Personally, I was thrilled to find this family. And I would love further still to reconnect with descendants of Jenny and her children. But I found it disappointing that my family had kept silent on this story. You see, I did find a marriage record in Lewis County for Polly Dean and Samuel Cox, with the consent given by Polly’s father “M. Dean” – putting to bed that Michael was her father and Abel was her brother. And I know that Mary died rather young, and with Samuel’s subsequent marriages and sensational divorce, it’s no wonder that my branch of the family lost this story. Or, am I giving them a pass where one doesn’t belong? In the context of society in 1830/32, this action by Michael was completely out of the ordinary. With his will bestowing his property upon a formerly enslaved family – this would have been considered to be scandalous – and I so wanted to know how my branch of the family felt about this action. If my suspicion is correct, one of the men likely fathered Jenny’s children. Meaning that Aaron, Emily, and John Caesar would have been siblings or nieces/nephews to my Samuel and Mary. Did they care? Were they embarrassed by this? It was a very public action to free them, and Michael had done just that.

While my branch kept silent about this action when passing along family lore – they did leave me one clue about their potential feelings. Remember when the list of enslaved individuals presented in court lacked one member? Aaron had been conspicuously absent from the court presentation. I speculated that maybe he was sick and could not make it, or that he had run away. Bracken County Kentucky lies on the Ohio River, just across from Ripley Ohio (Brown County) – a known hotbed for the underground railroad in the upcoming years. As the months passed, I figured that this portion of his story may never be known. And this is when I found a hashmark that changed everything. In the 1830 census – taken the same year that the emancipation was filed in Bracken County Court, my 4th great grandparents, Samuel and Mary, in neighboring Pendleton County, have a young man living in their household that is in the column: Free Colored Persons – Males, 10-24 in age. That little hashmark in this column gave me goosebumps. Is this the missing Aaron? I certainly hope so. If this is Aaron, there is a good likelihood that my grandparents were supportive of this emancipation action. If my speculation is correct, and Aaron is the son of Michael or Abel, then Mary had welcomed her newly freed brother or nephew into their home – and I’m guessing to offer protection. But why did no one ever tell us about this relationship?

The Story Becomes Whitewashed:

Fast forward to another moment of serendipity – Within the same time frame as the above discovery, I was in the process of trying to join the DAR. As I was reviewing my Patriot options, Michael Dean and his record came up. So, I paid for the associated application papers and supplemental documentation packet that belonged to a member descended through another daughter, Thurisa. The supplemental packet contained a letter from another of Michael’s descendants, a great great granddaughter, Julia Herrmann. In her letter she relates the story as thus:

“My Great Great Grandfather had a plantation in Kentucky and owned slaves. The ______? War ruined him financially. His family left him. Two slaves, a man (young) and his wife stayed with G G Grandfather and G G Grandmother and when G G Grandfather died, he willed the plantation to the two slaves who had worked and taken care of my Great Great Grandparents.”

And so the story, while not forgotten or censored out of this branch’s narrative, was whitewashed into the typical benevolent master/faithful servant tripe – transforming Jenny and Aaron to husband and wife, instead of mother and son – and erasing any hint of parental complexity.

There is an ironic post script about this line of narrative. The Barton Papers have a notation about Michael Dean’s financial hardship, and it relates to Abel who was the youngest: One of Michael’s sons, John, living in Washington County Kentucky had to travel to Bracken County in 1827 to care for his elderly parents. The reason? According to the Barton Papers: Michael and his wife had “conveyed their small estate to the youngest son who then turned them out in their extreme old age.”

I think this is another narrative covered in whitewash. There was clearly some family drama going on that the later descendants noted but purposefully made vague to hide what was truly happening. And by 1827, Abel and Michael have been sharing the taxes and/or location of the enslaved family for several years – until Michael suddenly has enough in 1830 and frees the entire lot. Again, the whitewashing was so thick, it’s still preventing us from seeing the full picture of this family crisis.

After Michael’s Death – Tracing Jenny’s Family:

One of the biggest mysteries that came out of the emancipation action was the fate of Jenny and her family. I could not find Jenny nor Aaron paying any taxes on this newly inherited land – nor could I find her in 1840 census records. In 1845, suddenly, the taxes are being paid on 57 acres by “Dean’s Devisees”.

According to the 1891 edition of Black’s Law – this term refers to the persons “to whom lands or other real property are devised or given by will.” I could not find record of taxes being paid on this property prior to this date. However, another obstacle arose in discovering the chosen surname of the newly freed family. Did they take the Dean surname? If so, none of them are paying taxes on this piece of property until 1845 – which is a tad odd. I then looked for any woman with the given name of Jenny or Jinny paying taxes on land during these years from 1832 to 1845. Nothing.

The estate sale of Michael Dean’s remaining personal property is also a whitewashed hot mess. Among the list of personal items being sold that day, Jenny is indeed listed as being the purchaser of several items. Unfortunately, instead of including a surname like everyone else on the list – she was simply listed as “Black Jenny”. Trust me, for a while, I looked for a ‘Jenny Black’ in all of the records I had perused earlier. Nothing. And of course, that’s when it hit me that they were not using the word “black” as a surname.

Aaron to the Research Rescue, Followed by a Cold Trail:

The good news is that after searching court and deed records many years beyond the emancipation, I found a deed transaction detailing Aaron’s act of selling the land. And best of all it gave me a direction for Aaron. First, he had retained the surname “Dean” – and had married a woman named Ellen – and they both lived in Brown County Ohio! This was golden information that even spelled out his connection to the land – the document says that he had inherited this land via the will of Michael Dean. This was a slam dunk – and I had one of those joyous, yet vocal moments in the silent state archives! One thing to note – I am not sure that Aaron and his wife actually came down to Bracken County to sell the land or whether this was handled by an attorney – simply because there is no mention of Aaron’s race. He is not referred to as a ‘free person of color’ nor ‘colored’, etc. Is this proving he never crossed the river to conduct this business, or does this mean he was light enough to be passing? The jury is still out on that one.

After this glorious find, the trail suddenly goes cold. I cannot find Aaron Dean in the 1850 Brown County census at all – and I even resorted to paging through each entry to catch a misspelled surname or similar family unit. I have searched other surrounding counties, and found nothing to match. Needless to say, I am still on the hunt for Aaron, and I need to take a trip north to dig into more physical records – but he has gifted me with marvelous clues to take forward!

An Ancestry Tree Yields More Clues:

So – despite the forest of unsourced trees on Ancestry – I will occasionally search for a branch in the hopes of stumbling across a tree with valid sources attached to follow in my own research. While searching for more information about Michael, I stumbled upon a tree that included Michael and his (what I believe to be) erroneous Scottish birth. I went down the line back towards Mary, his daughter and my 4th great grandmother, when I hit at something unexpected. Whomever created this tree went to Abel and then to a black family in Ohio with the surname of “Freeman”! One of the ancestors, Joseph Riley Freeman, in his marriage record lists his own surname as “Freeman” and his father’s name as A. Dean and his mother as Eliza Robinson. The creator of the Ancestry tree believed that “A. Dean” was Abel T. Dean of Bracken/Pendleton Counties and attached his family as thus. But what I think just happened – is that the family had an inherited narrative stating that they were descended from Abel Dean, but when a record came along listing A. Dean as the father, they jumped to Abel, missing Aaron entirely. I think the generation just got disconnected and lost. Michael’s son, Abel, was only ever married to Nancy Seay, never an Eliza Robinson. But Eliza sure sounds similar to Ellen, who was listed on the deed transfer of 1852.

To make matters more poignant, the family included James Riley Freeman’s nickname “Joe Dean” – and his youngest daughter, as listed on this tree was named “Jennie”. This newly discovered family then includes other surnames in later generations: Ward, Milton, Phoenix, Merritt, Epps, etc. With locations: Greene and Clinton Counties, Ohio + Indianapolis Indiana.

As a result – I would LOVE to connect with the person who runs the Peacock Family Tree on Ancestry – I think we have much to chat about!

Research Takeaways:

Obviously, I have a lot more work to do in order to confirm my surname change suspicions – and the rest of the story will depend on my findings. But the journey so far has been remarkable, and I can’t wait for the next chapter! My goal: Hugging my newly found cousins – if I can find them – and IF they want a hug (respecting their wishes, of course.)

The lesson I learned through all of this, is that so many of our brick walls are held up by centuries of whitewashing. In most cases, on purpose. In a few cases, due to a really twisted and vile version of the telephone game. But do we truly understand the magnitude of expanding our research methodology, and the resulting ripple effect of belonging and healing that can follow?

Genealogy Truth Bomb:

We have got to practice a more robust and inclusive FAN Club approach! Because I’m going to be really frank here – How dare we ever consider our research to be thorough if we profess to practice the FAN approach and ignore a significant portion of our family’s community and familial network simply because of race?! If we alter our research approach to practice a fully inclusive strategy, there is a high likelihood that we will demolish a multitude of mutual brick walls, as well as unite long separated families and begin the process of telling a more accurate history of our communities and our country.

Happy Researching, Y’all!

“No Original Wrong Lay at Their Door”: What About Ours?

Published on by Cheri2 Comments

I could work in the archives for a lifetime and never tire of the treasures they hold. To be blunt, we do not hold them in high enough esteem where our research is concerned. As I go about my daily routine, I sometimes grab enough time to dig for forgotten treasures. Note that I said “forgotten” not “hidden”. They are not hidden – which is an often repeated fallacy about archives, simply because their volume and original state of handwritten creation prevents instant consumption – and yet, not as easily accessed due to their sheer volume, and lack of people to analyze on a microscopic level. Admittedly, some archival collections are hidden, but usually on a temporary basis as staff make their way through the act of processing for responsible access.

The “forgotten” item I encountered this week was serendipitous, simply because I discovered it while looking for something else entirely – this often happens in the archives, BTW. We begin looking for one thing, and have a really hard time getting there because of all the gems we find littering the path to our goal. The item being sought was a Civil War Diary. While I love a good CW diary as well as the next researcher, I was actually looking at the original to compare to a transcription I discovered in our uncatalogued portion of the library. You know, standard librariany duties. As I was reading the first page of the digitized original, assessing the narrative in relation to the description and scope notes (archivist lingo) – a phrase leapt off the page and stayed with me all weekend: “No original wrong lay at their door”.

The reason this phrase has haunted me was because of the author’s intent. The author was a Kentuckian, a Union soldier named John Tuttle, attempting to describe the mindset of southerners when it came to the issue of slavery. In essence, he explained their belief in terms that echoed our own struggle of today regarding the heritage of slavery. As most of us have discovered, our genealogical research often uncovers enslavement in the family tree. So many of us have been cognizant of this terrible chapter, and offered to help unite ancestors with their descendants by way of sharing names of the enslaved that we encounter in the records. I have cheered on this endeavor as a form of healing for our land – going back to the roots, and acknowledging our familial connections to those chapters of terror and cruelty. As a white person, who has discovered both enslaver and emancipator in the family tree, I am encouraged and grateful when those of African American heritage also join the voice of unity in this effort – in many cases, embracing the concept of family – and graciously reminding the descendants of the enslavers that we are not our ancestors, and nor should we carry their guilt.

Which is why this soldier’s words made me catch my breath. When describing the rationale behind fighting to keep the system of slavery in place, it appears that there was no guilt associated with their belief – which was not a complete surprise, in its essence. But this lack of guilt was based on the actions of their ancestors. In his words:

“They had been reared and educated in the belief that there was no moral wrong in holding slaves as they did. The slaves had descended to them from past generations and no original wrong lay at their door. Many of them had been sold to them by persons in the north more on account of slaves not being profitable in that latitude as they thought, than from any considerations of philanthropy or humanity.”[1]

So let this sink in for just a minute. Apparently, because the system had been put in place by their ancestors, their maintenance of this system (and fight to keep it in place) was not wrong. He also describes their belief in a paternal relationship – caring for the enslaved in a better manner than freedom would afford. In 2018, we can see the horrific evils in that rationalization that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths throughout the days of slavery and during the bloodiest war of our history. But – can we look at ourselves and find any similarities in that rationalization?

It is a true statement that we are not the generation that enslaved people based on their race. Many lived through the first Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s – not fully understanding that it never really ended. We are merely experiencing a resurgence of the fight against the foundational issues that continue to foster inequality in various ways. Have we grown since the 1960s? Yes, of course we have – but we’re not finished!

I am frequently pained by the hostility I see among our neighbors – our fellow Americans – our family. The fabric of our society is being constantly strained and ripped apart because that fabric is woven from threads of time. Threads of slavery, injustice, cruelty, prejudice, racism, hatred – interwoven with threads of emancipation, justice, love, inclusion, equality, freedom, family connections, and most importantly, DNA. I still believe this fabric is strong, and can withstand the strains of divisive social and political forces.

But this is where I get preachy – in the hopes that we can look inward, to examine closely our own fabric.

We know our trees. We’ve been researching them for years – decades even. When examining the fabric of our family, we understand the complexity of the weave. And even though the guilt of slavery may not be on our generation, if we examine the fabric close enough, we can see the threads of our own guilt. We carry the guilt of our own generation. What does that guilt look like? It looks like apathy. It looks like an oblivious existence of comfort. It looks like trees without diversity – and trust me – if you have no diversity in your tree, you are not searching hard enough, or you are choosing to prune away the uncomfortably branches. DNA is lighting up our trees with colorful leaves that we did not know of, or we chose not to see due to that heavy fabric we kept as a blindfold.

Guilt can only be overcome if we make a healthy and conscious effort to change things for the better. We do not have the power to change all of the wrongs in this world, nor in this country, but we have the power of our generation to examine our fabric and think about what makes us tick. What does our tree tell us? Beyond the research, as we are learning from science, even memories of our ancestors can influence the reactions and fears that drive our motivations today. If that is true – then what memories or beliefs influence us in ways that are not healthy for our society? As a prism scatters light, so can these memories and beliefs passed down through teaching or DNA be scattered and projected through our own lives. In many cases, we don’t realize how much we are influenced by the past generations – even those we have never met.

When I think back about my own childhood, and the things I witnessed from my grandparents and parents, I know that they shaped who I became. And as I learned more, educated myself about diverse cultures and groups – about the fabric of our society, I grew to a place of cultivation. I began ripping out the weeds of their teaching. The weeds or poison ivy of thought that they learned, and passed to me. Do not get me wrong, my grandparents and parents taught me wonderful things, and I admire each and every one of them. But humanity is flawed, and not everything we learn from the previous generation should be honored or allowed to flourish for another generation. It’s time to weed some of those things that make us hesitant to reach out and make things better.

So, why am I writing this to a genealogy audience? Because I firmly believe a huge portion of the power to change lies in our hands. The more the records and spit connect us, the more we can start acting like family. If a member of your family is mistreated, how quickly do you come to their defense, to help them achieve justice? Pretty darned quick. As we come to the realization that we are all family, and as we strive to share this concept with those who care nothing for genealogy, we lead them toward empathy, compassion, and reconciliation.

I am also increasingly disheartened by the low numbers of white folks attending programs or sessions presented on African American genealogy/history – and other non-anglo based classes for that matter. It is shameful how few attend these wonderful classes. Go ahead and tell yourself that you don’t attend because it doesn’t apply to your research or ancestry – go ahead – just try. Because that doesn’t wash! If your ancestors were here beyond one generation, let alone before the Civil War, your family was a part of that history. What if you can’t find a slave owner in your tree? Congratulations, but did your family benefit from the slave economy? Of course they did. That network/system was in place for generations, and your ancestors were a part of it, whether they actively traded in human flesh as a commodity or not. They chose a side in the War driven by slavery – do you really think their side of choice was simply due to geography? Of course not – the issues leading up to that war were numerous and important to most. The records used to research enslaved families involved white owner families – so take a positive step and attend more of these sessions! I guarantee you will learn something helpful about your own research, and are sure to learn more about how our families can connect on a deeper level!

As speakers and genealogy teachers, we are quick to promote context as a way of understanding our ancestors’ lives and their motivations for life choices. If we continue to preach context and fail to promote digging into African American historical subjects, we are choosing to foster an atmosphere of division. How arrogant are we that we ignore the historical subjects of diverse American groups because we have arrogantly, and erroneously, determined that they do not fit into our family tree?

What else can we do? Well, I’m a Goonie generation, and I continue to say “This is OUR time!” – I love seeing the weaving of new fabric out there among diverse groups in the genealogy world – but we have to increase this effort a thousand fold! It is NOT enough! The good of those who help share the names of the enslaved in blogs and trees are drowned out by those who choose to erase or ignore the names they encounter – simply because, while they will not accept the guilt, they display actions driven by shame. Which is also driven by a romanticized mythology that perpetuates the heinous lie of the perfect or unblemished family tree!

This is OUR time, folks. We can choose to be forces for good in our generational time here on this planet, or we can choose to spread the weeds of division passed down to us. Of all the traditions and sacred beliefs we share across time, from one generation to the next, please do not sacrifice the future of our country on the traditions born from hate and prejudice. Weed our gardens through love and familial restoration. We were handed this society by our ancestors, but it’s our choice how we shape it for the next generation.

[1] Tuttle, John W. John W. Tuttle Civil War Memoir. 1860-1867. (Kentucky Historical Society Archives, Frankfort KY, SC 406), pg. 1(2).