The Big Secret...

When you’re shaking your family tree, a few nuts are bound to fall. However, sometimes a few skeletons fall also. I’m wondering, do you say “Hey..look at this skeleton bone that just fell” or do you dig a hole and bury it never to be found again?

When I say never, I mean, only to be found by the next person in your tree looking to shake it a little.

Everyone has a big secret in their family tree.  Some directly related to the person doing the researching.  Does that give you a right to make the secret known or do you wait for permission from all parties involved to blurt it out??  Some secrets can change the dynamics of an entire family.  What do you do with this information???

I survived...

Me and my cousin/best friend.

 I survived planning a successful family reunion! I don't recommend do it alone! 

What is a successful reunion? 

• Everyone arrived safely
• We didn't run out of food...not even for the late arrivals
• Everyone had a great time
• Everyone enjoyed the change!!!

We did our reunion a little different this year.  Since I was the one planning it, I changed alot of the traditional things we do during the reunion.  I was worried that I would get some resistence.  I was worried that we wouldn't get a large turnout.  But I was wrong. 

I think the family was ready for some change. 

This year, we held the reunion, not in traditional Elizabeth City, NC.  But in Orlando, FL.  Nor did we hold it at the usual 'last weekend in August' that we have had it just about every year.  I moved the date up about 2 weeks to correspond when the kids were still out for summer break.  We had just over 100 people in attendance.  Which is awesome.  Granted when it's in Elizabeth City..we have more.  But, a good majority of our family stays there.  So, being at the reunion is not a traveling event for them.  I was happy that we had a great turn out at this year. 

Many people took advantage of turning the reunion into the summer vacation.  Being in Orlando made it easy! 

Now I need to a vacation to recover!

Late Follow up on Wordless Wednesday

I didn’t get a chance to finish writing about this picture before. A family emergency arose and I had to put everything on hold. Now that the emergency is over and the family reunion planning is almost finished, I can get back to my roots.

So, about the picture…

My daughter and my mother are pictured above on their way to visit their roots.  My mother was so exicted and my daughter seemed miserable.  I mean, what a mean mom she has for sending her on an all expense paid trip and her getting her passport stamped before me!! 

Of course, there roots are my roots too, but I didn’t get a chance to go.  Way to expensive and I can't take that much time off from work.  But, this was an amazing opportunity for my daughter to go and visit relatives in Ethiopia for a month over the summer. They went to Mek’ele in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

As you can see the look on my daughters face..she’s wasn’t looking forward to the trip. In all honesty, she didn’t want to go. But, I told her that she didn’t have a choice. She wants to travel and traveling isn’t always going to be spa and resorts. Plus, she going to see family. What 12 year old gets these kinds of opportunities? As good experiences go, I think this one was perfect for her.

So, for a month, she stayed with my aunt (my mom’s sister), uncle, great grandmother, and 8 cousins. She got to see that simple luxuries like…underwear was a complete anomaly to her female cousins. Not that they were poor, it just wasn’t something that they wore. She got to see that her 12 year old cousin does just about everything that her mother. All the cooking, cleaning, even child rearing. A far cry from my American child who grumbles over just washing dishes.

Not so surprisingly though, she really enjoyed herself. Stereotypes that she left home with faded away. (she said, “it’s not as hot as FL..actually, FL is hotter!”). She was able to see London for a short time (“People really sound like that… “)

All in all, even though sending her sent mommy into the poor house temporarily, I’m glad she was able to get the experience she did. When she’s 20+, she’ll be happy about it too. But as a pre-teen…she’s just annoyed again…

Wordless Wednesdays

Freedom Tweet 2010 #FreedomTweet

This is a repost from the Carnival of AA Genealogy.  I wanted to help spread the word. 

What is FreedomTweet 2010?

• An online Twitter.com celebration in observance of Juneteenth on June 19th!

Where will FreedomTweet 2010 take place?

• Twitter.com/Juneteenth2010 and FreedomTweet.blogspot.com

What will we do?

• Tweet about FREEDOM using Hash tag: #FreedomTweet

What is the goal for FreedomTweet?

• Drive folks to Twitter.com on June 19th to *tweet* at least once answering this question?  What does FREEDOM mean to you?

When will we need to *tweet* again?

• June 19th ALL DAY! Throughout the day, tweets will also be streamed to FreedomTweet.blogspot.com

Who can participate?

• Given that FREEDOM is subjective, FreedomTweet is open to EVERYONE! We all can identify with being and/or desiring to be liberated from something, right?! FreedomTweet is for the entire community!

Is there anything we can do now?

• Yes! Starting today through June 12th genea-bloggers should write about the history of Juneteenth and promote other celebrations happening across the country! If you write a post about FreedomTweet and/or Juneteenth, please email us at CoAAG2010@gmail.com and provide the URL!

Please spread the word about FreedomTweet 2010 with your employers, churches, schools and community organizations -- everyone is invited to join in the celebration!

Anything else we should know?

We MUST get the FreedomTweet message viral -- using all our collective networks to circulate the news! With a community effort, we could easily see several thousand folks hitting Twitter.com on June 19th all around the theme of FREEDOM in observance of Juneteenth!

Carnival of AA Genealogy

Although I missed the Carnival of African American Genealogy the past few months..i wanted to write on the one that seemed easiest… Grandma’s Hand: Grandmothers and their influence on the family.

Mine comes from a different perspective. More tragic for those who want to know their family I suppose.

Many of you know that I have been in search for my grandfather, George Washington Bolden. He would be my father’s dad. However, trying to find him has been one of the most difficult searches to date. Maybe because he’s closer to my heart than the more distant ancestors. I don’t know who he is, but I would love to. I see the pain in my father when the subject comes up. He disparately wants to know who this man is. What child doesn’t want to know their father? Just think about all the siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, etc that he doesn’t know. Who knows..maybe we’ve crossed paths and had no idea.

But, this is how a grandmother, a mother can change the course of your family and it’s research. That traditional relationship of grandmother and child escapes many of us in my generation. Maybe due to distance or cross words between cousins. Maybe it’s due to jealousy of how one grandchild is treated compared to others. Either way, the relationships we have are very different than those I’ve observed.

Back up and running.

I've been able to get my blog pointing back to http://blog.spence-lowry.com.  I don't know what I did to my DNS...but I jacked it up.  Now it's back working..WOOHOO.

So, new developments.  I've been asked to be editor of the Family Research Society's quarterly newsletter.  I'm currently the webmaster for their site.  But, being editor..WHOA.   I know I won't have the time.  So, the president, Sharon Gable, suggested being co-editor with the current editor.  Hmmm..that could work. 

Family research has been slow lately.  Kind of hit roadblocks with every turn.  I hadn't blogged about them because I keep hoping for the 'AH HA' finding to write about...so sad.

Planning the family reunion is TIME CONSUMING to say the least! I'm doing it alone and there is alot to do!

I know I've missed several of the Carnival of African American Genealogy!!! Ugh!! I hate that!  I swear I can't find time in my day *cries*. 

About Mount Carmel Baptist Church.  My first thought for the church was how upsetting!! That has been the church that many of my ancestors and current family members were raised.  I have uncles and cousins who are deacons at that church. 

Then on the flip side, the family researcher in me just kept thinking..WHAT ABOUT THE RECORDS????? *sigh*.  Unfortunately, when I spoke with the secretary last year, she said that she didn't know about any records.  I was hoping to find information about Great Great Grandfathers sister, Cora Alphenia Howell.  She got married in that church in 1955 and hoping to find more information about her.  I know she had children and one daughter was named Inez.  *sigh*

Who's ready for the 2012?? I'm ready to see the 1940 census!!!

Technical Difficulties 2

We're experiencing techinical difficulties at the moment. Apparenlty, I jacked up my DNS settings for my domain...*le sigh*.  

So for the meantime, I'm back on .blogspot until I get it fixed and back to my normal site.  Don't change anything. ;)

Fire of Home Church

Today, a fire destroyed a 147 year old church in Elizabeth City.  This church was the home church of my family for many years and possibly had records related to my family research.  It's sad to know that information and history may have been lost thru this fire.  Many ancestors were baptized, married and laid to rest in this church.

No one was injured in this early morning fire.  However, the church building appears to be a total loss.

Fire destroyed a 147-year-old church in the Newland community of Pasquotank County early Sunday morning.
Fire officials weren’t sure what sparked the blaze that completely gutted Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church on U.S. Highway 158. The Elizabeth City Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.
Robbie Whitehead, chief of the Newland Volunteer Fire Department, said passers-by notified emergency dispatchers about the blaze about 4 a.m. Sunday.
By the time firefighters arrived a short time later, the church was fully engulfed in flames, Whitehead said.
The Newland VFD, joined by firefighters from the South Mills Volunteer Fire Department and the city of Elizabeth City, battled the flames for more than an hour, bringing the fire under control about 5:30 a.m. Approximately 50 firefighters responded, Whitehead said.
By noon Sunday, all that remained of the brick church was a smoking hulk. The church’s menu-board sign announcing Sunday services and a gold-painted bell, both of which sit in front of the church, were not damaged.
Right now, fire officials don’t have any idea how the fire started or where in the church the blaze began.
“When (a fire) becomes fully involved, it’s hard to tell that at this point, Whitehead said.
Whitehead said firefighters had spoken to several of the church’s deacons, and none had any idea how the fire might have started. Church officials told Whitehead that parts of the church were at least 147 years old.
There is nothing right now to suggest the fire had suspicious origins, Whitehead said.
“Right now the investigation is going on,” he said.
Fire investigators from the Elizabeth City Fire Marshal’s Office visited the fire scene earlier Sunday and are expected to continue their investigation today, Whitehead said.

Link

Genealogy: The new reality show

I don't watch much TV so I've missed the recent shows regarding genealogy research.  The episodes that I've seen of WDYTYA or Faces of America. 

Although, I like the concept...I'm not to gungho about sitting down and watching these 2 shows.  The fact that they're based around celebrities.  People who may be casually interested in the genealogy.  Sure, they want to know where they come from.  But, I'm curious how many times did the sit down and open up a dusty book in the back of the Clerk of Courts, sneeze, while they painstakingly search for some sliver of info relating to their one ancestor??

I mean, sure the celebrity shows brings in the ratings.  And yes it does make for interesting TV.  We're all curious to see if we could possibly be related to a celebrity somewhere in our tree.  But, I think it's time to incorporate the real deal into the mix! It's time to help the person that has been researching their trees, but due to limited resources and time, they keep hitting brick walls. 

But, the funny part is..I started writing just now and my mind took a side track.  Or the ancestors made me stop for a few minutes.  When I stopped, I visited my BF (blog friend) Luckie to see what she's been up too.  Her very blog today is about what I was already thinking/writing.

The ancestors lead us when we begin this journey...sometimes they let us stand..sometimes they make us walk..others..we're running!!!  Way to go Luckie!!!

Where do you research?

Being an out of town researcher, I rely heavily on online research. Although there are occassions where I'll be able to travel to NC to do some hands on searches.  The only problem is, those occassions are few and far between.  So, where do you do most of your research online?

Personally, I also rely heavily on Ancestry.com for all my online research.  I know that's not the cream of the crop..but that's where I first started.  Before I start my research again, I want to know where are the best places to go {online} to research. 

Where have I been?

I know you’re all waiting with bated breath as to where I have been in these past few months…;)
Well, first, I got married in November. Not a big wedding…not even a wedding. It was very “Hey, I’m getting married on Friday..can I take the day off?” kinda thing. Which for me..it was PERFECT!!! I’m not the one to want a big wedding or have a big blow out. I believe in the K.I.S.S. philosophy. And it was just that..simple. What a great day!! So, married life has taking up a lot of time…with the whole newlywed syndrome. We just like to cuddle.

Second, cuddle time aside, I’ve been planning our family reunion 2010. I actually started in February of 2009 but now that we’re only 160 or so days away from the big event…I’m stressing a little bit. I’m doing most of the planning by myself. However, my dad and step mom are there for me to bounce ideas off of. With that, it’s taking up a lot of my time that I had for being online.

Third, and the biggest time consuming part, WORK! Yeah, that place I go to that pays the bills, has taken up the rest of my available time. *sigh* I used to be able to balance everything but with the changes at work, it’s been hard. I’ve had to travel and train others. Thinking that I may have time when I’m out of town for online ‘work’ was a misconception I had. So, with that, I had to take a hiatus from the things that kept my mind working. However, I’m trying to slowly get myself into it.

But, I’m still in the genealogy world. I haven’t stopped. I’m still the webmaster of the Family Research Society of Northeastern NC. Hopefully, in the coming month, I can actually get some research in.

Good Things Come . . . .

I know I’ve been gone for a long time. But, sometimes you have to take a step back from things to get a better perspective. I couldn’t focus on genealogy like I wanted too. Things were getting hectic.

I’ve been planning my family reunion which has taken most of my time and energy away from genealogy. I’m alone in the planning..and we have a large family. This is also my first time doing it. But, my ears are always open to things I need to know.

As you may (or may not know) my family has been searching for a picture of my 2nd Great Grandmother, Harriet Ann Banks since my Great Grandmother’s passing in 1998. One of her daughters removed photos from the home in an effort to get copies made. But, in the process, the pictures were lost. This has caused a rift in the family between the siblings. I swear it seems like a conversation can’t go by with out mentioning of those photos and what happened to them.

Thru calling and asking around, I determined that there were 2 pictures of Harriet around. Her other daughter Rosa had a picture in her home. However she passed away in 1989 and that picture had gone missing as well. Rumors of whom it was given too and who may have it now is the only information I could get.

So, my dad called me a few weeks ago to let me know that a picture of Harriet was found. All this time it has been in a cousin’s home on her wall. Yes, we have all been looking for this picture for quite some time..and I guess no on thought to ask this cousin. I was more surprised that one of Rosa’s children didn’t have this picture. The person that had the picture was Rosa’s granddaughter.

I called her up and she told me that she no longer had the picture. . . my aunt had it. I quickly called my aunt and asked her to send me the actual picture..not a copy..the actual picture. (my family is good for making a copy of a picture..not a picture copy but a copy machine copy…not good!!!)

She quickly sent me the picture of Harriet. To my surprise, she does look a little Native American and a lot like my Great Grandmother Bessie. The features on her face and her expression look all too familiar.  Although, I never really believed the native american reference from family members before since most African Americans believe anyone with long hair had native american ancestry...I can see it now.  There may be some truth to those statements.

I intend on getting additional prints made of this photo and giving it to family groups of her descendents. There should be more than copies of this photo. Hopefully, it won’t get lost in future years.

Wordless Wednesday