AAHGS News

The Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. ISSN#1947-475X

Emma Hallman

November/December 2015

The theme for the issue is Migratory Patterns: Tracing the Movement and Geographical, Psychological and Upward Mobility of Our Ancestors. This issues is dedicated in memory of Emma Patricia Hallman (1930-2015). She served as President of AAHGS—Montgomery County Chapter. My service comes to a close with this issue. It has been a honor to serve you. Thank you. Rev. Roland Barksdale-Hall AAHGS Director of Publications

FAMILY PROSPECTS

AAHGS members in front of quilts (Courtesy of Jane Taylor Thomas) AAHGS NATIONAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Reconnecting Friends and Family, Rediscovering African American Heritage By Roland Barksdale-Hall (Editor’s note: Reprinted with permission from the fall 2015 BCALA News. The writer of this piece was asked during the National Conference of African American Librarians to submit it. He is a former editor of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s (BCALA) official publication)

This year’s Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) National Genealogy Conference held at the Richmond Marriott Hotel, October 1517, there was an air of discovery. Yes, I like the majority of attendees was captivated by the Conference theme, “Virginia, Where African-American Roots Run Deep: Family History and the National Narrative.” AAHGS national president Tamela Tenpenny-Lewis in cooperation with the AAHGS Greater Richmond, Central Virginia, Hampton Roads and the Burke, Brown and Steppe Chapters, all-based in Virginia, showcased the wonders of Virginia. I had lived in Hampton, Va, looked forward to my return, reconnecting with friends. Hampton University was “My Home by the Sea,” where I wrote the classic, African American Family Guide to Tracing Our Roots: Healing , Understanding & Restoring Our Families. (cont. on p. 6)

Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line: Freedom Bound To Philadelphia 28th Ward District By Michael Williams For the longest time it never occurred to me that I was the second generation born in Queens, New York. I always thought there were at least five generations that preceded me who all were born in New York. In fact, my mother, JoAnn Harth, was the first generation born in an area in South Jamaica Queens New York known as the 40 Projects in 1946. Once, I recall an opportunity to ask my mother about where her parents were from and she kindly responded saying, “Chile, your grandpap and nanna were from the Carolina Southern Belt.” Grandpap’s name was McQueen Harth Jr. and he was originally from a railroad town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, known in his day as North Station but grew up in North Philadelphia. Nanna’s name was Annie Mary Evans and she was originally from Durham-Raleigh area in North Carolina but grew up in Queens. I’ve always heard the story about how grandpap and nanna met in St. (cont. on p. 2) BREAKING NEWS Reconnecting Family and Friends………………….……..1,6,8-10 Crossing the Mason-Dixon Line…...……………………..1-2, 4,12 REGULAR FEATURES President’s Page……………………………………………..........3 Editor’s Page………….…………………………….…………..4,5 Chapter Directory………………………………..……….….…...6 Chapter News…………………………….……………….13-18,20 Resources for Research in Florida……………………….……...11 Welcome New Members…………………………………….19-20 In Memory…….……………………………………………….2,20 2015 AAHGS Annual Publications Report……………………...22

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AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. 1977-2015 CELEBRATING OVER THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN MEMORY

NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

Joseph L. Douglas, Jr. was the author of Perry Baily, a.k.a. Downs, and Samuel A Douglas; Relatives of Frederick Douglass; A Family History: 1733-1929, for which he was honored with the following awards: The Sumner A. Parker Award by the Joseph L. Douglas, Jr. Maryland Historical Society and the Genealogy Award by AAHGS and best book award for Frederick Douglass: A Family Biography: 1733-1936. His obituary appeared in the Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2015, edition of the Washington Post on page B 7. (cont. from p. 1 CROSSING THE MASON-DIXON LINE) Albans

Naval Base in Queens. But I didn’t know much about grandpap’s story because he was more of an absentee father during the time my mom was growing up. Therefore, mom only knew fragments of her father’s story in comparison to her mom’s story.

There was one detail that my mom could remember about grandpap’s story. He grew up in North Philadelphia’s 28th Ward District section of the city. Every attempt I made to interrogate my mother to find out what more she knew about the migration story leaving South Carolina to Philadelphia failed because that part of the story was very hazy. Since my mom didn’t know her father’s migration story that compelled me to go on a 12-year genealogical quest to find out: “What was the catalyst that inspired the courageous move from Orangeburg County, South Carolina to North Philadelphia?” I’m thankful that my search was not in vain. I did uncover the sequence of events that forever changed the course of my grandfather’s life, his immediate family, and his descendants who ended up being born in New York.

TOP: Washington DC Metropolitan area AAHGS members surround Bernice Bennett Saturday afternoon at the AfriGeneas* Table. Jacqueline Tillman-Lewis, Frank Jenkins, Stephanie Trice, Virginia Mercer, and Veronica Raglin. AfriGeneas is a site devoted to African American genealogy, to researching African Ancestry in the Americas in particular and to genealogical research and resources in general. http://www.afrigeneas.com/ BOTTOM: Former Virginia Governor, Lawrence Douglas Wilder at his book signing.

Grandpap was born in 1921 to Mr. and Mrs. McQueen and Minnie Harth, who both were natives of Orangeburg County, South Carolina and my greatgrandparents. At that time, my great-grandparents were the proud parents of two boys: my grandpap and his older brother Frederick, born in 1918. The family lived in Hebron Township in a railroad (cont. on p. 4) 2

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November/December 2015

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK... To Our Members, The Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc., (AAHGS), is a non-profit membership organization committed to the preservation of the history, genealogy and culture of the African-ancestored populations of the local, national and international community. AAHGS stresses the importance of our history and genealogy by encouraging active participation in recording research and personal family histories. President, Tamela Tenpenny-Lewis Vice President-Genealogy, Sherri Camp Vice President-History, Gene Stephenson, II Correspondence Secretary, Toni Byrd Vann Treasurer Carolyn Corpening, Rowe Financial Secretary, (vacant) Recording Secretary Victoria Betsill Past President, Charles Howard Membership Chair, Tamika Strong Chapter Committee, Nathania Branch Miles Chapter Committee, Gene R. Stephenson, II Awards Committee, Jane Taylor Thomas Awards Committee, Alice F. Harris FGS Delegate Shelley Murphy President Emeritus Barbara Walker Editor, AAHGS Journal, Rev. Roland Barksdale-Hall Communications Specialist, (vacant) Parliamentarian, Nelvia Brady-Hampton. Editor, AAHGS News, Rev. Roland Barksdale -Hall Asst. Editor, AAHGS News, Marsha Bembry Asst. Editor, AAHGS News, Elyse Hill Book Notes Editor, Debra Newman Ham

Submissions are welcomed. Articles will be printed at the editor’s discretion and may be edited without advance notice to the author. Articles and other submissions must be received on or before the fifth day of each odd-numbered month. Articles and queries may be mailed to: AAHGS News, c/o Roland Barksdale-Hall, 939 Baldwin Ave., Suite 1, Sharon, PA 16146, email: . Permission to reproduce this issue or portions thereof must be secured in writing from the publisher.

It has truly been an honor to serve the membership of this great organization in the capacity of National President. Over the last four years we have had many successes characterized by your tireless efforts. I am pleased in the many accomplishments that have occurred and I am thankful for the friendships and mentoring that I will hold dear in my heart. To the Executive Committee, National Board, Chapter Presidents, Standing and Special Committees, your stewardship of AAHGS has been characterized by your innovative ideas, strategic thinking in management of day to day operations, improvement in the content and frequency of communication between the national office and the membership, in addition, updating the by-laws and the many handbooks that are the fabric of the organization. Thank you for the encouragement as well as the chastisement which is needed for growth. Thank you for determining objectives that matter to the membership and for keeping the organization moving in a positive direction. To our members, you are the heart of AAHGS, thank you for your confidence in this leadership team. Through your support we have developed partnerships, improved our financial stability, built a growing team of young committed professionals and increased the visibility of AAHGS across the nation. From your passion and dedication this administration leaves a strong foundation. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the growing attendance of the last four national conferences. North Carolina Piedmont Triad - 2012, Nashville 2013, Pittsburgh 2014 and Richmond 2015, each conference a huge asset to us. Our 2015 conference far exceeded our expectations and a true measure of our growth with over 400 conference attendees! The largest attended AAHGS national conference that I am aware of since my joining AAHGS in 1997. Kudos to all of the chapter members and conference committees in offering outstanding speakers and wonderful networking opportunities. In closing, I want to thank everyone that has volunteered their time, put family on hold and made personal sacrifices to the organization. Your passion for genealogy and your dedication to AAHGS has made my job easy. Although my term as National President is expiring I am not saying goodbye. As Immediate Past President I will continue to work for you and hope that I can encourage a new set of leaders in continuing the legacy and the vision of our founder James Dent Walker. Again, thank you all for having faith in my leadership during my terms of National President, National Vice-President of Genealogy, and where it all begin, charter member and the 1st elected President of AAHGS Arkansas Chapter. Happy Holidays and I look forward to a memorable year ahead in 2016! Yours Truly,

Copyright © 2015 by the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. All rights reserved.

Tamela Tenpenny-Lewis Submitted December 17, 2015

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Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.

www.aahgs.org Founded 1977

November/December 2015

EDITOR’S PAGE LETTER TO THE EDITOR Thanks for sharing the Reuters article with us. Darleen Amobi has been keeping us up to date on Mr. Burris' pardon which, I believe, is the result of Delaware African Americans in Delaware pushing to know more about our ancestors. We are elated to see this happen and recognize that more can/should/ and will be done to commemorate our history. Whether that recognition comes as pardons, plaques, renaming trails and other areas of the state after African Americans, bringing more related publications into elementary and secondary classrooms, hiring of African Americans in high level positions in profit & non-profit organizations, etc., we have to continue to push these reforms; and in Delaware, we will.

AAHGS members celebrate the release of The Coral Anniversary Edition (volumes 31 & 32) of the AAHGS Journal at the the AAHGS National Conference. (l to r) Dr. Patricia Carter Sluby, AAHGSRoland Barksdale-Hall, Jane Thomas, Emma Davis and Gene Stephenson, II, at Richmond Marriott Hotel in Richmond, Virginia.

Sincerely yours, Jim Jones President, Delaware Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (DEAAHGS)

depot town known as North Station. McQueen and Minnie were stuck between a rock and hard place because they knew they needed to join the bandwagon of the 6 million Blacks who left the South in pursuit of a better day in the Northern Promised Land. The time was ripe for them to begin to plan their escape during the 1st wave of the migration spanning from 1910-1940. However, a few things interrupted their plans. In 1910, McQueen’s father, Daniel Harth a former slave and Civil War Confederate Vet, deeded him and two other brothers the 250 acre family farm situated along the North Fork of the Edisto River and bequeathed the water mill, grist mill, and saw mill for them to continue the family business. Five years later, Daniel dies. Four years after McQueen buried his father, an unprecedented wave of racially motivated mob violence, known as the Red Summer of 1919, swept through the nation. Lynching throughout the South was widespread from 1890 to 1930. (cont. from p. 2 CROSSING THE MASON-DIXON LINE)

body was found in the woods and her head had been beaten to a pulp by a lightwood knot. Along the way between 1915 and 1920 McQueen weds Minnie Baker-Harth and they produce their first child, Frederick. McQueen’s mom, Jane Elizabeth Harth a former slave, becomes ill and moves in with them because she has nowhere else to go. Between the lynching news of Rosa Richardson and the demise of McQueen’s father and the racial tensions brewing in Orangeburg it was very apparent that an exit plan had to be devised to get as far away from South Carolina as possible. However, there were a lot of loose ends that needed to be tied especially with regard to the family estate. There was talk of selling the estate but McQueen’s mom would have been heart-broken to see the family farm sold off. The family legacy was tied to the land. After all Jane remembered signing her name next to her late husband’s name to show her willing participation in passing on the legacy to her children that would be enjoyed by future generations. Time was running out and a concrete plan was In Orangeburg County the last horrific lynching desperately needed in the event Jane died before their that made the headline news was in July 14, 1914 when eventual move to the North. January of 1922, McQueen and Rosa Richardson was viewed as a suspect in the brutal his siblings buried their mom next to their (cont. on p. 12) murder of a 12-year old girl named Essie Bell. Essie’s 4

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November/December 2015

LETTER TO THE EDITOR AAHGS—DE President Jim Jones asked me to send the News Journal backstory about Samuel D. Burris and his Pardon to the AAHGS News. I did attend this celebration in our capital town of Dover, Delaware on November 2nd. I sat between Robert Seeley (great-great-grandson of Thomas Garrett) and Professor Robin Krawitz (Wilmington University). A clip about Samuel D. Burris is available on the Wilmington Teleduct Production DVD “Whispers of Angels.” Darleen Amobi Submitted November 29, 2015

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(cont. from p. 1 RECONNECTING) I

served as the Peabody Special Collections librarian at Hampton University and was friendly with Selma Stewart, president of the AAHGS Hampton Roads Chapter and members. My mentor and BCALA member Gladys Smiley Bell, Peabody Librarian, now serves as the custodian of these rare first editions, The Southern Workman and other treasures.

From my sojourn in Hampton Roads I knew Virginia to be a place rich in African American heritage. Thoughts of concerts at Ogden Hall, African Landing in Hampton, pouring libations to honor our enslaved African ancestors flashed through my mind. As the Society’s director of publications, my first job was as point man for getting the word out about Virginia’s African American heritage in the AAHGS News. A feature story, “First Africans in Hampton,” ran in the AAHGS News (January/ February 2015, pp. 1,9,12). Marsha Bembry, assistant editor to the AAHGS News, explored just how deep our ancestral roots run in Virginia. In 1619, the arrival of the first documented Bantu-speaking Africans from the kingdoms of Ndong and Kongo, vicinity of present-day Angola, at Point Comfort in Hampton, Va., occurred. By the time of the conference there was a noticeable buzz in the air.

Inspiring African American Women of Virginia book cover

Genealogy Conference in Richmond, Virginia, was a five-star affair. Thanks go to Marilyn Campbell, president of the AAHGS Greater Richmond Chapter, and members for their southern hospitality. Best of all, it was warm and the sun was radiantly shining. On Friday Dr. Edward L. Ayers, President of the University of Richmond, gave the opening presentation. The Friday luncheon speaker was Greg Crawford, Local Records Service Programs Manager, who talked about doing research at the Library of Virginia. Genealogy Conference At the Saturday morning general Highlights session former Virginia Governor The AAHGS National Lawrence Douglas Wilder

November/December 2015

captivated the audience. Selma Stewart, Bessida Cauthorne White and Shannon Christmas assisted in presenting the Wilder family genealogy. The Conference had national speakers, cultural tours and exhibits. An African American Heritage tour promoted with visits to Church Hill for discussion about the arrival of the first Africans to Richmond, Shockoe Bottom for discussion about slavery, Maggie Lena Walker National Historic Site and Jackson Ward lived up to expectation. Presenter Ric Murphy, author of Freedom Road: An American Family Saga from Jamestown to World War (Authorhouse, 2014), shared his pioneer family’s story in the exhibits area. Conference attendees enjoyed more than 30 concurrent workshops, author luncheons and even a national community project. On the first day a twopart “Beginning African American Genealogy” session, taught by Sherri Camp and Dr. Shelley Murphy, provided nuts and bolts research techniques for beginners. On the second day Murphy presented an intermediate-level session, “How to Join the Daughters of the American Revolution?” Camp is AAHGS vice president of genealogy and a genealogy librarian with the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Murphy is president of the AAHGS Central Virginia Chapter. (cont. on p. 8)

AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. 1977-2015 CELEBRATING OVER THIRTY-FIVE YEARS 6

Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Chapters

Arkansas Arkansas Chapter Michelle Hood, President P.O. Box 4294 Little Rock, AR 72214 www.rootsweb.com/ ~araahgs/

Maryland Agnes Kane Callum Chapter Roland N. Mills, President P.O. Box 9366 Baltimore, MD 21228

California Central California Chapter Denise Lancaster-Young, President P.O. Box 9161 Fresno, CA 93790-9161 www.aahgscc.googlepages.com [email protected]

Central Maryland Chapter Alice F. Harris, President 6352 Windharp Way Columbia, MD 21045

Delaware Delaware Chapter Jim Jones, President 1305 Foulk Road Wilmington, DE 19803 [email protected] Florida Central Florida Chapter Kenneth Mitchell, President P.O. Box 1347 Orlando, FL 32802-1347 www.rootsweb.com/ ~flcfaahg/ East Central Florida Chapter Ann Harrell, President PO Box 11652 Daytona Beach, FL32114 [email protected] Tampa, Florida Chapter Robert L. Wimberly, President 27418 Sugar Loaf Dr. Wesley Chapel, FL 33544-8639 www.aahgstampa.homestead.com Georgia Metro Atlanta Chapter Emma Davis Hamilton, President P.O. Box 54131 Atlanta, GA 30308-9998 www.aahgsatl.org Illinois Little Egypt Chapter Lori Crenshaw Bryant, President 308 Birchlane Drive Carbondale, IL 62901 [email protected] Northern Illinois Southern Wisconsin Chapter (NISW) Joyce Higgins, President P.O. Box 1732 Rockford, IL 61110-1732 www.aahgsnisw.org> [email protected] Patricia Liddell Researchers Chapter Carrie McMorris, President P.O. Box 438652 Chicago, IL 60643 [email protected] Kansas Kansas Chapter Sherri Camp, President 2601 SW Westport Dr. Topeka, KS 66614

Montgomery County, Maryland Chapter Patricia Hallman, President P.O. Box 10063 Rockville, MD 20859 Prince George’s County Chapter Jane T. Thomas, President P.O. Box 44252 Ft. Washington, MD 20744-4252 Massachusetts New England Chapter Stella M. Pierce, President 5 Old Planters Road Beverly, MA 01915 Minnesota Minnesota Chapter Callie Flournoy-Riser P.O. Box 6289 Minneapolis, MN 55406 [email protected] New Jersey New Jersey Chapter Muriel D. Roberts, President P.O. Box 83 Middletown, NJ 07748 [email protected] New York Jean Sampson Scott Greater New York Chapter Sharon Wilkins, President P.O. Box 1050 New York, NY 10116-1050 < www.aahgsny.org> North Carolina NC/Piedmont Triad Chapter Lamar E. DeLoatch, President P.O. Box 36254 Greensboro, NC 27416 [email protected] NC Triangle Wanda Cox-Bailey, President P.O. Box 907 Durham, NC 27702 [email protected] Pennsylvania Philadelphia Family Quest Society Chapter Laura Booth, President P.O. Box 34620 Philadelphia, PA 19101

Pittsburgh Chapter Marlene Garrett Bransom, President P.O. Box 99893 Pittsburgh, PA 15233-4893 [email protected] www.aahgspgh.org South Carolina Greenville-Upstate SC Chapter Truman Humbert 109 Theresa Drive Greenville, SC 29605 [h] (864) 299-0644 [email protected] Tennessee Nashville Chapter Chajuan Fitzgerald, President 3415 West End Avenue, #511 Nashville, TN 37203 [email protected] Memphis Chapter Alison Barnes, President P.O. Box 771731 Memphis, TN 38177 http://www.aahgsmemphis.org. [email protected] https://www.facebook.com/ AAHGSMemphisTN Texas Willie Lee Gay-H-Town Chapter Jesse Williams, President 6670 Radley Drive Spring, TX 77329 [email protected] Utah Utah Chapter Charlotte Starks, President 1193 Sienna Way Taylorsville, UT 84123 [email protected] Virginia Burke, Brown and Steppe Chapter Caruso Brown, President P.O. Box 7492 Charlottesville, VA 22906-7492 Central Virginia Chapter Shelley Murphy, President 265 Turkeysag Trail, Suite 102, #140 Palmyra, VA 22963 [email protected] Greater Richmond Chapter Marilyn Campbell, President PO Box 27833, Richmond, VA 23261 [email protected] www.richmondva.com Hampton Roads Chapter Selma Steward, President P.O. Box 2448 Newport News, VA 23609-2448 [email protected] Washington, D.C. James Dent Walker Chapter Sybil Templeman Williams, President P.O. Box 60632 Washington, D.C. 20039-0632

Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.

The booth for the FamilySearch Partnership Freedmen’s Bureau Indexing Project, which AAHGS was a national partner, drew an enthusiastic audience. The release of the highlyanticipated 35th Anniversary Coral Edition, double issue of the Journal of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, published simultaneously as the AAHGS Conference Proceedings (Part I and II) at the National Genealogy Conference, was greeted with fanfare. Magazines for Libraries has recommended the Journal of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society “for all public libraries.” The Journal of the AfroAmerican Historical and Genealogical Society is the premier journal in the field of African American genealogy. Dr. Lynn Rainville’s paper, “Learning from God’s Acre: Locating and Protecting Historic African American Cemeteries,” based upon this year’s Richmond Conference presentation, appeared in the recently published 33rd, 34th, 35th & 36th AAHGS Conference Proceedings (Part I and II) (pp. 1830) along with “Publishing Panel Comments” by BCALA member Elizabeth Jean Brumfied (pp. 3435). Caruso Brown is president of the AAHGS Charlottesville-based Burke Brown Steppe Chapter, where Dr. Rainville is a member.

www.aahgs.org Founded 1977

November/December 2015

(cont. from p. 6 RECONNECTING)

Movement for a Historical Marker on Broad Street Discoveries about Richmond, Va., and environs added to the travel experience. The Conference site held richer stories more than I imagined. In “Giles

Roland Barksdale-Hall (second from right) with descendants of family in the book Freedom Road (l-r) Douglass Cornall, author Ric Murphy and Joseph Anderson

Beecher Jackson: My Research Process” (July/August 2015, pp. 4) Dr. Patricia Carter Sluby, a former certified genealogist and AAHGS life member, documented her maternal Great-grandfather Giles Beecher Jackson, Esq., a former slave, was “the first African American to be admitted to practice before the Virginia Court of Appeals on November 30, 1887.” Dr. Sluby earlier shared with me about the historical significance of the Richmond Marriott Hotel as the site of her ancestor’s law office and bakery. Yet, I remained struck by being on these grounds where Black history occurred. A movement now hopefully is afoot to place a historical marker at the site in recognition of Giles Beecher Jackson, Esq. Maybe 8

some of our BCALA News and AAHGS News readers might also inquire with the Richmond Marriott Hotel about a historical marker in recognition of Attorney Jackson being placed at this historic Broad Street site. On October 18, Dr. Sluby shared the following information with the executive meeting manager Tim Koch, who passed it on to the general manager of the hotel: I informed the Marriott management that as a former slave who "read the law"under the tutelage of William H. Beveridge (1840-1903), Giles Jackson opened his law practice first on North Sixth Street, and, after being commissioned a Colonel by President McKinley as part of the inaugural parade in 1905, he relocated his practice (cont. on p. 9)

Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. (cont. from p. 8 RECONNECTING) to 528

East Broad Street, the very site where the Richmond Marriott now stands! Jackson purchased the property to relocate his practice closer to the downtown court buildings. The structure was a three story building that housed his profitable bakery on the ground floor below his law office which also was the location of the Negro Development and Exposition Company of the U.S.A, an enterprise he conceived to honor the progress and thrift of the Negro race as exhibits in the Negro Building at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition. Due to the growth and progress of Richmond City, Jackson's final law office was located five blocks to the north on Second Street. The community-at-large might benefit from knowledge about Colonel Jackson. Free Colored Persons Descendants in Petersburg A query that came across my desk from a researcher about finding descendants of pre-Civil War families in Petersburg, Virginia, led to contacting a network of BCALA members for assistance. Petersburg had several thousand free persons of color residents prior to the Civil War. Marilyn Campbell, president of the AAHGS Greater Richmond Chapter, and members drew on their extensive research files and contacts. BCALA member Michael L. Walker provided valuable referrals to subject experts at Virginia State University and the Virginia

www.aahgs.org Founded 1977

November/December 2015

Dr. Fred Anderson, director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society/ Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies Association “information on both white and Black churches” is being collected and preserved. The Society “documented the role the church played in movement of people from slavery to freedom through church records.” Researchers travel “from near and far to spend time there searching through their archives.” Records of higher education offered a testament to the role of the Black Church in racial uplift. “First Annual Catalogue of Virginia Union Here I Lay My Burdens Down Book University” (AAHGS News, May/ Cover June 2015, pp. 15-22) and “Virginia Seminary Catalogue for 1892-1893” (AAHGS News, July/ Historical Society. BCALA August 2015, pp. 16-21) by Dr. member Wayne M. Crocker, Donna Tyler Hollie rekindled director of the Petersburg, and staff memory. assisted with referrals. On what unexpectedly turned out to be Tracing Your Roots another research lead I visited Dr. Herbert Ponder, pastor of Mount Some years ago, I did a Tabor Baptist Church, Richmond, book signing for The AfricanVa. I was pleasantly pleased to see American Family Guide to Tracing my old college friend along with a Our Roots: Healing, Understanding history room—a treasure trove with & Restoring Our Families (Amber photos of past pastors and records Books) at the Italianate building (a as well. former home) with cozy rooms, “A number of resources” which housed the old Petersburg about descendants of free persons Public Library. Family from the of color before the Civil War Metropolitan Washington area existed. Dr. Herbert Ponder, a attended the book signing. As graduate of the Samuel DeWitt earlier mentioned, BCALA Proctor School of Theology at member, Wayne M. Crocker was Virginia Union University shared. (Cont. on p. 10) Through the Free Indeed! Exhibit

AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, INC. 1977-2015 CELEBRATING OVER THIRTY YEARS 9

Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.

www.aahgs.org Founded 1977

Women of Virginia (iUniverse, 2005) and Hampton University (Arcadia, 2014), to these sacred grounds call ancestral memory. Maybe, you too got ancestors on your mind. If so, I invite you to attend the upcoming 2016 AAHGS Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Mark your calendar for the 37th AAHGS National Genealogy Conference “Ancestors on My Mind,” to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, October 13-16, 2016. Emma Davis Hamilton is president of the AAHGS Metro Atlanta Chapter. To learn more about the 37th AfroAmerican Historical and Genealogical Society Inc. National Genealogy Conference, chapters in your area, and tracing your roots, please visit www.aahgs.org.

(Cont. from p. 8 RECONNECTING)

the library director. Reconnecting with friends and family, I have plans to visit the new modern state-of-theart Petersburg Public Library. It will be great, rediscovering African American heritage, digging deeper in Richmond, Va., the Library of Virginia and environs. “Who are my people?” I have explored for some time. Questions about my ancestors’ lives in Virginia still remain. The depletion of farm land in Virginia and the invention of the cotton gin contributed to the spread of King Cotton along with slavery to other reaches in the South. Unlike some families, Barksdale oral history provided clues about names, places and a migration. Enslaved ancestors, Dolly and Richard, sometimes listed as “Richmond” in records, traveled from Virginia through Cuthbert, Ga. to Eufaula, Ala. All the Barksdale family members, I have ever met in my lifetime, were born in Eufaula, Alabama. Several generations following slavery family elders continued to hold to the story passed down over generations--“the Barksdales are Virginians.” Like so many other African American families, the Barksdales have roots that run deep in Virginia. I now had traveled back to Virginia, the place where my first enslaved African ancestors likely lived and breathed. My journey brought me full circle. Ancestors on My Mind Oh my goodness, I just saw flurries outside my window. It is going to be a long winter. During the winter I plan to revisit “Resources for Research in Virginia” (AAHGS News, July/August 2015, p. 9) by Rosalyn Green, genealogical research

November/December 2015

Richmond Virginia Book Cover

Rev. Roland Barksdale-Hall is the News recipient of the 2015 BCALA National Leadership Award.

consultant and AAHGS columnist, when it is cold out. Ms. Green, who is the greatgranddaughter of Rev. R.J. Bass, the fourth pastor at Mount Tabor Baptist Church in Richmond, just happened to attend the Homecoming—Family and Friends Service when I visited there. It is a small world. Until next time I plan to sip hot cocoa, catch up on my reading before a toasty fireplace. Richmond Virginia (Arcadia, 2002) by Elvatrice Parker Belsches would rank high on a “Rediscovering African American Heritage in Virginia” Reader’s Advisory along with books by librarian Veronica Alease Davis. Proud Hampton graduate Ms. Davis, who authored Here I Lay My Burdens Down: A History of the Black Cemeteries of Richmond, Virginia (Dietz Press, 2003), Inspiring African American 10

CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? Keep AAHGS informed of any changes in your address so you can avoid any interruption in receiving the AAHGS News and the AAHGS Journal. Take a moment to look at your AAHGS mailing label. If your address needs any changes, let us know so we can update our records. Please use the following format to update your address: Name and AAHGS membership number (located on your mailing label) Old address or attach an old mailing label New address Mail the change of address information to: AAHGS, Membership, P.O. Box 73067, Washington, D.C. 20056-3067. Please be sure to include your AAHGS membership number in all

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November/December 2015

RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH IN FLORIDA FAAHPN Florida African American Heritage Preservation Network: Explore links for Resources and Digital Archives (lead to links for African American museums throughout Florida); bottom of "About FAAHPN" page has link for Florida Black Heritage Trail Magazine online. http://faahpn.com/

African American Genealogy Research In Florida Caution: The websites listed below (except ancestry.com) are

free, but access to some links within them may requirement payment.

Useful Websites African American Gateway, Florida http:// www.genealogycenter.info/africanamerican/results_afram.php? AAHGS, Central Florida Chapter: Explore links on this chapter's "LookUps" page. http://www.aahgs.org/index.cfm? subject=FL fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&pageId=560 Florida Memory, The Black Experience https:// Access Genealogy, Florida African American Genealogy: www.floridamemory.com/collections/blackexperience/ http://www.accessgenealogy.com/black-genealogy/floridaafrican-american-genealogy.htm Florida Memory, Voter Registration Rolls, 1867-68: Can search for names on the voter rolls shortly after the Civil War Books by race and county. https://www.floridamemory.com/ Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation, by collections/election1867/ Larry Eugene Rivers African Americans in Florida by Maxine D Jones (author), Lowcountry Africana, African American Genealogy and Kevin M McCarthy (contributor) History in SC, GA, and FL, Florida Ancestors: focuses on the rice-growing areas of SC, GA, & extreme northeastern FL; General Florida Genealogy Resources contains link to records for FL births, marriages, deaths, State Library and Archives of Florida http:// cemeteries, digital collections, census, and more. http:// dos.myflorida.com/library-archives/ To access searchable www.lowcountryafricana.com/florida-ancestors-by-aishacollections, taylor/ click on "Research", then "Explore Our Resources". Scroll down to "Available Online" and choose "Florida Memory". Florida African American Resources http:// R.A. Gray Building, 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, www.floridagenealogy.com/aa.htm Florida 32399-0250 Phone: 850.245.6700 The Black Archives History & Research Foundation of All States South Florida Finding Aids & Inventories Search for ancestors and build your family tree at http://www.theblackarchives.org/archon/ ancestry.com (payment required) and familysearch.org Search for ancestors on Heritage Quest through a link on John G. Riley Center/ Museum, Riley Archives http:// your local library's website. http://lib.de.us (for DE) rileymuseum.org/site/learn/about-the-riley-archives/ Florida African-American Heritage FLAFAMH/index.html

http://beyreuth.net/

Compiled for August 22, 2015 AAHGS—DE meeting by Rosalyn Green, Research Consultant. This is her fifth installment in an ongoing series. Rosalyn ([email protected]) welcomes feedback from those using her research information and techniques.

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late of who would watch the kids. The idea to send for father, Daniel Harth at St. James United Methodist McQueen’s younger brother and his wife came up. The Church Cemetery. younger couple were the perfect choice to help out as they became acclimated to living in Philadelphia’s 28th Churches at that time were forming migration Ward District. clubs to exchange information and facilitate passage to According to the 1930 Federal U.S. Census of the North. McQueen most likely attended a meeting Philadelphia’s 28th Ward District area, I noticed that it and learned about a few immediate interregional was a mixed community of European immigrants of migration opportunities to find work and save up Russian and Irish background and that there were many enough money to be able to fully relocate his family. Virginian neighbors, as well as South Carolinians. After burying his mom, McQueen took advantage of an Temple University History professor Fran Ryan, Ph.D., opportunity to learn the Brick Mason trade and work as suggests that Philadelphia had the highest amount of a day laborer in Richmond, Virginia’s historic Jackson blacks north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Since white Ward District. I know this to be true because I found men were drafted into service vacancies existed that McQueen in Richmond Virginia’s 1923 City Directory. needed to be filled by black men. Ryan goes on to say McQueen took the first train smoking out of North that in the 1920s the federal government cut off Station and transferred at Columbia, South Carolina to European immigration. So jobs were still abundant. make his connection on the Atlantic coast Line Railroad The vast majority of black women worked as domestic (ACL) heading to Richmond, Virginia. By 1920 the servants and house cleaners. I can attest that what Fran, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad ran from Richmond, Ryan Ph.D. suggests is consistent with the occupational Virginia, all the way down to Jacksonville, Florida. trends I found in the 1930 census. Many of the black In the 1920s, the Jackson Ward District was women from Virginia and South Carolina, who were thought of as the ‘Harlem’ of the South and became a neighbors, held those domestic jobs. major entertainment hub for musical greats like Duke With the prevalence of housing discrimination Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. W.E.B. DuBois and disparities in job wages between blacks and whites frequented Jackson Ward often too. DuBois wrote a it was definitely a test of immense faith to try to book titled ‘The Philadelphia Negro’ and he mentioned navigate through all of those challenges. By the time that a number of residents who migrated to Philadelphia grandpap and his family relocates to Philadelphia they from Virginia by the turn of the 20th Century stopped encounter another stressful situation and that was along Roanoke, Richmond, and Norfolk and kept in surviving the Great Depression of the 1930s. After touch with friends and family. Somehow while surviving all of those changes, my grandpap decided to McQueen was staying in Richmond and communicating join the U.S. Navy and got drafted to join the Korean back and forth with his family and friends, he learned War. Who knew that upon his completion of service he that there were tremendous opportunities for day chose to stay in Queens, New York living on residing at laborers to make decent money working for the naval base in St. Albans where he would meet his construction companies in the city making $35 a month appointment with destiny. in Philadelphia. The average income for a family living As I close, I would like to say that now I feel so in Philadelphia was said to be around $25. While McQueen worked countless hours, his grateful for the journey that my grandpap made that led wife and kids stayed with his in-laws and that gave him to my eventual existence. Grandpap died in 1975 three a bit of assurance knowing they were in the protective years before I was born. Knowing this story truly company of family. By 1930, McQueen had amassed encourages me to not be afraid to take calculated enough funds to relocate the entire family by train to chances and stick to a logical plan that will aide me in meet him at Philadelphia’s Penn Station. McQueen making my own way in life. secured a job as a brick mason for a construction Michael Williams (www.mynativewomb.com), a member of company and found out about employment the AAHGS—Pittsburgh Chapter, submitted on December 6, opportunities for Minnie, his wife, as a machine 2015 operator at a dress manufacturing company. The issue (cont. from p. 4 CROSSING THE MASON-DIXON LINE)

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IN MEMORY

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AAHGS NATIONAL CONFERENCE PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

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