Research At The National Archives And Beyond!

From Family History to Community History - the Chowan Discovery Group Story with Marvin T. Jones, Executive Director of the Chowan Discovery Group(CDG).    The mission of the Chowan Discovery Group  is to research, document, preserve and present the 400+ year-old history of the landowning tri-racial people of color of the Winton Triangle, an area centered in Hertford County, North Carolina.     Founded in 2007, the Chowan Discovery Group (www.chowandiscovery.org)  co-produced in 2009 its first major presentation, a stage production, scripted by Jones, called The Winton Triangle.  The book, Carolina Genesis: Beyond the Color Line, features Jones’ summary of the Triangle’s history. In addition to writing articles, Jones has made numerous presentations about the Winton Triangle’s history on national and regional radio, at colleges and universities, museums and to civic groups. The North Carolina Office of Archives and History accepted four of his nominations for highway historical markers. A native of Cofie

"Maximize Your Genealogy Research at the Alexandria Library, Special Collections", with Leslie Anderson.   Natonne Elaine Kemp welcomes Leslie Anderson, Reference Librarian in Special Collections, Alexandria Library and co-author of  Alexandria and editor of the multi-volume Virginia Slave Births Index, 1853-1865.  She is on the Board of Governors of the Virginia Genealogical Society, a member of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, the National Genealogical Society, and several Virginia and Pennsylvania genealogical societies.  Ms. Anderson received her Master's of Science in Library Science degree from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio and her Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.  She has participated in the Virginia Institute of Genealogical Research, the National Institute on Genealogical Research, the University of Virginia's Rare Book School, Samford University’s Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research

Dower Slaves and Administrative Court Action  Court minutes are a chronological listing of events and persons presented to the appropriate assembly or court. They are rarely indexed by name, but contain very rich genealogical treasures.    J. Mark Lowe, CG, FUGA was named the FGS Delegate of the Year in 2000. He is a full-time professional researcher and educator, who formerly served as President of APG, and as an officer for FGS . You can generally find him researching for clients including Who Do You Think You Are?, African American Lives or Biography Channel’s uneXplained. Otherwise with his love for teaching, you will see him at SLIG, IGHR, numerous webinars or at your local society Lowe is a professional researcher and educator, teaching at SLIG, IGHR & RIGS Alliance, researching for clients, and working on projects like "Who Do You Think You Are?"  

Bernice Bennett welcomes Joanne Abel for a discussion of the  Jeanes Teachers and their community organizing work to build Rosenwald Schools. Joanne Abel, adult programming and humanities librarian at Durham County Library, earned her bachelor of science degree in education from Georgia Southern College, her master of library science from North Carolina Central University, and her master of arts in liberal studies from Duke University. Joanne Abel’s master’s thesis  was Persistence and Sacrifice:  Durham County's African American Community and Durham's Jeanes Teachers Build Community Schools, 1900-1930.  In 1907 Miss Anna T. Jeanes, a Quaker woman, donated $1,000,000, “for the furthering and fostering of rudimentary education” in small rural Negro schools.  Though this fund was incorporated as the Negro Rural School Fund, it was usually referred to as the Jeanes Fund. Rosenwald devised a matching grant program to help build black schools in the South. If a rural black community raised a contribution and the

“To Do The Next Needed Thing”:  Jeanes Teachers and the Freedom Struggle Do you know who the Jeanes Teachers are and their role in the education of African American children in rural America? Bernice Bennett welcomes Dr. Valinda W. Littlefield, the Director of African American Studies and Associate Professor of History, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Carolina.  Dr. Littlefield’s research focuses on Southern African American women educators during the Jim Crow era.  She earned dual degrees, BA in History and Political Science from North Carolina Central University and her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  In 1907 Miss Anna T. Jeanes, a Quaker woman, donated $1,000,000, “for the furthering and fostering of rudimentary education” in small rural Negro schools.  Though this fund was incorporated as the Negro Rural School Fund, it was usually referred to as the Jeanes Fund. Rosenwald devised a matching grant program to help build black schools in the South. If a rural b

    “My experience in the military was certainly an important inspiration and foundation in researching the history of the Black Military. It is story of a people who in spite of injustice, continue to be the most patriotic of Americans.”   Bennie J. McRae Jr. Do you know or understand the role played by individuals of African descent in the American Civil War?  Bennie J. McRae a military history researcher, native of Louisville, Alabama who served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War from August 1951 to July 1955, and presently resides in Trotwood, Ohio,  will discuss  the chronology of events of people of African descent prior to, during and after the American Civil War.  For the past twenty-three years, Bennie has focused his research on the African American Military Experience.  He owns and manages a number of websites including “Lest We Forget”, “Making of the United States of America”, “African American Military History” and “Resting Places of United States Colored Civil War Soldiers

Bernice Bennett welcomes renowned Genealogist -  Angela Walton-Raji for a conversation on challenges and opportunities facing the African American genealogy researchers. Angela Walton-Raji is known nationally for her research and work on Oklahoma Native American records.  Her book Black Indian Genealogy Research, African Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes, is the only book of its kind focusing on the unique record sets pertaining to the Oklahoma Freedmen. A founding member of the well known AfriGeneas.com, website, Ms. Walton-Raji is also a genealogist specializing in information for beginners, via daily and weekly online genealogy chats on AfriGeneas.com. She also serves as the host of a weekly genealogy podcast, (The African Roots Podcast) a number of instructional videos and has been used in recent years as a genealogical consultant on several video documentaries. Ms. Walton-Raji combines her skills as a genealogist with a warm on camera personality that brings comfort to her viewers through and h

The Inventive Spirit and African American Patented  Ingenuity by Author,  Patricia Carter Sluby Sluby details the plight of inventive slaves during the antebellum and Civil War eras and juxtaposes with their efforts with free blacks of the same period. In addition, the listeners are guided through a comprehensive discussion of patents developed by African Americans beginning in1821 to present. Discover the range of African American inventiveness with this collection of patents that have been filed since the start of the US Patent Office. Patricia Carter Sluby is a Registered Patent Agent and Researcher. She has interviewed on television and radio shows to discuss minority inventors and is the past president of the National International Property Law Association. 

Learn how Cluster Research helped to unravel the history of a family in 19th Century New York! Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City Yale UP, 2011- is a social and cultural history of African Americans in nineteenth-century New York City as seen through the lens of family history.  It was awarded the 2011 NYC Book Award in History from the New York Society Library and was a finalist for the 2012 Gilder-Lerhman Institute Frederick Douglass Prize.   In connection with the publication of Black Gotham, Peterson has appeared on C-SPAN Book TV. Part detective tale, part social and cultural narrative, Black Gotham is Carla L. Peterson’s riveting account of her quest to reconstruct the lives of her nineteenth-century ancestors from youth to adulthood.  Her book challenges many of the accepted “truths” about African American history, including the assumption that the phrase “19-century black Americans” means enslaved people, that “New York State before the Civil Wa

  "Do Your Roots Need Untangling?  If So, Try Stepping Out on a Limb!  Cluster Genealogy May Hold the Clue"  "Our ancestors lived among many, therefore we can not research them as if they lived in isolation.  Researching our family history through extended family members, neighbors and the community may answer questions and provide information about our own ancestors not found elsewhere".    Deborah A. Abbott, Ph.D., is an adjunct faculty member at the Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR) at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and currently serves as the Cleveland District Trustee on the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS) Board.  She is past-president of the African-American Genealogical Society, Cleveland, Ohio (AAGS) and a retired professor of Counseling from Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.  She holds both the Bachelor of Science and Masters of Education degrees from Tuskegee University (Alabama) and the Ph.D. degree from Kent State University (Ohio). In 2010 the City Counci

Bernice Bennett welcomes a live re-enactment from the auction block and the dangers of the Underground Railroad, two brave women and one child escaped the bonds of slavery. The Religious Society of Friends or Quakers founded Sandy Spring, Maryland in 1724.  This area became a prosperous farming community.  The Maryland Quakers outlawed the owning of slaves in 1776-77 although slavery was not abolished in Maryland until 1864.  In Sandy Spring, former slaves owned their homes, organized churches, and schools in spite of the fact that slave catchers stalked the fields and woods.  Many Quakers and former slaves provided assistance to escaping slaves via the secret “Underground Railroad”. Located in Sandy Spring, Maryland,  the Theatre Ministry of the Olive Branch Community Church developed “Stories on the Way to Sandy Spring” in honor of the 2011 observance for Maryland Emancipation Day.  This vignette, based on three fictional characters, was written by Sophonia Simms and directed by Adam Simms.    Like those

Have you ever traced your family through a maze of intriguing documents and discovered politicians, land owners, socialites, and key decision makers in the community?  What about family members who are both free people of color and white?   Bernice Bennett,  host with Natonne Elaine Kemp, co-host welcome Genealogist and Family Historian Gwendolyn Olson for an exciting discussion of her genealogy journey from Baltimore to Louisiana. In keeping with the vision of researching and sharing “hidden” information and stories about the communities of south Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, Family Historian Gwenn Olson offer stories of the people and places outside of  New Orleans. Her discussion of the Carr/Kelso Family is an effort to provide stories and pictures that can possibly offer new information to those researching their family histories.

Have you attempted to prove oral history shared by family members and friends?    Join author, book publisher and family historian Denise I. Griggs as she describes the research process she went through to find documents to prove and/or disprove the oral family history given by her grandfather, Wilbert Hunt, and his sister, Julia Hunt-Richardson.   Ms. Griggs is a native of California whose parental ancestry is from Mississippi and Arkansas.  She has written several books: A Mulatto Slave, the Events in the Life of Peter Hunt, 1844-1915, a comical book, Look What Shook from the Family Tree!, and a children’s beginning genealogy pamphlet, IKnow Who I Am On the Family Tree. Through her research, she has traced her mother’s family from Mississippi  to County Tipperary, Ireland.  Her forefathers were in the American Revolution, and the War of 1812.  Another one of her maternal ancestor’s was a former slave who joined the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War in 1864, and mustered out from the 6th

Are you struggling to get your book written and published?    Let Anita Paul, better known as “The Author’s Midwife”, get you moving on the right track. Through her Write Your Life program, new authors overcome the struggles of writing, publishing, and marketing a book ... and learn how to leverage that book to achieve success.    

Are you searching for your family?  Are you German, Brown and want to learn more about your American or German heritage?   Join Henriette Cain Genealogist,  Search Consultant and Secretary of the Black German Cultural Society (BGCS), Inc.  Mrs. Cain - a brown baby adoptee successfully   found all members of her birth family. She is now helping others with their searches through her company S.U.N. Public Records Research. She offers family history research and strives to reunite families and friends. She is prominently featured in the documentary - "Brown Babies: Deutschlands verlorene Kinder. Mrs. Cain is also a Founding Member, co-founder and former Vice President of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical  Society of the Northen Illinois Southern Wisconsin Chapter; a member of the Noxubee County (MS) Historical Society, and a former volunteer Librarian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Library.   http://www.planet-schule.de/sf/php/02_sen01.php?sendung=8704  

Do the young people in your life frown whenever you mention your research to them?  Learn ways to pique the interest of young people and keep them engaged as you develop your own genealogy. Nicka Smith lectures and mentors both young and old on genealogical search techniques and has become an expert resource for genealogical research in the northeastern Louisiana area and for sharing genealogy with youth. She is the chair of the Outreach and Education Committee for the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC), and is a board member of the California Genealogical Society (CGS). Nicka is also an accomplished communications professional and photographer.  

Happy New Year - 2013! Are you doing too much and unable to do it all?   Are you stressed out, not exercising, sleeping or eating the right foods?  Is your career, hobby, volunteer work and social media consuming your life?   What about your family, community and spiritual life? Remember, you are only as good as you are balanced! Life/work balance is a barometer for personal, professional, family and community well being.  To maintain that delicate life/work balance, Sharon  Weinstein - author of  B is for Balance, will share 10 tips that you can implement  quickly to help keep you on target.   Sharon Weinstein is an energetic, motivating and highly skilled consultant specializing in workplace wellness, corporate training programs and motivational speaking presentations.   As an author, Sharon draws on her own life experiences to help others gain control of their life purpose.  Her publications include B is for Balance...a guide to creating balance at home and at work (December '08), and Nursing without Bor

Rebroadcast "Research Gems and Revelations at the National Archives" Have you explored all of the wonderful resources available at the National Archives?  Do you often wonder what you could find? Join host Bernice Bennett and author and journalist A’Lelia Bundles for an exciting discussion about the "Research Gems and Revelations at National Archives. Ms. Bundles is chair and president of the board of the Foundation for the National Archives in Washington, DC, and president of the Madam Walker/A’Lelia Walker Family Archives. After a 30 year career as a network television news producer and executive with ABC News and NBC News, she also serves on several other non-profit boards including serving as a Columbia University trustee, and with the Madam Walker Theatre Center of Indianapolis, and the Radcliffe Institute’s Schlesinger Library Council at Harvard. Ms. Bundles is currently at work on her third book,  Joy Goddess of Harlem: The Life and Times of A’Lelia Walker, a biography of her great-grandmother. Her

Rebroadcast Gather at the Table: The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade --   -- is the chronicle of a shared journey toward racial reconciliation. Informed by genealogy, it deals with race, social justice and healing from the traumatic wounds of slavery. Over a three year period, the authors traveled through 27 states, visiting ancestral towns, courthouses, cemeteries, plantations, antebellum mansions, and historic sites.   Bernice Alexander Bennett welcomes Sharon Leslie Morgan and Thomas Norman Dewolf to share this compelling journey with us.   Sharon Morgan is a marketing communications consultant and a nationally recognized pioneer in multicultural marketing. An avid genealogist, she is the webmaster for OurBlackAncestry.com and is a founder of the Black Public Relations Society.  Thomas Norman DeWolf, author of Inheriting the Trade, is featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary film Traces of the Trade, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and on the accl

  Property Rights and Wrongs: African-Americans at the Courthouse with The Legal Genealogist From being treated as property to having their property stolen by those who used the law against the freedmen, African Americans' experience at the courthouse had only one bright spot: it created records for the genealogist-descendants. A Certified Genealogist with a law degree, The Legal Genealogist Judy G. Russell examines the interplay between genealogy and the law. She is a lecturer, educator and writer who enjoys helping others understand a variety of issues, ranging from using DNA in family history to the effect the law had on our ancestors’ lives and the records they left behind. A graduate of George Washington University and Rutgers School of Law-Newark, Judy is a Colorado native with roots deep in the American south on her mother’s side and entirely in Germany on her father’s side. She's a member of the National Genealogical Society, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and, among others, the stat