Four years ago, today, I discovered the world of genealogy. Four years later, I've discovered a love of history and an affinity for oxidized pages, traveled gravel roads far and wide and crawled shelves high and low, and I've been reacquainted with "old" cousins and met several "new" cousins. Best of all, I've met many kindred spirits in the process and attended two wonderful family reunions: the most recent one, held just last month, in Minneapolis, MN.
Update: "We cannot erase the past but it is in our power to change the future." ---Binyamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister, to Palestinian leader, President Mahmoud Abbas, during 2010 Peace Talks in Washington, DC.
I love YouTube. Months ago, I came across this wonderful gem entitled "Find Your Ancestors Land Records Using Google Earth" by Kimberly Selma. By using the Bureau of Land Management Land Records and a couple of other websites, Kimberly demonstrated how she located her ancestor's land.
For me, I also used it to locate the land of my ancestors/slaveowners: Andrew Boyd and his father-in-law, John McDowell. Before you get started, ask yourself: is your state of research a State-Land state or a Public-Land state? State-Land states have legal descriptions in terms of Metes and Bounds. Public-Land states, aka Public-Domain states, have legal descriptions in terms of Townships and Ranges.
The State-land states are those original 13 colonies + a couple more (i.e., CT, DE, GA, KY, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, VA, VT, WV, & parts of TX). Public-Land states, aka Public-Domain states, are those 30 states (plus parts of TX) obtained through the Louisiana Purchase, Indian Removal, and other acquisitions.
Don't assume that all land record information is listed there. For example, the Bureau of Land Management shows Andrew Boyd, of Oktibbeha County, MS with three land patents in 1841. If I didn't know better, I'd think that was when he arrived there from Perry County, AL. Here's the rub: according to his headstone, he died in 1839. A couple of years ago, after requesting Andrew Boyd's land records file, from the National Archives (in Washington, DC.), I discovered that he was actually there in 1834!
Linda Haas Davenport has a great book entitled Taking the Mystery Out of Land Records (2nd ed.). Unfortunately, this book is now sold out but you can still gain valuable tips at Linda's website. How the States Got Their Shape, by Mark Stein, and the more recent companion DVD (100 minutes) will also greatly aid you in your land research.
If a picture's worth a thousand words, a video must be priceless. Every time I go on a research trip, one singular thought comes to mind : How I wish I had a cameraman with me. Well, that'll never happen because I can't afford one. Over several months, my subconscious busily worked on a solution.
One day, while in the camera section of Office Depot, I noticed that their cameras were mounted to an upright device. I went home and saw that my digital camera had this same thread feature that allowed for attachment to another device. I googled "camera mount, car" but nothing seemed to jump out at me.
In late November 2009, I came upon a device that seem to fit the bill. Unfortunately, I already had planned a research trip to Mississippi and the device wouldn't arrive in time. In January 2010, I had a second chance when I booked a quick trip to South Carolina. Not bad, huh?
Thank you Calvin for reminding me that it’s that time of year where family graduations abound. It’s hard to believe that at one time “Separate but Equal” was the law of the land. Brown vs. the Board of Education changed all that—sort of. Unfortunately, that “With All Deliberate Speed” clause was just the loop-hole many states needed to continue de jure segregation. Many of us know about James Meredith’s desegregation of the University of Mississippi, (in Oxford) and Richard Holmes’s desegregation of Mississippi State University (in Starkville), but what do you know about Clyde Kennard?
In 1956, 1957, and 1959, Mr. Kennard, a U.S. paratrooper who once served in Germany and Korea and would-be transfer student from the University of Chicago, sought admittance to Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Mississippi). Mississippi Governor James P. Coleman offered Mr. Kennard a quid pro quo: in exchange for paid college tuition, Coleman required him to gain acceptance elsewhere in the state. Proximity to his family’s farm was the deciding factor and Mr. Kennard declined the governor's offer. When further talks still would not dissuade Mr. Kennard, the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission sought a lasting solution.
On September 15, 1959, Mr. Kennard was falsely arrested and later convicted of charges of reckless driving. On September 25, 1960, he was rearrested on more false charges: this time, theft. Less than two months later, he was convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to seven years in Parchman Penitentiary. In 1961, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Despite medical recommendations, the prison warden did nothing. By January 1963, Mr. Kennard’s “murder” was imminent and Governor Ross Barnett suspended his sentence indefinitely.
Graduates--with your diplomas in hand, I ask you to remember those who paved the way for you. Remember those despite their best efforts weren't allowed to go the school. Remember those who went to segregated schools. Remember those whose families couldn't afford to send them to school. Most of all, remember those who weren't even given the option to go school.
NB: Upon his release, Mr. Kennard relocated to Chicago. Despite surgeries at the University of Chicago’s Billings Hospital, he would die on July 4, 1963 at the age of 36 years of age.
A reel of microfilmed newspapers was waiting for me at the College of Du Page, my local junior college, thanks to an inter-library loan from the Fairfield County Library in Winnsboro, SC. My goal remains the same: to find the final resting place of Malinda Keith and Samuel Boyd and his parents, Agness and Andrew Boyd, Sr.
I did find several interesting articles, including...historical sketches of Fairfield; a polar expedition to the Arctic Circle; progress reports about flying ships (airplanes!); news of various wars in Europe; and, railroad schedules. No luck yet on those burial locations but that's okay. I was rewarded with an obit for Robert S. Ketchin, a very well-to-do merchant of Fairfield County, SC.
In March 2007, I was introduced to the concept of blogging while at a genealogy computing workshop in Galesburg, Illinois. And then again, in October 2009, I attended a how-to-blog workshop at the International Black Genealogy Summit . Two months later, the little monster reared its ugly head again when my cousin asked to consider putting my thoughts to print.
She even offered to create the blog for me and all I had to do was write. I couldn't lose but I like a challenge and was determined to do this myself -- eventually. Finally, after being hit over the head one last time, by an article entitled "Blog Your Family History" in the April 2010 edition of Discovering Family History magazine, I got the hint!
So, what did I do? I went to my favorite online "university". After watching a couple of basic how-to tutorials, I had the beginnings of a Blogger blog. Since then, I've spruced it up thanks to 118 very short tutorials at citricguy's channel on YouTube.com. Bob Sommers, you rock!
And Chris, thank you for forcing me out of my element!
