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African American history

September 27, 2021

#37 Ancestor Appreciation Day … surprises!

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  • www.envato.com

My ancestors come in all shapes, sizes, colors and names. I appreciate that as our history is intertwined with one another. There is no escaping our past. That is why we study genealogy and that is to honor our ancestors for “going through” to allow us to live on this earth today and in future days.

Happy Ancestor Appreciation Day!

Like many of you, I am constantly searching and unearthing — when fortunate — new findings that shed light on my ancestors. It helps to instill confidence, grace, forgiveness, charm, intellect, strategies, empathy, joy, peace, reconciliation and more in our hearts and souls as we find out more about our ancestors.

Learning of our Native American ancestry and more, is also healing.

Here are a few of my new findings about our ancestors:

  1. I am named for my (Ann’s) paternal Great-Grandmother Ann Crum Shanks Green. Her father is Alfred Crum. Alfred Crum was born in January 1869 in Alabama. He married Mary A Middleton and they had nine children together. He then married Mary Crum and they had two children together. He died on June 26, 1923, in his hometown at the age of 54.
  2. I (Ann) have 793 DNA matches through my testing a decade ago through ancestry.com. As we work through the names, relationships and more of the potential 4th cousins and closer ones, here’s an ancestry.com message that I sent to one of my “for sure” newly discovered relatives on our maternal side:

“Glad to know that my maternal great-great grandparents, Robert Brant Wilks and Melissa Catherine Gray (always use the woman’s maiden name in genealogy) are your same relatives. My great -grandmother Edna Wilks is the oldest female in the family and Lorene was her younger sister.”

3. Also, on our maternal side, John Favor, a private from Alabama, fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

4. Below the family tree, is a U.S. Census Schedule that shows John Favor, Jr. is a “free white” man. John Faver, Jr. received a signed land deed on June 8, 1820 or 1830 (the deed is hard to read) from the U.S. government. The prominent signature on the deed for the family land in Limestone, Tenn., was U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Jackson’s lingering legacy is the tragic Trail of Tears aka Indian Removal Act.

Remember when I recommended forgiveness as part of our ancestral research. I have evoked forgiveness in the transfer of land in Tennessee during the time of the deadly trek of the nations of Native Americans.

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September 11, 2021

#34 How to research the “Grand” legacies

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In honor of Grandparents Day, consider digging a little deeper to gain those important nuggets from the family tree.

Honor your ancestral grandparents by researching your family’s histories. Begin with the most sacred and lasting technique in African American, Afro Caribbean, Native American and other cultures’ and that is storytelling.

Here are a few tips:

  1. Communicate with a grandparent — whether yours or another family’s relative.
  2. Ask questions about their childhood and things that they remember.
  3. With their permission, record their words and great stories.
  4. Share their stories. Embed it in your psyche. Honor the grandparents for what they accomplished.
  5. Appreciate their lives.
Photo by Harshi Rateria on Pexels.com
SATURDAY          SEPTEMBER 11, 2021 THANK GOD FOR GRANDPARENTS 
A Daily Thought from the Hill (Hillside International Truth Center, Atlanta, GA)
Grandparents are exactly that- grand. They are known by many names. Grandmothers are called nana, grammy, big mama, or abuela, while grandfathers are called grandpa, pop-pop, granddaddy, or abeulo, to name a few. Whatever name we call our grandparents and whether we had or have a relationship with them or not, they are part of the unbroken spiral of life. Their soul is imprinted on our soul. We are one with them.       I honor, acknowledge, and celebrate my grandparents. I recognize their role in my being here to express my inner splendor. I pray for and bless all grandparents wherever they are, in spirit or in the flesh. Thank you for your ability to impart wisdom to navigate life’s lessons. For the grandparents who are challenged to show up, we shine the light of love on you. Thank you, Order, in me, through me, as me, around me, through the Christ within. And so it is.     

Children’s children are the crowns of old men; and the glory of children is their fathers.  Proverbs 17:6    
 Daily Thoughts from the HillCopyright: Hillside International Truth Center, Inc.Bishop Dr. Jack L. Bomar – Executive BishopBishop Dr. Barbara L. King – Founder

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July 8, 2021

#23 Who do you think you are?

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Ultimately, who are we? Based on our twisted and tangled family histories, African Americans and Afro Caribbeans are the ones whose ancestors were sold and traded to satisfy enslavers’ mortgages and other sales.

We want to get answers to this question about ‘who are we?’ as we remove bricks and tree forests to answer our questions. If you have not already considered submitting to a genealogy DNA test, it will become increasingly necessary to fully engage in the scientific credible or best estimates of family trees.

  • A snapshot of the ancestral roots of Dr. Ann Wead Kimbrough

“Everyone’s DNA cocktail is not the same,” said noted genealogist Nicka Sewell-Smith during a recent webinarThe Annual Forgotten Patriots and Daughters of Color Luncheon, where she provided compelling evidence of the benefit of mixing DNA results into the difficult research stages to secure her family’s missing links.

The Good Genes Genealogy Services team is 100 percent DNA tested. Based on the results from both founders, it will provide a better reading of the Owen-Weed-Wead-Owens family tree that is colorful mixture of European, African and U.S. ancestors. There is so much to learn about DNA research and results and I invite readers of this blog to consider reading another favorite blog to learn just a little bit more aobut the possibilities of nailing better estimates on your families’ histories.

Stay tuned to this blog to learn about the Aug. 1, 2021 e-book by Good Genes Genealogy. It will go more indepth about four subjects each month.

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