Category Archives: ancestry
Follow Friday: Family and Forgotten History
The benefits of researching my family history are too numerous to list, but one that bears mentioning is how much uncovering my family’s past has taught me things about history that I never learned in school. It wasn’t until I … Continue reading
Filed under ancestry
Sentimental Sunday: My Great Grandmother’s Poem?
In honor of National Poetry Month celebrated in April, I’ve been meaning to post a poem that I believe my great grandmother, Josephine wrote over 100 years ago. On March 2, 1893, this short death notice appeared in the Southwestern … Continue reading
Filed under ancestry, family history, Mississippi
Follow Friday: Family Photos Resurrected
A few days before Easter, I got the best resurrection gift ever, if there can be such a thing. My brother-in-law sent a disc to me (and everyone in my family) with scanned copies of every family photo of ours … Continue reading
Filed under ancestry, family history
Celebrating African American History Month at Glenfield School
Every year, my daughter’s school holds African American Career day in celebration of Black History month. This year, they had a kickoff assembly first, which was held on Friday. Even though the snow was falling and storm Nemo was on … Continue reading
Follow Friday: The Legacy of Gilbert Academy, New Orleans
Last week I read Zeitoun, Dave Eggers’ 2009 narrative of a Muslim family living in New Orleans and what happened to them during and after Hurricane Katrina. In its pages, I recognized many of the places described from my own family … Continue reading
Filed under ancestry
Happy Emancipation Day, 2013!
“On January 1, 1892, Miss Josephine Burton, Ocean Springs’ charming belle gave a very nice surprise party for her pastor, Rev. I. C. Rucker, assisted by Mrs. A.B. Stuart and Miss Violet Matthews. A collection of $6.05 was taken, after … Continue reading
Filed under Abraham Lincoln, African-American history, ancestry
Motivational Monday: Stoking the Family Flame
Yesterday over lunch, I got to talk to the grand niece of Edna Ferber, author of Giant, Show Boat and So Big. All epic family stories, it’s no wonder that Ferber’s grand niece, Julie Goldsmith Gilbert would want to keep her … Continue reading
Follow Friday: Calm after the Storm
I’m happy this Friday not to be following any storms like Hurricane Sandy or the subsequent Nor’easter that dropped about a half a foot of snow on our town, up to two feet in other areas. I’d always wondered how … Continue reading
Filed under ancestry, family history
Memorial Monday: Saying Goodbye to our Family Griot
On October 1st, just days before his birthday, my uncle Henry Ford passed away. He was 66. My uncle struggled for some time with diabetes, but his passing still came as a shock to me. I’d just spoken to him … Continue reading
Filed under ancestry
Motivational Monday: Genealogy Gems
Lately, I’ve felt too overwhelmed to focus on digging up any more of my roots. Instead, I’ve been digging through my present, trying to unpack the last boxes in our house from our move last year, get my youngest daughter … Continue reading
Filed under African-American history, ancestry
