Formerly, "Just Thinking", this blog presents the thoughts and experiences of a family historian working to demystify the past and uncover the stories of an elusive ancestry. NC surnames are YARBOROUGH, NEAL, GREEN, HAWKINS, DUNSTON, DAVIS, BROWN, ROSS, HILL, BRYANT, and DAVENPORT in Franklin, Warren, Halifax, and Tyrrell Counties.
With so much of my family's history shrouded in darkness, is my personal mission to uncover the hidden details of my ancestry and bring them INTO THE LIGHT.
Graphic (provided by Evite.com) from the invitation to the Green-Hawkins Virtual Meetup
On Saturday afternoon, April 18, 2020, my Green-Hawkins family line had our first-ever Virtual Family Reunion Meetup, and it was great! We all descend from one mixed-race couple, my second-great-grandparents, Nathaniel HAWKINSand Anna GREEN, of Louisburg, NC. Nathaniel and Anna had six children together, between 1864 - 1879, from whom we all descend.
Nathaniel and Anna's six children were born between 1864 and 1879. The last child, Esther, was born the year Nathaniel died.
This, like all of my family lines, is a disjointed, and mostly disconnected family. For the most part, people only really know their immediate families and their first cousins. This meetup, the brainchild of one of our younger cousins, Jamila, was designed to begin to change that. Working together, for about three weeks, Jamila, our cousin Willa-Jo, and I created an agenda and set up this event for today. Though I've had a Facebook group for this line, for seven years, this activity gave us a first chance to truly meet and interact with each other. Our participants ranged in age from 5 months to 100 years old, and stretched from the east coast to the west.
The Agenda
We had 35 households to RSVP, but I believe at the highest point there were 21 families on the call, with approximately 30 people participating. We heard from our centenarian, first; and then two other family elders - first cousins, in fact - in their 80's introduced themselves and shared some family insights. Next, I gave a very brief history of Anna and Nathaniel and encouraged everyone to read the posts that have been made in the Facebook group, to get caught up. :
Next, we wove through the participants, each giving a brief introduction (including introducing other members of their household) and, if they knew it, telling which of Nathaniel and Anna's children was their direct ancestor. About half way through, we paused, so that I could give a very brief overview of the history; then we resumed introductions. The next thing was (at least for me) one of the highlights of the meetup. My super-talented cousin, Willa-Jo, had prepared a lovely slideshow, using photos that I've posted, over the years, in the Facebook group, along with a few extras I'd sent her. The background music for the slideshow was the song, "Family Forever," which was written by Willa-Jo. (Shameless plug - if you need a beautiful, perfect song for your next family reunion, let me know, and I'll put you in touch with my cousin.)
The chorus to Willa-Jo's song says:
We are FAMILY FOREVER,
Growing together
Loving each other,
Dying never!
And, since I can't show the ppt, here's just a little snippet of the slides.
After the slide show, which was about 11 minutes long, we did a little housekeeping about the family tree, the survey that had been sent out, my blog, DNA testing, and the Facebook group. Also, there was an agreed-upon consensus that we must plan for an in-person reunion, for 2021, so a committee will be forming for that! People then asked a few questions, and it was time to go. We closed with a beautiful prayer, given by my cousin Rochelle. As we all waved goodbye and checked out of the meeting, one by one, I felt the warmth of our Ancestors, as they smiled on us. No matter what, we are FAMILY FOREVER!Thanks for reading!
That's me, socially distanced, as I talked with the current occupants of the William R. King house, in Louisburg.
Today, I took a quick trip down to Louisburg, NC to check on my family's property. While there, I took my usual ride through the northern part of town, where most of the beautiful historic homes are. For the first time, I met the owner (not pictured) and current inhabitants of the KING family home, which was the original property of William R. King, the one-time enslaver of my great-grandmother, Precilla Shaw Yarborough. The house, which apparently has some paranormal activity going on, will be featured on an upcoming episode of the show, “Ghost Nation,” which airs on The Travel Channel. It turns out that the young lady pictured has been doing research on the King family, so we will be collaborating in the future! (To read about my great-grandmother's connection to the King family, click here.)
The next two pictures show my ancestral property, which was built by my grandfather, Calvin Yarborough, Jr. and his brother Samuel, back in 1911, and a side shot of St. Paul’s United Presbyterian Church, founded in the 1870s, just across the street. My great-grandfather, Calvin Yarborough, Sr., was one of the church’s founding trustees.
Though she died in 1977, this will forever and always be "my grandma's house" to me. :)
St. Paul's United Presbyterian Church, or, as it was previously known,
"The Colored Presbyterian Church"
I was not really in the mood to take the almost 3-hour ride to Louisburg, today, but something was pulling and tugging at me to go. Once I started on my way, I realized what it was. Today would have been the 100th birthday of my sweet aunt, Susie Yarborough Hawkins, my father's sister. She was the last to live in the family home (shown above), until her death in 2013, at 93 years old.
Happy heavenly birthday, Aunt Sue!
Thanks for reading, Renate Permalink to this post: https://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2020/04/louisburg-road-trip-and-birthday.html
It's Me!
Over the past couple of months, I've had several opportunities to appear on the Internet, sharing my thoughts and expertise, not only in the area of genealogy research, but I also got a chance to talk about my first love - educating our children! It occured to me that maybe it would be a good idea to start sharing on my blog when I do these things, so, although self-promotion still doesn't come easily to me, here I am doing just that!
1. Family History Fanatics - February 7, 2020 "Dispelling the Myths of African American Genealogy Research"
I was invited by Andy and Devon Noel Lee to appear as their guest on their popular You Tube show, Family History Fanatics, to discuss common myths about African American genealogy. This show is an interview format, with the hosts asking me prepared questions, and me giving expanded responses to educate the viewers about the topic. This was a really fun experience, and I hope to return to the show, again! Please click on the picture, below, to hear our discussion!
2. North Carolina Genealogy Society Virtual Conference "Researching Enslaved Ancestors: It Takes a Village!" March 14, 2020
It was my honor to present this webinar as a part of the North Carolina Genealogy Society's Second Annual Virtual Conference. Unfortunately, I'm unable to link to it, because it is only available to paid registrants, but I'm pleased to share that my session was well- attended and I've gotten lots of positive feedback. This is one of my most popular lectures. It's purpose is to encourage descendants of enslavers and other antebellum property and business owners to connect with and become engaged in the research of descendants of the enslaved. In this presentation, I offer suggestions and authentic examples of how that can be done, and share stories of successful connections made between descendants of enslaved and enslaver ancestors!
Opening slide from my presentation
This was the slide, created by NCGS, that was on the screen while I was being introduced.
3. Blog Talk Radio - Coping with "Schooling" Kids at Home March 27, 2020
It was so fun to finally be a guest on my friend Bernice Bennett's show, "Research at the National Archives and Beyond." Although her long-running show is on hiatus, right now, she is using the platform, during our Coronavirus crisis, to invite guests to come on and share with her audience about a variety of helpful and informative topics. This was the first time, since my 2017 retirement from teaching, that I'd had the opportunity to speak on the subject of education, and it felt so good! Please click, below, to enjoy this very short (15 minutes) chat with Bernice!
Although the focus of this post is to share what I've done, recently, as the featured guest or presenter in the online world, I'd also like to share these two appearances I've made during this time on Black Pro Gen LIVE!, where I'm a regular panelist. Black Pro Gen LIVE! March 10, 2020 Episode 107 - The Count: Unearthing the Gems in the 1900 and 1910 Census Black Pro Gen LIVE broadcasts feature a panel from Black Pro Gen, led by host, Nicka Smith, discussing a variety of topics of related to genealogy research, with a focus on researching ancestors of color. These regular episodes air twice, monthly. You can access the schedule for our sixth season by clicking here.
Black Pro Gen LIVE! Roots N Chill: Week Two Wrap-Up
BPG's new "Roots N Chill" initiative, encourages our followers to focus on specific record types, each week, with the hope that everyone will seek out or revisit those documents, in their research, and look at them, critically, to better extract information and apply it to our research. Then, on Fridays, our panelists come together to discuss what we've done and to hear from the Black Pro Gen community, in the chat room! Be sure to follow Black Pro Gen on Facebook and Twitter to get posts about the featured documents for e
Since the start of the COVID-19 situation, I've spent more time on the Internet, than ever. My days, like many others, are filled with calls and Zoom meetings, mostly for business, but increasingly more often for pleasure, too. All of the meetings for organizations I'm a member of have now been held virtually. In addition, there've been planning meetings for upcoming events, which, originally planned as in-person activities, are now switching over to virtual. My church, which had not done live broadcasts before this, now has Sunday services and Wednesday Bible Study on Facebook Live. (Yes!) I've attended a "Socially Distanced Birthday Party" for my little 12-year-old cousin, and, since the start of this, I'm meeting each weekday with my precious 2-year-old granddaughter, to read and do preschool activities, before she goes down for her nap. Yes, I've been very busy on the www during the month of March, and with my state now under a "Stay at Home" order, until at least June 10th, I'm sure there is more of the same to come!
If you are looking for a speaker for an upcoming virtual event, I'd love for you to consider me. Click here for a list of my current genealogy presentations and remember that I'm always happy to discuss anything having to do with education - Pre-K through 5th grade.
Thanks for reading (if you've made it this far lol). I'll leave you with a couple of little snippets from today's session with my sweet little granddaughter. Enjoy!
We sing at least one song every day. I always ask her what she wants to sing, and 99.9% of the time, she chooses her ABCs. Sometimes she sings it reaaaaallly slooooowwwly, pulling out the notes. Other times, she sings it, quickly. So, today, I asked her which way she wanted to sing it. (I was really just checking to see if she actually knew the difference between the words fast and slow.) She does. :) Oh, and by the way, the reason I'm just moving my mouth is because whenever I try to sing the ABCs with her, she points her finger and hollers, "No, I do it!" at me. LOL
In this clip, Sana is reading printed words (and one number) on cards. We just started doing these this week.
Happy researching!
Renate
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