Family Forever - A Green-Hawkins Virtual Family Reunion!

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 HAWKINS and 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!

Renate

Permalink: https://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2020/04/family-forever-greenhawkins-virtual.html

E is for Elizabeth! #AtoZChallenge

E is for ELIZABETH!

I'll have to make this quick, if I'm to get it in before midnight!

E is for Elizabeth, better known as "Bettie" Green.  Bettie was my 1st cousin, 2x removed. She was the daughter of Annie Green and an unknown (to me) white mill owner in Franklin County, NC.  She was the granddaughter of Anna Green (mulatto) and Nathaniel Hawkins (white).  Therefore, Betty was what was referred to at that time as a "quadroon".

Betty was born in August of 1890, in North Carolina (most likely in Franklin County). She died in New York, where she lived passing as WHITE, and is buried in Farmingdale, Suffolk County, in that state.

Bettie worked as a "hairdresser for the rich folk", according to our now 97-year old cousin, Florine, who knew her well. She was, most notably, the personal hairdresser of Doris Duke for some period of time, and is said to have traveled with her "everywhere she went". Bettie married Reginald "Roy" Alonzo Miller, and lived a lavish lifestyle. However, if the story is true, the wife of her uncle William Green (who was also passing) discovered their truth and "outted" Betty, causing her to lose her clients, and most devastatingly, her position with Ms. Duke. (None of this has been proven via research.)

This photo of Bettie, where she appears to be relaxing on the deck of a boat, provides support for the stories of her traveling with Doris Duke.

Bettie and her dog on a NY rooftop

Roy Miller, Bettie's husband

Although all of my elder cousins who knew Bettie insist that she and our other relatives who left Louisburg to live and work in New York were living as white, the one census record I've found her in enumerates her as "negro". That was in 1930, and may have been after William's wife spilled the beans. At that time, 38 year old Elizabeth, her husband, Roy, and her younger sister, Ruby (who worked as a seamstress for the wealthy, until the "reveal") lived on Convenant Avenue in Manhattan. It's easy to see how this couple could have passed for white, isn't it?

This photo shows Bettie (top left) with her mother, Annie (seated left with hat and glasses. I'm not sure enough about the identity of others in the photo to name them.(I believe the younger woman sitting on the curb to probably be Bettie's sister, Jessie.) I would really like to be able to identify the location of this photo. Does anyone recognize that monument?

Thanks for reading!

Renate

                     
Permalink: http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2017/04/e-is-for-elizabeth-azchallenge.html



The pictures and content in this post are not to be used without the express permission of the poster, Renate Yarborough Sanders.