Happy Mother's Day!

 

It’s Mother’s Day weekend and according to The Washington Post, over 579,000 Americans have died from the CORVID19 Virus.  The Post did not state how many of those lives were Mothers. Mothers who left daughters, sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Mothers like mine.  I lost my beautiful Mother, Mary Verneace Fuller Becton on December 18th, 2020. 

Happy Mother’s Day in Heaven Ma!

It’s my Mom’s first Mother’s Day with her daughters, La Vonchia and Mercedes and her Mother, Classie Virginia Pate Fuller and all her other mothers that she often talked about. For me, the daughter that she left behind, she was truly the blessing that no one will ever replace. 

Thank you Helen Reddy for the following verse which I will paraphrase from Ms. Reddy’s song “You and Me Against the World”.

 And when one of us is gone,

And one of us is left to carry on.

Then sadly remembering will have to do,

Our Memories alone will have get us through because that’s all that is left.

 

I Love and Miss You Mommy!

Fannie Mae Corbett 1932-2019

My Aunt Fannie Corbett received her heavenly wings on Tuesday, February 19th, 2019. She was my last living aunt, my Daddy’s baby sister and the last of my grandfather’s children.

Sadly, all my aunties and uncles are deceased.

Aunt Fannie was born in 1932 to Sylvester Powell and Bessie Evans.  Her paternal grandparents were George and Fannie Sherrod Powell who raised their family in Nash, Wilson and Wayne counties, North Carolina.  George’s parents, Lawson and Dilaney (Laney) Taylor Powell, lived in the Whitakers Township of Nash County as far back as 1880. While her grandmother and namesake, Fannie Sherrod Powell’s family, lived in Wayne County, North Carolina since the 1840s.  Her family roots run deep in Eastern North Carolina.

Service to Her Community Was in Her DNA

Aunt Fannie lived her entire life in Wilson, NC and in service to her community. I like to think that she saw an injustice and spent her life trying to correct it.  Perhaps she inherited her activism from her great-grandfather, Jack Sherrod who was a United States Colored Troop Solider in the 135^th Infantry.  And like her famous cousins, Charles Sherrod who was a member and organizer of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the Civil Rights Movement and Black Panther activist Afeni Shakur, Aunt Fannie was fighting for equal rights in Wilson.

In the book “Greater Freedom: The Evolution of the Civil Rights Struggle in Wilson, North Carolina,” by Charles W. McKinney, Jr., Aunt Fannie was quoted saying: “Somewhere down the line, we decided to organized.  We felt like we would be stronger if we came together, know what I’m saying?  If the people are going to win, and [city officials] see they can’t do nothing about it, they’ll get with the people.  That’s what we found out when we first started working.”

In 1968, Aunt Fannie and her colleagues established the Wilson Community Improvement Association and over the next three decades, low-income and elderly residents benefited from her activism such as the Gee-Corbett Village which was named after Rev. Cary Gee and Aunt Fannie.

Occasionally when I would meet an elderly person who said that they were from Wilson, I’d ask if they knew my aunt, a number of times folks would say “Yes, she has done a lot for Wilson.” Smiling ear to ear, I would say, “that’s my Auntie.”    

She was a very special lady to me

Since the day she died, an old Negro Spiritual has been playing in my head. It’s a song that I recall my maternal grandfather singing and it’s a song that appropriately describes Aunt Fannie:

May the works I’ve done speak for me.

May the works I’ve done speak for me.

When I’m resting in my grave,

There’s nothing to be said;

May the works the works I’ve done,

Speak for me.

May the life I live speak for me.

May the life I live speak for me.

When the best I try to live,

My mistakes He will forgive;

May the life the life I live

Speak for me.

May the service I give speak for me.

May the service I give speak for me.

When I’ve done the best I can,

And my friends don’t understand

May the service I give speak for me…

Lyrics and Song by The Consolers, 1968

It’s All In The DNA

Pekitta and I picture taken 10/1/2016 in Waldorf, MD

Ever since I took my first DNA test I’ve met a lot of distant cousins (“cuzins”), including adoptees who are looking for their birth parents. Most times, I ignore emails from people I don’t know because I don’t want my account hacked. Needless to say, I ignored Pekitta Tynes initial emails so when she finally got my attention, it was in April 2013. Pekitta said the first email she sent was in November 2012. For all of you trying to make a connection, keep trying until your new DNA cuzin answers. Never Give Up!

Pekitta contacted me because my Mom and I were her closest African American matches (3rd-5th); we all had taken the FTDNA (Family Tree DNA) test.

This is what she said:  

I was abandoned in Newport News, Virginia [on] - 25th Street downtown – Row Houses.  My sister (not sure if she is my sister though) we were both left at the same time.  We were left with the “Mother of the Neighborhood” – Her name was Momma Nancy (MN).  MN owned a shot house – A house that sells liquor illegally.  Today’s language is BYOB.  I was left at MN’s house by a man the neighborhood folks called “Walt” – Not sure of his real name.  Walt may have been in the Military – Not sure.

There is a possibility that Walt’s last name is actually Allen.  The neighborhood folks never remember a woman being with Walt.  My mother is completely unknown.  When Walt left, he told MN he was going to look for a job North of Virginia and he never came back. I was probably born between 1958 – 1962 – Since I was abandoned without a birth certificate, I don’t know when I was born.

Could your mom’s cousins (female or male) been in the Military? Travelled to Virginia but left for a job North (NY, NJ, PA, etc.)? Lived abroad? Dated a Military man named “Walt” or his nickname was “Walt” - I understand Walt was a short, handsome gentlemen with “good hair” and he talked with an accent (not sure what type of accent – Northern or New York’ish possibly).

 I don’t know many details but I will answer any questions your family may have to help me solve my mystery.  I have so many un-answered questions.  I have attached a YouTube Link telling my story of how I was able to get a passport with the help of my State Senator [Sen. Harry Reid].

Thanks again.

I asked Pekitta had she taken any other DNA tests and she said “no,” so I told her that she should.  Meanwhile, I asked a few relatives had anyone abandoned a child back in the 1960s.  Everybody said no including one relative who said, “Honey, No! I don’t know nobody who abandons a child.”  I knew that this was going to be a near impossible find especially since my Mom had over 80 First cuzins and most of them were deceased.

RESEARCHING

In October 2013, I asked Pekitta had she taken any additional tests, and she said no but she did upload her results to the Gedmatch.com database. We compared Pekitta’s top DNA matches but none matched Mom or I; however, Pekitta discovered a man who was a 2nd - 3rd cuzin.  This cuzin turn out to be a former police detective. Wow, sometimes the stars just line up!  

Around the first week of April in 2014, Pekitta FINALLY took my advice and ordered both the 23andme and AncestryDNA tests.  By the end of April her Ancestry DNA results were in and this time I matched Pekitta as a 4th - 6th cuzin.  We didn’t know what that meant but we were excited, especially since she also had a 1st cuzin match. I told Pekitta to “contact this match and tell her your story.”  Of course, this new match did not respond immediately; likewise, Pekitta was a nervous wreck.  She said that she checked her email 4-5 times a day (I wonder if folks comprehend what a response from a DNA match means.). Pekitta said that saying that she was adopted probably “scared” folks from responding. 

We concluded that Pekitta’s 3rd cuzin, Mr. Detective, was probably related to her on her Mom’s side.  However, Pekitta had another dilemma and it was her sister who was abandoned and adopted with her. Was this her “real” sister, half-sister or niece? This sister did not match Mom or I.  Meanwhile  Pekitta’s Detective cuzin (Did I say that everybody needs a cuzin like him!) started investigating.  Pekitta gave him all that she had on her 1st cuzin which was the “username” on the account. In less than a week, “Mr. Detective” gave Pekitta a name, age, address and phone number for her 1st cuzin.  But it still took a while for Pekitta to make contact with her cuzin. Her 1st cuzin thought that Pekitta was a Scam artist. LOL…her cuzin just wanted to know where her African roots originated.  Sadly, Pekitta’s 1st cuzin’s family is dysfunctional aka not talking to or no relationship at all with each other but a lot of people fall in this category.

THE BARNES

Her 1st cuzin told Pekitta that her father was J.P. Barnes from Rocky Mount, NC. When Pekitta gave me this information, I immediately search Ancestry for J.P.’s family but I couldn’t find them. Side Note: When I discovered our connection was the Barnes line, I asked her if she had any moles and Pekitta said she had tons of moles. I said “that’s a Barnes trait sweetie!”  By June, my Maternal Great Aunt’s AncestryDNA results came in and Auntie and Pekitta were 98% third cuzins.  I told Pekitta “I knew she was a Barnes!”  I asked all my Barnes cuzins if they knew J.P. Barnes of Rocky Mount, NC but no one knew him.  So I told Pekitta to get more information from her 1st cuzin’s Dad and to have the Dad tested.  I don’t recall when but I do believe it was less than a week when Pekitta contacted me again with more information about her new Uncle.  After she gave me the information, I said “OMG, OMG! I Know Your People! And They Are Distant Cuzins To My Family!” LOL…

I told Pekitta all that I knew about them and before I could get back to her; Pekitta had called her new Aunt. I said “Oh No!” I wanted to make an introduction, especially, since one of the potential fathers was married to my Mom’s 1st cuzin. Yep, cuzins marrying cuzins.  By the end of 2014, Pekitta Tynes had found her biological parents!  She confirmed her father by asking some of her new cuzins to take the AncestryDNA test and the first person to take the test results came back as a BROTHER.  

Stephen Barnes (1815 - ?)
Isiah Barnes (1855-1878?)	Henry Barnes (1840-1917)
Willie Barnes (1883-1952)	George W. Barnes (1872-1919)
Leslie Fuller (1901-1987)	George H. Barnes (1897- ?)
M. Fuller Becton	E. Barnes (1934-2010)
Me	Pekitta

This chart depicts our ancestry descending from Stephen Barnes.

Her Parents

Pekitta’s Mom was living with a boyfriend who she believed was both her daughter’s father.  They decided to finally get married but after they got married; Pekitta’s Mom discovered that she had married a bigamist.  Furious, her Mom left the boyfriend who would later find her and tell her that she could leave but the girls were staying with him.  She said “take the girls but I am not coming back to you.”  This boyfriend who was the biological father of Pekitta’s sister took them both to Virginia and abandoned them at Momma Nancy’s house.  He died refusing to tell anyone what became of the girls. 

Pekitta’s Mom had an affair with her biological Dad but she didn’t realize that he was Pekitta’s father instead her Mom thought her boyfriend was Pekitta’s father.  So Pekitta’s biological father never knew she existed.  

In the spring of 2015, Pekitta came to Washington, D.C. to meet her Mom but her Mom backed out; saying she wasn’t ready.  Several months later, with the assistance of Mr. Detective, Pekitta met her Mom. 

Our connection

Our roots are from Wayne County, North Carolina, specifically, Pikeville and Fremont.  Pekitta’s great-grandfather was George W. Barnes whose parents were Henry and Mary Artis Barnes. Henry’s death certificate stated that his father was Stephen Barnes. I said, “OMG,” that name is familiar” and it was. My great-great-grandfather, Isiah, father’s name was Stephen Barnes also. 

Henry Barnes' Death Certificate

NC Marriage Record for Isiah Barnes

Pekitta’s discovered many surprises including that she and her son share the same birth day and that former talk show host Montell Williams is a cuzin (Montell’s paternal grandmother was a Barnes.) and his parents still stay in contact with Pekitta’s aunt. 

I remember when Pekitta contact me and I told a friend about her and the friend said “Why would she do that!” I said because “doesn’t everybody want to know where they come from, especially adoptees.”  Granted, not all stories will end up like a Hallmark story but at least you know where you come from.

I admire Pekitta’s because a lot of folks would have given up but not Pekitta Tynes, in fact, she wrote a book about her quest. Pekitta said that someone once told her that adoptees were overachievers. I believe that some are and in this case, it’s true.

Sources:
Ancestry.com. North Carolina Death Certificates, 1906-1930 [database on-line] Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2007.
Ancestry.com. North Carolina Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line] Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2007.

PRINCE...Thank You For A Funky Time!

When I first saw Prince it had to be around 1978/1979, I really don’t recall the year but I do recall the day.  My girlfriend and I had walked uptown (That’s what everyone called the business section of our rural 2 stop-light country town.) to the store and we as usual were looking through the magazines. I believe it was Right On Magazine; I’m not sure if Prince was on the cover or he was the centerfold but I think it was the centerfold. I saw this beautiful man with this huge afro, black jacket and with a streak of chest hair in the middle. I kept staring at his picture and my girlfriend peak over my shoulder to see what I was looking at and she said “Ah… he ain’t cute.” I said “YES HE IS! HE IS FINE!” We both rolled our eyes and sucked our teeth at each other but I bought that magazine! It’s funny now but by the time we made it back to her home or mine; I don’t recall which; we were back friends again. But we were only 14 and I had just falling in love.  This poster went up in my room and stayed there until I left for college.

Prince’s music was the soundtrack of my life from young teen to young adulthood. Almost every Sunday night I would be at the skating rink in Wilson, NC, and as I recall the slow skate was always “Do Me Baby!” I couldn’t skate but it was Prince and that was “my song” so I always pitifully tried to skate.  My favorite songs were “Do Me Baby,” “Let’s Work,” “1999,” “Shhh,” “Adore,” “When Doves Cry,” "Another Lonely Christmas," and “Sometimes it Snows in April”.  Lord…I was in a teenage love triangle when the “Beautiful Ones” song came out. There is something about the following lyrics that made me think Prince was “all in my head” saying what I couldn’t say: “do you want him or do you want me because I want you” but my version was “do you want her” or “do you want me because I want you.” Thanks Prince!  When he released the Purple Rain soundtrack and the movie came out, I knew I was going to have to share him with the world. But I was happy that he was getting recognized for his talent.

My First Concert

My first concert was in 1981 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C.  Prince was the headliner!  Zapp and Roger Troutman opened the show while the Time was the second act. This was in the early days of Prince’s professional career where we could stand right there in front of the stage! And there I was with my boyfriend, standing right in front of the stage the entire show; that was as close as I would ever get to him.  Wow, I couldn’t believe that my Momma let me go with my boyfriend to this show and I was only 17. My hearing didn’t quite return until about a week later but I wanted to see Prince again and again. And I did! Including the last concert that I saw him at which was at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. in 2015.  That show was a couple days after he performed at the White House.  I couldn’t believe how my friend didn’t want to go because of the price, so I went alone. Funny, when I got in line, there were about 6 or seven females and we were all by ourselves.  I said to myself; it’s Prince; therefore it’s okay to go alone. 

Because my blog is about my genealogy research, I will say something about Prince’s Roots.  As other researchers have said, Prince Roots Run DEEP in Louisiana! But his ancestors also lived in Arkansas, Virginia, Georgia and Mississippi. I’m probably missing a state or two but Louisiana is what sticks out to me. I search his surnames (Nelsons, Shaws, Nashs, Jenkins, Phillips, and the Bonnells/Bunnells) just to find one that I might share. But that was not to be found.

I once read an article about Dorothy Dandridge and it stated that her sister-in-law and best friend was Geraldine Pate Nicohlas. Pate is one of my surnames so I "googled" Dorothy’s friend and discovered that the friend was from Minnesota. I screamed PRINCE! Prince is from Minnesota! Well of course, he was the first thing that came to my mind. I thought “could Prince be a Pate descendant?” Well he wasn’t; I was so hoping to claim him as a Blood Relative. But that was how crazy I was into Prince.

I could relate to his music because he was different, wild and sexy and he didn’t appear to care about who liked it or not. I somehow knew this when I was young teenager and it didn’t bother me.  I’m glad he never let the powers that be boxed him in. 

I Will Forever Love You!

Hey Art! Your Roots Are Showing!

I finally got another member of my family to take a DNA test! 

My half-brother M. Artis took the Ancestry DNA test on December 4, 2015 and the results came in on record time on December 22^nd. I guess the folks at Ancestry were into the spirit of giving.  Thank you AncestryDNA!

Well it's official, he is my mother's son. LOL... There are times when I think that we can't possibly be related because we are soo different but Ancestry confirmed our relationship.

I once read somewhere that DNA is "randomly" passed down from generation to generation; well that also includes from child to child.  For instance, my brother and I match as 1st cousins instead of half-siblings and Gedmatch states that we are 1.5 generations removed.  

Side by side comparison of my brother and my mother's DNA Results

My Ancestry DNA Results

My brother’s father, Sylvester Artis, is deceased but with Mom’s DNA we can compare what he inherited from her and his father and some interesting facts were discovered. I inherited my Asian DNA from my Mom but my brother did not. I believe the Asian DNA comes from our maternal grandmother, Classie. Classie’s father was supposedly Native American however, another family lore said that he was from India. Perhaps there is some substance to this family tale.

Another ironic fact is that both my brother and mother have Melanesia DNA but I don’t. Like I said, some kids inherit and some don’t. Similarly, he has more Nigerian and less Cameroon/Congo and Benin/Togo DNA, than Mom and I.  

But what really surprised me is that my brother has 16% Irish ancestry while Mom only has 8% and I have 5%.  This discovery reminds me that we can never assume anything. Because my brother is darker than Mom and I, I assumed he would have less European DNA. Instead he has twice the amount our mother has. Never let the amount of melanin fool you! 

My brother’s father was a light skin African American and who had some free ancestors, perhaps his “original father” aka father’s father’s father’s and so on was from Ireland. But that is something that my brother will have to research.  In fact, it is well known that most of the Artises in Wayne, Wilson and Greene Counties North Carolina were descended from Free African Americans.   

Mr. Sylvester’s Ancestors:

Parents - Absolum and Laurina (Rena) Smith Artis:

Paternal Grandparents - Albert and Neicy Simmons Artis:

According to the 1860 census, Albert Artis’ parents, Edwin and Emily Artis, were free African Americans.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t as successful in discovering Laurina Smith Artis’ family, however, another family lore (We got plenty of these.) says that Absolum and Laurina were second cousins.

Perhaps this post will give my Big Brother The Genealogy Itch. Hey Art...want you come over to the Genealogy side!


Sources:
Ancestry DNA;
Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT. USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

52 Ancestors 2015 Edition - Week #16:100 years and Counting

My Aunties: Ethel Becton Artis and Leona Reed Becton

This week’s theme is based on those relatives who lived a long life aka Centenarians. Well I am happy to say that I had two female relatives who were Centenarians. In addition to living to the ripe old age of 102; they were both my father’s aunts: Ethel Artis and Leona Becton.  Something else they had in common was that they were the first born in their families and they outlived their siblings. A lot of times, it’s the youngest child who outlives everyone else in their families but these two ladies defy the odds.

Ethel Pearl Becton Artis

While these weekly posts are supposed to be dedicated to one ancestor, I could not see myself not including Aunt Ethel. Aunt Ethel was born in 1892 and she was my paternal grandmother’s (Minnie Becton Powell Coley) oldest sister who happened to be the first born of William and Phoebe Taylor Becton’s nine children.  Aunt Ethel married June Scott Artis in 1912; they had 3 children Amanda, James and Edgar Artis when she died she had 15 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great-grandchildren. Aunt Ethel lived all her life in North Carolina until she passed in 1994.  

Leona Becton

Leona Reed Becton married Ethel’s brother, George Becton (April 25, 1910 – August 8, 1987) on November 18, 1945; their union lasted 42 years.  Aunt Leona was born on July 30, 1908 in Marion County, South Carolina to Session and Mary Johnson Reed. She had two brothers, McKinley and Allen, and one sister, Liza Reed Dickson. 

Aunt Leona was the only one of her siblings who had children and to this day no one knows what became of her son James Ward whom she had by her first husband. There were two stories that I heard about James. The first was that he visited his mother in the late 1960s but no one knows what happened and why he never returned.  Another story was told by Aunt Leona to her caretaker, Ann. Ann asked her why she never had children and she told Ann; “I had a son and his name was James.” She said that when she moved to Washington that she left James in South Carolina with her sister but her sister could not “handle” James; so James came to live with Aunt Leona and Uncle George.  One day James told Aunt Leona that he was going out to meet some friends but he never returned home.  I believe that James suffered a terrible fate or he would had contacted his mother.

When Aunt Leona turned 100 her health began to decline.  Her last years were spent in a nursing facility where almost every weekend my mom and I would visit her.  Aunt Leona never wanted us to leave however, we always told her that we would return. Sadly, she always told us that “you just got here.” Once when she was hospitalized, she told me that she “Loved Her Bectons.” I told her that “we loved her too.” She died 8 days before her 103rd birthday; it was the date that she was buried on.

I believe that nobody wants to die but most of us don’t want to be the last to go. When you’re the last of your family or your generation or your friends, your lonely and that’s how I felt with Aunt Leona. She once mention that she did not know why she lived so long.  

Aunt Leona in 2010

52 Ancestors Week 14: My Favorite Photo - Courtesy of Classie Virginia Pate Fuller

Classie Virginina Pate Fuller
Do not use photo without my expressed permission.

This is my latest post for the 2015 edition of the 52 Ancestors Blogging Challenge. If you’re not familiar with Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge, check out her Blog at “No Story to Small.”

Like last year, the blogging challenge was about dedicating a post each week to a specific ancestor but a twist has been added to this year’s challenge: themes.  The theme for this week is “favorite photo” and my favorite photo is a picture of my maternal grandmother, Classie Virginia Pate Fuller (8/21/1901-9/2/1969).  

My grandmother was born to John (1843-1903) and Sarah McCall Pate (1872-1909) in North Carolina. She was the youngest of 12 children.  She lived all her life in Wayne County, North Carolina. On November 16, 1920, she married Leslie Fuller and in 1925 she gave birth to her only child. Mafull (the name she was called by her grandchildren) departed this life in 1969.

Two thoughts comes to mind when I look at this picture. First, I always thought that this picture was taken when she was a teenager but her family doesn’t know what year it was taken or how old she was, nor do we know where it was taken or for what event. What I do know is that Mafull had this serious expression, in fact, an 8 ½ x 10 copy of this photo is kept in my mom’s bedroom and when my little nieces look at the photo; they say “she looks mean.” I told them that she looks serious!  

Because she was not smiling, the second thing that comes to mind is that Mafull was sad or lonely. I believe that this picture was taken after her mother died.  Mafull lost her parents at a very young age. Her father died when she was 3 or 4 and her mother died when she was 9 or 10. Unfortunately, North Carolina did not begin recording death certificates until 1913 so there is no record of when her parents died. I just know when her mother died; she went to live with her brother, Roscoe and his wife.

Someone once told me that people back then didn’t like taking pictures because the camera might take away their soul. Maybe someone told Mafull this same story and she was afraid to smile. But perhaps someone told her that she had to take a picture and because she was young and obedient; she took this unemotional picture.

But the most interesting aspect of this photo is her beauty. Okay, I will admit that I’m biased and she is my grandmother but to me; she is pretty in this picture.  Her complexion appears fair but my family said that she was “reddish” looking. Seriously, I don’t know what that means except that her complexion wasn’t real light nor real dark. My mom, her only child, inherited her tiny noise and her small lips; however no one in the family inherited her green eyes. In the picture, you can’t tell that the color of her eyes are green or as my brothers say they were hazel (sometimes light brown and sometimes green). My brothers once said that Mafull’s eyes would light up the room at night.  Recently we reconnected with a long lost cousin who said that MaFull had the prettiest blue eyes. But if you ask my mom, she will argue that her “momma had grey eyes.”

Mafull once told my mom that she, Mafull, look like her mother, Sarah who was biracial; it’s possible that Sarah passed her eye color to her daughter. Sarah’s father was from County Clare Ireland so I can only assumed that is how Mafull inherited her beautiful eyes.

Her clothing tells me that perhaps its fall or wintertime when she posed for this picture. The black overcoat and white cap that’s pull down her head gives me the impression that it was cold and almost all of her hair is neatly tuck in the cap, except for the wisp of a bang which is why I also think that she’s a preteen in this picture. Mafull appears so innocent.

Recently, I was looking through a family album and I found 4 faded “tintype” photos. Included in this set of photos is another picture of Mafull but younger. In the “tintype”, Mafull is similarly dressed like the picture above. She’s wearing a gray color coat, a white cap and that same sad expression on her face however, this time she’s sitting down in a chair surrounded by 3 shadowy figures who appears to be females. Currently the photo is being restored.  Oh, how I wish these pictures were taken in color!

Well, my favorite picture sits on my mom’s dresser. I guess that’s a cool thing to see when you wake up in the morning; is your mother looking at you.  It’s funny how time changes our perceptions. I don’t know about my mom but when I was growing up; I had celebrities (Prince, R&B music group Switch and NY Yankees baseball legend Reggie Jackson) on my bedroom wall and they were who I wanted to see when I went to sleep and when I woke up in the morning.  But now that I’m older, I don’t mind seeing pictures of Mafull and other departed loves ones who I miss when I wake up in the morning.

Pictures of Mafull through the years.

Happy 90th Birthday

Happy Birthday to My First Love...My Mommie!

90 Looks Beautiful On You!

52 Ancestors #1 - A Fresh Start

1870 Census for Renah Daniels

Happy New Year!

I’m happy to say that Amy Johnson Crow has decided to continue the 52 Ancestor Challenge. Last year, I only created 16 posts for this challenge. This year I hope to have 26 posts dedicated to the challenge. If you don’t know about it, Amy Johnson Crow’s blog, “No Story Too Small”, offered a challenge to genealogists to write a post once a week about one particular ancestor. Well, the challenge continues in 2015 with a twist or as Amy wrote, “a prompt.” The first week’s prompt is dedicated to “A Fresh Start.” For instance, which ancestor was given “A Fresh Start” or which ancestor you need to research over again. You know a “re-boot.”  This post is dedicated to those brick walls that I’m determined to break-through this year.

For instance, what happened to those Pate brothers, John, Robert and Wyatt. They were my maternal grandmother’s older brothers who were adults by the time my grandmother was born in 1901 but no living family member can explain what became of them. Did they marry and have children? Or did they suffer a horrible demise? Where did they lived after they left Wayne and Greene Counties, North Carolina?

Another mystery is whatever became of Grandma Mary Vick; actually she was my maternal Great-Great-Grandmother who left home when her daughter was a toddler and never returned.  What woman leaves her small child and never returns home?

How can I forget those family members who I find only on one census, for example, my maternal grandfather’s Great-Great-Great-Grandmother, Renah Daniels. My DNA cousin who goes by the username of “DabofSugar”contacted me on Ancestry.com and told me to look for Renah on the 1870 census and behold...there she is. Renah and her family was found on a page just before her daughter’s family, Olivia/Silvia Roundtree Newsome. Renah’s age is listed as 35 but if you look at the actual page its 55 and her name is spelled Rena. Sadly, I can’t find Rena/Renah or her children after this census. They all disappeared. I’m hoping that later on this year, I can provide an update on a few of my break walls.

I want to thank Amy again for this challenge because if it wasn’t for her; I would still be wondering “what am I going to do with all this information that I’ve collected on the ancestors.” 

Source: Year: 1870 Census: Black Creek, Wilson, North Carolina; Roll: M593_1166; Page: 451B.

Finding Your Roots! Season Finale!

Decoding the Past Through DNA 



Photo from the Finding Your Roots Website

It’s the final episode of Season 2 Finding Your Roots Series. Now folks can call me between the hours of 8pm and 9pm on Tuesday nights and I'll answer the phone. 


This episode focuses on DNA testing, Governor Deval Patrick, Actress Jessica Alba and Dr. Gates. I find it interesting that the final episode aired about a week after Ancestry.com “re-vamp” their DNA testing which has put all its users, at least the African Americans, in a teasy; however, not this user.  Basically what Ancestry did was improved its DNA algorithm to determine our matches. I’m glad they did. Because first of all, I had 50 pages (2,663 DNA cousins) of matches and now I had 19 pages.  This was too many cousins and a greater possibility of many false positive relatives. Second, my mom was described as a close relative; while her aunt was listed as my 1^st-2^nd cousin. Now, my mom is described as my parent but her aunt is still described as my 1^st-2^nd cousin, not perfect but better.  My matches are now described as “extremely high,” “very high,” to “moderately confident.” I’m thrilled because I feel that I might can knock down a few "break-walls" and find some ancestors.

Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts

Governor Patrick is a Chicago native whose father was a Black Nationalist who left the family when Deval was 4 years old.  The Governor was raised by his mother who later sent her son to Massachusetts where the state made a major impact on her son who would one day become the state’s first African American Governor.  Well the Governor’s DNA is just as interesting. We see a document related to the Governor Patrick’s ancestor, Emily Wintersmith.  Emily received land from her former slave owner, Dr. Harvey Slaughter, “for little to no money.”  Dr. Gates and his team felt that Deval’s ancestor might be blood related to Dr. Slaughter.  So genetic genealogist CeCe Moore compared DNA from Deval to descendants of Dr. Slaughter to see if they were genetically related and they were.  It was concluded that Emily’s child was fathered by Dr. Slaughter.  We also find out that both the Governor’s M-DNA and Y-DNA were traced back to Europe which meant his original paternal and maternal ancestors came from Europe, not Africa. The Governor’s DNA includes 38.9% European and 58.9% sub-Saharan African.  I couldn’t help but smile when the Governor look at his family tree he said “It makes you feel small and big at this same time.”

Actress Jessica Alba

Jessica says that she identifies more with her father side of the family, the Mexican American side and not her mother’s European side. However, her DNA is more than just Mexican American, in fact, her DNA analysis included: 33.5% British, 5.1% French German, 3.9% Scandinavian, 17.3% Ilberian and 1.4% Italian. Jessica said that her paternal side which is her Mexican side, experience racial prejudice living in America.  For example, her paternal grandmother’s family was half dark and half light so those who were light complexion went to the white schools and those who were dark complexion went to the Mexican schools. This is ironic because her father was also tested and it was discovered that his family was descended from Native Americans. So apparently, Jessica’s ancestors were not immigrants or outsiders as they were treated but natives and had been living in North America for centuries.

Dr. Skip Gates           

CeCe Moore told Dr. Gates one particular surname kept coming up amongst his DNA matches and that surname was trace to a man named Wilmore Mayle who was possibly Dr. Gates ancestor.  We’re introduce to Alexandra Finley who is a direct descendant of Wilmore and through DNA testing, Alexandra and Dr. Gates are confirmed as cousins. Alexandra provided Dr. Gates with one of those remarkable discoveries. It was a Virginia record dated in 1826 where Wilmore freed a female slave named Nancy and in the record Wilmore states that Nancy is his wife. This was 141 years before the Loving v. Virginia landmark decision that invalidated prohibition of interracial marriages.  How did Wilmore survive this great proclamation? Well, Wilmore whose baptismal record confirmed that he was white, straddled the “color-line.”  Alexandra found some records where Wilmore was listed as black and other records where he’s described as white but she also found records where he was listed as a mulatto. It appears that Wilmore was willing to do whatever he could to remain married to Nancy. The Tammy Terrell and Marvin Gayle song comes to my mind when I think about their love: “Aint No Mountain High Enough to Keep Me from You.” In fact the couple with their six children move to the mountains of West Virginia which was where Dr. Gates trace his ancestors to Chestnut Ridge, West Virginia and to a community of mulattoes. Dr. Gates found the Mayle cemetery and a mulatto community who found safety amongst themselves where they inter-marry. Their descendants return to the community every year to celebrate what they call “Heritage Day.”  It was never confirmed that Dr. Gates was a direct descendant of Wilmore Mayle but we do know that he was related to Wilmore.   

I have met a lot of DNA relatives through Ancestry DNA, 23andme and FTDNA. But finding that common ancestor hasn’t been easy, almost impossible. I wish I had for each of my lines an older relative who I could get tested. Sadly, I don’t but I can work with what I got.  For instance, the largest percentage of my African roots come from Cameroon/Congo with 22%,  however, I also have 18% DNA from the  Ivory Coast/Ghana.

My Ancestry DNA Results

My 23andme DNA Results

Another fascination about DNA research is that DNA can fill in the missing pieces. For example, if all of my DNA matches had family trees that were open to the public and each tree covered at least 5 to 6 generations, then perhaps I could have a “breakthrough.” But until then, I will keep banging on that "brick-wall." Because my 23andme test results tells me that my Native American DNA is located on chromosomes 3 and 17 and if I could find a match located on the exact segments of these two chromosomes; then it’s possible that we could be descendants of the same ancestor who may be full or part Native American. Or if I found a match whose four grandparents were Native Americans, then I would know which tribe or area my Native American ancestor originated from.

The episodes in this season has been entertaining and educational. I congratulate Dr. Gates and his staff  with so much thought provoking information.  Dr. Gates said that it wasn’t until the 1800s that scientists group people into 3 great races: Negroids, Mongoloids and Caucasions. Some would say that DNA science has blurred those classifications; I say that man has blurred those classifications. But like it was said in this episode, DNA does show that there is no PURITY OF BLOOD!