Happy New Year! Thank you for subscribing to The Family Jewel’s monthly newsletter! When you make your resolutions for the new year, we hope researching your family’s history is on that list!
If you would like us to discuss a specific topic or have a genealogical question, send me a message and I will feature it in the next newsletter.
I’M TEACHING A MASTERCLASS!
I’m teaching my first Genealogy MasterClass for beginners on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 from 7pm-8:30pm. Have you always wanted to research your family tree but didn’t know where to start? Sign up for this class! I promise to keep it interesting and fun. When you sign up, you will receive a free Family Matters Genealogy downloadable workbook plus entry into three big giveaways during the class. Additionally, the first person to sign up will have the opportunity to have a free family tree reveal live during the Masterclass! Only 25 spots available so click here to sign up today!
Researching the 1910 Census
Some things change as some things stay the same. This goes for census records too. In previous newsletters, we’ve examined how each census record contains different information. The 1900 and 1910 federal census records were similar except for three additional columns.
Column 30 – Civil War Survivor
The enumerator questioned all men 50 years old and older, whether native or foreign-born, about their involvement in the Civil War. Union Army (UA), Union Navy (UN), Confederate Army (CA), and Confederate Navy (CN) were the official designation for this column. A blank column meant no military service.
Columns 31 & 32 – Disabilities
The federal government began reporting infirmities and disabilities. Column 31 reported totally or partially blind persons as “BI,” and subsequently Column 32 reported both deaf and dumb as “DD.” Originally, a disability question appeared on every census starting with the 1840 census except for 1900. Could this be a precursor to social service programs for the disabled? Possibly. In 1812, parents in Connecticut solicited church ministers to take a census of deaf individuals in their area. Through their efforts, The Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons opened in 1817.
Native American Census Records
Additionally, the 1910 census included a questionnaire for the Indian population. The federal census only included taxed citizens, excluding Native Americans living on reservations or as tribal groups. The 1910 Indian Schedule included Native Americans living on reservations and had tribal affiliations. It also included counties within states that had large Native American populations.
WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!! The winner of the free Ancestry DNA kit for a lucky Family Matters Genealogy newsletter subscriber was bootneylee2000@gmail.com. Congratulations! Your kit will be sent to you as soon we receive your mailing address!
FEATURED ARTICLE
The Fate of HBCUs – Historically Black Cemeteries Unearthed
With new interest in genealogy, family history, and African American history, Historically Black Cemeteries are being unearthed, sometimes with shocking results. Access has been denied to family members whose cemetery property is near a company that limits access. This is the case in Thoroughfare, VA. A locked gate barred access to a family because the nearby brewery owned access to the property, but not the cemetery. The brewery has allowed the family to visit but they must enter through the brewery entrance to gain access to the cemetery.
In other cases, Black cemeteries have been neglected. Developers have built shopping centers on top of largely African American burial grounds in Maryland and Florida. A former slave cemetery was discovered in the 1980s beneath a gas station in Virginia. Owners walked away from their cemeteries as in St. Louis. Due to no available spaces for burials, income dried up and so did the landscaping and maintenance. The owner declared bankruptcy and the property became the responsibility of the county. The county did nothing and it fell into disrepair. A non-profit historical preservation association took over and restored the cemetery to the beauty it once was. They mobilized volunteers to remove garbage, upright headstones and fix it up. How does this happen? Let’s examine the history of how this could happen.
History of Cemeteries
The word ‘cemetery’ is derived from the Greek word, koimeterion, which means ‘sleeping place.’ Colonial families buried their dead in the ground with a cloth wrapping and a prayer. There was no fanfare, pomp and circumstance, or gravemarkers. It wasn’t until the late 1600s that people engraved tombstones to mark the burial place of their loved ones. The religious buried their loved ones on the church’s grounds (graveyards). Those that owned property buried their family members in private plots on family land (cemetery). The invention of the casket came in the late 19th century. Oftentimes, the local undertaker was also the local furniture maker who made the caskets by request. During the Civil War, there was a need to ship the dead back home and the easiest way to do so was in a casket. From then, it became the norm.
Official cemeteries started around the 1830s. As cities and individuals’ wealth grew, people bought plots of land specific for burial within the city limits. But this became a problem too. These burial grounds were small and could not contain the number of burials. Church graveyards and city cemeteries often stacked coffins 5-6 deep. Extremely heavy rains would cause the coffins to rise and float above the ground, sometimes spilling decomposing bodies onto the streets (picture it: zombie apocalypse before it was a thing). Landscape architects created cemeteries as beautiful, park-like spaces on larger pieces of land outside city limits in more rural areas. Diseases and epidemics such as yellow fever and cholera made this necessary to prevent the spread of the disease. It wasn’t until the 1900s that cemeteries became a big business, incorporating funeral homes, insurance, and family burial plots.
Racism in Death
Before the Civil War, the enslaved buried their dead on the land of their enslavers, marking their burial with a yucca plant, wooden board, household items like a toy or bowl, or a large rock. After Emancipation, African Americans buried their dead wherever they could. Unfortunately, racism and segregation followed, even after death. With the creation of Jim Crow laws in the South, African Americans could not be buried with whites. As separate but equal became the law of the land, segregation included cemeteries. African Americans and benevolent white purchased or gave land to African Americans to use as a burial ground. These deeds often went undocumented or were misrepresented so ownership became questionable. In the North, cemeteries had “black sections.” In some cases, prominent African Americans bought land and created cemeteries run by a society or board of trustees.
The Problem
Families would volunteer to maintain the cemetery if it was a small family plot or a local cemetery. The problem became generations later, when family members either forget about the cemeteries or took no interest in maintaining them. The Great Migration of Blacks from the south meant that something had to be abandoned to make a new way of life in a more racially accepting location. This meant leaving their ancestors behind. The move diminished their ties to the ancestral burial grounds because most never returned. Many are not aware of the history of their ancestors and there is less care to maintain their family burial grounds.
Since the 1950s, people are more transient and often do not live in the same area where they grew up. Because of this, family cemeteries on private land or in small city and county cemeteries are not maintained and are eventually abandoned. Municipalities or private companies maintain bigger city cemeteries. Black Cemeteries were always vulnerable, suffering abuse, neglect, and destruction. African American cemeteries flourished until urban renewal came into play and developers needed the land for transportation or housing. Developers were SUPPOSED to reinter the bodies. Sometimes this happens, sometimes not. Sometimes all bodies are moved, sometimes not.
The threat from developers is constantly looming unless something is done. What often happens on newly developed land is bones or bodies are found on the property. Digging must halt until the developer performs a land survey and investigates the property. Developers research the original owners of the property to contact them to discuss previous land usage. Many of the societies and trustees that were responsible for these African American cemeteries have either disbanded or declared bankruptcy. City and county municipalities have the option to take over the maintenance but many do not because of the high cost of landscaping and irrigation.
The Solution
A Congressional bill sponsored by Alma S. Adams (NC-D-12) establishes the creation of a database of African American Cemeteries in the United States. This bill would make the National Parks Service (NPS) responsible for establishing the United States African-American Burial Grounds Preservation Program. This program would include funding education and preservation programs (H.R. 6805 was introduced on 2/2/22 and is in the subcommittee for review). This bill needs to pass! Take a moment and write your Congressional representative to show your support.
We can document every African American cemetery across the United States but the main problem of getting more people involved remains. Everyone has to give a helping hand and be a stakeholder in this effort – historians, preservationists, landscape architects, municipal governments, community members, and the descendants of the deceased. They must all come together to evaluate the worthiness of the location’s restoration. They can fix it up but without the stakeholders, they won’t be able to maintain it. It will fall into disrepair later on down the road.
Client Corner – Marion Patricia McPherson McLean
I had been given a written history of the Lee Alton McPherson (my father’s) family; however, there were some missing links that I was unable to connect. My family had roots in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina.
I needed to know the names of my paternal grandparents and their links to other families that are connected to us. My great grandfather, Daniel McPherson who was a slave and my grandfather was married twice who had no children with the first wife.
Tanya discovered our connection to the McDonald Family, which shows that we are interrelated with folks whom I had no idea were so closely related.
Tanya did an excellent job researching my roots and I would highly recommend her to anyone who is trying to research their family history. She is very thorough with her research. As she was researching my family, she met a cousin who lives in Maryland which added a little excitement for me. Tanya is exciting and loves what she does.
LOOKING FOR LONG LOST ANCESTORS?
If you want to research your family history (and I strongly encourage everyone to do so), let me know and I can assist you. I offer several affordable packages depending on your research needs. If you are an amateur genealogist/family historian, I can create a research plan to guide you in the right direction. I am always willing to help. Send me a message!
Did You Know That You Need A Plan for Your Family Research?
Most people plan for the inevitable like buying life insurance, creating a will or taking care of our own final arrangements. However, what happens to the family photo albums, memorabilia, digital pictures or the years of research done after our death? WHAT?!?! Surely, you’ve thought about this. No?!?! Well, it’s time!
“By Failing to Prepare, You Prepare to Fail”
This is a very important quote from Benjamin Franklin that can be parlayed into many things in life. If you are the family historian (like me), certainly you understand the importance of making a plan after your demise. Is there someone in the younger generation that will take up the cause? Does someone in the family show an interest in continuing the family research? Is there anyone who cares at all?? That’s what you need to find out NOW. Seek out the current family historian at the next family reunion. Make sure they know your interest in taking over after they have gone. Talk to your children to see who might take on this task because making a plan is the first and most important step. It guarantees that your family photos and records will be passed on after your death.
Make a Plan
If your Auntie/Grandpa/Mom/Dad agree to pass the family history torch to you, make sure they state it CLEARLY in their wills. Please make sure they let their heirs know NOW! We do not want surprises when the end comes and you try to unsuccesfully retrieve items promised. I would highly recommend that you ask your relatives to pass it down to you NOW, including their online family tree passwords.
Also, have them go through the family photo album with you. Have them tell you stories of the family members in the pictures (make sure you record it as oral history so you can write it down later). Additionally, make sure they go through their phones and computers to transfer any photos they might have stashed there. Encourage them to upload to a cloud service like Google Photos, Dropbox, shared drive, etc. If they are willing, ask them to share the usernames and passwords with you so you have access to it at all times. It’s the best gift you can give your future descendants and continue the family forward.
Editor’s Note – Happy Kwanzaa and Happy New Year!
The new year means new beginnings and new commitments. Last year on New Years Day, I committed to starting Family Matters Genealogy! It was the best decision that I could make. I’ve helped several clients discover their family histories. Sometimes the information isn’t so pretty but I present the information (the good, the bad and the ugly) with discretion and sensitivity.
For 2023, I committed to teaching three MasterClasses! I have scheduled the first class for February 1st, the first day of Black History Month which is significant for me. Several years ago, I posted genealogy tips which inspired many of my family and friends. They, in turn, inspired me to start my business. I want all African Americans to know and understand where we came from, that we can trace our ancestors and although our history is a hard pill to swallow, it’s significant and should be celebrated.