Thank you for subscribing to our monthly newsletter! We hope that you enjoy this month’s information. If you want us to address a specific topic, send us a message at tanya@familymattersgenealogy.com and we will discuss it in the November 2022 newsletter.
Researching the 1890 Census
As you know from previous newsletters, the census records contains different information every time. The huge gap between 1880 and 1900 censuses frustrates genealogists and family historians because a lof of information cannot be determined, specifically the migration patterns of family members. However, the new categories on this census gave us more socioeconomic information for each family.
The 1900 census included the birth month and year of each member in the household. Additionally, it recorded the number of years a couple had been married (doing the math you could calculate the year of marriage) and the number of children born and the number of children still living for adult women in the household. This census incorporated the economic status of the family – whether the head of household owned or rented their home, whether the home was a house or farm and if it was mortgaged or owned free and clear. An enumerator noted farms and included a farm schedule. Farm schedules were important because they included the value of the property, number of acres, types of crops grown, number of livestock and the name of the owner if the farm was rented.
The month of October has a lot going on – Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Down Syndrome Awareness Month and National Family History Month! In 2001, Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican Senator for Utah, introduced a bill designating October as Family History Month to encourage people to research their ancestry. “By searching for our roots, we come closer together as a human family.” Try to dedicate some time during this month to do some kind of genealogical research on your family and immortalize it for future generations – in an album, a book or on a family tree site. During October, Family Matters Genealogy, LLC will offer a 10 % discount for Kati and Kubwa services plus a free gift. You must book and pay the 50% deposit before 11:59pm on 10/31/22 in order to receive the discounted services.
The Woman King is True History
I went to see The Women King, starring Viola Davis. It was an excellent movie about women’s empowerment, strength and independence. I knew that Dahomey was a real place because of a book written by Zora Neale Hurston. Situated in Western African in present day Benin (renamed in 1975), it is true that Dahomey was an essential factor in the Atlantic Slave trade with the British until 1852. Dahomey went to war with France in 1892 and in 1894, France defeated them. Afterwards, Dahomey became a colony of France but France did allow the royal families and its administrators to continue to rule the people. We will analyze what are true historical facts from the movie. For those that did not see it…SPOILER ALERT!
The Kingdom of Oyo existed and fought against the Kingdom of Dahomey over the slave trade. Both kingdoms sold captured enemies from neighboring tribes to the British and Portuguese to support their empires.
The King of Dahomey increased their palm oil trade as an economic alternative to the slave trade BUT only after the British prepared to discontinue the practice in its colonies in 1833. The movie reversed this fact.
Nanisca, played by Viola Davis, was a real Agojie but on a smaller, lesser known scale than in the movie.
King Ghezo, same as in the movie, reigned Dahomey from 1818-1858.
Dahomey had a real all-female army called the Agojie warriors. Originally organized as elephant hunters, they progressed to be the king’s guards. The population of men had significantly dropped because Dahomey was at war with other tribes in order to maintain their power in the region. Women had no choice but to fight to protect the kingdom from neighboring villages and tribes.
In the movie, the Agojie took an oath to remain single and childless to be a part of the army. However, the king considered the all the Agojie as his wives and did not allow them to date or marry anyone else. They lived in the palace with the king like in the movie.
Read Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston. Cudjo Lewis,a former slave, described his capture by the Agojie of Dahomey from his West African village in 1860. Imprisoned at a slave port in Ouidah (later named The Gate of No Return), he was sold to Americans by King Glele (son of Ghezo) and was illegally smuggled into Alabama on the last American slave ship Clotilda.
Of course, the movie has created controversy because of its “historical inaccuracies;” however, it is a depiction of true historical events with fictional characters. The Woman King is a great story with some historical facts sprinkled in.
CLIENT CORNER – SYLVIE MARRESE
I was gifted an Ancestry DNA test and received the results a few weeks later. I had no experience in organizing a genealogical search, as it seems quite overwhelming. She helped me organize every match, and together, we identified each and every branch possibility on the tree. My challenge was the many similar last names. in my DNA matches, that were not of the same family branch. Tanya guided the search by suggesting and using Ancestry’s website, uploading my DNA to GedMatch, My Heritage, 23 and ME, and to take an additional mtDNA test to align the results with my possible birth mom. She used DNA Painter to explain the centiMorgan complexities and to further map out relatives.
Aside from Tanya’s vast knowledge, it was her determination to move ahead past any obstacles. She was very supportive when emotions got the best of me. We found my Bio parents, within 4 months- a full sister, and half siblings and close relatives. I never in my life would imagine attempting a search without Tanya. Her guidance and knowledge of genealogy and the steps to build a family tree, were the keys to our success. I highly recommend Tanya for any of your genealogical needs. Her professionalism, determination, and perseverance are the key to anyone’s Ancestry search.
LOOKING FOR LONG LOST ANCESTORS?
If you are interested in researching 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.
DID YOU KNOW? Mermaids Come in All Colors
There has been an uproar when Disney announced that they were casting Halle Bailey as Ariel in their live-action revival of the Little Mermaid. The controversy stems from many believing that Ariel should remain white because mermaids are white. But…is that really true? Mermaids are mythical creatures, so how does anyone know they are strictly white? Did you know that mermaid stories were more well known in African countries than European countries? Let’s examine the history.
Myth of the Mermaid
Different cultures have depicted mermaids in their folklores and fables. So, who was the first to tell the mermaid story? The legend of Mama Wati dates back six centuries. Mama Wati was a West African mermaid or a water spirit who had long flowing hair and snakes as necklaces. She was notorious for sinking ships, promising fertility and prosperity to anyone who worshiped her and taking a human form with legs and appear in the least likely places.
Other countries had stories about mermaids – the ningyo, Matsya and duyung of Asia, Mama D’Leau of Caribbean stories, and the nommos of the Dogon people from Mali. There have been shrines of mermaids and other ocean deities that lined the west African coastlines from Senegal to Angola, the same coastline where slave ships kidnapped Africans to take to the Caribbean Islands and the Americas.
So why do mermaids have to be white? NO! Does everyone believe Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen created them for his book written in 1837? YES! Could Caucasian writers adapt these stories to make for interesting reading for their audiences? YES! Cultural appropriation happens all the time, especially from elements of African and African American culture.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Thank you for reading my newsletter. I love October for many reasons. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as a breast cancer survivor, this is the time of year that I raise money for the American Cancer Society. The other reason is because it’s FAMILY HISTORY MONTH!!! This is the time of year that I focus on my own family’s research, either by going through my family trees to update some records or look for more records as they become available on various genealogical sites. I take detailed notes for the book that I will write someday. For my family, I am currently researching my Davis, Teat and Fernandes lines.
Next month, we will celebrate Native American Heritage Month and Veteran’s Day by reviewing military records and Indian census records. If you have any genealogical questions, feel free to comment and I will feature your question in the next issue. Michael Crichton said, “If you don’t know history, you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”
Know and love your family history. Peace, Love and Genealogy.
Last week’s blog post talked about digital photos vs. printed photos but for our final week of Save Your Photos Month, we will plan for the inevitable, death. Parents buy life insurance to pay for their funerals or to make life comfortable for their children. We make a will to distributethe important things in our lives between the ones we love, equally and fairly. We try to take care of our final arrangements, making sure those in charge know what to do. What about the family photo albums, memorabilia and digital pictures after our death? WHAT?!?! You never thought about this? Well, it’s time!
“By Failing to Prepare, You Prepare to Fail”
A very important quote from Benjamin Franklin that can be parlayed into many things in life. If you are the family historian (like me), it is important to make 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 interests 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. Also make sure your family photos 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 retrieve unsuccessfully what you’ve been promised. I would highly recommend that you ask your relatives to pass it down to you NOW.
Also, have them go through the 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 username and passwords with you so you have access to it at all times.
Be Creative
Since natural disasters happen (seems like more often lately), scan all family photo albums and take pictures of any family memorabilia so you will have a digital copy. Upload this to a cloud service just in case. Last but definitely not least, create a book from the photo albums, memorabilia, newspaper articles, etc. for the next family reunion or to pass along after you! Make sure you include everything about yourself – the good, the bad and the ugly – so they know who you truly are. Include your immediate family and their adventures and mishaps. It’s the best gift you can give your future descendants and continue the family forward.
Next month is Family History Month! I am determined to make family historians out of EVERYONE! I’ve got some great stuff to share so stay tuned.
Last week’s blog discussed decluttering photos on our phones. This rolls into this week’s blog of digital photos. The current generation is technology savvy and believe and love anything digital. So where does that leave us old school printed photo people? Are we considered relics because we have several boxes of printed photos? What should we do with the photo albums passed down through the generations? Should we only have digital photos. There is a way to live in both worlds.
Scrapbook Queen
I confess…I’m a scrapbooker! It is a creative obsession I’ve had since I was young (I am 53). Imagine lots of pretty paper, glitter and tchotchkes all over my spare bedroom in my house. Therefore, printed photos are important to me. However, scrapbooking has even moved away from paper and embellishments and has turned to digital scrapbooking (not fun for me). I refuse to adjust! My daughters use social media as their scrapbooks, uploading pictures into albums and deleting them from their phones to save memory. Which method is correct?
Digital vs. Printed
There are several pros and cons for each:
Digital photos require no physical space. The only space it needs is memory on an external hard drive, a laptop, on your phone or a cloud service. Printed photos and scrapbooks require real estate – on a bookcase (like at my mom’s house), on a closet shelf (in my house) or a corner somewhere in the house.
What happens when technology is upgraded? Do you have to worry about transferring all your digital photos to a new hard drive? What if your laptop crashes or a cloud service shuts down? You will still have your photo albums, printed photos and scrapbooks.
Both have an expense attached. Digital photos require hardware (or cloud service. There is a max to the free memory for Google, iCloud or Dropbox. Digital images take up A LOT of memory so thousands of photos will eventually max out and you will need to pay for additional memory to save your photos.
Natural disasters affect both digital and printed photos. A fire, accidental spill or lost/stolen equipment happen so understanding how to protect your photos (syncing your phone to your laptop/tablet, having a fire safe, keeping liquids away from electronic equipment and photos) is very important.
Make sure you preserve your photos for future generation so they know who you are and what you look like. By the way, The Photo Managers events for Save Your Photos Month are great!
I featured information about The Negro Motorist Green Book or the Green Book in my June 2022 newsletter. Many people don’t know that the Green Book was more than a 2018 movie with the same title. The movie, Green Book, starred Mahershala Ali as an African American pianist who hired a white New Yorker, Viggo Mortensen, to be his driver and bodyguard. The pianist was touring the Deep South. His record label gave a copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book to the driver prior to the road trip. They recognized that the pianist could not patronize certain establishments because of racism and segregation. I loved the movie however, I knew that many did not understand the significance of the movie title and what that little book meant to a whole race of people.
Driving While Black
When I was a kid, we visited my family in Cape Cod, Massachusetts for summer vacation. My dad was BIG on education (he was an electrical engineer) so a road trip consisted of visiting educational places like museums and points of interest on the 5+ hour drive north. My dad and I would go to the Triple A store (American Automobile Association) to pick up pamphlets and maps for our summer adventure. The pre-Google/GPS days meant maps and atlases were the only navigational tools. I would study those maps, plotting interesting points along the way.
I was intrigued with driving and couldn’t wait until I turned 17 to get my license. It always bothered me that my grandmother never learned to drive. When I asked her why, she explained that it was “too much trouble.” Duke (my grandfather Jonas Davis) would drive her anywhere she wanted to go. She said driving in the South was difficult for Black people. She never explained why and I didn’t dig deeper, which I regret. I could tell she experienced something that she didn’t want to talk about.
Southern Hostility
Fast forward to 2014. I planned to drive to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, fulfilling a bucket list item for my 45th birthday. I told a teacher friend of my plans to drive. She was born and raised in the South so she had legitimate concerns for my solo trip. Her specific instructions included warning me about driving through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. She told me to be off the roads and in secure locations before the sun went down (she referenced “sundown town”). She told me which cities were safe and where to gas up along my route. It was through her that I got my history lesson of “driving while black.”
I have personally experienced racism. As a history major, I know about African American history. As a Northerner, I did not know about sundown towns or The Green Book. I asked my dad about them after I returned from my trip. He told me about his experience in Valdosta, Georgia when he was in the Air Force. He and some other airmen went out on liberty on a Saturday might and they had a guide book that told them the safe places they could go, free from harassment by whites. Jim Crow laws were in effect, enforcing racial segregation, unfair treatment and restrictions of Blacks. My dad never said the words, “Green Book,” but I believe that is what he had to guide him.
The Green Book – Created Out of Necessity
Exhibit at African American Museum in Philadelphia PA
It’s a shame that The Green Book existed for the reasons it did. The truth of the matter is that African Americans weren’t safe anywhere – North, South, East or West – from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement. Sometimes I wonder if we are safe now. The Green Book provided spaces for Blacks to feel safe – restaurants, hotels, barber shops, beauty parlors, nightclubs, entertainment.
As cars became affordable, African Americans began to travel more. Cars provided a sense of freedom to African Americans. They didn’t have to sit or stand in the back of buses or trains. There was no fear of being run off the run while walking on the sidewalk or dirt road. They could visit family “down South” and feel protected inside an automobile. But once they stepped out the car, they would be exposed again, unless they were in a place that welcomed them. The Green Book provided that security, to be welcomed to places with people that looked like them, were happy to see them, and didn’t judge or harass them.
Green Book pages at African American Museum in Philadelphia PA
If you are interested in researching your family’s history, there are several packages that could help you determine the information you’re looking for. Contact me at any time!
“It Ain’t What They Call You, It’s What You Answer To.” – W.C. Fields
Common Surnames in the United States in 1990
W.C. Fields understood the complexity of names. My April newsletter touched on the importance of names. Your name links you to your ancestors. My grandfather told us the story that when he left the Cape Verde Islands in the 1920s, the intake clerk changed his surname because he couldn’t spell his actual surname (Sequiera). He asked my grandfather what his mother’s last name was; he stated “Fernandes” and so my grandfather became Henrique Fernandes. Although many immigrants Americanized their names or were illiterate and could not spell their own names (see Family Matters Newsletter – May 2022), the intake clerks did the best they could, spelling it phonetically.
Names are important in genealogy because it is how we find our ancestors. Some ways are easier than others. Unique first and last names are easier to find in records than common names like Mary, Ann, Smith, or Jones. Look for uncommons names when tracing your direct line ancestors on your family tree.
Surnames
After Emancipation, the formerly enslaved chose their surnames. There was no rhyme nor reason for their selection – it depended on what they felt at the time. They might have taken the surname of their last enslaver or their first enslaver or the enslaver that treated them the kindest (see what I mean)? They might have chosen someone they admired (like Presidents “Lincoln” or “Washington”). It could have been their occupation (Cooper, Smith, or Baker) or chosen randomly to express their newfound freedom (the surname “Freeman” was popular for this reason).
Not knowing where to start in your research, make the assumption that the surname IS the enslaver’s name (I know the phrase about assuming…). Now, look for your ancestors on the 1870 census and see if there are any white people within the same area with the same surname. If you find this to be true, research the oldest male member of the household. Go back in the census records to find their father and see if they died before Emancipation. If so, search wills, probate and business records. You should look for your ancestors being willed or given to family members. Also check Freedman’s Bureau Records for employment contracts. Many formerly enslaved continued to work for former enslavers! I know this sounds like a lot but keep at ot, the information is there.
First names and Nicknames
During slavery, it was common for names to be repeated frequently within a family. Parents named their children after themselves or their grandparents; this also included daughters! First born daughters shared their mother’s name, their mother’s sister’s name or a grandmother’s first name. Parents did not use suffixes like “Junior, Senior and III” (a genealogist’s nightmare), instead nicknames like Sonny, Big John, Little John and JoJo were popular. Big families had several members with the same names. Nicknames distinguished family members between each other. Sometimes, families shortened names like Babs, Pandy and Morty from Barbara, Pandora and Mordecai. These nicknames were sometimes listed on census records. When searching, always look for various spellings of first names, nicknames and misspellings if you hit a brick wall.
Middle names
African Americans are famous for naming their children one name and calling them by their middle name! Parents named their children after a family member out of respect but sometimes didn’t like the name. There were several aunts, uncles, and/or cousins with the same first name and had to distinguish between other family members. Some parents preferred a child’s middle name over their first name. Historian Herbert G. Gutman suggested that slaves selected the names of their children so that they would know their familial ties in case of separation.
Perfect example, a client was trying to trace the steps of her great great grandmother – let’s call her Zeta Jones – but we could only find her and her granddaughter (Phi Beta Smith) on one census record in 1940 but then the tracks went cold. We did all kinds of searches in the entire state…NOTHING. After looking through all the records and talking to my client, there was an obvious pattern in the naming of the children in her family. The granddaughter had an unusual middle name so I decided to search Beta Jones instead of Zeta Jones and wonders never cease…she popped up! Zeta wasn’t her first name but no one in the family knew this. We were able to go further back in the family tree knowing this info.
Maiden names
The hardest people to track in genealogy are women! Why? Because we take the last names of our husbands when we get married. In earlier times, women lost their identity after marriage and therefore their family history. They became “Mrs. James X” or Mrs. Ann X.” However, women from wealthy families kept their maiden names because it was their status symbol for recognition in high society. Often, they gave their daughters their maiden name as their middle name.
So, if you’re looking for your female ancestor and don’t know her maiden name, look for her marriage license under her husband’s name or look for the death certificate of one of her children – these documents will have her maiden name listed. You can also track her brother because they would have had the same surname. The most important lesson in this – HYPHENATE YOUR NAME, LADIES!!! Try to make it easier on future generations trying to find you.
