In Black and White: Cross-Cultural Genealogy

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY  . . . the first day of The Family History Writing Challenge. The challenge is to write the first draft of my family history book in 29 days. 29 DAYS! What I have I gotten myself into?!?!? It's not really all that bad! Our writing guide, Lynn Palermo of The Armchair Genealogist , is coaching us step-by-step, to set realistic goals. Assignments are shared in a safe online forum where we support our fellow family history writers. So far I have: narrowed the scope, outlined the book, and and defined the plot. Now . . . one more challenge before the big day . . . organizing my research! I wondered were those prints of microfilmed obituaries from Surry County, NC were! They were from an October 2010 research trip, and found just in time for a return trip next month. And the copies from a book which included the history of the synagogue my 2nd Great Grandfather David Silverman  co-founded! It's amazing what you'll find when locating past researc...

On January 24th I took the plunge & accepted the challenge...The Armchair Genealogist's Family History Writing Challenge, that is. Lynn Palermo, author of the blog, wrote a post that caught my attention: Let's Be Honest.  In it she talks about FEAR as being a motivator which hinders writers from getting the story down on paper. And of all the internal questions that storm in our minds, I found one that has always resonated with me... I don't have enough research... and one akin to it:  what if my subjects don't like my writing? Perhaps the fear is not so much that they might not like the quality of the work . . . just the tenor of it. You've seen the timeline  . . . and for this work, I actually will be working on the previous generation, from the death of Isaac Carter's parents in 1853 to the birth of Hezekiah in 1874. I hope you'll stop by from time to time to see how I'm progressing. Although I won't be writing the story here, I will k...

Have you ever felt that no matter how hard you work on your family history that when you go to put the facts together, it just seems like something's missing? Do you ever feel like the facts are far and few between? Have you ever considered that perhaps THAT is where the story lies...between the dates? Last year I was having some trouble getting the myriad of facts and dates in order, so I began with constructing a timeline . At that point, I had selected my husband's grandfather, Hezekiah Carter, whom he had never met, as the focal point of the timeline. Hezekiah Carter's Family Timeline covered the dates 1874-1922: the former date being the year of Hezekiah's birth, and the latter date the year of Hezekiah's oldest child's marriage. Since that time I have decided that the story actually begins with Hezekiah's father, Isaac Carter, since Hezekiah's noted success is seen as a reaction to his father's impoverished upbringing and legacy. Now the t...

On June 12, 1888 Isaac Carter's Civil War Pension application was filed. The long, tedious process of red tape began, and one can only imagine how he and his family must have felt as it dragged on. This letter from the War Department, Adjutant General's Office (document #7), dated October 10, 1888, Isaac's military career was encapsulated into a nutshell. The transcription follows:      Respectfully returned to the Commissioner of Pensions. Isaac Carter, a private, of Company B, 14th Regiment U.S. Col'd Arty (Hvy) Volunteers, was enrolled on the 12th day of March, 1864 at New Bern, and is reported: On rolls from enrollment to June 30/65 present.   Roll for July & Aug/65, Co. G 14th U.S. Col'd Arty (Hvy) (to which transferred Aug/65) reported him present. Sept & Oct/65 present. He was mustered out of service with Co. [--] December 11, 1865, at Fort Macon, N.C. Promoted Corpl. Sept. 1/65, promoted Sergt. Sept. 20/65. Records of this office furnished ...

On the question of a M. E. Church, South built in 1854/55 I am so thankful to be living in an age when we are able  to have our questions answered in much less time  than in my grand aunt Helen Beers Newton's era! Tourneykill or Tanneyhill? Victor Jones, Jr. of the New Bern-Craven County Public Library 's Kellenberger Room  corrected the Tolson transcription, "Tourneykill's Branch" to Tanneyhill's Branch or Creek , named after an early settler. The name has been mentioned in other deeds around Clubfoot Creek, but no specific location given, and it is not on current topo maps. . . A search of the Early Settlers of Craven County database on the library's Genealogical Resources page reveals five (5) sources mentioning Jn. Taneyhill, Esq. between the years 1714 and 1720. His tithables, pole tax and land tax records reveal that he owned 1,400 acres in Bath County (formed in 1696). The county formation map found at n2genealogy  states that: Bat...

It's been a month since my last post;  but even though I've been silent,  I have NOT been idle! The Conclusion of Dark Salvation In late December I finished reading Dark Salvation , by Harry V. Richardson.While I had been summarizing my gleanings on the formation of the AME Zion Church as related to the development of post-Emancipation churches in rural Craven County, NC, the final chapters outlined: the fight for ordination of black pastors  and the continual power struggles between Methodist groups -- both black and white, so they were omitted from the series. Books for 2012 Under Their Own Vine and Fig Tree: The African-American Church in the South 1865-1900 , by William E. Montgomery, is the next book I'll be reading. I have not yet decided if I will post a series on this book, which focuses on the missionary efforts to rebuild the South following the Civil War. After that I plan on checking the first-hand accounts of AME Zion Bishops Rush, Moore and Hood, ...