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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

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Who Would Have Guessed From the 1940 US Census?

Haley in the United States Coast Guard, 1939 Haley as a young man in the U.S. Coast Guard, U. S. Coast Guard Service Record (212-548), 24 May 1939 Image via Wikipedia  Two men I am very curious about on the 1940 US Census are Alex Haley (1921-1992) and Malcolm X (1925-1965).  Neither were as special at the time as they came to be to the world.  Can you imagine that? Yet, both left a mark on each other, and Malcolm X did so much so that Alex Haley collaborated with him on his autobiography.  See The Autobiography of Malcolm X.  Who would have predicted their paths in life would have crossed?


I think it will be a great opportunity to find Alex Haley (1921-1992) on the 1940 US Census.  I was in high school when our English class was required to read and discuss Roots.  I was so inspired and marveled at the oral history that was passed down to him.


As I have researched my own history, I have never lost the appreciation for what his efforts did in encouraging others to seek out their own ancestry.  I saw how knowledge of my own genealogy could benefit others if I shared it.  My family records became more than who I thought I was and more about who we are as not only African Americans but also how we encompasses a portion of the whole human family.


It became important to me to discern the lessons that life experiences can teach as opposed to dwelling on the awful circumstances so much that the light within me dims.  From the beginning of the saga all the way down to the present day, Alex Haley was the culmination of the joy and sorrows experienced, and he chose to shine.  His work revolutionized family history research as we knew it back then. It became a passion of many, and now technology as fueled that passion.


I want to equally visit the life of Malcolm X (1925-1965).  Malcolm X was born in Nebraska.  He appears as Malcolm Little living as a child in Lansing, Michigan on the 1930 US Census.  By the time the 1940 US Census rolled around, his father had been killed by white supremacists and his mother had been committed to an asylum.  Malcolm went from foster home to foster home.

Malcolm XMalcolm X, Ed Ford, World Telegram staff photographer March 12 1964    Image via Wikipedia Even though Malcolm X made great strides in his life to better himself, the greatest personal transition he made has either gone virtually unnoticed or misunderstood since his assassination in 1965.  Just before his death he took a pilgrimage to Mecca where his eyes were opened.  He had begun to see people of different races as equal from his experiences there and from the manner in which he was treated.  He had begun to share these views with the public.


Alex Haley did a wonderful job of helping us to understand the spiritual conversion of Malcolm X in The Autobiography of Malcolm X .  Using the 1940 US Census to piece these gentleman's lives together from the beginning will help me understand a great deal more about them and their connection.  They are not just famous people to me.  They are people who paid a price and sacrificed something for what they envisioned.  They accomplished a great deal on the journey allowed them, but I suspect they had much more in mind.  Can you tell my curiosity is about to get the best of me?


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Friday, February 24, 2012

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Family History Comes Full Circle

When our family moved from Illinois to South Carolina to search out extended family and find access to local historical records, I could never have imagined any of the great opportunities that I have experienced.

About two weeks ago, we visited my cousin in Union, South Carolina.  They had the opportunity to attend one of my recent presentations in the area.  We discussed how there is a need to be sure we share our history with our youth and encourage them to learn about their ancestors.  I can see the great gap with today's youth and all the wonderful oral history and lessons that could be learned from their forebears.  I know this knowledge would be so useful to them as they are faced with hard challenges and choices today.

As we visited, and he shared how his daughter had gone back to get her masters, my cousin asked me what type of things could we do to help.  I suggested one thing we could do would be to offer to present in the schools and encourage the youth to learn about their family history.

Our conversation was cut short as a community member came to the door to bear the news about a recent death and the need for a burial plot at Maple Ridge Baptist Church.  Not very many days later, I got a phone from my cousin's daughter whom we had discussed.  I had no idea that she taught at Jesse S. Bobo Elementary in Spartanburg, and she invited me to come to speak to two classes of fifth graders yesterday.

I was so very excited.  The youth were bright and very attentive. They became very excited as I had them look up the words genealogy and genealogist in their dictionaries.  As they were handed blank Family Tree charts, I saw them make attempts to fill in the information they knew.


We discussed the meaning of the term, ancestor, and they recited the names of the ancestors they knew.  I asked them to share some of the lessons and teachings their grandparents had taught.  I showed them how to search for death certificates at FamilySearch.org and how to use the Research Wiki.

I challenged them to work with their families to complete their Family Trees.  The time seemed short, but I knew it had been sufficient when one girl asked me, "Did your parent or grandparent inspire you to do this?"

One boy asked me, "What different types of people did you find in your family tree?"  Another girl shared,  " I have an ancestor who served in the Civil War."  I trust they will continue to be inspired by these questions. I cannot help but envision that the seeds of becoming the family historian in each of their families has been planted.


I remember asking my family members questions when I was very young.  While there were no smart boards, internet, or family tree charts for me, I was greatly inspired by hearing the stories and being able to have my questions answered.  I hope this will be the experience of these students at Jesse S. Bobo Elementary.

I am so grateful to my cousin who serves his community so well, and seized this opportunity to help more.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

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Sometimes the Trail Does Not Run Cold

I continue to discover clues here and there on the trail to learning more about my great grandfather, Lafayette Franklin Vance.  I am so amazed that after so many years, I am still finding information.  Even when I am only researching the holdings at a library or working on a completely different family line, I run across documentation on Lafayette.

As these clues fall into my lap, it seems as if he is right there helping me to uncover leads, directing me to a landmark, or inspiring someone to share information about him with me. I thought I had exhausted city directories in my search to document family members between census years.  I used Columbia City Directories to locate him in the 1920's after he migrated from Greenwood County.  I found him in the 1910 Census in Clinton (Laurens County), but only last week I discovered him in the 1917 Clinton City Directory.

Rev. Lafayette Vance (Lula), pastor Friendship AME Ch, r 132 W Carolina Ave.

He is listed with my great grandmother, Lula, and the directory revealed he was pastoring at Friendship AME Church in Clinton. I could not wait to locate this church.  I even have other Vance families listed in the area to check out.



Very excited, I had just enough time to snap a few photos of the building.  I did not see a cemetery.  As I walked toward the building, a nice lady across the street  asked if I needed help.  She came over to talk to me, and I told her about finding the reference to my great grandfather.  Before I knew it she had unlocked the building and presented me with the history of the church in a wonderful booklet.


                                                                "Friendship AME Founded in 1880"

I did manage to keep the tears back as we browsed the booklet, and she explained that there is another church in the area, Mount Pleasant AME which was considered my family's church. Another lead!  Friendship AME has been around since 1880, and the church cemetery, located on the original site nearby, is where members who were former slaves are buried.

I cannot say enough about staying on the trail of your ancestor and conducting exhaustive research.
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