#africanamericangenealogy

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Latest book from Kathy Lynne Marshall! My copy came today. #findingdaisy #familyhistory #africanamericangenealogy #kanikamarshall https://www.instagram.com/p/B40rRtgJPoZ/?igshid=1h66hmweldwef

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My #genealogyphotoaday prompt for my research jumped out at me this morning. I awoke to an Ancestry message from a cousin of my great uncle’s 3rd wife, Pearl Timberlake. Discovering their marriage was total happenstance. I knew nothing of this person or her family, nor had she ever been mentioned by my mother who lived with her uncle most of her life. Based on the message it appears Pearl’s cousin does not know much about what became of Pearl. Neither of us has information on her date of death or the place. However, our public trees have connected us and hopefully between us we may learn more. I do know the marriage was short-lived with no children. Percy married one more time before he died in 1949. #africanamericangenealogy https://www.instagram.com/p/B1omr4BHyWg/?igshid=29ybhu1649q0

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Every time a prompt related to “my brick wall” comes up, I find myself feeling like a broken record. My great grandfather, Joshua W. Williams, is my most persistent brick wall with no chinks in it. I do know quite a bit about his life, but can’t push his line back even one generation, not even with DNA. #genealogyphotoaday #brickwall #africanamericangenealogy #dna https://www.instagram.com/p/B1oLhF3HiWk/?igshid=178ct73tfrb0t

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On 7 March 1862, James Phillips “enlisted” for theee years in the Confederate army to serve in lieu of William Robbins. They were both from Randolph County, NC. While the record shows proof of service, it does. NOT show the coercion that undoubtedly led to this 3 yr term of service. James was NOT a slave. He was a Free Man of Color. #genealogyphoto #africanamericanhistory #africanamericangenealogy #blackconfederates #fpoc #randolphcountync https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxl8EgxHpxX/?igshid=1gnu62103ii2c

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#genealogyphotoaday is one of my oldest family possessions, my grandmother’s (Lela Virginia Farnell Williams)book on the life of Queen Victoria. It was one of her prized possessions. As the entry says, it was given to her by her mother, Sallie (Jacobs) Farnell. This was actually written in the back of the book. On the front inside cover she recorded family births and deaths (see additional pictures). When she died, other family members kept up the tradition for a while. The tradition was also kept in a bible she was given by my grandfather (William “Willie” G. Williams) which I also have. #africanamericangenealogy #liveoakfl #jerseycitynj #farnell #williams #lifeofqueenvictoria https://www.instagram.com/p/BwI7N4rg_0C/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=16uwdagcydxhs

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Enjoying a presentation by Marvin T Jones on the history of the Pleasant Plains School and education in the Winton Triangle, Hertford County, NC. #wintontriangle #hertfordcountync #chowandiscoverygroup #africanamericangenealogy #africanamericanhistory #genealogyphotoaday #marvintjones (at Rossmoor, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwFL-rbgowX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2oaq3ugozxr

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#genealogyphotoaday prompt is “cemetery.” This is the tombstone of C(laudia) J(annetta) “Nettie” Hill, daughter of Emsley and S(arah) Hill. It is one of the oldest intact headstones in Strieby Congregational Church Cemetery, in Randolph County, North Carolina. Emsley was a son of Nathan and Priscilla (Mahockley) Hill around whom the community of Hill Town, later called Strieby, developed. Sarah was the sister of the Rev. Islay Walden, who founded the community’s church, First Congregational Church of Randolph County, later renamed Strieby Congregational Church. Family members continue to bury loved ones in the cemetery alongside their ancestors. #africanamericangenealogy #randolphcountync #striebychurchnc #islaywalden https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv8APfOAn1Z/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=k73nkp38qfzq

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#genealogyphotoaday today is “newest” and this is my newest Lassiter cousin: Lailah Elizabeth Medlock, Miles Lassiter’s 4th great granddaughter. #africanamericangenealogy #randolphcountync #mileslassiter #cousins💕 https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv3QDcngzS4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=bzpzjc667n9o

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#genealogyphotoaday prompt is surname. When I started my research in 1976, I had never heard the Lassiter surname. Neither had my mother. Little did I know my research would lead me to my maternal, 4th great grandfather, Miles Lassiter (an early African American Quaker) and dozens of Lassiter family cousins. #africanamericangenealogy #blackquakers #randolphcountync #mileslassiter https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv27XFDAPHp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1g7y1r3osz34o

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This #genealogyphotoaday isn’t about a prank, but it does commemorate my parents’ (Herbert R. & Margaret Lee Williams) anniversary today. They were married 1 April 1935. My father did, however, get a lot of mileage over the years on the basis of this being April Fool’s Day. My parents were married 47years and 1 day when my father died in 1982. My mother died in 2012. This picture was taken circa 1940. Miss them always. Happy Anniversary in heaven. #gpad_feature #missmyparents #africanamericangenealogy https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvt5Xh2AO6m/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1jzbgmudblvn7

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#genealogyphotoaday final prompt for March is “5.” Five years ago, in September 2014, I successfully petitioned the Randolph County (NC) Landmark Preservation Commission to have the Strieby Congregational Church, School, and Cemetery property named a Randolph County Cultural Heritage Site. Cultural Heritage sites, in contradistinction from Historic sites, commemorate the location rather than any specific buildings or structures. Strieby Church and school were founded by 19th century poet, educator, and missionary, the Rev. Islay Walden. Rev. Walden, who was formerly enslaved in the community, returned from his years of study at Howard University and the New Brunswick Theological Seminary in NJ to found the church and school amongst his family and friends. He died in 1884 and is buried in the church cemetery. You can learn more about the history of the church, school, and community st margoleewilliamsbooks.com/from hill-town-to-strieby/#africanamericanhistory #africanamericangenealogy #familyhistory #blackhistory #americanmissionaryassociation #islaywalden #randolphcountync #striebychurchnc #africanamericanpoets #randolphcountynclandmarks https://www.instagram.com/p/BvsqMjtATqJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=19jzvfu56e9gr

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#genealogyphotoaday for today is the number “4.” Four cousins. We had never all been together before. We are all descended from Randel and Sallie Jacobs Farnell of Live Oak, Suwannee County, Florida. L-R: me (Margo Williams), Dena Majett, Dreana Ashton, and Turquoise Williams, my daughter. My daughter and I descend from Randel and Sallie’s daughter, Lela Virginia Farnell Williams (my paternal-grandmother) Dena and Dreana (who are first cousins of each other) each descend from Lela’s brother, William F. Farnell (their great grandfather). We were celebrating Dena’s son’s engagement. #cousinlove💕 #cousins #cousinsforlife #liveoakfl #liveoakfla #liveoakflorida #africanamericangenealogy #familyhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/BvqBr8Mg9r9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1stn09ef81xpa

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#genealogyphotoaday letter “Y” is for Frank Yerby. Frank Yerby was an African American historical and romance novelist, born in 1916 in Georgia and died in 1991 in Spain. Frank was married to my cousin, Flora Williams, but eventually divorced. They had 4 children together. Frank received his degree in English from Paine College and his MA from Fisk University. He started doctoral studies at the University of Chicago, but he didn’t finish. He became a best-selling author of romance novels set in the antebellum south, then began writing historical novels. His “Foxes of Harrow” was an historical romance novel set in the south. It was the first novel by an African American author to sell more than a million copies. It was the basis of a 1947 Oscar nominated film, called “Foxes” starring Rex Harrison and Maureen O’Hara. Perhaps his bes- known historical novel is “Dahomean,” published in 1971. Frank moved to Spain in 1955 to get away from American racism and discrimination. He died there in 1991. In 2006, he was inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame and in 2013, the Augusta (GA) Literary Festival created an award in his honor given annually to three fiction writers. (Photo from Wikipedia). #genealogyphotoadaychallenge #gpad_feature #africanamericanhistory #africanamericangenealogy #blackhistory #africanamericanauthors #blackwriters #augustaga #frankyerby https://www.instagram.com/p/BvamavjAd3c/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1a2hqgrv5hn31

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#genealogyphotoaday letter “X” for “Signed with an X.” Understandable for those who can’t read or write. Confusing in this case. Ulysses Grant Hill was born in the Hill Town/Strieby community of Randolph County in the Uwharrie Mountains, now part of the Uwharrie National Forest. Ulysses, like his siblings, cousins, and other children in the area attended Strieby School. I’ve chronicled its educational accomplishments in my book From Hill Town to Strieby. There’s no reason Ulysses couldn’t read or write. In fact, in every census from 1900-1920 he reports he can read and write (1880 he’s too young; he died in 1925). So why did he sign his draft registration with an “X?” Good question, no answer. I personally think he never signed it at all and when the oversight was found, a government official put the X mark. There’s no way to know. Of the 21 young men from the community who registered for the draft, only 2, Ulysses and one other, George Henley, signed with an X. George had said in 1900 that he could read but not write. Given that Ulysses says he could read and write in all census records, I’m inclined to believe this was some sort of mistake. #africanamericangenealogy #striebychurchnc #randolphcountync #wwidraft #blackhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/BvYU7fYA6oT/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=gwk95ken6qpm

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My research journey that found my 4th great grandfather, the only fully received African American Quaker in the state of North Carolina when he died in 1850. There would not be another until after the Civil War. Available from Amazon, B&N, and from margoleewilliamsbooks.com/miles-lassiter/#africanamericangenealogy #mileslassiter #randolphcountync #blackquakers #blackhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/BvXgXpdA6zy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1pkeungg7vxt6

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#genealogyphotoaday letter “W” for my grandfather, William Gainer Williams. He was born in Live Oak, Suwannee County, Florida, in 1869. He was the oldest of 8 children. He attended what became Edward Waters College, which was founded in Live Oak, then moved to Jacksonville. He worked for the railroad his entire adult life, especially the New York Central RR. He married my grandmother, Lela Virginia Farnell, in 1893, in Live Oak. Their first two children (Lute Odette & Charleton Joshua Sr. ) were born there before they moved to the NY/NJ area about 1899 (he had a son, Willard Leroy Williams from a previous relationship). In NYC they had William Jr. Who only lived a little over a year. They then moved to Jersey City, NJ where my father Herbert Randell, was born. He was their youngest. William Sr. Died in NYC in 1953. He is buried with his wife Lela, and daughter, “Lutie” in New York Bay Cemetery, Jersey City, NJ. #africanamericangenealogy #liveoakfl #liveoakflorida #liveoakfla #edwardwaterscollege #nycentralrr #jerseycity https://www.instagram.com/p/BvXPg9wgTaG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1w6fiyepnp48i