Researching the African-American genealogy of the following surnames Bearden, Brumfield, Bullock, Caston, Conerly, Downs, Bridges, Edwards, Gatlin, Goff, Hill, McEwen, Power, Raybon, Leonard, Smith, Stacher, & Wynn. From the following states Georgia, Mississippi, Illinois, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee & Louisiana.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Nonexistent Information in Genealogy ----- Missing Children Part 4
The Silver Sparrow
The book Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones is a fictional story
about a man who has two families--- a bigamist. It takes place in Atlanta,
Georgia during the 1980’s. Both families
live in the same town but only one family is aware that the other family
exists. One of the man’s family remains
in the shadows and not recognized by the community. Tayari Jones uses the metaphor of the Silver Sparrow to
describe the child of the hidden family.
Married men who have more than one family or more than one
set of children is not unusual. The
treatment of the unmarried mother and her child is dependent upon their position
in society and the time period. Sometimes the parentage of a child is
considered a family secret and rarely discussed. There are situations in which the mother and father married after the birth of the child.
In the case of adoptions, the process may have been informal, legal, black-market or involve one related parent. The child may have been reared by foster parents. The discovery of information is even more complicated if the adoption occurred generations ago. The institution of slavery in the United States in which families were sold and separated is also another element that makes it difficult or impossible to identify parents.
In the case of adoptions, the process may have been informal, legal, black-market or involve one related parent. The child may have been reared by foster parents. The discovery of information is even more complicated if the adoption occurred generations ago. The institution of slavery in the United States in which families were sold and separated is also another element that makes it difficult or impossible to identify parents.
Nowadays, children are
born daily with unmarried parents. According to Center for Disease Control and
Prevention in 2014, the number of live births to unmarried women in the United States was 1,604,870. With hospital records, school records, birth
certificates, Social Security numbers, census, baptismal records and DNA analysis there are more
tools available to determine parentage and ancestors. There is usually a limited paper trail of documents to verify information. Relatives who are are knowledgeable about a child's birth maybe uncooperative about giving information. Finding the missing father or the parents
of a child or orphan can still be difficult and possibly never identified.
"I don't why I'm here Lord, I just know I'm here "
---- The Tree Gardener
Friday, February 19, 2016
Nonexistent Information in Genealogy ----- Nicknames
Nicknames, Moniker, Name Variations
The search for individuals is first based on identifying the
person’s name. Some people are known by a substitute name, moniker or a nickname. I have found that some of the people I have
tried to locate were known by their nickname and not their given name. I was only
able to find some people because family members gave me their nicknames. Some families have people with the same given name for multiple generations. I have found at least 4 people in extended family named Tom Brumfield. I think that other names have
evolved to distinguish people in a family with the same name.
Common name variations of have helped find ancestors.
Examples of variations: Elizabeth (primary name) Liz,
Liza, Lizabeth, Lizzie, Libby, Lisa, Beth, Bess, Betsy, Betty. Sometimes it is necessary to look at all name variations to find an individual.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Nonexistent Information in Genealogy ---- Missing Children Part 3
Mississippi Black Codes
One of the benefits that I have enjoyed in genealogy
research is learning about the history of the United States. I have focused recently
on identifying ancestors post-Civil War known as the Reconstruction period. I
have concentrated on this time period because I am still trying to find
information to break down the brick wall of 1870. I have tried to find the whereabouts of entire
families. The culture and laws during
that time affected how and where they lived.
While trying to locate missing children, I found out about The
Apprentice Law which was part of the Mississippi Black Codes.
The 13th amendment to the U. S. Constitution passed
congress January 1, 1865 and ratified December 31, 1865 eliminated slavery. Mississippi however was not readmitted to the
union until February 23, 1870. The Mississippi
Apprentice law passed in November 22, 1865 was a law passed under the umbrella
of the Black Codes. The Black codes were a series of restrictive laws applied
to freedmen, free Negroes and mulattoes to restrict migration and insure a free
or cheap labor force. Black codes were not exclusive to Mississippi but present in other southern states.
The Mississippi Apprentice law allowed any sheriff, justice
of the peace, or civil officer authorization to identify children under the age
of 18 who were orphans or parents who could not properly take care of the
children. These children could be apprenticed to white masters and mistresses
for labor until the age of 18 for girls and 21 for boys. If the age of the
child could not be determined the judge would assign an age. There were no
requirements that the child receive a wage but the master or mistress paid a fee
to the county in which they resided. Under this law children could be separated from the their family or extended family.
I have searched for records for children retained under the
Apprentice law and have been unsuccessful. I however, have not performed an exhaustive search. Possibly these records are in Freedmen's Bureau records, a private collections or under another legal heading. I think however, little effort was made to record or maintain any records. Although
these children may not be associated with the family trees in my research, I
will not give up my search. If anyone has information, please share.
I would recommend as a must read book Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon which describes using Black codes which forced freedmen into involuntary servitude.
Further description of the Apprentice law can be found in this link
---- The Tree Gardener
I would recommend as a must read book Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon which describes using Black codes which forced freedmen into involuntary servitude.
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