Walking Among the Ancestors - My 2014 Research Trip

Yes, it's almost been a year since I took the long overdue trip to the ancestral home county and with this post, I'm finally talking about it to someone else besides my family.

You would think that as long as I've been researching and as long as I've lived in North Carolina (most of my life) that I would have made a trip to the ancestral home county eons ago. But through the years I've learned that the ancestors call you back to the research and where you need to be on their time frame, not necessarily yours. And I'm glad I was finally able to heed the call to head to Eastern North Carolina.

In reflecting back on my trip, it was probably best that I waited all these years, because while I didn't really learn a lot of new details on the paternal side of my family, I probably wouldn't have gotten to visit the ancestral cemetery, see land that my great grandfather owned and that still remains in the hands of my Grand Aunt Goldie's descendants. I owe those discoveries to my second cousin Clifford Curtis, Grand Aunt Goldie Everett Johnson Hyman Benton's grandson, who accompanied me on this trip. In turn, I was able to enlighten him about some of our ancestors.

So, let's begin. After work, on Thursday, Sept. 11th, I made the trek to my cousin's house in Raleigh. We would get up early the next morning to begin our journey to Martin County, NC.

We first ventured to the county seat, Williamston, where we went by the courthouse and the Martin County Library.

I didn't find any new information at either place. Most of the records that I was looking for had been sent to the state archives and there were no copies on site. I spent the majority of my time trying to educate cousin Clifford about our heritage and also trying to obtaining clearer copies of documents I had downloaded online.

After leaving Williamston, we stopped in Everetts, the ancestral town.

For me, this was the highlight of the entire trip.

First cousin Clifford took me by the family property, which was owned by our great grandfather and which Cousin Clifford's line of the family still owns.

Clifford said that our old family home was just on the other side of those trees to the left in the second picture. None of the direct descendants of my great grandfather, Peter T. Everett, have lived here in over 40 years, so Clifford and his brothers rent the land out. It is currently planted in soybeans.

It was kind of surreal standing in that grove between the fields of soybeans and feeling the presence of the ancestors all around me.

Clifford then took me a little further down Goldie Road, named after his Grandmother, where we decided to get out and do an up close and personal inspection of the cotton. Note: this land is not our family's land.

After we finished our off road adventure viewing the family land, we stopped by this little cemetery, where Clifford said is grandmother, grandfather, and uncle were buried. Little did I know I was about to discover the final resting place of a few other ancestors, too.

Sadly, I still have no clue as to the name of this cemetery. I thought it was named Everetts but when ever I made a request on Find-a-Grave for photos, I was always told that there wasn't a marker and yet, I found all but one of the requests I've made through the years.

First there is Grand Aunt Goldie, my grandmother's big sister, and Cousin Clifford's grandmother.

Cousin Clifford's grandfather and Aunt Goldie's first husband, Rev J. Henry Johnson.

Right next to Rev. Johnson, was my Great Grandmother. The discovery of my Great Grandmother's grave brought me great joy as I didn't even have a clue where she might be interred as that part of her death certificate wasn't completed. The other weird thing about Grandmomma Edith's death certificate is that the state has a copy of it (I got my copy through Ancestry) but the county doesn't have a copy of it.

And right beside Great Grandmother was Great Granddad's second wife Della, who died 7 years after Great Grandmother. I imagine that had to be hard on Great Granddad, losing not one but 2 wives in less than 10 years, all while raising your grandchildren and working your own business. Great Granddad was a merchant (he owned a store) at this point in his life.

Other relatives buried in this cemetery were Cousin James Henry "Buddy" Johnson, who was cousin Clifford's uncle.

Rev. William Alonzo Everett, Clifford's and my 1st cousin 2x removed.

But there was one grave missing that would have made this journey complete, that of my Great Grandfather. Cousin Clifford and I scoured every inch of that cemetery looking for him and we had these stickies all over our clothes to prove it.

But Peter T. Everett is either not interred in this cemetery or if he is there he doesn't have a stone. There is one other possibility, too, the grave might be damaged.

There was this grave, beside Aunt Goldie's that for some reason my gut tells me it's my great grandfathers but it's cracked and caving in and there's very little left of the inscription on it to be able to make out anything.

All in all though, it was a wonderful trip, and I thank Cousin Clifford for going along with me and being my guide.

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All of the pictures in this post are a part of the personal collection of the owner of this blog.

Mystery Monday and Motivation Monday - July 20, 2015

Hey folks, still struggling on the blog posting front, but things are progressing. Still working on the office decluttering but I'm almost done with what I'm calling Phase 1. Since I'm writing this post ahead of time, I may have even finished Phase 1 by the time this post to the blog.

The end of Phase 1 means two things, 1) I get to move on to garage decluttering for awhile but more importantly, 2) I  hope to be able to really focus on getting back on the genealogy and getting my genealogy files organized. You know I keep telling myself that if I didn't have to work, I would have the office totally back into organizational shape by now.

In the meantime, although I'm waiting for a reply, I actually did some real genealogical stuff this month. (This is the Mystery part of the Post).

As you know, from time to time when I'm bored, I google various ancestors names, hoping that something pops up. Usually even if something does, it's really nothing that benefits me but this time I'm may have come across something when I googled my grandfather's name, Harry Claudius Jones, for the umpteenth time.

Most everything that came up was either from my blog or information I had entered on Find-a-Grave. But there, at the bottom of the page, was something I hadn't seen before from Google Books. There appeared to be a hit in the Annual Catalogue of Virginia Union University. So, I clicked on the link. I still was not expecting much. This had to be some other Harry Claudius, right? But to my surprise, this Harry Claudius Jones, was from Everetts, NC, my grandmother's hometown and where my grandparents lived during the early years of their marriage.



Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=brJGAQAAMAAJ&lpg=PA63-IA79&ots=XlK1yQcW6a&dq=%22Harry%20Claudius%20Jones%22&pg=PA63-IA79#v=onepage&q=%22Harry%20Claudius%20Jones%22&f=false

He was in his second year in 1913. In 1913, my grandfather would have been 21 and about a year away from marrying my grandmother.

Since there seemed to be more than one catalogue contained in this listing, I searched subsequent years and found other listings for Harry Claudius Jones from Everetts, NC. My gut tells me this has to be my grandfather. After all how many Harry Claudius Joneses can there me from the same little small town in North Carolina. But the gut needs supporting documentation, so after consulting with my genea-friend, Renate, from Into the Light, I decided to write to the Virginia Union Alumni Association to see if they could help me.

I'm hoping that if there are some records that they will perhaps shed some light on my granddad's biological family, specifically my great grandmother Martha,  but more than anything, if this is my granddad, I'm just thrilled to learn about this part of his life. While his tombstone indicates that he received a Bachelors in Philosophy, I never heard dad or any of the aunts and uncles mention anything about granddaddy going to college. And my first cousins (all older than me) hadn't heard anything either.

By the way, since my genea-friend Renate lives in VA and often passes through Richmond in her travels, she has offered to stop by Virginia Union and do look ups if need be. If I don't hear anything soon, I may have to take her up on that offer or better yet, go myself during the Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) conference, which will be held in Richmond this year. For now, though, I will try to be patient and continue to work on the organizing, and other life happenings.

Until my next post!

Madness Monday - Getting Ready for a Research Trip

This week, I'll be going on my second research trip, ever. And it looks like I will not be any better prepared for this research trip than I was for the first one I did a few years ago. But the ancestors are telling me that I need to go and who am I to argue with the ancestors.

So, before going, I'm trying to make a quick check list of things I want to do and hope to get accomplished. One thing that makes this trip different from my first research trip is my trusty side kick, mom, won't be going with me. Instead, my second cousin, Clifford, will be going with me on this trip. While I'm glad to have the company, part of me wants to go it alone since I feel like we will have different goals, which will ultimately hinder both of us.

So for me here are some things I hope to do during my one day trip to ancestral home county.

1. Pick up a clearer copy of the Probate Proceedings for my Great Grandfather's, Peter T. Everett, estate. A few years ago, I had written the Register of Deeds for Martin County, NC to see if there was a will for my Great Grandfather, and there wasn't one. This past week while putzing around on Family Search, I came across the probate proceedings for my Great Grandfather, who died without a will. However, I wasn't able to print out a clear copy, so I wrote down all the details, in order that I can pick up a clearer copy while there.
2. I would also like to try to locate my Great Grandfather's grave. I have a copy of his death certificate which seems to indicate he may be interred in Everetts Cemetery in Everetts, NC. This is one area where my cousin should be able to collaborate with each other. Cousin Clifford wants  to see his Uncle Buddy's grave. His uncle / my cousin appears to be be buried in the same cemetery as great granddad. After all these years, I still haven't figured out who operates this cemetery. I would like to write ahead of time to find out the exact location of the graves.

I'm sure I'll be adding to this list between now and Friday.

Checklist of things I know I will need to take with me.

1. Camera
2. Portable Scanner
3. Notebook
4. Pens and Pencils
5. Kindle and / or Laptop
6. Water and Snacks

The other thing I need to do is get prepared for the conversation that I'm sure will come up with Clifford about me converting to a vegetarian / vegan diet. Cousin Clifford is a doctor and I've already noticed that he and I don't always see eye to eye on some things.

Motivation Monday - September 2014 Goals

Since my father died in 2011, I've really struggled to get back to the research and the blogging. In the past 3+ years, I've declared on several occasions that I was ready to get back to the research / blogging only to disappear, again. I won't make any promises that this time will be different but I do find myself doing things that hopefully mean I'm finally finding my way back.

So, once again, I find myself writing a list of monthly goals to get me started. Since my research trip to my paternal ancestors home county is coming up next week (no I'm not ready), I'm thinking I'll get a few of these goals accomplished and hopefully before the trip. So here goes

Blogging

1. Write a minimum of 2 posts for the month of September. I hope to be able to do more than that but I'm also trying to be a bit realistic also.

Organization

1. Most of the goals in this area are the same as those found on Georgia Black Crackers. The only additional goal is before the research trip to make sure the information I have for paternal grandmother's side of the family is organized and properly cited.

Research

1. Make a list of the goals I hope to accomplish during my research trip and what records I plan to view in an attempt to reach the goal. Goal Date: September 6, 2014

Research Trip in the Works

After researching my family off and on for the past 20 years, I'm finally going to make a trip to my paternal ancestors home county.

The goal is to do this trip on September 12th. Yes this first trip will only be a one day trip, so between now and then, I will need to get back on top of things since I've not really done any research this year or for that matter in the last 3 years.

I would like to spend more time in the ancestral home county but one of my 2nd cousins, my grand Aunt Goldie's grandson, will be going with me, so time will be limited. Cousin Clifford can only expend one day and Friday's and Monday's are the best for him. I'm still contemplating going ahead of him and spending a day there just by myself.

I'm sure I'll be consulting a few of my genealogy buds, who research nearby areas, so I can decide what is the best use of my time during my second research trip ever but my first trip on the paternal side of my family.

So, over the next month, I'll be formulating and laying out my plan of attack. I'm excited to finally be taking this journey.

2013 AAHGS Conference - Saturday, October 12, 2013

Another fun-filled, jam packed day here at the AAHGS conference.

I begin the day by working in a bit of much needed exercise.

After having a filling lunch of salmon on orzo, it was off to session II, Unlocking Our Southern Mosaic: Examining a Family's Life Near It's Slavery Origins, by Dwight Fryer. Mr. Fryer's work as a minister was evident in the way he told the story of his family's origins in Grand Junction, TN.

I have to be honest, when Mr. Fryer began his presentation, I thought he was referring to Grand Junction, CO, a locale where I resided for a few years during my adult life. It was a little confusing at first, because his description of Grand Junction of course wasn't matching up with the Grand Junction I knew. After realizing there was another Grand Junction, the presentation began to make sense.

Wonderful points of interest from Mr. Fryer's presentation include:

• A Union Army Contraband Camp was formed in Grand Junction, TN.
• Western Tennessee, where Grand Junction is located, had the same culture and politics as Mississippi. In fact, Mr. Fryer referred to it as Tennessipi.

For the next session (III), I attended Understanding African American Genealogical Patterns as Remnants of Slave Culture: Demographics, Family Dynamics and Religious Practices. The presenters were Rev. Dr. Richard Gardiner and Ceteria Richey.

Ceteria, realized like many African-American families that she knew more about her mother's side of the family that she did her father's side of the family. She also realized that her mother's family was a strongly matriarchal family.

Using the principles of Cognitive Therapy, Ceteria tries to understands the whys of her family? Cognitive Therapy seeks the patient overcome difficulties by  identifying and changing dysfunctional thinking, behavior, and emotional responses. These principles can be applied to society as a whole.

The roots of the matrifocal society in the African-American community finds it's roots in slavery. During slavery, African-American women's value was their womb. Slavery was perpetuated because the status of any children born into slavery was through the mother. When women were sold it was always due to her potential increase to the owner. Women and their young children were often sold together.

Mean while, men were often used as studs, in other words, humans were breed like cattle and horses. Often if the men and women refused each other, they might be whipped.

In my younger days, I use to argue against this notion, that 100+ years removed from slavery that the effects of slavery were still manifest. But, as I've gotten older and looked through the more mature eyes, it seems that families that came through slavery intact do not seem to have as many of the problems as those who were ripped apart.

For the final session of the day, I attended Shelly Murphy's (aka familytreegirl on Twitter) Hitting the Genealogy Brick Walls & Challenges: The Search for Information about Joseph Brand Davis.

Shelly hates using the term Brick Walls because she believes there are no such thing as Brick Walls only Challenges. 

Highlights from Shelly's presentation are as follows:

• All research should focus on asking questions
• Know what laws were in place during a particular time frame.
• Records generate other records

The day was wrapped up with dinner, a little entertainment by two young local talents, and the awards ceremony. Sandwiched between the entertainment and the awards presentation, we listened to the keynote speaker, Thomas Cain talk about the Nashville connection to the music industry. Can you say Little Richard.

And with that it's a wrap folks as my time here at the 2013 AAHGS conference comes to a close. Mom and I will be heading home in the AM. I've had a wonderful time meeting new people, finally meeting those I've known online for a few years now, and just being able to get away for a few days.

Hopefully, this is finally the beginning of me returning to the research and blogging. I hear the ancestors telling me to get back with it.