Tag Archive for Families

“Restore My Name:” The First Edition of the Carnival of African-American Genealogy

March 18, 2010 Craig Family History, Genealogy, Uncategorized

Luckie Daniels, proprietor of Our Georgia Roots, a tenacious researcher and tech expert, has taken on the hosting of the first edition of the Carnival of African-American Genealogy.   The theme for the first edition concerns slave research.   Participants are asked to answer one or more of the following questions:

  • What responsibilities are involved on the part of the researcher when locating names of slaves in a record?
  • Does it matter if the record(s) are related to your ancestral lines or not?
  • As a descendant of slave owners, have you ever been pressured by family not to discuss or post about records containing slave names?
  • As a descendant of slaves, have you been able to work with or even meet other researchers who are descendants of slave owners?
  • Have you ever performed a Random Act of Genealogical Kindness involving slave ownership records? Or were you on the receiving end of such kindness?

Although I am the descendant of slaves and slave owners, I’ve never ben privileged to receive salve ownership records from any slaving-owning descendant.  That is one area about which I have been disappointed in my research.    I’ve come close, though.

One family in my paternal line is the Sanfords of Milam County, Texas. William “Billie” Sanford was born  a slave in about 1809 in Virginia.  He is my 2d great-grandfather.  He was owned by a member of the extended Sanford families who lived in Virginia at that time; most probably James Sanford (1769-1849).  When James Sanford moved his family to Tennessee inm the 1820s, they apparently took William with them.  James Sanford died in  1849 in Williamson County, Tennessee.  His son Reuben Sanford, had died three years earlier, also in Williamson County, Tennessee. Upon James’ death, it appears that his daughter-in-law, Mary (“Polly”) Wood Sanford, took charge of the family property, including the slaves.

In about 1854, Mary Wood Sanford relocated the family to Milam County, Texas, taking the slave William with them.  (A cousin of mine told me  recently that the story is that William walked from Tennessee to Texas pushing a wheelbarrow in which sat some of the Sanford children.)

In Milam County, Texas, William was the property of Rueben Henry Sanford, the sixth child of Mary and Reuben.

I’ve been in contact with several members of the white Sanfords, but none were direct descendants of Rueben and Mary.  They have all been very cooperative and we have helped each other solve problems in our respective research.   I’m glad to have found them.  However, I would love to find direct descendants of Reuben and Mary Sanford, who may have ownership documents or who may have heard stories about William.

Reuben Henry Sanford died on 30 Jun 1910.   His former slave, William Sanford, lived until 20 November 1916, when he died at age 106.  He was described by one source as “the oldest colored person ever to die in Milam County.”  His death certificate states in no fewer than three places that his cause of death was “old age.”

A family member described William to me as having been nearly seven feet tall and weighing more than 300 pounds.

Recently, I was in brief contact with a woman whose ancestors held part of my wife’s family as slaves.  I asked if she had  heard the story of the slaves’ daring escape during a Civil War battle.  She said she had not heard the story, but that she was veyr sorry for the things that those particular slaves had endured.  She seemed regretful but not surprised that her ancestors owned slaves.  I let the matter drop, but now wish I could engage with her a bit more.

I haven’t been fortunate enough to locate any other descendants of slaveownwers relevant to my research. (I do know, for example, that Reese Witherspoon is a collateral descendant of Boykin Witherspoon who held some of my ancestors in bondage.)

I think this budding dialogue between descendants of slaves and descendants of slave owners is a mightily important step for American genealogy and history. It’s time the whole story be told, in all its sorrow, cruelty, complexity, and ambiguity.  That’s the only way we’ll all understand ourselves as Americans who value openness and truth.

I’ve been inspired by the example of Luckie and others to reach out myself to the descendants of those who held my ancestors in bondage.

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Womens History Month: Womens Airforce Service Pilots

March 17, 2010 Craig Family History, Genealogy

Adapted and updated from “Memorial Day 2009″ which first appeared simultaneously at GeneaBlogie and The Peripatetic Graveyard Rabbit on May 25, 2009.

If you haven’t been to Arlington, Virginia in the last several years, you may not recognize the two memorials shown above.  The top one is the “Women in Military Service for America” memorial and it stands near the gate of Arlington National Cemetery. The next one is the Air Force Memorial, a short distance away on the grounds of Fort Myer.

The women’s memorial is intended to recall all women who gave their lives in military service.  And the Air Force Memorial is to commemorate “the service and sacrifices of the men and women of the United States Air Force and its predecessor organizations.”  But there’s one group of servicewomen who were nearly forgotten by the Government with respect to recognition.  That group is the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots (“WASPs”) of World War II.   These were the first women pilots employed by the United States  military.

The government first used women to fly military airplanes in 1942.  The Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) was formed in September of that year under the command of Nancy Harkness Love at New Castle Army Air Base, Delaware.  This unit ferried aircraft from factories to airfields, freeing the male pilots for combat duty.

Nancy Love, commander, Womens Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, with squadron member Betty Gilles, 1942. Love and Gilles were the first women to fly the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber.

In 1943, the Army activated the 319th Women’s Flying Training Detachment at Ellington Army Air  Field,  near Houston, Texas.  The commander was renowned aviator Jacqueline Cochran.  Later, the two women’s flying units were combined under the name “Women’s Airforce Service Pilots.”   Cochran was given overall command, and training was moved to Avenger Field near Sweetwater, Texas.

The women pilots flew almost every military aircraft in the U.S. inventory.  In addition to ferrying duty, the WASPs towed targets for live-fire antiaircraft exercises, trained male pilots in some of the advanced aircraft, flew simulated bomb and strafing runs for training combat troops, and performed other flying duties when and where necessary to relieve male pilots.

On March 3, 1943, Margaret Sanford Oldenberg of Contra Costa County, California, became the first WASP to die in the line of duty when her plane crashed five miles from the airfield.  Overall, thirty-eight women were killed in the line of duty.

In 1944, General  Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, commanding general of the U.S.  Army Air Forces, declared the WASP mission to be over.  On December 7, 1944, Arnold appeared at Avenger Field and said the WASPs had helped move the country “toward the final moment of victory” and that the sacrifices of the thirty-eight who died would be “long remember[ed].”  It would be nearly four decades before women flew U.S. military aircraft again.

The Government did not consider the WASPs to be service veterans.  They were therefore entitled to no medals, and no funeral honors.  That began to change in 1977 when Congress passed a law permitting the Secretary of Defense to recognize the WASPs as having performed military duty.  In 1984, the WASPs were indiviudally awarded the World War II Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal.

Despite these changes for the WASPs, the Army, which operates Arlington National Cemetery, refused to allow WASP members to be buried there until 2002.

Jacqueline Cochran (center), commander, 319th Women's Flying Training Detachment, surrounded by new trainees, 1942.

In 2002, former WASP Irene Kinne Englund died at age 84.  Her family attempted to have her buried at Arlington based on her WASP service.  They were told that she eligible, but only because her husband was a World War II veteran, not because of her own service.   Her daughter, Judith Englund, took up the cause for her mother and all WASPs. Several months later, the Army changed its mind.

One June 15, 2002, WASP Irene Kinne Englund became the first of her sisters of the air to have a full military funeral at Arlington.

By this year (2010), there are fewer than 300 of the more than 1100 WASPs still alive.   Last week, a number of those living aviation icons laid a wreath at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Virginia and then were present in the U.S. Capitol to accept the Congressional Gold Medal, a final and fitting tribute to America’s female military aviation pioneers.

Carol Brinton Selfridge, 92 and a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots Class 44-5, and her grandaughter, Lt. Col. Christy Kayser-Cook, share a moment during the reception to honor women pilots who flew with the Women Airforce Service Pilots at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial March 9, 2010, at Arlington National Cemetery, Va. (U.S. Air Force Photo)

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Lewis LeJay (1835-1921)

February 20, 2010 Craig Family History, Genealogy

There are some ancestors I have given up any hope of ever seeing in a photograph.  So it was with my second great-grandfather, Lewis LeJay of De Soto Parish, Louisiana.   He  was the husband of Syntrilla Brayboy and they were the parents of Sylvia LeJay. Sylvia married Richard William Gines, and they became my mother’s grandparents.

Researching the LeJays has been the biggest challenge of my genealogical excursion.  I have written  a number of times about how difficult it has been to find them. See here and here.

A couple of weeks ago, my cousin Karen Burney called with breathless news.  She had seen a picture of Lewis LeJay in a book!  I just about fell out of my (wheel) chair!

She told me to check a certain search term on Google Books to see the photograph.  And I did!   As excited as I was to see his picture, I did not at first realize  that the circumstances of the picture lay veyr near the core  of a roiling controversy about American history.  I broach that topic in the next post.  But first, the photograph:

Lewis LeJay (left) with Army Capt Francis Scrimzeour Furman, at Land’s End Plantation, De Soto Parish, Louisiana, 1917; ( Photo in C.K. Barrow, J.H. Segars, & R.B. Rosenburg, eds., Black Confederates, Pelican Publishing, 2001)

What’s controversial about this picture?  See the next post.

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Love Letters from Prairie du Rocher: Epilogue

February 14, 2010 Craig Family History, Genealogy

1. Joseph Perry Micheau and Edna Julia Lewis were married on 27 November 1913, at St. Francis Xavier Church, in Carbondale, Illinois.  They were married for 62 years before Joe died in 1975.  On their 50th wedding anniversary in 1963, they received a special telegram from Pope John XXIII.

2.  She was, at the end of the day, a practical woman: Of all the letters that were reproduced in the last post, it was the one of June 15, 1913 that Joseph found the most difficult to write. And it’s evident by her poignant reply that Edna must have recognized this.  However, at some point, after receiving that letter, Edna used it to write her shopping list.

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Valentines Day: Love Letters from Prairie du Rocher

February 13, 2010 Craig Family History, Genealogy

Joseph Perry Micheau (born 23 Feb 1888, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois; died 15 Nov 1975, St Louis, Missouri) was a descendant of the French Negroes of Illinois–originally slaves from Jamaica brought to Upper Louisiana  by French entrepeneur Phillipe Renault in the 1720′s.  The Micheau family represent well the social and cultural lives of the descendants of the French Negroes of Illinois.  They were deeply religious, very hard-working, and focused on education.   Joe Micheau wanted very much to be a priest, until another irresistible force entered his life as we can see in these  nearly century old letters.

The letters were written to Edna Julia Lewis (born 14 Jul 1890, Carbondale, Illinois; died 28 Sep 1989, St Louis, Missouri).  She was not a French Negro. She was not a “cradle” Catholic (i.e, she was an adult convert to Catholicism).  She was the daughter of former slaves John Philip Henry Lewis (born Jan 1852, Baltimore, Maryland; died 29 Aug 1916, Carbondale, Illinois), and Margaret Elizabeth Griffin (born Jun 1860, Charleston, Tennessee; died 11 Dec 1942, Union County, Illinois).   Edna became a teacher, taking over the education of black children in Randolph County, Illinois, from a group of nuns.

P.D.R. Ill. May 1,’ 13.

Dear Friend

This is Ascension Thursday, and indeed a most beautiful day.  Am at leisure this morning, but must make my usual weekday trip.

How are you getting along by this time?  I suppose you are well settled to the routines of home life again.  We’re trying to make the best of these fine days.  So are all very busy.  Ema{{1}} has not finished talking of her C.Dale visit yet.  Nen{{2}} expects to go to St. Louis next Thursday.  Both she and M.{{3}} are coming to see you, but said  I must make the first trip.  Will tell you when I am coming in my next letter.  Are you being well treated by the Catholic people of Carbondale?{{4}}  I am sure, if Father Hilgenberg is the Fr. that I have reference, to, you will be well treated.

Ed., enclosed is the cross, please let it be a token of my dearest remembrance.  Hoping this will find all as well, as it leaves us.

I am very truly, your friend,
J.P. Micheau

P.S.  Sisters send love
Ans. S.{{5}}

[[1]] His sister, Mabel Emily Micheau (b. 4 Aug 1892, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois; date & place of death unknown.[[1]]

[[2]] His sister, Mary Angelique Micheau (b. 6 Jun 1873, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois; 29 Jun 1959, Normandy, Missouri).[[2]]

[[3]] His sister, Margerette (“Margery”) E. Micheau (b. 29 Apr 1895 Prairie du Rocher,Illinois; date & place of death unknown)[[3]]

[[4]] Edna had been baptized into the Catholic Church just about a month earlier on 3o Mar 1913, at St Francis Xavier Church in Carbondale. See Records of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville,  Illinois, available at www.familysearch.org [[4]]

[[5]] Writing letters every week or every day is something that people did for a great part of the twentieth century. These two abbreviations “PS” and “Ans. S.” mean respectively, “post script” (i.e., literally, “after writing”; used to convey an additional thought after closing a letter) and “answer soon” (rendered in 21st century language perhaps as ANX ASAP).[[5]]

[undated]
My dear Ed
I just suppose you are waiting for a long letter well here it comes.  I am pretty much at leisure these warm days.  In fact, it is almost too warm to do much.  So after the morning chores, my hardest work is keeping in the shade.  Margery is still at work today is her last day tho.

Oh!  Ed she rec’d your card only this morning.

I am sorry to say they are not coming down this Sunday.  But sure, next Sunday, unless sickness prevents.  It is this way, with us here at home, everything was all right.  And Nen & M. were already.  But Addie{{6}} only asked her time off for next Sunday.  And this is the reason they cannot come down.

As for myself Ed this is what I me[a]nt when I said “Things may run my way.”  Syl{{7}} is expecting to come down for a few weeks.  So if he does, why then he will take care of home and things for me.  You know, we cannot all leave home together.  I think I may go to the city{{8}} Sunday morning, and I surely will have tried to have one of the boys come down.  I want to see you.  And as I said before, will enjoy being with you altogether, for once.  Mrs. Wright{{9}} only arrived back in P.D.R. last night.  Mrs. Lizzie came back with her.  Also among the visitors in our city are three of Mr. J. Lacavia’s three nieces.

Ed I would be so glad if you could come back with the girls.  If not then I hope it will be while Addie is home, which will be two weeks or more.  Please, may I send your fare or give it when you come up.  Either way will be pleasing.

If I go to St L. Sunday,  then I will not write until Monday morning, if not then you will receive a letter M.  morn.

Nen said to say she was sorry that they cannot possibly make it this Sunday. Next Sunday, sure tho.  All here are O.K. I hope the same of your people in C’dale.

With hearty good wishes to all.

I am your loving

Jos.

[[6]] His sister, Adelaide Frances Micheau (born 27 Nov 1884, Prairie  du Rocher, Illinois; date & place of death unknown), who became Sister Celestine, OSP.[[6]]

[[7]] His brother, Sylvester August Micheau (born 14 Mar 1890, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois; died 10 Jul 1957, Petpskey, Michigan). Syl likely was in Chicago at the time of this letter.[[7]]

[[8]] St Louis[[8]]

[[9]] Likely a relative of Joseph’s sister-in-law, Sophronia “Zoe” Wright (1880-1968), who was married to his brother, Marshall Emmanuel Micheau (born 1 Oct 1878, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois; died 22 Oct 1954, St Louis, Missouri).[[9]]

P.D.R. Ill.  June 15, 1913.

Dear, Dear Ed.

Finding that I need you, I want you, I love you, and today thinking of you am writing this little message of love, even though you are  in my debt.  I have taught often do now, what must Edna Lewis think of me.  And again, the answer comes well, I have explained my situation to her, and surely she understands me.  I truely hope you do, tho now each little visit to your home, only tends to make you more dear to you [me].

You may think well he has changed his story.  All to[o] true.  But it is not without due consideration and I daresay not to hurri[e]dly either.  Frankly and Truely Ed, it is with a tinge of regret that I cannot see my way through the required schooling to reach my former desires.  And now feeling that it is not entirely my own fault in trying to make the best of all things my thoughts are turned it to you.

If knowing what you know of J.P.M. you still continue to love him.  Please answer soon.

How are you and All? Did John{{10}} spend Sunday with you this week.  Many times in the past week have M. & my conversations drifted to a week ago just passed.  The girls, that is, Nen, M., & A. are planning their visit to you. Surely a long promised one isn’t it?  They are coming tho. We have mass here at seven o’clock high Mass and the morning is a little longer. Rec’d communion to and surely remembered you together with the rest of sisters and Brothers.  Oh!  Say do you read the after dinner storries in Visitors [?]{{11}}  They are very, very fine.  I was much pleased last week to receive a card from one of Oscar Beckham’s sisters, asking me for last week’s Visitor.  Have been sending a few of them away, but failed to do so last week, and as she was interested in the story she missed the issue until Margerette sent it to her, a few days ago.  I am^ you send, an Angelus to[o], I think it is very good this week.  Please Ed, I want to see this letter and our next meeting. Has Miss Ema{{12}} gone to Chi. yet? My heartiest good wishes to each and all and

Much love to yourself

Margerette has just sounded the dinner call so I must close.

Yours sincerely.

Jos. P. Micheau

[[10]] Unable to identify this person. [[10]]

[[11]] Our Sunday Visitor, a national Catholic weekly still  in publication today.[[11]]

[[12]] Edna’s sister, Emma Lewis (born Sep 1877, Charleston, Tennessee; died about 1951, Carbondale, Illinois)[[12]]

[undated]

Dear Joseph,

Your loving message came to me this A.M. I was quite surprised to receive it as I owed you this one but never-the-less I received it with the same joy as I have the others.

Dear Joe, I fully realize what it means to you to give up all that you have held dear in this life and make new plans for the future.  I fully realize how much you were attracted to your intentions for the your future vocation, but through it all there is one greater than we now who plans our destinations, and with Him for our leader we can never choose the wrong path. Everything is for the best provided we are guided by the right influence.  Not only once have I prayed for strength to think of, you only as a brother and a friend but many times.  And instead of drifting from you my heart has been steadily turning more and more toward you.  God only knows the longing and thoughts I’ve had of you.  God only knows the many prayers I’ve said for your success and when I’ve found that I could not forget you, I prayed that God’s will not mine be done.  And Joseph, dear Joseph, knowing what I know of you, of your great desire to become a religious, to make of that great sacrifice for love of Christ, I could love you all ways and shall. I could not do other wise, every moment brings tho’ts of you.  I wish I were talking the instead of writing this, for I have lots I would say.  I shall be very glad to see you, for though we are miles apart, my heart is ever near you.

With loving wishes I am forever

Your Ed.

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MyHeritage Acquires Major European Network of Sites, Adds Other New Features

February 3, 2010 Craig Family History, Genealogy

MyHeritage.com has announced its acquisition of OSN, a network of 10 leading European family sites based in Hamburg, Germany.

In a press release distributed from London, Tel Aviv, and Hamburg, MyHeritage said that the OSN acquisition makes MyHeritage the largest international site on the Web dedicated to families.  The acquisition includes Germany’s Verwandt.de, Moikrewni.pl of Poland, and the American site Dynstree.com.  MyHeritage said that the expansion gives it  a combined network of 13 million family trees  and 47 million members worldwide.  It also gives MyHeritage a presence in major Latin American markets.

“By integrating these market-leading services into a single international platform, we are taking a great step towards realizing our vision of connecting families around the world,” said Gilad Japhet, founder and CEO of MyHeritage.com.

Board member Saul Klein said, “Facebook has built an amazingly useful graph of our social connections and LinkedIn of our professional connections, and MyHeritage.com is building a uniquely valuable graph of our family life, both past and present.”

MyHeritage will establish an office in Hamburg to integrate OSN personnel. OSN technologies will be integrated into MyHeritage starting with an application called Family Crest Builder which goes live on MyHeritage today.

In fact, the technology  blog Tech Crunch reported earlier today that “all of OSN’s information, profiles, family trees and pictures should be all live on MyHeritage, as of” this morning.

TC’s Sarah Lacy wrote:

Post-deal, MyHeritage is far beyond most genealogy competitors with the exception of Ancestry.com, which started in 1983, has spent some $80 million acquiring census information and went public last year. But there’s a key difference: MyHeritage is more about living family members, and Ancestry.com is more focused on, well, ancestors. So in practice the companies are far different. There’s more interaction, communication, and photo and video sharing on MyHeritage because—bluntly put—more of the profile-owners are alive.

Daniel Groezinger, co-founder of OSN Online Social Networking GmbH, said, “Since 2007, we have built our services into market leaders in key European and Latin American markets and we’re excited to work with Gilad and his team to make it easier for families to keep in touch and bridge gaps of geography, language and time.”

Geneablogie will review the added features on MyHeritage this weekend.

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Happy Birthday to the World’s Smartest Sister!

December 1, 2009 Craig Family History, Genealogy

Two years ago, when my little sister had her (ahem!) most significant birthday yet,  I wrote about her, in what I think was one of my best posts ever.  Now, two years later, as we slip into that time of life where we spend a great deal of time caring for our parents as they once cared for us, I’ve spent significant hours with all of my siblings.  When  we get together as we did last week, and the week before, it’s frequently at my sister’s house.   And unfortunately, it usually at the end of a day spent sitting by a bedside or waiting for the outcome of a test.  But believe it or not, these are good times.  The World’s Smartest Sister is also one of the world’s greatest cooks, especially if greatness is measured in quantity!  (And of course by that I mean generosity).

As I wrote two years ago, the World’s Smartest Sister was from the very beginning an independent soul marching to the beat of her own drummer.  So frequently at these gatherings, she regales us with tales of our childhood as she recalls it.  Sometimes the recollections matched everyone else’s, sometimes they don’t  But they’re always fairly entertaining.  Eyes will roll; sides will split; thighs will be slapped; tears will roll down faces.  Sometimes the stories are long sort of involved ones that you really had to be there to understand.

Once for example, she told the story of what had happened when one of the four of us (make that one of the three of us–I clearly was not guilty!)  had broken a vase  in the living room while playing. When all four of us were interrogated by our mother, no one would admit to the deed.  So Mom resorted to a trick that I think she had seen on Gunsmoke.  She said, “You know my grandmother was an Indian [which is likely true].”  And she went to the kitchen and returned with a spatula.  She made us kneel before her.  She explained that in the kitchen she had heated the spatula on the stove.  She said that each of us was to stick out our tongues and she would touch our tongues with the spatula.  According to an old Indian tradition that she supposedly had learned from her grandmother, one who was telling the truth would not be burned, but one who was lying would surely be seared.  I chuckled about this, because I knew two things: first that I was not guilty; but more importantly, I could tell by looking at it that this spatula was still cold.   As I was the oldest, Mom pressed the tool first into my tongue to which I had no reaction.  She then moved on to my brother and he had no reaction.  Our sister being third, began to tremble like a leaf before Mom had even got to her.  Mom said “Why are you shaking?”  Our sister said, “I don’t want to be burned! I don’t wanna be burned!”  Whereupon Judge Mom pronounced her guilty without further proceedings.  In fact my two brothers were the perps!

As she recounted this story my sister feigned indignation at the injustice done her.  We all rolled  off our chairs with laughter.

From time to time over the last several weeks, I found myself alone with the World’s Smartest Sister driving from here to there and listening as she ran down the list of questions that we should be sure to ask the doctors.  Or reviewing a set of things that we should tell the nurses.  In these moments she’s not the wide-eyed little girl rediscovering the world over and over again.  She’s a levelheaded, mature and competent yet compassionate woman that she is in the real world.  When I had a moment alone with my mother I said, referring to my sister, “You know, she may be the best of us.”  It was a serious moment, and Mom somberly nodded her head.

Happy Birthday, sister!

The World's Smartest Sister

The World's Smartest Sister

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Good Schools A Staple of Ancestors’ Lives

September 10, 2009 Craig Family History, Genealogy

This was produced for the 17th edition of “Smile for the Camera”

I really don’t have much in the way of  photographs on my ancestors’ school days.   I have in the past posted school census records from the very early twentieth century in Milam County, Texas, where my gg-grandmother and her descendants lived.  But I know virtually nothing about my Louisiana ancestors’ school experiences.

I have got somewhere a decent set of pictures of my siblings as they went through school, but I can’t find them right now!  So in the absence of that, I present some pictures and information about my parents’ high schools, both of which played significant roles not only in their local communities, but in the African-American community nationwide.

My mother attended Crispus Attucks Elementary School in the 1930′s and the historic Lincoln High School and Junior College (as it was then called) in Kansas City in the 1940′s [not to be confused with Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, which my mother also attended].  The school is now known as Lincoln College Preparatory Academy.  For African-Americans at  the end of the the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, Lincoln was one of the premier black schools in the whole country that attracted top faculty–many of whom held doctorates in their disciplines. The Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri observed in 1908:

One of the most noteworthy features of the public schools of Kansas City is the excellency of the high schools. At present there are four regular high schools equipped in all their appointments according to the most approved modern methods. . . . The Lincoln High School was established in 1887 for the education of the negro boys and girls of the city, and in which they not only pursue the branches of study common to most high schools, but they have in addition to Latin and Greek, French and German. Kansas City was the leader in taking the position that negroes only should teach her negro children in the negro schools [this position being considered very progressive at the time].

The Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, Howard L. Conrad, ed., Vol. 5,  p. 509 (The Southern History Co.: 1901) [Google Books link (accesses 9 Sept 2009)]

Here is a photograph of the way Lincoln High School looked in the 1920′s and 1930′s.

Historic Lincoln High School in Kansas City, Missouri

Historic Lincoln High School in Kansas City, Missouri

Crispus Attucks

Crispus Attucks

Crispus Attucks, of African and native American descent was the first casualty of the Revolutionary War; shot dead by British troops on Boston Common, March 5, 1770. Among my mother’s classmates at the elementary school named for him was Roger Wilkins, lawyer, professor, and civil rights leader.

My father attended the equally acclaimed Phillis Wheatley High School in Houston’s Fifth Ward.

The "New" Phillis Wheatley High School

The "New Phillis Wheatley High School

This school was named for the great African-American poet, Phillis Wheatley.

Originally located on Lyons Avenue, the school was remodeled for the first time in the 1940′s as my father’s class attended.  By the time they graduated in 1951, Wheatley was said by the Houston Chronicle to be “the finest negro high school in the South.”   At a reported cost of $2.5 million, it was the most expensive in Texas history to that point in time.

The annual Thanksgiving Football Classic between the Wheatley Wildcats and the Lions of the Third Ward’s Jack Yates High School was an event as important as any in black Houston. The demise of that great rivalry is considered to be one of the unintended consequence of the integration of Texas high school athletics in the 1960′s.

My father attended the ceremonies for the school’s 80th anniversary in 2007.  A year behind my dad at Wheatley was the late Barbara Jordan (1936-1996), who became a lawyer and later, an influential member of Congress.

Rep._Barbara_Jordan

Congresswoman Jordan (Phillis Wheatley class of 1952) was known for her great intellect and soaring oratory.

Anyone who arrived in Kansas City or Houston in the 1960′s or 1970′s would think I’m either crazy or lying about the prominence of these schools.  These schools by then had suffered tremendous decline caused in part, ironically, by the Brown vs. Board of Education case, which outlawed segregation in public education.   An unintended consequence was that African-Americans who could “get out,” did get out.  And the competition for faculty talent attracted some of the best and brightest teachers elsewhere, frequently to formerly “white” high schools.

After much litigation and agitation, it’s fair to say that the 1990′s set these schools  back on their original pathways.   Lincoln still serves a largely black population, while Wheatley’s student body is more likely to speak Spanish.

Now, just for grins, here are some pictures from my own school experience:

craig_manson

image

VB!_edited

VBJHS Cheer

MHS Ltr

From left to right:

1.  My senior class portrait, Monterey High School,  Monterey, California, 1972

2.  Can we all agree that there’s nothing geekier than winning the school letter in science ? Van Buren Junior High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1969.   See this post for a story about a Van Buren Junior High School science class.

3.   The afore-mentioned school letter, now a musty forty years later.

4.  The Vanguard Cheerleaders, Van Buren Junior High School, 1969:  Debbie Williams, Debbie Padilla, Kathleen Gregory; (standing) Marta Hoge, and Harriet Whitener. Where are they now? [BTW, over on Facebook, I’m hosting the 40th VBJHS Class of 1969 Reunion.  Classmates are invited to come!

5.  One of two school letters I won more or less legitimately as a member of the league champion Monterey High wrestling team. This is the JV one.  The varsity one is still on the jacket.

Photo Credits:
1. Lincoln High School: The Black Archives of Mid-America, Kansas City, Missouri, http://www.blackarchives.org/node/788 (accessed 10 September 2009).  Photographer unknown, exact date unknown.
2. Crispus Attucks (Artist’s conception): Wikipedia Commons, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crispus_Attucks.jpg (accessed 9 September 2009).  Artist, photographer unknown.  Believed to be in public domain.
3. The “New Wheatley High School,” Wikipedia Commons, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WheatleyHighSchoolHoustonTX.JPG (accessed 9 Sep  2009).  Photographer:  WhispertoMe. Date: 18 July 2009. Public Domain (released by photographer–see Wikipedia linked cited above).
4.  Barbara Jordan: Library of Congress. 1973. Available at Black Americans in Congress, Office of the Clerk, United States House of Representatives, http://baic.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=67 (accessed 10 Sept 2009).  Public Domain (work of the United States Government).
5.  Craig Manson, Senior Class Portrait: Photographer unknown.  Date: 1971. Originally published in El Sussurro 1972 (Monterey High School Yearbook). Copyright 1972, Trustees of the Monterey PeninsulaUnified  School District, Monterey, California.
6.  Van Buren Junior High School Letter Award: Image scanned by Craig Manson, 9 Sept 2009. Original document in the possession of Craig Manson, Cramichael, California.
7. Van Buren Sweater Letter: Image scanned by Craig Manson, 9 Sept 2009. Original artifact (1969) in possession of Craig Manson, Carmichael, California.
8. Van Buren Junior High School Cheerleaders: Copyright 1968, FarWestPhotography, Denver, Colorado.  Originally published in The Albuquerque Tribune, p. B-7, January 30, 1969.
9.  Monterey High School “Block M” Award: Image scanned by Craig Manson, 9 Sept 2009. Original artifact (1971) in possession of Craig Manson, Carmichael, California.
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The Guild of One-Name Studies

August 25, 2009 Craig Family History, Genealogy

In recent weeks, we’ve spent some time examining particular surnames and their variants.  We looked at worldwide and regional distributin of names and we tried to determine what is actually a “variant” and what is a mere mis-spelling.  Having been through that experience, I decided that I need to have some more robust guidance on the matter of surnames.  That guidance may come in the form of the Guild of One-Name Studies, of which I have recently become a member.

guild_logo

The UK-based Guild of One-Name Studies is just a bit overthirty years old and is now a world-wide organization of researchers who focus on a partiuclar surname as opposeed to researching particular families.  There is certainly a lot to be gained for all genealogists and famiy historians from one-name research.  The Guild has a wealth of information about thousands of surnames.  And the Guild can be a superb forum for learning to research one name.

If you want information about a surname registered with the Guild, you can go to the Guild’s website and find the names of the Guild members who registered the name and are researching it.  Guild members are required to answer all email inquiries they receive about the surname they have registered as well as all “reply-paid” postal inquiries.  One need not be a Guild member to make an inquiry.

If your surname is not registered with the Guild, then you can register it once you become a Guild member.  Be advised, however, that the Guild is a serious research organization and registering a surname carries a commitment to “collect all references to your registered name or names on a worldwide basis, and strive towards the goal of establishing a substantial body of worldwide data.”  It alos has the afore-mentioned obligation to respond to all inquiries.

Members of the Guild are not required to register surnames.  Indeed, because of t he heavy commitments, teh Guild recommends that new members not register a surname right away.   There are many benefits of membership, such as access to helpful materials, that can be enjoyed without registering a surname.

If you have an interest in the study of names, you’ll find the Guild of One-Name Studies a comfortable and interesting organization.

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Names, Places & Most Wanted Faces

February 26, 2009 Craig Uncategorized

I started this with a note on Facebook and it was suggested that it would make a good meme for bloggers.  The idea is to publicize your surnames and locales to see if anyone elseknows something about them.  For me on Facebook, I got several research-helpful replies. So how much better to take it to a wider audience.

List the surnames you are researching and the general localities.  Then tell the names of your “Most Wanted Ancestors,” that is, the ones you most want to find behind that brickwall.   (You can tag people if you want; I’ve chosen not to do that here so that all readers are included).   Let’s see your lists; maybe we can each help someone out!

Surnames & Locales:

MANSON: Georgia (Talbot, Taylor & Upson Counties) Texas (Milam, Midland Counties)
BOWIE: Louisiana (Cataholua, Avoyelles, Monroe, Rapides Parishes) Texas (Gregg, Harrison Counties)
BIRDSONG: Georgia (Talbot, Upson Counties)
BRAYBOY: Louisiana (Caddo, De Soto Parishes) South Carolina
BRYANT: Texas (Aransas, DeWitt, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio Counties)
GILBERT: Missouri (Clay, Jackson, Platte Counties)
GINES: Louisiana (Bossier, Caddo, Tensas Parishes) Mississippi (Claiborne, Hancock, Hinds, Pearl River, Walthall Counties) Texas (Harris, Nacogdoches Counties)
JOHNSON: Missouri (Clay, Jackson, Platte Counties)
LeJAY: Louisiana (Caddo, De Soto Parishes)
LONG: Kansas (Johnson County) Missouri (Jackson County)
MICHEAU/MISCHEAUX: California (San Mateo, Los Angeles County) Illinois (Randolph County) Missouri (St Louis)
SANFORD: Tennessee (Williamson County) Texas (Milam County)

Most Wanted Ancestors: Parents of Sarah GILBERT (b. 1849, Clay County, Mo); Parents of Richard William GINES (b. 1860, Bossier Parish, La); Parents of George MICHEAU (1813-1907; Prairie du Rocher, Ill.)

What about you?

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