Yesterday was my first trip to the Georgia State Archives since returning from Texas. Hard to believe it’s been well-over 10 months! When the Archives were located in Downtown Atlanta, I was there sometimes 2-3 days in a given week!

I was so excited to arrive! So excited to at least begin following-up on the dozens of leads & questions we’ve identified after a year of blogging & sharing.

However, after SEVERAL hours of scrutinizing CODY/WARREN County microfilm, I found that I was somewhat disappointed {and yes, irritated too} that I’d not discovered ANY information to either validate and/or negate my conclusions of late.

I read several AMAZING letters from the hand of politician Madison Derrell CODY {an Ancestor of Lori’s}. There was a beautiful love-letter to his future wife, Frances “Fannie” CARR. There were several letters to an acquaintance about the state of the Union & the impending war. There was a cheerful, brief correspondence to Fannie alerting her of Georgia’s Secession from the Union in 1861. Another note to Fannie, where M.D. appeared impatient with a slave, SIAB & offered to give him a pass to go join the Union forces — I thought that humorous!:-)

There were MANY CODY relations family bibles, including the family bible of Robert CODY & Catherine BRANTLEY — the Primitive Baptist who owned Pierce & could be the first owner my Catie — I still don’t know.

There were several CODY deeds from the Superior Court records, but all that I read involved the transfer of land, not slaves AND none mentioned Rev. James DICKEY.

I even eyed the Estate Inventory of Edmund CODY, complete with what was sold from his 1832 estate BUT absent of any slave names to connect who inherited the “Ailey” mentioned in his Will.

Yes — I researched MUCH family history yesterday, just not mine!

And while I take issue with the CODYS of past and their descendants for not including my Ancestors in their historical documentation, I am EQUALLY as disappointed in the African-American community, my family in particular, for NOT righting this wrong by stopping to share OUR stories.

Yes, I am well aware of our history & challenges but does that prevent us for preserving our Great Grandmother’s family bible? Does that prevent us from marking family images with names & dates? Does it prevent us from caring about the upcoming family reunion or making note of Cousin Mae’s funny cemetery story or your Mother’s version of family history? No, it doesn’t.

To take it a step further – what’s preventing my tech-savvy generation from launching a family blog [for FREE] or uploading their family images & documents to the Archives in their state? Is there something that stops us from working to build our family tree?

While I know that I am preaching to the choir here, I hope this encourages you to be relentless in sharing the sermon of Genealogy Preservation to those outside of the choir!:-)

This charge is for both black & white researchers alike — heck, shouldn’t the beautiful CODY history I read yesterday be available somewhere online?

Yesterday, we observed the tragedy of 9/11 by honoring its nearly 3,000 victims. People who unknowingly left for work or boarded a plane on a pretty normal morning, only to never return home again.

The future is uncertain & that said, the present should not be taken for granted.

So long as WE don’t work to preserve our family history TODAY, we have absolutely NO right to complain when we’re not captured in someone elses TOMORROW.

Okay, okay… Luckie has exited the soapbox!:-)

Luckie.

{Note: the posted image DOES NOT belong to my family. It is a mural created by Miguel Ramos, entitled Homage to the Ancestors. I discovered it online several years ago. It was one of the first visuals to inspire me to find my own family images & stories.}

Yesterday while scanning Ancestry’s African American Collection, Slave Information Message Board, I noticed a post in regards to the transcribed Estate Inventory of John HUGULEY of Wilkes Co. The information had been posted by someone with the surname FAVOR.

Given that my 4th Paternal Grandmother was Annie FAVER CARTER, anytime I see the surname FAVER/FAVOR I perk-up but especially when it’s associated with Wilkes Co!

So I sent a message to the original poster inquiring about her surname & to my surprise, she responded back immediately!

With her permission, I’ve included her response below. In more ways than one it speaks to the importance of sharing both your & others Genealogical information within the research community.

Please take note of the information she is sharing as well — we never know where a connection might be found!:-)

Hi Luckie,

I have been to OurGeorgiaRoots.com. It gave me inspiration to continue this search. To answer your question, I don’t know. I have looked extensively at the John Faver family line in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas. I have their entire descendant chart. I traced one branch from Alabama to Fannin County Texas but have not been able to make a link. My ancestor was Pomp Favors. Reported in 1880 census as born in Alabama. He died before 1890. He was freed at age 14 in Fannin County (family rumor not fact with maybe a brother George-rumor not fact). I have gotten as far back to his 1876 marriage but have found nothing on him beyond that. I have found George who shows up in the 1867 voter registration. It reports him born in Alabama. It reports that he had been there for 17 yrs. George shows up in the 1880 census on the farm next to Pomp. But we really don’t have any evidence yet that they were even brothers. I only find them in the 1880 census. I am assuming that they both died shortly after that. Pomp’s wife was remarried by 1889, but she had a child by Pomp born in 1888. So, I am still searching for some kind of connection to the Faver family of Alabama and Georgia.

Has your family any thoughts of doing a DNA project? I hope this answers your questions.

Information that I posted re: the Hughley Estate was information I transcribed from the copy of Wilkes County Probate book that was posted by Mechie on Picasso. I found a reference to a slave named Pomp in that book but have not gone any further on my research in that area yet.

Now the original poster’s “Pomp Favors” does sounds familiar to me — so I plan to spend some time reviewing where I’ve come across the name. There is also a GOOD chance that she could be connected to my other FAVER cousins, Barrett & Farrel!

But what was heartwarming to me was that visiting OGR’s blog inspired her to continue her search & that she’d transcribed John Huguley’s estate inventory from the Wilkes County Inventories I posted on Picasa! I am the “Mechie” she referenced {Dona Amechia by birth}!:-)

How cool is that?!

Over the years, there have been countless times when being online has made ALL the difference. I’ve been blessed by many by way of this blog & previous iterations of it. Glad to know that others are benefiting from my efforts to share the love too!

If you are NOT actively online somewhere you really have no right to complain when your research doesn’t advance at the rate you want it to OR to criticize others who aren’t sharing their research. Ya’ll are passengers of the same ship!:-)

C’mon — do it for you, do it for your Ancestors, do it for other researchers who DESPERATELY need to know who their Ancestors are & you may hold the key!

There are new folks joining the GeneaTribe everyday & long-time clan members going a step further! Check-out these…

• My Nola Heritage – Felicia started off as a client courtesy of GenFreelancers & is certainly now my Sister on the GeneaJourney! She’s starting off with researching her Maternal line from Webster Parish, LA! Twitter: @Matfam42.
• Just Thinking- Nadasue emailed me with questions regarding OGR & then the next thing I knew, she was blogging! I always appreciate the detail to her posts & feedback on mine! Twitter: ??? {yes, Renate — this is my way of saying, get going!}
• Conversations With My Ancestors- A new Geneablog from my girl Mavis of Georgia Black Crackers, as she digs deeper into her Paternal family line. Twitter: @NCChemist
• Giving Back To Kin – A digital Act of Kindness from GeneaBloggette Robyn of Reclaiming Kin. I love it!:-) Twitter: ??? {Ditto!:}
• OurAlabamaRoots – This is my newest blog dedicated to my BARWICK Ancestors of Barbour, Henry & Montgomery Co. AL.  Twitter: @OurGeorgiaRoots

Now, if you are not blogging, posting or tweeting but you want to – no worries! Here are a few GREAT resources to get you on your way!:-)

• GeneaBloggers.com – A one stop shop for ALL things related to Genealogy blogging! If T2 doesn’t have it – it’s not to be found!:-) Twitter: @GeneaBloggers
• Forums at LowCountry Africana – LowCountry Africana has recently launched its own Message Board! If you have South Carolina, Florida and/or Georgia Ancestors, this is the place for you! Twitter: @LCAfricana
• GenealogyWise - Think Facebook meets Genealogy!  Twitter: @GenealogyWise
• African-American Genealogy Examiner- Great articles from seasoned Genealogist, Michael Hait! Twitter: @MichaelHait
• AfricanRootsPodcast- Weekly podcast STUFFED with informative Genealogy goodies presented by uber-knowledgeable, Angela Walton-Raji. Twitter: @AYWalton

So as I exit from my soapbox, I leave you with a quote from Angela Walton-Raji that sums up this post:

Share what you find, and also share what you seek!

Luckie.

Mucho thanks to Angela Walton-Raji for her mention of Our Georgia Roots on this week’s African Roots Podcast!

Angela shared my story of the events leading up to obtaining my Paternal Great Grandmother COBB’s family bible last August.

You’ve heard me say it 100 before, if I & the original poster {thanks Debbie!:-} had not been online {Angela, you are correct – it was RootsWeb}, I NEVER would have known there was a bible out there that not only contained 4 generations of my Paternal Ancestors names, but names of my living Brothers & Sisters as well!

The original post was 5 YEARS OLD when I discovered it!!!

This week particularly, I find myself “nudging” several family members & friends to move their research ahead online.

For your sake & ours , I hope you heed both my & Angela’s advice:

Share what you find, but also share what you seek…

Luckie.

Just a mere 6 days ago, Mavis {aka NCChemist} & I had a Tweetersation {yes, I just created my own word!:-} about the virtues of utilizing Facebook for Genealogy purposes.

Although not quite convinced that I wanted my Facebook & Genealogy worlds to meet {being a “Techie”, I live in the land of WWW daily & consider Genealogy “MY” time!}, I have to admit after hearing from Mavis how cool it was to connect with long-lost cousins, I was at least thinking about it!

We netted with my commenting, “maybe if there were just a way for me to separate my Genealogy connects in a Facebook environment…”.

Then Voila… 2 days later, www.GenealogyWise.com goes live & my “prayer” is answered!:-)

Now why am I sooooooo stoked that GenealogyWise is on the scene? A Techie’s point of view…

1. It’s complete with tried n’ true functionality we’re accustomed to with Facebook, but minus the profile overlap some of us may experience if we use FB for professional and/or personal reasons! Do I REALLY want my Corporate client to read about my belief that my Ancestors guide me in digging-up family history? I think not!:-)
2. It’s built on the Ning platform, which delivers ALL the Social Media bells n’ whistles that I love! It also makes me eat my words that Ning isn’t really capable of supporting a mega-community. As we can see – it obviously is!:-)
3. It’s well-funded by FamilyLink.com, which I know for some of you may be an issue. You don’t want big-business owning such personal communities, right? WRONG – you do! We, Genealogists {along with every other online consumer}, are pretty demanding & needy. You want a community that is adequately supported so that their growth can be seamless. Take this from a girl who had a fantastic idea but lacked the deep-pockets to run it, success is short-lived without the finances to keep it going!:-(
4. It’s viral – contagious man! GenealogyWise membership grew to approx. 1500 members in – ONE DAY! Heck, at Midnight, there were still had 120 researchers online! What this means for us is there’s a greater opportunity to connect with other genealogists who may hold the key to knocking down our brick walls – quickly.
5. They (GenealogyWise) need us, Facebook doesn’t. What this means is that we can be heard! Woo-hoo! Don’t hesitate to let them know what’s missing! Now is the time!

So what do I want from GenealogyWise?

• Help. Help in outreaching the African-American community so that they are represented & participating in the online GW community. Yes, I am asking that GW go out of its way to build a community that is diverse & balanced. Really, GW should be establishing partnerships with LowCountry Africana, AfriQuest, Afrigeneas & any other ethnic {not just Black} community out there. DIVERSITY is KEY!

• Widget & Tool Integration. I want a Social Media Share Bar, to share my GW activity across platforms – Twitter, Digg, LinkedIn, etc… I’ll admit, this functionality could already exist & I haven’t explored the site totally but since I’m asking…

• Profile Flexibility. We should be able to add multiple websites/blogs & what about other profile/IDS? Shouldn’t we be able to include who we are in other places on the web? Ala, Twitter = OurGeorgiaRoots!

All in all I am thrilled that GenealogyWise is live & rocking and forever grateful, that I can keep my genealogy addiction to myself {sans Facebook} for sharing when I want to!

Rock on!:-)

Luckie @ GenealogyWise

Just when I thought I had the Wingfields of Washington-Wilkes all figured out!

Okay… recently, while searching online for more info related to my Catie’s manumission, I discovered the Digital Library on American Slavery, a collective repository of slave petitions.

Much to my disappointment, I did not find any evidence validating Catie had been freed by Rev. James Dickey in 1861 & after poking around, only discovered one Wilkes County WINGFIELD petition in the DLAS database -  Petition 20681714.

But what a doozy this one document turned out to be!:-)

Here’s the abstract…

In his will, the late John Querns bequeathed to his nephews, William and Samuel Arnett, property that included nine slaves, with the stipulation that some of them be freed at the age of twenty-one. He also set aside a small legacy for eighteen other slaves who were to be freed by his executors upon his death, and appointed several men Thomas Lasley and Thomas Talbot as trustees of the bequeathed property and guardians of the slaves’ interest. Samuel and William Arnett claim that the executors, Talbot, Lasley, and one John Wingfield, have taken no steps to execute the emancipation clause of the will, the legislation of the state of Georgia having made it unlawful to free slaves. The slaves are to remain slaves for life and the executors should render account of their executorship and settle the estate.

Why is this so interesting? Well…

• The John WINGFIELD cited in this petition is the father of James Nelson Wingfield {owner of my 4th Grandfather James Wingfield}, who in his will, bequeathed slaves to James Nelson.
• The 31 slaves listed in the petition, who were eventually bound to slavery for life {courtesy of Georgia legislature making it illegal to free slaves}, share a handful of [unique] names with slaves listed on the 1862 estate inventory of Archibald S. Wingfield. And as I’ve confirmed over the past few weeks, Archibald’s slaves were my new cousin Farrel’s ancestors & quite possibly mine {including an 11 year old “Katy”}.
• Although we didn’t know how until now, Samuel & William ARNETT came to eventually own some of Farrel’s Ancestors {ARNETT is also a known surname related to my WINGFIELDS}.
• Post emancipation, Farrel’s Ancestor, Peter Arnett/Cohen founded the city of Cohen Town in Wilkes Co, accumulating land & wealth over the years.

Questions to answer -

• How was the estate settled & who were the slaves awarded to?
• How did it come to be that the next generation of these slaves appear to be owned by Archibald Simpson Wingfield?
• Where are the wills/estates for the Arnetts, Talbot, Lasley, & John Wingfield? What will they reveal?
• How did Peter Arnett/Cohen come to purchase property after emancipation? Was his fortune connected to the “small legacy” bequeathed to his predecessors by John Querns?

I have a feeling that my questions are just the tip of the iceberg!:-)

Luckie.