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Archeological Digs in the
Homes of Family Members

 
While visiting my sister, Beth (aka Aunt Boo), my adult son decided to go on an archeological dig in her basement. This research event was prompted by a conversation that he and his aunt had about family.  My sister indicated that she had many documents and tons of memorabilia that belonged to our parents, his “grand pere” and “grand mere.” Little did Beth realize, but her brief conversation with her nephew would set in motion a project that she was not ready to have unearthed.

Once she departed for work, “my child” did what he has done since he was a toddler, he got busy and got to work to uncover the treasures of his family history. He walked the short distance, down the stairs, to the basement. Once in the catacombs of the house, he cleared a space to layout his finds and inspect the items to value their meaning and worth. After a while, he called me in a frenzy. He was not happy that the items were in the basement, unprotected … according to him. During our conversation, I discovered that the documents were boxed, covered, and in an area that was climate controlled by dehumidifiers. Basically, in a safe space.

Being the child of the family historian has altered his definitions of the words “protected” and “preserved.” Once my sister returned from work, she found her living room inhabited by boxes of “stuff” that had been brought to light by her nephew. She then recommended that he put the items he was most concerned about into manila envelopes, label the envelopes, and arrange the items so that I, “the genealogy lady,” could deal with them when I arrived in a few weeks. My son took those marching orders and “went to town”, as the saying goes. What followed were conversations with my son, admonishing him for wreaking havoc on, and bringing chaos to, his aunt's living space. I then offered my mea culpa to my sister and apologized for the unsolicited efforts of my child.

What those conversations revealed, however, was the fact that my son had brought documents, to the surface, that my sisters and I had not seen as children or as adults. There was a high school diploma, the program for a high school graduation ceremony, college degrees, military documents, letters from the parents and siblings of my/our parents, photographs, and more. Weeks later, I stood at my sister’s dining room table and scanned many of the documents and photos.  I then placed most of what had been scanned in acid-free page protectors and then placed the items in a large three-ring binder. The day and a half that I spent in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri allowed me to only put a dent into my efforts to establish order. Giving order to the “document trail of history,” that will allow me and others to flesh out the lives of those whom we identify with as family … Cluster/F.A.N (family/friends, acquaintances, neighbors) or DNA, will take time.

As soon as the number of COVID (Delta Variant) numbers, in Missouri and Arizona, begin to decline, I will head back to the “Gateway City” and continue working to unpack, preserve, and organize the items, that speak to my family history. My family is not unique, as it relates to this situation. There are many “archeological digs,” of sorts, that could … and should … take place in our own homes or the homes of family members. Whether a group of people is assisting in the effort or it’s a one man/woman job, do not let the fear of embarking on the task leave you in a catatonic state.

As the saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Just get started.

 
Register in advance for the meetings!

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0uf--urT0uE9YTr9DJOXxrlb86pEdLNlFa

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

If you have had problems in the past accessing Zoom, please send us an email (vpbfghs@gmail.com) by Thursday before the meeting.  We will try to help troubleshoot with you.

Meeting dates                                                  
October 9th                                                          
November  13th                                                          
December 11th
                                                 

 

REMINDER - IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU USE THE LINK AT THE TOP TO REGISTER FOR THE MEETING.

Please submit your family reunion pictures to share in the next newsletter!

This was a Zoom family reunion from they mother's maternal side of the family.  Most of the people in the picture, I had never met before.  They were discussing about the ease, both financially and time, of the Zoom family reunion!

 
 

Online Helps

National Museum of African American History and Culture
https://nmaahc.si.edu/
 

Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society

https://www.aahgs.org/

International African American Museum
https://iaamuseum.org/museum/

Library of Virginia
https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/Generesearch.pdf
 

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

https://www.nypl.org/research

Smithsonian Freedman's Bureau Records
https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/freedmens-bureau-records

Archdiocese of New Orleans
https://nolacatholic.org/archives-and-records

Arizona State Library, Archives & Records
https://azlibrary.gov/arm/research-archives/genealogy-online-resources

New York Public Library

https://www.nypl.org/research

BFGHS on ABC 15 News!!!!!
https://www.abc15.com/news/national/tracing-family-tree-is-tough-for-many-african-americans-due-to-lack-of-information-countrys-history

LDS Genealogy - US Genealogy Records Directory

https://ldsgenealogy.com/dir/?fbclid=IwAR17ITHxlVNyLXoCd9p2gTlBvRSFItiHj_-ZuGf9q6Xiq3hRveuEBwEQXHE

NGS - National Genealogy Society
https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/free-resources/

https://ngsmonthly.ngsgenealogy.org/municipal-and-county-clerks-records-online/


Historic Preservation Story Maps 
https://www.phoenix.gov/pdd/story-maps

African American Experience in Tempe

https://www.tempe.gov/home/showdocument?id=83033


 

 

BFGHS and Amazon Smile:

Our organization can earn money on items we purchase from Amazon!  Use the link below and search for our organization.  It will show our location as New River. Each time you shop from Amazon, sign into the Amazon Smile and we earn a percentage back. 
 

Gravestone Dedication Ceremony

Written by: Phyllis Grimes


One of my most memorable trips this summer was returning to my hometown, Evansville, Indiana, for a Grave Marker Dedication and Remembrance Ceremony for my cousin’s parents, Cecil and Gladys Grimes.  My cousin, The Reverend Darrell Grimes, lost his parents in the late 1960s within a year of each other. He was a very young child at the time.  In my role as the family historian, Darrell shared with me his wish to place headstones on his parents’ graves and to have a ceremony commemorating the occasion.   

I pause here to give you a brief description of a Grave Marker Dedication Ceremony:

  It is a type of memorial service that occurs when a deceased person’s headstone is placed at his/her burial site. There are no strict guidelines to follow for the ceremony, so what you do it is entirely up to you.  Some people also hold grave marker dedications at the grave sites of their ancestors’ years or decade after their deaths.

A few months following our initial conversation, Darrell contacted me to advise he had purchased the headstones and coordinated with the cemetery on the date the placement would be completed.  He expressed his interest for the family to meet him in Evansville for the commemoration. 

Subsequently, he assigned tasks to several family members regarding the ceremony.  Even Mother Nature had a role, and she came through, providing us with a temperature of 82 degrees and a low humidity of 51 percent on the day of the event.  

The ceremony opened with a prayer and Darrell thanked everyone for coming. He spent a few moments reflecting on his childhood and the loss of his parents, expressing both gratitude and sadness.  An expression of gratitude for his loving family who continued to nurture him after his parents died and sadness of losing his parents at such a young age.  Next, the elderly family members shared their fond memories of both Gladys and Cecil, giving the grandkids an opportunity to learn about their ancestors. 

I was very pleased with the younger generation, watching them as they intensely listened to the elders speak.  They were well represented and exhibited great reverence for the occasion.   
        
At the conclusion of the ceremony, I congratulated my cousin on a job well done and mentioned that his parents would have been proud of the man/grandfather he had become. 

Later that evening, following a family tradition, we all headed out to a local restaurant and spent some much-needed, quality, family time. 

 

 Article, Instructions on Grave Marker Dedication, by: Talia Kennedy, Updated on September 29, 2017

 

This was seven years ago when I was attending another funeral. I was leaving the graveside when I happen to look down and there was my grandmother’s gravestone. The amazing thing about me finding where she was buried happened to be I was unable to attend her funeral because I was pregnant with my daughter at the time and the family thought it was best I didn’t go because my delivery date was coming up the following month. They weren’t sure how I might take seeing her in her coffin. I really regretted letting them talk me into not going to my grandmother’s funeral, but the good news turned out, the next month when my daughter was born it just so happened it was on my grandmother’s birthday.  
 
Linda Parham
One Clue
By:  Paulette Howard
 
One piece of information can lead to so much more!  Our fabulous President, Marie Scott, sent me an email asking if the information within could be about my Great Grandmother.  I read the email and screamed that the likelihood was great at this being true.  I called the cemetery and the man I spoke to stated he had no information but referred me to the funeral home.  I called the funeral home and the man stated he remembered my Great Grandmother because her last name was ‘Word.’ 
 
While he looked for information from his 1949 files, he sadly informed me that those records were missing.  He said he would attempt to get a death certificate for me.  I have not yet followed up on this but will do so because one piece of information can lead to so much more!
 

 

Upcoming October 2021 Events
  • October 5, 2021 - Executive Board & Board Meeting - 7pm
  • October 8, 2021 Social Media/Website Trial Run of Mtg & Committee Meeting - 6 pm
  • October 9, 2021 - General Meeting - "Revolutionary War & DAR" - S. Murphy & M. Elliott - 10am
  • October 14, 2021 - Efficient Genealogy Research - Course 3/wk2 - 7pm - R. Matthews
  • October 19, 2021 - Program Committee Meeting - 7PM
  • October 20, 2021 - "Using Manuscript Collections in your Genealogical Research" - R. Matthews - 7pm
  • October 26, 2021 - Bylaws Committee Meeting - 7pm
  • October 28, 2021 - "African American Lineage" - R.Matthews - 7pm
Upcoming November 2021 Events
  • November 11, 2021 -"Efficient Gen. Research" Course 3/ Wk 3 - R. Matthews - 7pm
  • November 13, 2021 - General Meeting & Elections "Strategies for Researching Enslaved Ancestors" - A. Dorsey - 10am
  • November 18, 2021 - "African American Lineage" - R. Matthews - 7pm
Upcoming December 2021 Events
  • December 7, 2021 - Executive Board & Board Meeting - 7pm
  • December 8, 2021 - Membership Committee Meeting - 7pm
  • December 9, 2021 - "Efficient Gen. Research - Course 4/ Wk 1 - R. Matthews - 7pm
  • December 11, 2021 - General Meeting & Party - "Spkr from Avery Research Center - Charleston, SC." -  10am
  • December 21, 2021 - Finance Committee - 7pm
  • December 23, 2021 - "African American Lineage" - R. Matthews - 7pm
 
 
Past Meetings - July, August & September
July Meeting - "Adoption & Your DNA" - top row
August Meeting - "Resources & Strategies for West Indian Family Research" - Middle row
September Meeting - "Writing Obituaries - A Historical Document" - Bottom row

Cemetery Project

How many Blacks/African-Americans are buried in AZ?
We might find out in 2022!  Stay tuned
Happy Birthday to our Q3 members!
Jonda Shamsiddeen 1-Oct
Yvette Campanella 15-Oct
Marie Scott 15-Oct
Lamont Monroe 17-Oct
Robert Scott 20-Oct
Margot Monroe 23-Oct
Cheryl Wethers 15-Nov
Kimberly Reynolds 17-Nov
Lee Peavy 20-Nov
Gwendolyn Humphries 21-Nov
Elaine Hadnot 25-Nov
Luke Hadnot 4-Dec
Isaiah Shamsiddeen 4-Dec
Helen J. Poole 8-Dec
Arlene Everett 19-Dec
Charmaine Bonner 31-Dec
   
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
Our very own Margaret Hangan has a trading card!!!!
She is one of very few, that look like us, that have a trading card on the site.
To learn more about her and the others with trading cards - http://www.naturalinquirer.org/Social-Science-Scientist-Cards-v-185.html


BFGHS Newsletter


Our newsletter will arrive quarterly (January, April, July and October) to paid members.  Please add vpbfghs@gmail.com to your contact list to help ensure its arrival in your inbox.  You may submit stories, research information, genealogy hacks, etc., along with a graphic and any web link(s) one month prior to newsletter deadline to vpbfghs@gmail.com.  See chart below

January - Submit by December 1st
April - Submit by March 1st
July - Submit by June 1st
October - Submit by September 1st
 
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