African Roots Podcast Episode #384 August 12, 2016

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Welcome back to the African Roots Podcast ! You can always reach me HERE.

Well, as summer is quickly coming to an end, I know that many of your have been busy following the summer Olympic games, just like me! It has been a joy to watch–the Simones took the gold, in swimming and gymnastics, and we all have to be proud of the young man from Baltimore Michael Phelps–a true legend.

Simones

This is a great time of the year, before the political campaigns begin–the Olympics captivate all of us.
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As summer moves on, there are events going on here in the Mid-Atlantic area. The Family History Center in Essex MD is hosting their all day event tomorrow.
Essex Workshop

And in Columbia MD, one can listen to LaBrenda Nelson give a presentation on probate records. Margo Williams of AAHGS is speaking at the event in Essex MD on Native American and African American genealogy.
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Speaking of events as we approach the events for the fall–the International Black Genealogy Summit and the AAHGS conference in Atlanta in October. But how do  you all use conferences? Are they events to learn new methods or do you find that they are opportunities mostly to fellowship with other researchers? They are lots of fun–but do you use them to your advantage to gain new strategies? Most importantly do they help you to tell the story better?
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Bernice Webinar

Speaking of telling the story—-if you missed it–you will want to tune into Bernice Bennett’s webinar that occurred today on FamilyTreeWebinars. It was outstanding! Bernice told some amazing stories as she spoke about tracing her ancestors and their acquisition of land. Her focus was “Following the Witnesses” through the Homestead Act of 1862. Her session was good because of how she pointed out that our ancestors had relationships. Most witnesses were not strangers standing around the courthouse, in so many cases they had relationships with our ancestors. And we have learend that in so many cases it is all about land!! Land records–and the witnesses can reveal so much! And Homestead records were amazing and revealing. You can hear Bernice’s webinar free for a week, so check it out. It was truly outstanding! She is a wonderful story teller, and was captivating!

Well, there are lots of things going on, but I shall wind them down for the week. Have a great week–enjoy the Olympic games, and of course remember in the meantime to keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find!

African Roots Podcast Episode #383 August 5, 2016

Welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! You can always reach me HERE!

Play

Well it is summer time, and yes, the last month of summer is here. I hope that you will get to enjoy yourselves this last month of summer. Time to bring in the final harvest from those summer gardens and to get out and enjoy! And let me give a hearty shout out to some friends in Rocky Mount Carolina, as they celebrate their 63rd consecutive family reunion. I am referring to the Taylor Family Reunion.
Reunion
I attended their 50th reunion 13 years ago, and it was truly wonderful! Best wishes for a great time this weekend!

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Essex Workshop
Well I am in pre-conference preparation mode for the next several weeks. Coming up next week in the Baltimore Area is the Family History Workshop in Essex Maryland. That event is free and one simply has to register in advance.
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LegacyFamilyTreeWebinars
And there is a webinar next week sponsored by Legacy Family Tree! Bernice Bennett will be giving a webinar presentation called ” Follow the Witnesses” where she will discuss the value of researching the witnesses of the Homestead records. Over a thousand people are already registered for the webinar so far. You can listen for free on the day of the presentation, so  you can tune in to hear that presentation at Family Tree Webinars.

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IBGS

Black Genealogy Summit is quickly approaching. September 1-3 in the greater Washington DC area, at the Crystal City Marriott in Arlington VA. This should be an exciting event. Speakers from all over the country are coming and what an honor to be a part of the presenters there.

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NMAACH oPENINGNMAACH

Everyone is excited about the opening of NMAACH – the newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution! I am referring to the National Museum of African American Culture and History. That will be on September 24th. What an amazing structure it is and anytime after that day you can all visit it. I know it will be crazy on opening day, but from that day forward, we are all looking forward to seeing and visiting the facility!
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AAHGS LOGO

October will bring us the AAHGS Conference. The schedule is online and you need to see the vast array of speakers. October 13-16 are the dates and it promises as equally exciting as the summit! This a great time to be a genealogist and to attend some amazing events! As the season winds down, hopefully everyone will attend the events near them, and get new ideas for projects to work on when cold weather arrives, and we settle down for the winter.
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RaceSlaveryProject
I have two pieces of info for you. One is an amazing website. The Race and Slavery Petitions Project! This is an amazing site from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and it has wonderful data in some incredible categories. Take a look—if you have ancestors who were enslaved and you know where they were enslaved—this site is for you to examine.
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Secondly a new book for those of you with Oklahoma roots. The book is called “Gone But Not Forgotten A History of the Black Families of Caddo 1872-1911. The books studies a town where the entire population vacated their home, out of fear of being killed. The book can be obtained from the library of Bryan County Oklahoma.
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Well, it is time to wind things down—take some time to enjoy summer before school starts again—and by the way—don’t forget to catch the Olympics! We survived the national political conventions—so take some time to watch the games for the next two weeks!

In the meantime, have a great week, and remember to keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find!