http://africanrootspodcast.com Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:10:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 African American genealogy podcast. Angela Walton-Rai genealogy,african american genealogy no Angela Walton-Rai AngelaW859@aol.com http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=394 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=394#comments Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:07:55 +0000 Angela Y. Walton-Raji http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=394 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?feed=rss2&p=394 0 Hello and welcome back. Today is Friday August 13, 2010. My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast. You can always reach me at: AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com EVENTS: Everyone is getting ready for the upcoming conference next week in Knoxville TN.  I am referring to the FGS Conference which takes place August  18-21.  An interesting tidbit about the FGS conference, I understand that Ancestry.com will be there and will be offering a free scanning service to participants. What a great time to get digitized images of your old  photos and old documents. This will take place Thursday through Saturday at the conference in the Exhibit Hall. I know lots of reunions are taking place in August as well as other events are coming into the lineup for Fall of this year. I am also preparing for a trip again to Reno Nevada!  I shall be speaking at Bethel AME church and will be making a presentation on the history of the church, the community, and will hopefully be researching the history of some of the elders of the churchs congregation as well.  This will be August 20-21st in Reno. August 28 I received a flyer from a dear friend in Virginia who shared with me an upcoming lecture on August 28, about the families enslaved at Monticello.  We hear a lot about the Hemings of course but little else about others enslaved at Monticello. Sam Towler of The Court Doth Order, will present his work on the Monticello families during the Levy Period.  This will occur on the 28th at Fluvanna County Public library at 12:00 noon.  Phone: 434.806.7433 or aahgscva@gmail.com for more info. Sponsored by AAHGS Chapter of Central Virginia In September those in Newport News Virginia will be able to attend an event on the 11th, when two family history presentations will be held.  Nathan Richardson and Druscilla Pair will present at the Suffolk Downtown Street Festival.  Mr. Richardson will focus on the history of Oral storytelling in the family tradition, and Drusilla Pair will give a basic genealogy presentation.  Her focus will be basic documents, public records and also DNA for genealogical research. September 18, 2010 the Baltimore County African American Heritage festival will take place. This is always a great event, in Towson, Maryland. African Ancestry on the Road! As you know AfricanAncestry, the DNA company is on the road. Last night they were in Baltimore and I had a great time speaking with the folks from African Ancestry as well as seeing some old friends.  By the wayif you catch them on the tourthere is a significant discount to the  process, on the cost of the DNA test, and this is a great time to take it, and learn another part of the family history in a unique way.  They are in Philadelphia today and this next week they will be in the New York/New Jersey area, then on to Connecticut and their final stop will be in Boston, concluding an amazing week. So,  if you have ever had questions on DNA, and what it is all about-then this is a great time to learn more about what the process entails and exactly what is being explored when one takes a DNA test.   The  best news is that they are offering the test at a discount as well, so this is the time to go and to listen to the presentation. September Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band will hold a premiere of their documentary, called Bloodlines. This will take place on September Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at the Reed Center in Midwest City, Ok. “Bloodlines” is independently produced and directed by Camara and Chantel Rose of Get Focused films.  “Bloodlines” tells the story of a group of people who were suddenly removed from their tribe in 1979.  They were African Creek citizens and this is story not known by many. The Documentary premiere gala raises scholarship funds for students of African Native American descent attending an accredited college or university. Scholarship application [...] Hello and welcome back. Today is Friday August 13, 2010. My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast. You can always reach me at: AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com EVENTS: Everyone is getting ready for the upcoming conference [...] http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=383 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=383#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:09:29 +0000 Angela Y. Walton-Raji http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=383 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?feed=rss2&p=383 0 Hello and Welcome Back! This is Friday July 30, 2010. My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast! You can always reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com Upcoming Events: Midwestern Roots Conference on August 6-7 in Indianapolis Indianapolis FGS Annual Conference (Federation of Genealogical Societies) in Knoxville Tennessee. Aug 18-21 Deadline today for: AAHGS Annual Conference in College Park, MD Today is the deadline to submit your proposal to present at that conference. Also today is the deadline to submit for the Family History Expo in Atlanta in November. In Baltimore the monthly August meeting of the Agnes Kane Callum chapter of AAHGS will take place at the Enoch Pratt Library at Cold Spring and Loch Raven Blvd. New holdings to share: Oklahomathe Oklahoma Historical Society announces that the 1890 Oklahoma Territory Census is now available with sample pages. In addition they also have available on DVD a copy of the first directory of Oklahoma City. Historical societies are wonderful resources and I hope you are members of your own state historical society.  One of my states is Oklahoma and The new Encyclopedia of Oklahoma is also now available. Many states have online encyclopedias and are always interested in nfrom the research community. This is a wonderful way to make your own contribution. Some interesting sites were mentioned in the September 2010 issue of Family Tree Magazine, including several outstanding sites for African American research. Among those mentioned were several websites for African American genealogists:Afrigeneas, AfriQuest, Afro-Louisiana History, Digital Library of American Slavery,  Documenting the American South, Low Country Africana,  USF Africana Heritage. You are urged to visit these sites and if you visit them frequently remember to sometimes go beyond your favorite parts of the pageclick on something new, and see what additional features that you can explore to take you someplace new. Well that wraps up another weekin the meantime- Keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find! Have a great week and keep doing what you do.  Keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find. http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=374 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=374#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:23:46 +0000 Angela Y. Walton-Raji http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=374 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?feed=rss2&p=374 0 Hello and welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! My name is Angela Walton-Raji and you can always reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com . Hope you are having a good week, and there is lots of good news on the genealogy front to share.  The best news comes from a new partnership that was announced this week. Footnotea site that many of us use, has partnered with LowCountry Africana to make available to the public information on people enslaved in South Carolina. They have provide digitized images of records from the Colonial years of South Carolina up through the mid 1800s.  The collection contains estate records, bills of sale and so much more!  To view these South Carolina records, please visit Footnote.com Lowcountry Africana has also established an online volunteer program to create the searchable index for this collection. To learn more about this volunteer program or to sign up to be a volunteer, please go to LowCountryAfricana.net . This should be big boost to the African American genealogical community! This week, I have been busy responding to Calls for Papers, myself and one opportunity caught my eye. There is still time to submit a proposal for the Family History Expos. Deadline for submission is July 30, 2010. Also there is time to submit a proposal to present at the annual AAHGS conference in October. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) is soliciting papers and panels for its upcoming 96th Annual Convention. This year’s conference theme is: “African Americans and the U.S. Civil War.” Although the program committee welcomes papers and panels on any aspect of African and African American history and culture, special preference will be given to submissions directly related to this year’s theme. Their call for Papers for 2011, has already been released and considering how next year 2011 is a special year, we need to also think about how we plan to incorporate those sesquicentennial celebrations into our family histories. Important topics include African Americans and the abolitionist movement, African American women who also made contributions during the war, and life among the civilians during the war years, and so much more. Do you have USCTs?   Well, tell their story. Consider adopting one and tell his story on your website or blog.  Now if you have ancestors who were not soldiersthen tell the story of how they became free and when they got the word of freedom.  There are lots of ways to celebrate their history and to join the commemorative efforts that will unfold in 2011the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. Get Involved in Civil War Workshops and Events! Speaking of Civil War-what are your plans for the upcoming year?  As a person interested in history and genealogy I hope that you also will be thinking about honoring those who were true freedom fightersthe Black soldiers who served in the Union Army and Navy.  The majority of them served in the US Colored Troops, but many also served in the regular army.  The 54th Massachusetts Infantry, for example were not volunteers like the US Colored Troopsthey were part of the regular US Army. In addition there were black soldiers who served in white units in several states, and the lesser known soldiersthe black soldiers who served in the Indian Home Guards.  The Home Guards1st 2nd and 3rd  were the only Union regiments to come from the Indian tribes of Ind Territory.  The remaining 20+ Indian regiments were Confederate units.  I have personally identified 60 black men who served in the Home Guards. They were among the men who were identified as Loyal Creeks after the Civil War. The reason I mention these men and mention the Civil War is also because for the next  5 years-we will  hear of various efforts to commemorate this war, and it is our responsibility to insure that the roll that our ancestors [...] Hello and welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! My name is Angela Walton-Raji and you can always reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com . Hope you are having a good week, and there is lots of good news on the genealogy front to share. [...] http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=370 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=370#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:02:28 +0000 Angela Y. Walton-Raji http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=370 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?feed=rss2&p=370 0 Hello and welcome back! My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast! You can always reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a great summer! I have a number of events and workshops to share with you, so lets get started! For those with ties to the West Indiesthe National Archives in Washington DC will host a workshop on methods of researching with Federal records, your ancestors who migrated to this country. Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 11:00 am. The session is called Caribbean Immigrants: Using Federal Records to Locate Ancestors from theWest Indies, 1890-1930.” More info is on the Archives website. August is going to be a busy month! In Baltimore the annual Brick Walls session of the Agnes Callum Chapter of AAHGS will take place. This is a chance to bring your problems and get help with solving them. And on Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 11:00 am. The National Archives will present their monthly program entitled Introduction to Genealogy. Staff archivists will present the lecture on basic genealogical research and techniques. Additional details can be found at http://www.archives.gov/. By the way there is time for you to order your copy of the Chicago Afr. American Genealogy Society Heritage Book. They have published a hard bound copy of probably the only all African American Heritage Book which will reflect families from many parts of the country including the south.  Their order form is now available. August 6-7 Midwestern Roots 2010 conference, in Indianapolis, Indiana. There are several workshops that will interest the African-American Genealogist. Shamele Jordon will be presenting 3 interesting sessions, and for those who are just beginningthese will be great sessions 1) I’ve Traced My Family Back to 1870, Now What? 2) Researching United States Colored Troops 3) Freedmen’s Bureau Research Strategies Shamele Jordon S-33 Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 10:00 am. The Library of Congress will sponsor an orientation class entitled Resources for Genealogical Research at The Library of Congress. This is their monthly orientation class and is well worth taking the time to learn about the resources there. The class will meet in room LJ G42 of the Jefferson Building. Advance registration is required. Call 202-707-5537, register in the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room, or go to http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/tours.html. Wellits time for the FGS conference! Thats rightthe Federation of Genealogical Societies will hold its annual conference this year in Knoxville Tennessee. It takes place this year August 18-21 in downtown Knoxville. There are a good number of workshops at the FGS Conference that will interest African American researchers. Elizabeth Shown Mills: Poor? Female? Black? Slave? Southern Research Strategies Russell P. Baker The Five Civilized Tribes of the South and Their Genealogical Records John Baker Jr. American Families: Using Manuscripts and Special Collections James M. Rose Tracing Your Family Roots: Utilizing the WPA Slave Narratives with Connections to Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri James M. Rose African-American Genealogical Methodology James Dent Walker Lecture: John Baker Jr. Connecting Land and People: Using Farm Records to Illuminate Slave Families ~James Dent Walker Memorial Lecture I hope you are able to take advantage of some of these workshops and learn some new strategies. I also hope that you will consider mentoring others who are just beginning. We have newcomers all the time and the chance to assist another is always there. Become an active member of the genealogical community. Join us on Twitter, Facebook, Genealogy Wise, and of course AfriGeneas, as well. In the meantimethank you for being there and thank you for listening. Please keep doing what you do keep [...] Hello and welcome back! My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast! You can always reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com Hello everyone! Hope you are all having a great summer! I have a number of events and workshops to [...] http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=365 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=365#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:53:11 +0000 Angela Y. Walton-Raji http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=365 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?feed=rss2&p=365 1 Hello and welcome back! Today is Friday July 2, 2010. My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast! You can always reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com. Good to be back after a long weekend away out west in Nevada for a family reunion. There were lots of cousins and chances to take photos, relive old memories and make new memories. Lots of things are going on. One I am happy to share right awaywhich is the Estate Database project coming out of Lancaster County Virginia. This is an amazing site with data on over 3000 slaves. For those with Lancaster Virginia roots-note that this database covers 30 years of datafrom 1835 1865. It is fascinating and worth exploring! Events and Lectures Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at 11:00 am. The National Archives will present a program entitled Introduction to Genealogy. Staff archivists will present the lecture on basic genealogical research and techniques. This is an ongoing project and worth attending to get a good overview of how to use the records at the National Archives. Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 10:30 am. The Baltimore’s Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society/Agnes Kane Callum Chapter will present a program entitled “Historical and/or Genealogical Websites.” The program will be at the Enoch Pratt Free Library – Northwood Branch, 4420 Loch Raven in east Baltimore. Coming up on Sunday, July 11, 2010 – Friday, July 16, 2010: The National Institute on Genealogical Research will hold its annual conference in Washington, DC at the National Archives.  I attended this institute several years ago and it is a great program and introduction to resources at both Archives I & II. From Augusta Georgia: Noon, 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. July 10 Voices of the Pastan interesting series of monologues coming out of Augusta Georgia. What caught my eye was a program called, The Other Tubmansthat tells a story that explains the connection between local Tubman slaves freed in the 1830’s and William Tubman, who served as Liberia, Africa’s president from 1944-1971. Voices of the Past is a series of character monologues presented in museum theater format that brings to life the stories of ordinary and extraordinary people. Free for members or with regular Museum admission. Where : Augusta Museum of History , 560 Reynolds Street, Augusta, Georgia. Contact : For more information call 706-722-8454. Linda Aaron, archivist and conservator, will share her expertise in How to Take Care of Your Paper and Photographic Heirlooms . Co-sponsored by theClarke-Oconee Genealogical Society and the University of Georgia Libraries. Where : Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 3rd Floor, Main Library, 320 S. Jackson Street, University of Georgia When : 2 p.m. African American Family History Research Interest Group The African-American Family History Research Interest Group explores issues in African American Family History research. The group is co-sponsored by the Clarke-Oconee Genealogical Society (COGS) and the Athens-Clarke County Library Heritage Room. For more information, contact Mae Castenell at maeeloutome@aol.com or call the Heritage Room at (706) 613-3650, ext. 350. July 14 Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 10:00 am. The Library of Congress will sponsor an orientation class entitled Resources for Genealogical Research at The Library of Congress. The class will meet in room LJ G42 of the Jefferson Building. All participants must have a Reader Registration Card. You must bring a picture I.D. to obtain the card. The card must be obtained prior to the class and can be obtained in room LM 140 of theMadison Building. Advance registration is required. Call 202-707-5537, register in the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room, or go to http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/tours.html. Wednesday, July 21, at 11 a.m., National Archives Room G-24, Research Center Caribbean Immigrants: [...] Hello and welcome back! Today is Friday July 2, 2010. My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast! You can always reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com. Good to be back after a long weekend away out west in Nevada for a [...] http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=362 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=362#comments Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:18:37 +0000 Angela Y. Walton-Raji http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=362 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?feed=rss2&p=362 1 Hello and Welcome Back! Today is Friday June 25, 2010. My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast. You can always reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com. It’s good to be back after a week away last week at the Samford University Genealogical Institute. A full week it was and I enjoyed it so much! If you would like to read about my experiences, you may do so on my blog. Some events coming up. Saturday June 26, in Little Rock Arkansas at the Arkansas History Commission, an interesting set of workshops are being offered. All will be looking at Arkansas history differently. They are from 9:30 – 1:00 in the state capitol building, in downtown Little Rock. This is also considered a professional development day by the Arkansas Dept of Education. Two workshops look especially interestingone focuses on the inter-connectedness of a family owned business and the immediate community. Secondly there is and fascinating workshop on the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918. In case you are wondering if there is any relationship between these subjects, and African American genealogywell keep in mind that whatever happens on a large scale in the community affects or impacts the African Aemrican community as well. And as we tell the stories of our ancestors, we should also tell the stories of their communities. Each presentation will include a question and answer period. The seminar begins at 9:30 a.m. and concludes at approximately 1:30 p.m. This event is free, but registration is required. To register, please email state.archives@arkansas.gov, or call 501.682.6900. Registration deadline is noon on June 25, 2010. Box lunches will be provided with registration. Best wishes to folks in Charlottesville Virginia. They have been forming a new chapter of AAHGS, and tomorrow they are having a meeting. AAHGS Chapter of Central Virginia, meeting Saturday, 6/26, 12 noon to 2pm. Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 10:30 am. The Agnes Kane Callum Chapter of AAHGS will present a program entitled “Historical and/or Genealogical Websites.” The program will be at its usual location at the Enoch Pratt Library – Northwood Branch on Loch Raven This will be a great opportunity to learn what is new on the web. There is much more going on than mere websites. Sunday, July 11, 2010 – Friday, July 16, 2010. The National Institute on Genealogical Research will hold its annual conference inWashington, DC at the National Archives. Now registration is closed, but this institute like the program at Samford is a thorough and intense experience and worth the time. Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 10:00 am. Each month the Library of Congress offers an orientation class so that genealogists can learn more about the holdings at th e nation’s library. The class is called Resources for Genealogical Research at The Library of Congress. The class will meet in room LJ G42 of the Jefferson Building. All participants must have a Reader Registration Card and if you do not have one, it can be obtained prior to the class and can be obtained in room LM 140 of the Madison Building. For more info, call 202-707-5537 Do you have ancestry in the West Indies? Then this will interest you. On Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 11:00 am. The National Archives will present a program entitled Caribbean Immigrants: Using Federal Records to Locate Ancestors from theWest Indies, 1890-1930.” The program will be presented by Archives staff . Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 10:30 am. The Baltimore Afro-American Historical Genealogical Society the Agnes Kane Callum Chapter will present a program entitled “Brickwalls.” This is a favorite workshop of the chapter and many get a jump start by having others join in to find brick wall solutions. I wanted to encourage you to look at historic events that affected your community, and incorporate the impact of those events on your familys history. Political events, [...] Hello and Welcome Back! Today is Friday June 25, 2010. My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast. You can always reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com. It’s good to be back after a week away last week at the Samford [...] http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=355 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=355#comments Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:53:29 +0000 Angela Y. Walton-Raji http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=355 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?feed=rss2&p=355 0 Welcome Back! Today is Friday June 18th 2010 My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast. You can always reach me at African Roots Podcast@gmail.com Happy Juneteenth everyone! I hope you have a great Juneteeth weekend! I am coming to you today from a very warm Birmingham, Alabama. I have been participating in the Samford University Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, all week. I have been also tweeting and blogging from this week’s institute. I was participating in track 8–the Slavery and Reconstruction Era workshop. I have learned a lot and I know that I shall also be interested in the future in coming back for much more. And-HAPPY JUNETEENTH!!! I hope that you will all do something to commemorate this day and what it means historically as well as symbolically. Gather the family, have a barbecue, celebrated yourselves, your family, your freedom. Appreciate what our ancestors went through for us to be here today. Andif you are around and have the time-join the Freedom Tweet!!! Tomorrow the Prince George’s County chapter of AAHGS is hosting the annual Juneteenth Genealogy workshop. It is free to the public, and lunch will be provided. The Piedmont NC chapter of AAHGS is sponsoring a trip to the state archives in Raleigh, and the New England Chapter of AAHGS is having it’s June meeting at the National Archives in Waltham on Trapelo Road. After the meeting the facility will stay open for members to do some research. In Little Rock Arkansas the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is hosting a Juneteenth celebration, and it is free to the public. A screening of the old documentary Wattsstaxx will be showing. Speaking of Juneteenth-I mentioned the Freedom Tweetif you are online during the dayconsider joining that effort to share your feelings on freedom, and express your thoughts and freedom of speech throughout the day. Some additional links for Juneteenth! -Juneteenth Recipes -Roanoake Juneteenth -Elmira Juneteenth Odessa TX Juneteenth -Longview TX -St. Lucie FL Museum of the African Diaspora Juneteenth events -Adironondack Alamanac -Freeing Charles Wellthis week was great for me, as I have been encouraged to streamline, to sharpen, and to further enhance my skills. I look forward to going forth and working on more projects and putting greater energy into telling the story better! Such workshops, institutes, and classes encourage us all to tell the story better. I hope that in the future that you will all join me, and work on polishing those skills and honoring our ancestors even further. Happy Juneteenth! Thanks for listening. In the meantime, keep doing what you do. Keep researching, keep documenting and please keep sharing what you find. Happy Juneteenth, and talk to you next time. Welcome Back! Today is Friday June 18th 2010 My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast. You can always reach me at African Roots Podcast@gmail.com Happy Juneteenth everyone! I hope you have a great Juneteeth weekend! I am [...] http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=341 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=341#comments Fri, 28 May 2010 05:02:41 +0000 Angela Y. Walton-Raji http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=341 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?feed=rss2&p=341 2 Hello and welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! This is Angela Walton-Raji and you can reach me at africanrootspodcast@gmail.com Lot of events coming up for summer: Baltimore African American Historical Society is hosting its annual summer picnic on Saturday June 4, at Banneker State Park in Baltimore County. For more info go to the chapter website. Juneteenth season is upon us. This is the time of celebration of the abolishment of the institution of slavery in America and although the origins of this celebration is Texas, it is a sentiment that we all share. Some interesting Juneteenth sites: Juneteenth Galveston < -------- Where it all began! Juneteenth Ft. Smith Arkansas Juneteenth, Houston TX Juneteenth West TX Juneteenth, El Paso TX Juneteenth, Phoenix Juneteenth, Tuscon AZ Juneteenth, Los Angeles Juneteenth Amarillo TX Juneteenth Southwest Louisiana Events: Registration has just opened up for FGS Conference in August 2010 in Knoxville TN August 18-21 For early registration. I often speak about how important it is to research the history and legacy of your community. Well I have a found a group of folks out west who are capturing African American presence in the state of Oregon. The website that I found was one devoted to Oregon Black Pioneer history. I must applaud them for what they are doing. On that website are two videos worth watching pertaining providing a small synopsis of some of Oregon’s black pioneers. This is wonderful information and the work of the Black Northwest Pioneers website is clearly an ongoing one. I have also noted how there has been an effort to provide headstones for those cases where some were buried without markers. Those with an interest in black presences on the western frontier are strongly urged to explore this site. Interesting Oral History Projects:Special thanks to some excellent work by Timothy Pinnick. He has decided to take a look at the vast array of oral history interviews of African Americans, many of which are just not known to the larger public. On his Black Coalminer Heritage site, he has taken a look at some of the oral history projects that have been undertaken over the years, and he plans to highlight them and bring them to the attention of the larger community. For examplehe took a project undertaken by Melissa Walker in 1962 where she interviewed several hundred farmers about their lives, the changes in their lives and their adaptation to that change. Over 100 people in her project were black farmers of the south. Timothy on his own website put those names into a database and made a index of those black farmers and the states where they lived. One can click on the link and find an alpha list of those farmers with their name, state where they lived and farmed and their year of birth. The farmers were from :AR, AL, GA, FL, LA, MS, NC, SC, TX, VA. The PDF of his index is certainly worth investigating. He also provides links to two other oral history projects of African Americans and both should be visited. One oral history project resides on University of Illinois Springfield website. The University of Louisville Oral History Center also conducted a series of interviews with citizens from the African American community. The interviews rest online at the University of Louisville website and one can listen to them directly. There are 26 interviews and they are easy to access. This weekend is Memorial Day Weekend. If you live near your ancestral home, perhaps it is time to restore the old Decoration day tradition, visiting the gravesites of loved ones, seeing that their resting places are in good shape and tending to them if they need work. If you are fortunate to have loved ones in a well kept cemeteryhave you considered documenting that burial ground? That’s right pull out the digital camera, and take photos—of each headstone. With sites like Find a Grave, you can easily upload them and preserve the fact that your [...] Hello and welcome back to the African Roots Podcast! This is Angela Walton-Raji and you can reach me at africanrootspodcast@gmail.com Lot of events coming up for summer: Baltimore African American Historical Society is hosting its annual summer [...] http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=330 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=330#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 04:46:15 +0000 Angela Y. Walton-Raji http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=330 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?feed=rss2&p=330 3 Hello and welcome back! Today is Friday May 14, 2010 My name is Angela Walton-Raji You can always reach me at africanrootspodcast@gmail.com Lots of interesting events coming up for you. Tomorrow May 15, 2010 at the National Museum of the American Indian there will be a workshop on African –Native American genealogy. I (yours truly) will be speaking there at 1-3 pm in the resource center at the museum. This workshop is free of charge, and no registration is required. Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 7:00 pm. In Washington DC, the Martin Luther King Jr.Memorial Library is sponsoring a Genealogy Database Workshop. The program will provide an introduction to Heritage Quest, a genealogical database and the Historic Washington Post Baltimore Afro-American databases. Additional details can be obtained by calling 202-727-1213 or at the librarys website. Next weekend May 20-21 genealogists in Little Rock Arkansas will be treated to a 2-day genealogical event at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. On Friday participants can listen to Tony Burroughs nationally known speaker, and on Saturday Lisa Arnold from Ancestry.com will speak about the large number of resources at Ancestry. This is a great chance to learn how to use the African American filter, and about the databases that are of interest to African American researchers. Best thing about it all-it is free. Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 10:00 am. The Library of Congress will sponsor an orientation class entitled Resources for Genealogical Research at The Library of Congress. You must bring a picture I.D. to obtain the card. The card must be obtained prior to the class and can be obtained in room LM 140 of the Madison Building. It is suggested that you arrive at theMadison Building at 9:30 am. to obtain the card and have time to walk to the class in the Jefferson Building. Advance registration is required. Call202-707-5537, register in the Local History and Genealogy Reading Room, or go to . Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 10:30 am. The Baltimore’s Afro-American Historical Genealogical Society / Agnes Kane Callum Chapter will sponsor a picnic at the Benjriamin Banneker Historical Park, 300 Oella Ave. in Baltimore County, Maryland. Additional details can be found at http://baahgs.wordpress.com/. Samford Institute for HistoResearch (IGHR) in Birmingham, AL provide an educational forum for the discovery, critical evaluation, and use of genealogical sources and methodology through a week of intensive study led by nationally prominent genealogical educators. This will be an entire week of genealogy from 9 5 and I will be attending this year for the very first time. The classes are filled, but you might want to look at the tracks to put it on your schedule for next year. Saturday, June 19, 2010 at 8:30 am. The AAHGS – Prince Georges Maryland Chapter (PGCM) will sponsor the “Juneteenth Program.” Additional details can be found at their website: http://pgcm.aahgs.org/. Keynote speaker is Caroll Gibbs, Author and historian. When? Saturday, June 19, 2010; 8:30 a.m. 4:00 p.m. Watkins Nature Center 301 Watkins Park Drive Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 Hopefully the spirit of Juneteenth and Freedom celebrations will begin to spread as we have no real national event to celebrate the abolishment of slavery. I was inspired by a wonderful database coming out of Charlottesville Virginia: The African American Families Database comes out of Central Virginia. This is an amazing collaboration among genealogists, historians, anthropologists, researchers, and the local community and they are really analyzing the local area to pull out some unique history. They are known as the Central Virginia History Researchers (CVHR). CVHR is developing an on-line database for connecting African-American families to their antebellum roots and tracing patterns of community formation in the post-bellum period. Well I have looked at it and I am [...] Hello and welcome back! Today is Friday May 14, 2010 My name is Angela Walton-Raji You can always reach me at africanrootspodcast@gmail.com Lots of interesting events coming up for you. Tomorrow May 15, 2010 at the National Museum of the American [...] http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=318 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=318#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:37:46 +0000 Angela Y. Walton-Raji http://africanrootspodcast.com/?p=318 http://africanrootspodcast.com/?feed=rss2&p=318 1 Hello and welcome back! Today is Friday April 23, 2010 My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast. Spring is in full bloom and hopefully you are all getting ready to attend a number of exciting workshops, conferences, and institutes. Best wishes to everyone on the way to Salt Lake City for the NGS Conference. Of course many are saving their spending money for the California Jamboree in June, and others of us for institutes taking place later in the summer. If you are in or near Washington DC join the Central MD chapter of AAHGS as they have an in-depth tour of the National Archives. Claire Kluskens one of the archivists will be speaking and will give an over view to the participants. One of the highlights will be a complete case study of an African American family. She will highlight a variety of records that can be used to follow this family back in time. The session is free and will begin at 10:00 a.m. I am looking forward to seeing folks in New York City next weekend. I will be speaking at the Gustave Heye Center in New York City at 1 pm. The lecture is free. My focus will be researching Blended FamiliesAfrican-Native American families. Coming out of Texas: I have had a great time this week looking at some unique digitization projects that are underway. The state of Texas has some very impressive sites and the various counties are also making their public records easy to access. Texas Birth Records at Footnote. Many of us know about the Death record but there is now word that birth records are available as well on Footnote. Texas Birth Certificates 1903-1910 1926-1929 Online at Footnote (indexed) (this database is not yet complete; more records are being added so far more than 350,000 birth certificates have been digitized and put online). Now official copies can be requested online for a fee. For those with San Antonio ties, take a look at what is available from that area. There is a site that is called land data. All kinds of information is there, and it is so easy to access and what is great is that one can see the actual images. Coming from the County Clerks office in San Antonio The document images can be printed and downloaded free of charge. These features are available to better serve the public, who depend on access to this information. Using the site is easy and free and all one has to do is simply register to access the site. Registration information includes a username and password (selected by the user) and a valid email address to activate the account. Researchers from Dallas and also El Paso are will find this information useful. Dallas Land Records But don’t let the term land records mislead you. Marriage records also reside on this link. Marriage records 1964- Present. El Paso County TX El Paso County Marriage Records Search 1963-current also has birth death records searches I almost forgot to mention another event for you: The Baltimore African American genealogical society is hosting Saturday, May 1, 11 a.m. “Picturing African American Community History in Maryland” This is a lecture book signing. The Lakeland Community Heritage Project of College Park and William Poe of Calvert County explore two new photo history books Lakeland: African Americans in College Park and African Americans of Calvert County. This is the May meeting of the Agnes Kane Callum Chapter of the Baltimore Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (BAAGHS). Museum admission required. BAAGHS members $5. For more information call 443-263-1816. Some questions for you: How prepared are you as you conduct your research? Have you considered taking a course for formal training ? Classes, seminars, institutes, and college level classes to teach the basic methods are available, and have you taken many, or any? Don’t just follow someone who has simply hung up a shingle-get yourself trained as well. A number of people have arisen [...] Hello and welcome back! Today is Friday April 23, 2010 My name is Angela Walton-Raji and this is the African Roots Podcast. Spring is in full bloom and hopefully you are all getting ready to attend a number of exciting workshops, conferences, and [...]