African Roots Podcast Episode #201 February 8, 2013

Play

Welcome back to the African Roots Podcast!
You can reach me at AfricanRootsPodcast@gmail.com.

I will begin by mentioning last night’s episode of Bernice Bennett’s show. Her guest was Gwenn Olson who shared the story of her ancestors the Carrs and Kelso’s of Louisiana. The story was one that needed to be told because it reflected so many of our own family stories that are inter-twined with that of the slave holding family. The line of Kelsos are now scattered throughout the country from Montana to California to Louisiana and it is amazing one! Ms. Olsen should also be commended for her thorough research.

Well as the month progresses, remember that some subscription sites are providing free access to their African American collections, such as Fold3.com. The African American records are available throughout the month without cost. And in Ohio, through the Ohio Memory Project one can access the Wilbur Siebert Collection. This contains wonderful information pertaining to the Underground Railroad and so much more!

CALLS FOR PAPERS:
Have you submitted your proposal for the AAHGS Conference in Nashville?
Time is quickly passing—take some time out this weekend to do so! The deadline for submission is February 20th.

The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) has announced its Call for Presentations for 2014. The conference in 2014 will take place in San Antonio Texas.

How much are you involved in your local or regional history? I research the south and the western frontier and the states that border on my states, including Kansas, Oklahoma and others. Many have read about the Exodusters, and the movement of former slaves from the deep south to the frontier. The leader of the Exodus to Kansas was Benjamin “Papp” Singleton, and it is amazing that for decades his burial site was never known. Well it has been discovered!!! I love this kind of story because a team of people went looking for his grave—and it has been confirmed as well and it was genealogists who solved the mystery! There is a wonderful story about this find! I mention this story as it should inspire us to make sure we know the burial sites of our own local and regional leaders. And that we become active in trying to solve such unanswered questions. When you read this story you will see that once they had a lead from a newspaper obituary, it took the genealogists less than 1 hour to find the cemetery where he was buried, to also have it confirmed by more than one source. Sometimes answers remain unanswered, simply because no one has asked the questions and assumptions are made that the search was already done. A great lesson!

Well thanks for tuning in again, and thank you for being there and supporting the podcast! Those in the northeast, please stay safe, as this very serious storm approaches! In the meantime, keep doing what you do, and keep researching, keep documenting and keep sharing what you find!

Posted by Angela Y. Walton-Raji

Author, lecturer and researcher. Author, "Black Indian Genealogy Research, An Expanded Edition". Editor, Voices of Indian Territory. Member AAHGS -Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society. PAAC-Preservation of African American Cemeteries. Founding Member of AfriGeneas. Faculty member for Samford IGHR, MAAGI-Midwest African American Genealogy Institute.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *