African Roots Podcast #19 August 7, 2009

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Hello everyone and welcome back! Today is Friday August 7, 2009
My name is Angela Walton-Raji.
You can always reach me at africanrootspodcast@gmail.com

Some interesting events coming up in Ohio in August.
August 15, 2009
Muffins Vintage Base Ball: Celebrating African-American Base-Ball Heritage
Ohio Village, COLUMBUS 12:30 p.m.
Join the excitement at the Ohio Village in Columbus as the Muffins honor the heritage of African Americans in base ball. Special programs, unique encounters with players from the past and more await you. Seating is limited so bring a chair for this enjoyable spectacle! Admission: FREE. $4/parking fee for nonmembers. Call 614.297.2300 or 800.686.6124 or visit the website.

August 27, 2009
Echoes in Time Theatre Presents ‘An Evening with Paul Laurence Dunbar’
Ohio Historical Center, COLUMBUS
7 and 8 p.m.
Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first African American to gain national eminence as a poet. Born in Dayton, Ohio, he was the son of ex-slaves and a classmate of Orville Wright of aviation fame. Although he lived to be only 33 years old, Dunbar was prolific, writing short stories, novels, librettos, plays, songs, and essays as well as the poetry for which he became well known. Don’t miss this portrayal by Anthony Gibbs of Canal Winchester, Ohio. Free with museum admission: $8/adults (13-59), $7/seniors (60+), $4/youths (6-12), and free to Ohio Historical Society members and children 5 and under. Parking is $4 and FREE for members. For more information, visit www.ohiohistory.org or call 800.686.6124.

A genealogy Workshop

Online registration is now open for the 2009 (11th Annual) Baltimore Family History Workshop! The workshop is sponsored by Baltimore Maryland Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held in Essex, Maryland, on Saturday, Sept. 12. Please visit the website to find out more and to register for up to 6 of our more than 50 exciting classes being offered this year!

Some news from Burr Oak Cemetery near Chicago
Burr Oak Cemetery Database

As many as 300 graves at Burr Oak Cemetery near Alsip may have been dug up and the remains dumped so the plots could be resold. The good news is: To help families search for their loved ones’ graves, the Cook County Sheriff’s office is building a database so families can search for images of headstones. Burr Oak has about 100,000 grave sites, but only half have marked headstones. County officials have documented all 50,000 headstones and they all should be entered into the database over the next several days. So far, the database features about 9,500 sites. Families should check back regularly for updates. This application allows you to search the sheriff’s database by name, and browse by decade and year. As the sheriff’s office releases more images, the data in this application will be updated. (Please note: Because of inconsistent data from the sheriff’s office, the names and dates on the headstones may not always match the descriptions.)

From Little Rock Arkansas comes the efforts to preserve Haven of Rest Cemetery the most historically significant African American cemetery in the state. Led by Mr. B.J. McCoy, a series of meetings are taking place to discuss the future of this historic burial site. There will be planning meeting in next week and a major meeting at the Dunbar Community center, on September 22.

For more information contact Pat Brewer

A recent post from Regina Spencer from the AfriGeneas message board has encouraged many genealogists to look at those old family artifacts again and how to assess things when new artifacts come into our possession. Regina’s post can be found here.

For more ideas on how to analyzed family artifacts, these sites might assist you:
Family Artifacts

Cabinet of Curiosities: Family Artifacts

Well thanks for listening.
Remember to 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.

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