The Real Deal

            Black people today are not really looking at whom and where they came from.  These vague references to slavery are tired…and that’s not even scratching the surface.  Hearing the word “slavery” from a 2012 black person is disturbing.  Not a single black person alive has experienced slavery in the way it was practiced over 150 years ago, and not a single white person living today has been a slave owner.  Both races are now free to work at whatever vocation they find the most pleasure in pursuing, free to live anywhere they choose, and marry whomever they choose…..a huge departure from slavery, and subsequently, Jim Crow.  

            What I find most disturbing, despite black people’s freedom from oppressive restrictions, is how eager and willing they are to play the victim role…..especially where it is inappropriate and disingenuous.  And I think all of that comes down to lack of knowledge of history and culture.  Moreover, I discovered that many black people ARE JUST PLAIN NOT INTERESTED in acquiring that knowledge….only to find out later that this lack of knowledge is why they are not effective competitors in the marketplace of ideas or why they cannot forge out positive interactions with others.  When you don’t know where you come from, you don’t know where you’re going, as the saying goes.

            I am challenged to find out whom and where I come from for exactly that reason…to REALLY know where I come from…and not use nebulous slogan-engineered references to inform my understanding.   Without getting all emotional and butt-hurt, like a lot of black people tend to get when discussing issues that impact us collectively, I want to know how my ancestors lived, what resources they used to carve out a meaningful existence from, and, if available, what other activities they engaged in.  Were they social activists?  Community leaders?  Professional people?  Farmers?  What were they?  I am committed to knowing exactly what my history and culture is and how it was played out.  I want to collect and preserve my family history for myself and the next generation of family so that WE ALL can interact with the world in a positive, optimistic way. 

Another Visit

Yesterday found me over at the local historical society to do more research...and boy did I find a lot! The curator helped me in so many ways to picture the historical and cultural landscape of the times to better understand how the missing pieces came about.

While the misspellings and multiple records were no surprise to me, the introduction of other relationships did.  I now know about my great-grandmother and her life before she married my great-grandfather. Although I now know her maiden name, her parents' names, siblings' names, and the identify of her daughter's father, I am still wondering about a relationship she had with another family that could possibly explain the 1930 Census household count.  And I am in the process of researching my great-aunt, whom I am having the toughest time tracking down. She may have moved out of the county at the time and was living in a surrounding areas...possibly Lexington or Louisville, the possible last address recorded before her death.   I will follow up on that when time permits. 

Another important discovery...and quite interesting, I might add...is the story behind my great-great-grandparents.  Together, they had eight children...four of which were the great-great-grandmother's by someone else.  I assumed that these children, born between 1855 and 1870, were the progeny of a slave owner, but the findings say different.  My great-great-grandmother was a cook for a mulatto family in the area, who were freed people in the 1850s and who owned significant amounts of property and assets (and were probably slave owners themselves).  The children, along with her, are on the 1870 Census as household members.  I am researching the identity of the children's father and his relationship with great-great-grand.  It was not until 1875 that she and my great-great-grandfather got married.  They, along with her children, are on the 1880 Census as a family....along with three more sons born to them.  A fourth son came along two years later and is on the 1890 Census (destroyed in a fire). 

I am glad to have tied up some of those loose ends; the picture is getting clearer as I get more information.  You may wonder why I am interested in this information.  First, I am an avid reader and storyteller....I love literature, folklore, poetry...anything written.  Second, I enjoy learning about history and culture. I believe there is a story behind every historical and cultural event.  There is a story...a tale....a lesson to be learned. I also believe that history is about context clues (there I go with my English teacher vocab), about knowing the hows..the cause and effect, if you will.  As I learn, I am getting to know myself...and as I do that, I grow in wisdom, knowledge, pride, and connectedness. To me, that is what it's all about. 

Digging in the Archives

I had oodles of questions about my genealogy...and the family members that make it up.  Especially the paternal side.  There are so many loose ends, that I am beginning to wonder if some of this stuff was made up!  OK, so it wasn't.  Nevertheless, I am confused...and confusion is not something I deal with very well.  Confusion only makes me want to search even harder for answers. 

To get the answers to my questions, I went to the state archives library in Frankfort, KY.  The archives usually has more detailed records on file..the missing pieces I needed.  I needed birth, marriage, and death records for the people I'm unclear about. Since I do not know (I must have said that about ten times to the archivist on duty), I cannot just go digging through a bunch of paperwork and hope that these names appear.  For the most part, I'll have to rely on other family members' memories and recollections and use that information to dig deeper.  Simply put, the archives did not provide any more insight than what I already had.  I was told to check the records at the Kentucky Genealogical Center or the Center for Kentucky History.  Unfortunately, they keep the same hours as the archives does, but they are open on Saturday.  My search will continue on Saturday.

The focus of my search on Saturday will be Melissia and Emma. I still do not know who my Melissia, is and who she's connected to or who her daughter, Emma, is.  Hopefully, I will turn up those answers at the other places.  Meanwhile, this part of my family tree remains mysterious and unknowable.  Until I nail down the facts about these two..and why their information is incomplete (I suspect why, but I am aiming for the clear, blue sky truth)...the tree will not be as accurate as it can be. 

Why I am doing what I call "The Family Project"

Some families I know do not know where they came from, whom they are descended from, and what vital information they will need to have in order to make good decisions about whom to marry.  I have heard of instances where women and men have unintentionally married members of their own family.  Ideally, one should know as much as he or she can about the person whom he or she will marry.  Aside from the marriage thing, there is the thing about genetic.  Some families are pre-disposed toward certain illness and conditions, and it would helpful to know THAT information as well for family planning purposes.  And most importantly, to answer the question of "who do you think you are?"  That's a smart-alecky remark that we've all heard before, but in this case, this question is one that has huge implications for our future!!  That is why I'm doing this...and because I'm a curious person by nature.  So far, not bad...but I still have much investigation to do...and plenty of time to do it!!

The Curiosity Stage...or Who's Who and What's What?

My cousin, Debbie, is the biggest history fanatic..or should I say, the most passionate about family stuff.  For the last few years, she has been researching our side of the family, and I'm impressed with what she has found.  Her findings have helped me to do a search of my own-for both my mother's and my father's people.  Thus far, I was able to trace three or four generations of family, going as far back as 1840.

Can we talk about the census records though?  The number of misspelled names-first and last; the inexact birth years; and the recording of ONE birth parent in some records was staggering.  Those variables often made it difficult to find relevant, consistent information.  Which is why I am going to pay a visit to the historical society and the department of archives very soon to get some clarification.  Before I visit, I want to know if anyone anywhere has information on the following people-all on the paternal side of the family:

1.  My paternal great-grandmother, Melissia(circa 1880-circa 1935).  Her maiden name is recorded as Railey in some records, and in others, her married name, Simmons.  I searched under both and was not able to come up with any solid leads.  Furthermore, I am hitting a road block with regard to any siblings she may have had.  But what I do know is that she had a niece named Bertha Lee Williams, who had two sons, James (Lilly) and Kenney (recorded in the 1940s census as Kenney Williams).  What I don't know is whether Bertha's father or Bertha's mother was Melissia's sibling.  Knowing THAT information will help me to trace her origins and her parentage.

2.  Julia Winkfield.  This was my paternal great-great grandmother, who was married to William Simmons (1840-1915 and was known at the time to be the wealthiest black man in Versailles), was the mother of my grandfather, Lewis Sr., and the mother-in-law of Melissia. 

3.  John T. Simmons, the brother of  Lewis Sr, who was living with him and Melissia at the time of the 1910 Census.

4. Ethel Simmons, who was born circa 1910 in Versailles, Kentucky, but who was presumed to have been living down south-possibly in Alabama, Georgia, or Florida before her death-and who had six children.  What is not known is whom she was married to in the 1940 Census.  I tried finding her whereabouts, but no luck.  I inferred that she was married because, at that time, she was not listed as a member of the Simmons household. 

5.  Emma Railey, the daughter of Melissia.  She is one of those examples I mentioned about having ONE known parent.  I may not NEED to know who her birth father is, but that information is helpful.  What I DO want to know is if Emma, like Ethel, re-located in another area of Kentucky or out of state, if she married, if she had children, grandchildren, etc.  I cannot locate any information on her.

But here's what I DO know:

1.  Lewis Simmons, Jr.  was a Private First Class who served in WWII.

2.  The Old Simmons School in Wooldridgetown (no longer standing) was named in honor of Julia Simmons (nee Winkfield), who was apparently a beloved figure at the school.  In what capacity she served, that is not known.

3.  William T. Simmons, my paternal grandfather, was the youngest of all the children in the family and shows up on the 1920s Census as a mere eleven-month-old.  I have been told that, like his brother, Lewis Jr., he was a war veteran.  Which war?  Unclear.

4.  My grandfather's older sister, Julia, whom I got to know and who also had a hand in raising me until her death in 1982, was living with Lewis Sr. in 1940, along with her husband Wallace Clay and her daughter, Melissia, and son, James (Coney).  Melissia, Lewis Sr.'s wife, had since passed away.

So many questions, and so many mysteries to unravel.  I am not seeking this information to be meddling, but to understand who my family is and who I am, most importantly.  I understand, because of the nature of slavery, some of the family records may not be available or even lost.  In doing some of my research, I discovered that the 1890s Census records were burned in a fire!

The above are just the questions and the answers that I got from investigating my paternal lineage.  I have also investigated my maternal side, but that is another post.  For now, what I have will suffice. As I said before, I am impressed with what I was already able to do in one short month of focused researching and connecting dots!