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AAHGS News The Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. May/June 2015
ISSN#1947-475X
BREAKING NEWS
New AAHGS FamilySearch Partnership…….2
We’re Watching You……….……………..1,5
Maury Willis “Athlete Extraordinaire”….....4
Nip Winters: Top Left-Handed Pitcher ……..4
1st Annual Catalogue of Virginia Union15-22
REGULAR FEATURES
President’s Message……………..……...…3
Worth Noting and Events……...…6-7,10,24
Chapter News.…………………5,9,12-14,24
Book Notes……………………..………...11
Editor’s Page……………………………...10
Forum….………………………........1,11,24
Family Prospects…………………..2,9-11,13
In Memory………………………………...22
Chapter Directory………………...………..8
FAMILY PROSPECTS
HORACE WAYMON BIVINS—A SOLDIER’S SOLDIER
(PART I)
By Robert Bivins
It all started about three years ago at a town festival I
attended. At one of the display booths was a gentleman
dressed in period uniform of a Buffalo soldier. We
engaged in a brief introductory conversation during which
time I told him I was researching an ancestor who fought
in the Civil War with the United States Colored Troops. I
told the trooper who I was – Robert Bivins, and that the
soldier I was researching was Robert Bivins as well. He
looked at me for a moment, his head jerked back and then
asked if I had heard of Horace Bivins. I replied “no” and
he said Horace was “a soldier’s soldier.” When I finally
got home and turned on the computer I found volumes
of accounts of this man. Most notably that Horace was born in the same county and
town as my father. I have yet to determine if Horace is a relative. Whether he is or
isn’t a relative, Horace Waymon Bivins has a story and it deserves to be told. Horace Waymon Bivins was born to free parents on May 8, 1866, in Pungoteague,
Accomack County, Virginia, which is located on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake
Bay. His parents, Severn S. and Elizabeth Bivins, were farmers. Bivins worked
with his parents learning how to farm. At the age of fifteen, Bivins was placed in
charge of an eight-horse farm located one mile from Keller Station, Virginia. But he
had bigger dreams that went beyond his father's farm. His father wanted to see the
black race in his neighborhood have something that they could call their own. In
1862, he began to build the first church and schoolhouse for blacks on Virginia's
eastern shore. All was financed by Bivins himself. On the same day the church and
schoolhouse were finished, the buildings were destroyed by fire. On June 13, 1885, Bivins entered the Hampton Institute (now Hampton
University), a school for African Americans in the Tidewater region of Virginia that
was founded in 1868. The curriculum included military training for young men,
giving Bivins his first taste of a soldier's life. He remained there two years before his
parents sent him to theological seminary. Horace quit only after a month and joined
the army in 1877. On November 7, 1887, “Having a great desire for adventure and to
see the wild west,” Bivins enlisted in the army in Washington, D.C. He was sent to
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and on June 19, 1888, was assigned to Troop E of the
10th U.S. Cavalry at Fort Grant, Arizona Territory. The fort was in the heart of
Apache country, the scene in earlier years of violent conflicts between U.S. troops
and Native Americans. In 1886, the intrepid Apache leader Geronimo had been
exiled to Florida, and by 1888, the Apache had been confined to the malarial San
Carlos reservation. The army was charged with patrolling and keeping the peace in
the region. At Fort Grant, Bivins demonstrated an aptitude for marksmanship,
placing second in his first shooting competition. Troop E was transferred to
Fort Apache, Arizona Territory, in 1889. There, Bivins served as a clerk in the
regiment adjutant's office from November 19, 1889, until June 15, 1890. He
subsequently was stationed in the Dakotas and Montana, where his (cont. on p. 11)
We’re Watching You: A Glimpse Into The Life
of Brigadier General (RET.) Julia J. Cleckley
By Carolyn Corpening Rowe
“We’re watching you.”
During her rise through the
ranks in her military
career, Julia J. Cleckley
would hear those words
over and over again.
Being a twofer (African
American and a woman)
and the first Black at every
level of her career in the
Army Reserves, Cleckley was a trailblazer. She
knew that if she did not succeed, it would be a long
time before another African American woman
would get the chance to follow in her footsteps.
But succeed she did, this phenomenal woman
would rise and rise and rise until she (cont. on p. 5)
James Robert BivIns (1905-
1979) is the author's father .
(l-r) Jane Thomas and Julia Cleckley
ATTEND THE AAHGS CONFERENCE For the 2015 AAHGS Annual Conference Registration, see inside the yellow pages of the AAHGS News. AAHGS will hold its 36th
National Conference, October 15-17, 2015, at the Richmond Marriott Hotel in Richmond, Virginia.
The theme for the May/June 2015 AAHGS News is “Summer
Fun: From Family Reunions to The Negro Leagues in Baseball,
Sports and Beyond.” Thank you to Jim Jones, President of
AAHGS—Delaware, who recommended the topic of the Negro
Leagues in Baseball. The issue also salutes our U.S. military
services, who help to protect our freedom. Enjoy reading!
Rev. Roland Barksdale-Hall, AAHGS News Editor
2 2
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. www.aahgs.org Founded 1977 May/June 2015 AAHGS News
AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, INC.
1977-2015
CELEBRATING OVER THIRTY-FIVE YEARS
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK...
The Afro-American Historical and
Genealogical Society, Inc., (AAHGS), is a non-profit membership organization
committed to the preservation of the
history, genealogy and culture of the
African-ancestored populations of the local, national and international
community. AAHGS stresses the
importance of our history and genealogy
by encouraging active participation in recording research and personal family
histories.
President, Tamela Tenpenny-Lewis
Vice President-Genealogy, Sherri Camp
Vice President-History, Gene Stephenson
Correspondence Secretary, Toni Byrd Vann
Treasurer Carolyn Corpening, Rowe
Financial Secretary, (vacant)
Recording Secretary Victoria Betsill
Past President, Charles Howard
Membership Chair, Tamika Strong
Chapter Committee, Nathania Branch Miles
Chapter Committee, Gene R. Stephenson, II
Awards Committee, Jane Taylor Thomas
Awards Committee, Alice F. Harris
FGS Delegate Shelley Murphy
President Emeritus Barbara Walker
Editor, AAHGS Journal, Rev. Roland
Barksdale-Hall
Communications Specialist, (vacant)
Parliamentarian, Nelvia Brady-Hampton.
Editor, AAHGS News, Rev. Roland Barksdale
-Hall
Asst. Editor, AAHGS News, Marsha Bembry
Asst. Editor, AAHGS News, Elyse Hill
Book Notes Editor, Debra Newman Ham
AAHGS News is published six times a year
by the Afro-American Historical and
Genealogical Society, PO Box 73067,
Washington, DC 20056-3067, (202) 234-5350, <www.aahgs.org>.
Submissions are welcomed. Articles will
be printed at the editor’s discretion and may
be edited without advance notice to the
author. Articles and other submissions
must be received on or before the fifth day
of each odd-numbered month. Articles and
queries may be mailed to: AAHGS News,
c/o Rev. Roland Barksdale-Hall, 939
Baldwin Ave., Suite 1, Sharon, PA 16146,
email: <[email protected]>.
Permission to reproduce this issue or
portions thereof must be secured in writing
from the publisher. Copyright © 2015 by the Afro-American
Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. All
rights reserved.
AAHGS News Check out the most recent news at the News blog: www.aahgsnews.wordpress.com! May/June 2015
3
Dear Members, There is a definite buzz in the air as our organization, the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society has partnered with FamilySearch, The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to index the Freedmen's Bureau Records and make them freely searchable online. As you know, The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as The Freedmen's Bureau was created in March 1865 to help newly freed slaves with the major changes in their lives, and to assist many white refugees left in need after the Civil War. The Bureau's records comprise over 1,100 rolls of microfilm with the records of an estimated four million African Americans immediately following emancipation. AAHGS has the opportunity to support African Americans in discovering their ancestors by participating in the indexing project which will begin with a media event on Friday, June 19, 2015 at 10:00am PDT. The media event will be broadcast nationally online originating from the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, CA, and simulcast from a location in Washington DC to be determined. So members of AAHGS, I am asking you to answer the call of action and commit to indexing the Freedmen's Bureau records and publicizing the unveiling event on Juneteenth both in LA and DC. I'm asking that you join with your local Family History Center staff and local LDS library staff to build publicity and participation in this project. Chapter Presidents, we have the opportunity to gain the spotlight on a national and international scale. Please organize and host a media event viewing party on Juneteenth inviting local media and the African American community to celebrate the release of these records. As we get this project underway FamilySearch will provide materials, training, and support for creating indexing groups for chapter and national AAHGS indexing events. We are excited to be a part of this national collaborative effort and look forward to the anticipated completion of the targeted digitized collections in time for the grand opening in 2016 of the Smithsonian Museum of African American Culture. Online volunteers are needed! It is easy to sign up as an indexer and learn the ropes at FamilySearch.org. Go to https://familysearch.org/indexing/get-started-indexer and tell them that Tamela sent you! (LOL) Select Freedmen's Bureau out of the list, pick a project to start, and help reach the goal!
Until next time.................................................Tamela
Submitted June 1, 2015
4
FAMILY PROSPECTS
MAURY WILLS “ATHLETE EXTRAORDINAIRE”
By Caroline Wills *
A native son of the Washington, DC, Maury Wills’ achievement of
104 stolen bases for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1962 still evokes
images of an athlete extraordinaire. On September 23, 1962, Maury
broke Ty Cobb’s record of 97 stolen bases in one year. At the time,
it was almost inconceivable that the century mark could be broken,
but that’s exactly what he did. By season’s end, Maury set a new
milestone in major league baseball with his record of 104 stolen
bases. He went on to lead the National League in stolen bases for
six straight season, from 1960-1965, and has a lifetime total of 586
stolen bases.
A major force on the winning L.A. Dodgers’
team for 14 years, Wills helped lead the
Dodgers to three World Series victories in
1959 (his first year wearing the Dodgers
cap), 1963 and 1965. In addition, he also
guided the Dodgers to a National League
pennant victory in 1966. Other
accomplishments include National League
Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Player of
the Year in 1962; Golden Glove Award for
Fielding in 1961-62 season; Shortstop of the Year in 1970-71;
Outstanding Fielder among National League Shortstops; “Sport”
magazine’s Man of the Year, and Maury Wills Field of Washington
DC, named in honor of his outstanding career and for conducting
invitational baseball clinics involving DC area high school teams
and others from as far away as the Virgin Islands. On Sunday, April
19, 2015, at pregame ceremonies before the Washington Nationals
baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Wills became an
inductee in the Washington, DC Sports Hall of Fame.
Maury is presently a full-time instructor for the Los
Angeles Dodgers Baseball Team, and a community advocate,
mentoring adults and youth in the fundamentals of the game. He
also finds time to visit communities throughout the country, and
particularly the Greater Los Angeles area, speaking at schools and
other charitable events. Maury’s accomplishments are many and
give insight into a man of historic importance as an athlete and a true
sports personality.
* Reprinted with permission from AAHGS-Prince George’s
County Maryland Chapter member, Attorney Caroline Wills,
sister of Maury Wills. Submitted on May 22, 2015.
NIP WINTERS: TOP LEFT-HANDED PITCHER IN NEGRO
LEAGUE BASEBALL
By Darleen Amobi *
On the corner of Evanston and Valley Road in the Village of
Hockessin, Delaware lived James Henry Jesse Winters Jr. Also
known as “Nip” Winters. Nip played professional baseball from the
age of twenty. According to the 1900 United States Census, Nip was
born in Washington, D.C. on April 29, 1899 to James and Martha
Winters. To this union was born one sister and one brother. The
1910 United States Census indicates a second sister, Mable, was
born in 1903. He was born and lived at 329 W. NW Street in
Washington, DC.
After high school, Nip’s military records
indicated that he worked for the Washington
Herald as a chauffeur before joining a Negro
Baseball Team. He is credited with joining
the following teams: Norfolk Stars (1919-
1921), Baltimore Black Sox (1920, 1929),
Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (1921-1922,
1931-1933), Washington Braves (1921),
Hilldale Daisies (1922-1928, 1931), New
York Lincoln Giants (1928-1929),
Homestead Grays (1932), Philadelphia Stars
(1933), Harrisburg Giants.
Nip was a left-handed batter and he pitched to the left.
Some folks said he had a “golden arm”. Basically he played two
positions: pitcher and first baseman. The Negro Leagues Baseball
Museum stated:
“The best pitcher in the Eastern Colored League’s history
was a tall, left-handed curveballer named Nip Winters. The Hilldale
ace pitched his team to pennants in the first three years of the
league’s existence, including a World Series victory in 1925.”
After retiring from baseball, Nip moved to Hockessin,
Delaware where he married Sarah Smith and lived on the Smith
Farm near Evanston and Valley Road. The farm was known for its
delicious apples and cider. Some of the residents still living in the
area remember Nip. James “Sonny” Knott said that he remembers
Nip playing ball after church on Sundays with a team called the
Hockessin Hornets in the late 1940’s and 50’s. Their uniforms were
gray and black. They played a variety of teams. Joe Lake, President
of the Hockessin Historical Society, also remembers Nip. He said
Nip worked at the Hockessin Supply Company that has since closed.
*Darleen Amobi ([email protected]) is Vice President of
History for the AAHGS—Delaware. The State of Delaware
presently is considering the installation of a historical marker on
the property of Nip Winters (his home has been demolished).
Submitted on April 30, 2015.
AAHGS News Check out the most recent news at the News blog: www.aahgsnews.wordpress.com! May/June 2015
WHAT OUR READERS ARE SAYING….
The edition looks great. You have taken the AAHGS News to
higher levels of interest and relevance to members and readers.
Impressive! I read the second part on Black males. Well done.
Also, the AAHGS News is an immense amount of work on your
part and I hope that the national leadership is taking into account
the enormous role you play in elevating and transforming the
image and depth of the newsletter’s quality and range of
stories….Dr. Anthony B. Mitchell, Sr.
EDITOR’S PAGE
5
AAHGS News Check out the most recent news at the News blog: www.aahgsnews.wordpress.com! May/June 2015
(cont. from p. 1 We’re Watching ) became a Brigadier General in the Army National
Guard, the rank at which she eventually retired. Although it seems easy in retrospect, the
path to her success was long and difficult and fraught with many challenges. With her
faith in God and her mother’s love and advice, a young Julia pursued her dreams with
determination and perseverance.
Cleckley was born in a small town in South Carolina. Her family moved first to
Washington, DC and after her father died some years later, they moved to Aliquippa,
Pennsylvania. She spent the remainder of her childhood there and attended the local
public high school. Upon graduation from high school and without the financial
resources needed to attend college, Julia chose the military as a way to get the education
she felt she needed in order to have the kind of life she wanted. In addition to being the first African American female officer to be promoted to
a Brigadier General of the line in the Army National Guard, Cleckley was also the first
African-American woman to be promoted to the rank of Colonel in the Army National
Guard's Active Guard Reserve program and the first woman to be assigned as a Division
Chief and later the Chief Human Resources Officer within the Army Directorate at the
National Guard Bureau.
General Cleckley was the keynote speaker for the Prince George’s County
Maryland Chapter of AAHGS’ Women’s History Month Program on March 15, 2015.
Needless to say, this woman with the indomitable spirit and courage to follow her dreams
was an inspiration to all. Carolyn Corpening Rowe ([email protected]) is Financial Secretary and serves as Chair
of Juneteenth Program for the AAHGS—Prince George’s County Maryland. Submitted
May 25, 2015.
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Blackwell, Robert, Jacksonville, North
Carolina; Brinson, Betsy, Richmond, Virginia;
Causey, Nancy, New York, New York, AAHGS-Jean Sampson Scott Greater New
York; Dyson, Lora, Beltsville, Maryland, James Dent Walker AAHGS; Garrett-
Fredericks, Denise, Laurens, South Carolina,
AAHGS—Greenville South Carolina Upstate;
George, Atim Eneida, Mitchellville,
Maryland, AAHGS-Prince George's County
Maryland; Gray, Kimberly, Conyers, Georgia;
Harris, Ramona Grey, New York, New York,
AAHGS-Jean Sampson Scott Greater New
York; Ingram, Brenda, Greensboro, North
Carolina, AAHGS-North Carolina Piedmont/
Triad; Maddox, Michele, Atlanta, Georgia,
AAHGS-Metro Atlanta; Mason, Myrtice R.,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Mitchell, Martin
E., Oakland, California; Morgan, Edward,
Columbia, Maryland, AAHGS-Central
Maryland; Oxendine, Joan, Bowie, Maryland;
Sheldon, Diane R., Newark, Delaware,
AAHGS-Delaware; Sterrett, Opal, Columbia,
Maryland, AAHGS-Central Maryland;
Sutherland, Mary, Baltimore, Maryland,
AAHGS-Agnes Kane Callum; Tate, Ann,
Wilmington, Delaware, AAHGS-Delaware;
Tucker, Patricia, Tucker, Georgia, AAHGS-
Metro Atlanta; Tyler, Deidre, Salt Lake City,
Utah, AAHGS-Utah; Williams, Christopher,
Simpsonville, South Carolina, Greenville SC
Upstate; Young, Antoinette, Norfolk, Virginia;
Young, William, Wilmington, Delaware,
AAHGS-Delaware
Submitted by Tamika Strong, AAHGS
National Membership Coordinator
( [email protected] ), on July 5, 2015.
WHAT OUR READERS ARE SAYING….
Just to let you know I received the AAHGS News… It is marvelous! How do you do it? It is a full-time job! Elizabeth Peale Johnson
AAHGS—New Jersey
I'm very happy that AAHGS has encouraged local chapters to research little known interesting topics such as Afro-American baseball
players! Darleen Amobi, AAHGS—Delaware
Most impressive! My favorite is spotlighting the new members! This is how we build an organization. Dr. Shelley Murphy, DM,
AAHGS—Central Virginia
Metro Atlanta Chapter Co-Hosts Freedmen’s Bureau Indexing Project Watch Party
By Tammy Joyner
The Metro Atlanta Chapter of AAHGS, joined with members of
the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) to
participate -- via live satellite. Some 50 people attended a
“Watch Party" at The National Archives at Atlanta in Morrow,
Georgia. Before viewing the simulcast, they heard from Emma
Davis Hamilton, Chapter President; Bill Maycock, LDS Public
Affairs- North America Southeast; Dianne Evans of the local
Family History Centers; Tamika Strong, Chapter Vice President
and AAHGS Membership Chair; and Toni Byrd-Vann, Chapter
Treasurer and AAHGS Correspondence Secretary. Several
attendees won door prizes. After the simulcast, (cont. on p. 9)
TOP: Metro Atlanta Chapter members watch Sherri Camp, AAHGS Vice President of Genealogy, in the live simulcast kickoff on the projection screen at the National Archives in Morrow, GA.; BOTTOM: AAHGS Metro Atlanta Chapter President Emma Davis Hamilton makes remarks as Bill Maycock, LDS (Church of Latter-day Saints) Public Affairs SE, listens during the Freedmen’s Bureau Indexing Project "Watch Party" at the National Archives at Atlanta in Morrow, GA, Friday, June 19, 2015. (Submitted July 12, 2015)
6
AAHGS News Check out the most recent news at the News blog: www.aahgsnews.wordpress.com! May/June 2015
AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, INC.
1977-2015
CELEBRATING OVER THIRTY-FIVE YEARS
AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEALOGY WORKSHOP
By Sharon Styles
The 10th Annual African American Family History Seminar was held on March 14, 2015 at the Family Search Library in Sacramento, Calif. Local African American genealogists, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the California Pioneer Heritage Foundation worked together to present a genealogy workshop to aid African Americans in the search for their ancestors. The keynote speaker was internationally known genealogist, Tony Burroughs of Chicago, Illinois. Burroughs, author of Black Roots: A Beginners Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree and CEO of the Center for Black Genealogy gave a presentation on The Next Phase of African American Genealogy. He reminded the audience of the urgent need to collect oral history. “If you have not interviewed your relatives, stop what you are doing and interview them now,” said Burroughs. “The records will be there, your relatives will not.” Burroughs urged the attendees to collaborate with historians. Most importantly he reminded the crowd, “Genealogy is an analytical process, not a database problem.” The Center for Black Genealogy, founded by Burroughs, is a non-profit educational, research and cultural institution using genealogy to positively impact communities locally and around the world. “This has been a 35 year vision of mine,” said Burroughs. “We want to take Black genealogy to the next level, institutionalize Black genealogy, and have a global impact. Our vision is for everyone of African descent to know their family history.” Sacramento Mayor, Kevin Johnson, issued a proclamation declaring it is important to recognize that seeking our family history builds strength and understanding in overcoming challenges resulting in strong families and communities which are able to meet challenges with wisdom and broad-based support. Mayor Johnson also commended the collaboration efforts of the committee members, former Councilmember Bonnie Pannell and sponsors of the event. Workshop classes were presented on the Freedmen’s Bureau Records, DNA for Genealogists, Mixed Race Ancestry, Finding My Roots Along the Civil Rights Trail, The Five Civilized Tribes and Their Connection to Blacks and many, many more. Members of the Buffalo Soldiers opened the ceremony with the posting of colors and provided a wonderful exhibit on the history of these brave men. In addition, Mrs. Edith Roberts, widow of Tuskegee Airman, George “Spanky” Roberts and members of the auxiliary group for the Sacramento chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen were on hand for event. AAHGS member, Sharon Styles and Family History Library volunteers, Myra Brown and Steve Kantes researched the genealogy of Robert and Jenine Jenkins, a young couple expecting their first child. Styles and Burroughs presented the couple with their family history on Good Day Sacramento, a local news program, the day before the seminar. Dennis Holland, president of the California Pioneer Heritage Foundation, was honored for his vision of holding a genealogy seminar for African Americans in Sacramento. Barbara Tyson presented Holland with an engraved (cont. on p. 7)
EVENTS CALENDAR Thursday, 15 October 2015 to Saturday,
17 October 2015
36th National Afro-American Historical
and Genealogical Society Conference, Virginia, Where African-American Roots
Run Deep: Family History and the
National Narrative, Richmond Marriott
Hotel, 500 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia. For more information, email
TOP: Tony Burroughs, Keynote
Speaker and Mrs. Edith Roberts, widow
of Tuskegee Airman, George Roberts. MIDDLE: Barbara Tyson (committee
member) Robert Jenkins, Jenine Jenkins,
Courtney Dempsey (Reporter) Bottom
Row: Vice Mayor Allen Warren, Sharon Styles (committee member), Tony
Burroughs (keynote speaker) BOTTOM:
Buffalo Soldiers
7
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. www.aahgs.org Founded 1977 May/June 2015 AAHGS News
(cont. from p. 6 African American Genealogy Workshop) plaque thanking him for his continued support and dedication over ten years. This year’s sponsors included East Lawn Memorial Park Mortuary; Reverend Ephraim Williams of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church; Black United Fund and California Black Chamber of Commerce. The 2015 committee members were Bruce Anderson, Linda Bradley, Jackie Chahaun, Sharry Covington, Dennis Holland, Darrell Levias, Sandra Lunceford, Gordon and Janet Orchard, Sharon Styles, Eric Thomas, Barbara Tyson, and Lynette Williams. The seminar was very well received and plans are under way for the 2016 workshop. For additional information or to become a member of The Center For Black Genealogy, please visit their website at www.centerforblackgenealogy.org. The African American Family History Seminar website is www.aafhs.com. Sharon Styles ([email protected]), an AAHGS member, is a frequent
contributor to AAHGS News. Submitted on April 20, 2015
AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, INC.
1977-2015
CELEBRATING OVER THIRTY-FIVE YEARS
WORTH NOTING
Congratulations Paul
Edward Sluby, Sr.,
AAHGS founder and
author of over 50 books
was surprised! His 80th
birthday party was held
on November 23,
2014, at Mama Stella's
Ristorante Italiano in
Prince George's County,
Maryland. Co-
sponsored by his daughter Rene and his wife
Pat, many attendees from his club,
church, longtime dear friends,
neighborhood, AAHGS, and extended
family wished him well. Paul received a
birthday greeting from President Obama,
and a citation from the State of Maryland. Patricia Sluby is Curator for the new
exhibition, "Patented Ingenuity, The Art of
African American Inventors," showcasing at
the new Prince George's County African
American Museum and Cultural Center,
located in North Brentwood, Maryland. The
exhibition runs from June 6 thru Sept 12,
2015. William Shelton is chair of the
Board for the African American Museum
and Cultural Center in North Brentwood,
Maryland.
Melvin J. Collier has an article, about
Beginning Genealogy in the BCALA
News, newsletter of the Black Caucus
of the American Library Association.
You can check it out at http://
www.bcala.org/Winter2015/#p=56
Roland Barksdale-Hall, AAHGS News
editor, will appear with hostess Madonna
Chism Pinkard in a segment about Family
Reunions on Community Connection
WFMJ TV-21, Youngstown, Ohio,
airing on
June 7,
2015.
CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS?
Changing your address? Keep AAHGS
informed of any changes in your address so you can avoid any interruption in receiving
the AAHGS News and the AAHGS Journal.
Take a moment to look at your AAHGS
mailing label. If your address needs any changes, let us know so we can update our
records. Please use the following format to
update your address:
Name and AAHGS membership
number (located on your mailing
label)
Old address or attach an old mailing label
New address
Mail the change of address information to:
AAHGS, Membership, P.O. Box 73067,
Washington, D.C. 20056-3067.
Please be sure to include your AAHGS
membership number in all correspondence.
2015 AAHGS NEWS
CALL FOR PAPERS Submission deadlines and themes for
AAHGS News follow:
July/August 27 July 2015 Solving
Genealogical and Historical Puzzles
Sept/Oct 7 Sept 2015 Science,
Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics
Nov/Dec 7 Nov 2015 Virginia, Where
African-American Roots Run Deep:
Family History and the National Narrative
Jan/Feb 2016 7 Dec 2015 Migratory
Patterns: Tracing the Movement and
Geographical, Psychological and Upward Mobility of Our Ancestors
August 30, 2015 is the deadline for
submissions to the 2015 AAHGS Journal. The theme is "Breaking Research Barriers, Finding
New Clues, & Reconstructing Our Past."
Please send submissions to:
Paul Sluby, Sr.
AAHGS—Delaware sent the historic
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal
Church, Charleston, South Carolina a
heartfelt letter of condolence and
encouragement on the death of their
pastor and members.
Arkansas
Arkansas Chapter
Michelle Hood, President
P.O. Box 4294
Little Rock, AR 72214 www.rootsweb.com/
~araahgs/
California
Central California Chapter
Denise Lancaster-Young, President
P.O. Box 9161
Fresno, CA 93790-9161
www.aahgscc.googlepages.com
Delaware
Delaware Chapter
Jim Jones, President
1305 Foulk Road
Wilmington, DE 19803
Florida
Central Florida Chapter
Kenneth Mitchell, President
P.O. Box 1347
Orlando, FL 32802-1347 www.rootsweb.com/
~flcfaahg/
Tampa, Florida Chapter
Robert L. Wimberly, President
27418 Sugar Loaf Dr.
Wesley Chapel, FL 33544-8639
www.aahgstampa.homestead.com
Georgia
Metro Atlanta Chapter
Emma Davis Hamilton, President
P.O. Box 54131
Atlanta, GA 30308-9998
www.aahgsatl.org
Illinois
Little Egypt Chapter
Lori Crenshaw Bryant, President
308 Birchlane Drive
Carbondale, IL 62901
Northern Illinois Southern Wisconsin
Chapter (NISW)
Joyce Higgins, President
P.O. Box 1732
Rockford, IL 61110-1732
www.aahgsnisw.org>
Patricia Liddell Researchers Chapter
Carrie McMorris, President
P.O. Box 438652
Chicago, IL 60643
Kansas
Kansas Chapter
Sherri Camp, President
2601 SW Westport Dr.
Topeka, KS 66614
Maryland
Agnes Kane Callum Chapter
Roland N. Mills, President
P.O. Box 9366
Baltimore, MD 21228
<baaghs.org>
Central Maryland Chapter
Alice F. Harris, President
6352 Windharp Way
Columbia, MD 21045
<cmgen.wordpress.com>
Montgomery County, Maryland Chapter
Patricia Hallman, President
P.O. Box 10063
Rockville, MD 20859
Prince George’s County Chapter
Jane T. Thomas, President
P.O. Box 44252
Ft. Washington, MD 20744-4252
<pgcm.aahgs.org>
Massachusetts
New England Chapter
Stella M. Pierce, President
5 Old Planters Road
Beverly, MA 01915
<www.aahgs-ne.org>
Minnesota
Minnesota Chapter
Callie Flournoy-Riser
P.O. Box 6289
Minneapolis, MN 55406
New Jersey
New Jersey Chapter
Muriel D. Roberts, President
P.O. Box 83
Middletown, NJ 07748
<www.aahgsnj.org>
New York
Jean Sampson Scott Greater New York
Chapter
Sharon Wilkins, President
P.O. Box 1050
New York, NY 10116-1050
< www.aahgsny.org>
North Carolina
NC/Piedmont Triad Chapter
Lamar E. DeLoatch, President
P.O. Box 36254
Greensboro, NC 27416
<www.ncaahgs.org >
NC Triangle
Wanda Cox-Bailey, President
P.O. Box 907
Durham, NC 27702
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Family Quest Society Chapter
Laura Booth, President
P.O. Box 34620
Philadelphia, PA 19101
Pittsburgh Chapter
Marlene Garrett Bransom, President
P.O. Box 99893
Pittsburgh, PA 15233-4893
www.aahgspgh.org
South Carolina
Greenville-Upstate SC Chapter
Truman Humbert
109 Theresa Drive
Greenville, SC 29605
[h] (864) 299-0644
Tennessee
Nashville Chapter
Chajuan Fitzgerald, President
3415 West End Avenue, #511
Nashville, TN 37203
Memphis Chapter
Alison Barnes, President
P.O. Box 771731
Memphis, TN 38177
http://www.aahgsmemphis.org.
https://www.facebook.com/
AAHGSMemphisTN
Texas
Willie Lee Gay-H-Town Chapter
Jesse Williams, President
6670 Radley Drive
Spring, TX 77329
Utah
Utah Chapter
Charlotte Starks, President
1193 Sienna Way
Taylorsville, UT 84123
Virginia
Burke, Brown and Steppe Chapter
Caruso Brown, President
P.O. Box 7492
Charlottesville, VA 22906-7492
<avenue.org/AAGG>
Central Virginia Chapter
Shelley Murphy, President
265 Turkeysag Trail, Suite 102, #140
Palmyra, VA 22963
<sites.google.com/site/centr>
Greater Richmond Chapter
Marilyn Campbell, President
PO Box 27833, Richmond, VA 23261
www.richmondva.com
Hampton Roads Chapter
Selma Steward, President
P.O. Box 2448
Newport News, VA 23609-2448
Washington, D.C.
James Dent Walker Chapter
Sybil Templeman Williams, President
P.O. Box 60632
Washington, D.C. 20039-0632
Afr
o-A
mer
ican
His
tori
cal
and G
enea
logic
al S
oci
ety C
hap
ters
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Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. www.aahgs.org Founded 1977 May/June 2015 AAHGS News
9
FORUM CELEBRATING THE NEGRO LEAGUES IN BASEBALL
(cont. from p. 5 Metro Atlanta) Chapter Indexing
Administrator William Durant gave an overview of
indexing. The Chapter currently has 24 indexers, most of
whom helped FamilySearch index the U.S. 1940 Census in
2012. The goal is to have Freedmen’s Bureau records
indexed in time for the opening of the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of African American History and
Culture in Washington, D.C. in late 2016. Go to
discoverfreedmen.org to join the indexing project and
affiliate with a participating AAHGS Chapter.
Tammy Joyner is a member of the AAHGS-Metro Atlanta Chapter.
The Sadler family won the top raffle ticket prize, a portable digital hard drive.
10
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. www.aahgs.org Founded 1977 May/June 2015 AAHGS News
African American Genealogy Research in Maryland
Caution: The websites listed below (except ancestry.com) are free, but
access to some links within them may require payment.
Useful Websites
African American Resources at Maryland State Archives http://
guide.mdsa.net/viewer.cfm?page=afrosources
Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Maryland, and Delaware http://
www.freeafricanamericans.com/ Links to names of free African
Americans & their families in the 1600's, 1700's & early 1800's.
Information comes from books by Paul Heinegg.
Enoch Pratt Library African American Department http://
www.prattlibrary.org/locations/afam/index.aspx?id=73715
Maryland African American Heritage Guide http://
www.visitmaryland.org/BrochuresandMaps/
AfricanAmericanHeritageGuide.pdf
Reginald F. Lewis Museum Resource Center http://
www.rflewismuseum.org/education/research
Maryland Genealogical Society : African American Resources http://
www.mdgensoc.org/links.php?lc=10
Genealogy Trails History Group: African American Research in
Maryland describes types of documents available in Maryland State
Archives) http://genealogytrails.com/mary/afameresearch.html
Maryland Historical Society: Digital Resources (Interesting links in
the Genealogy section) http://www.mdhs.org/library/research-
resources/digital-resources
Baltimore City Directories: Directories contained names, addresses, &
occupations of city residents. Lists Directories from the 1700's to the
late 1900's. Some are digitized and searchable. In some years, white and
"colored" people are listed in separate sections. In other years, they are
listed together with "colored" people identified by * or (c) next to the
name. http://lib.guides.umd.edu/content.php?
pid=355337&sid=2905983
General Maryland Genealogy Resources
Cyndi's List: Maryland http://www.cyndislist.com/us/md/
Maryland State Archives: http://msa.maryland.gov/
350 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis, MD 21401 (800) 235-4045
Click on "Family Historians" tab; click on "Beginner's Guide to
Research" link; click on "Reference & Research" tab.
AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, INC.
1977-2015
CELEBRATING OVER THIRTY-FIVE YEARS
WORTH NOTING
On Friday, May 19, 2015,
the National Genealogical
Society (NGS) held its annual
banquet at the 2015 Family
History Conference in Saint
Charles, Missouri. Each
year, awards are presented to
organizations and individuals
who have made outstanding
contributions to NGS’ programs or have performed outstanding
work in the field of genealogy, history, biography, or heraldry.
This year, twelve awards were presented in various categories. As
indicated on the website: upfront:ngsgenealogy.org/, “[t]he
Award of Merit is presented to an individual or non-profit
genealogical or historical organization in recognition of
exceptional contributions to the field of genealogy that have
significantly aided research or increased interest in genealogy
over a period of five or more years. Reginald Washington of
Upper Marlboro, Maryland [received] the 2015 Award of Merit.
in Salt Lake City, Utah. Washington’s contributions to the study
and preservation of African-American records is truly
exceptional. For three decades, he has introduced researchers to
many little-known, but incredibly rich, record collections that are
now staples for genealogical research. His labors have given
researchers online access to a half-million documents from the
files of the Southern Claims Commission and more than a million
from the Freedmen’s Bureau and the Freedman’s Savings & Trust
Company. Washington has taught at the National Institute for
Genealogical Research and has been a popular draw at NGS
conferences for two decades. He has published articles in
the NGS Quarterly, in Prologue (the scholarly journal of the
National Archives), and in popular magazines such
as Ancestry. He authored the National Archives’ guide, Black
Family Research … At the National Archives; created
instructional videos for occasions such as the 150thAnniversary
celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation; and was a featured
expert in the BYU television series Ancestors.”
All States
Search for ancestors and build your family tree at:
ancestry.com (payment required) and familysearch.org
Search for ancestors on Heritage Quest: http://lib.de.us/
Click on "eMagazines & More" tab; scroll down to "Heritage
Quest" link; click on it and enter your DE library # and Pin #;
click on "Login". Rosalyn Green, Research Consultant, compiled African American
Genealogy Research in Maryland for a Delaware AAHGS meeting on
February 28, 2015. This is her second installment in an ongoing
series. Submitted July 5, 2015.
Reginald Washington
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Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. www.aahgs.org Founded 1977 May/June 2015 AAHGS News
(cont. from p. 1 Horace Waymon Bivins—A Soldier’s Soldier) constant
companion was his messenger dog, Booth, an Irish water spaniel that
he trained as a pup. He continued to win shooting contests, and in
1894 won three gold medals when he represented the Department of
the Dakotas in an army competition at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.
Impressed by this display of prowess, Buffalo Bill Cody in 1896
reportedly offered Bivins a position in the Wild West show, shooting
against Annie Oakley. Cody was said to have sought a furlough for
Bivins and offered him $100 a month, but The Gazette reported that
Bivins ‘‘was in line to become an ordnance officer and preferred the
army routine to circus life.'' He went on to earn 32 medals, one for
each year of his military career. His marksmanship record stood until
the 1970s. After serving in a number of posts, including the Philippines,
Bivins retired from the army in 1913. He had "distinguished himself
as a national revolver and carbine marksmanship champion, proudly
wearing his many awards." During an examination of Army records at
some point after the establishment of the Distinguished Pistol Program
in 1903, it was determined that Bivins won at least three pistol
marksmanship championship awards, accomplishing this 9 years
previously in 1894. This qualified him for the newly established
Distinguished Pistol badge and he was retroactively awarded the first
Army Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge for his distinction in
marksmanship competition. He is the only shooter to have been
retroactively awarded the medal for accomplishments before 1903. He
qualified as an expert marksman in 1908, 1909, and 1910. In April 1898, the 10th Cavalry received orders to report to
Chickamauga, Tennessee, to train for service in the Spanish-American
Ho
race
Wa
ym
on
Biv
ins
War. The explosion and sinking of the USS Maine in Havana
Harbor on the night of February 15, 1898, had triggered this
brief, popular war. The cause of the blast was never determined,
but the United States, eager to liberate Cuba from Spanish
control and end European colonization in North America,
blamed Spain. All four African-American regiments—the 9th
and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry—would take
part in the Spanish-American War. The U.S. fighting force
would also include the Rough Riders, a band of adventurers
under the command of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. On April 19, Sergeant Bivins's unit
left Fort Assiniboine, Montana.
Enthusiastic crowds greeted the soldiers'
train as it traveled through the Midwest,
and grateful civilians presented them
with flags and flowers at various stops.
Then, as the tracks turned south, the
public welcomes diminished. Bivins, a
southerner by birth, was taken aback by
the Jim Crow segregation that had
become entrenched in the former Confederate states during his
years of western service. Horace Waymon Bivins called the
racial separation that he witnessed in waiting rooms and
restaurants and on trains "the curse of the South." From Tennessee, the men of the 10th Cavalry went to
Tampa, Florida, and on June 14, they sailed for Cuba. Upon his
arrival, Bivins reflected in a letter to a friend on the irony of
African Americans who were denied basic rights at home
fighting to free the Cubans. "There is no people (cont. on p. 24)
BOOK NOTES BY DEBRA NEWMAN HAM
Genealogist Wins National Book Award
Atlanta, GA - June 22, 2015 -
Genealogist and first-time
author, Michael Nolden Henderson,
was recently awarded first place
honors in the 2015 Next Generation
Indie Book Awards, the largest not-for
-profit book awards program for
independent publishers and self-
published authors. Henderson's
memoir, Got Proof! My Genealogical
Journey Through the Use of
Documentation, won first place in the
memoir category and received finalist
in the African American literature
category.
"Our awards program is known as the 'Sundance' of the book
publishing world," said Catherine Goulet, Chair of the 2015 Next
Generation Indie Book Awards program.
In 2010, Henderson, a native of New Orleans, LA and graduate of
Xavier University, became the first African American in Georgia
(where he currently resides) inducted into the National Society,
Sons of the American Revolution. His research into the
relationship between a woman of color who gained her freedom
in 1779, and a French national who fought in the Revolutionary
War under Bernardo de Galvez in Spanish Colonial Louisiana, is
the focus of his book and of the 2010 segment of the PBS
televised series, "History Detectives."
"Being honored with such a distinguished award for my very first
book is both humbling and encouraging," said Henderson. "This
is truly a tribute to my Louisiana ancestors whose lives inspired
me to write Got Proof."
Henderson has joined several lineage societies, including the
General Society of the War of 1812 in Louisiana. He is a
genealogy researcher and lecturer who speaks to audiences
nationwide. In 2014, Henderson received two other book awards
for Got Proof: Finalist in the 50th Georgia Author of the Year
Awards (GAYA) presented by the Georgia Writer's Association,
and the Minnesota Society Stephen Taylor Award for writing and
preservation of history presented by the National Society, Sons of
the American Revolution.
Michael N. Henderson
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Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. www.aahgs.org Founded 1977 May/June 2015 AAHGS News
Linda Christensen, LDS member and Bernice Bennett, founder of the WDCFHC African American Special Interest Group,
answer questions about the project and demonstrate how to establish an account on FamilySearch.
On June 22ndAfro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) chapter members from the State of Maryland and the District of
Columbia gathered at the Washington DC Family History Center (WDCFHC) in Kensington MD, to learn more about the Freedmen’s
Bureau Project. The purpose was to promote a local volunteer indexing program between AAHGS, the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA), the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), FamilySearch
International, and the WDCFHC African American Special Interest Group (AASIG). Many AAHGS representatives were featured in the
“Discover Your Roots and Unlock Your Future” video that was shown.
Bernice Bennett, AAHGS member, Family Researcher, author, BLOG talk radio producer and host, approached Linda Christensen, Co-
Director WDCFHC Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and collectively they decided to launch a way that the AAHGS chapters of
MD (Central, Prince George’s County, Agnes Kane Callum-Baltimore, Montgomery County) and the James Dent Walker chapter of
Washington, DC could substantially contribute to the NMAAHC by indexing the records of the Freedmen’s Bureau and make them
searchable online.
CHAPTER NEWS
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Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. www.aahgs.org Founded 1977 May/June 2015 AAHGS News
Attendees - Maya Davis, Joan Bundy, Frank Jenkins, Jackie Tillman-Lewis, Noreen Goodson
Linda Christensen, Bernice Bennett, Alpha Terry Banks, Virginia Mercer
Ellen Butler, Nancy Daniels, Carole Hyman, Geryl McClenney, Jane Taylor Thomas Jeanette Madison, Margo Lee Williams
Since the goal is to complete this project to coincide with the opening of the NMAAHC in the Fall of 2016, Bernice and Linda agreed
to manage the indexing of the Freedmen’s Bureau Records at the WDCFHC on the 2nd Monday of each month. Each AAHGS member
and/or AASIG participant will be asked to establish a FamilySearch Account, walk through the on-line tutorial sessions and begin
indexing.
Maya Davis, Prince George’s County AAHGS member and Maryland State Archives employee, plans to share how other employees at
the MD State Archives can become part of this initiative. She feels that we should recruit people of younger generations and spread the
word to other historical societies. Frank Jenkins, Prince George’s County-Montgomery County-Central MD AAHGS member, stated
that this a good opportunity for people to become involved. He feels we can contribute/donate time vs money to make this a reality
that will last beyond our years.
After receiving notification from Sherri Camp-AAHGS VP Genealogy, Jane Taylor Thomas-AAHGS Prince George’s County
Chapter President and Alice Freeman Harris-Central MD Chapter President, spread the word throughout their chapters in the hopes
that each member would make a commitment to help. “It will take all AAHGS members, family, friends, churches, and community
groups working together to achieve the goal. When completed, the index will greatly facilitate finding information about African
American ancestors torn apart by slavery.”
If you are interested in helping to expand the knowledge about African American family history and contribute to the NMAAHC, join
this effort.
The indexing project was announced in a major media event at the California African American Museum on “Juneteenth”, Friday,
June 19th in Los Angeles, CA.
On Friday, June 19, 2015 The Washington Post featured an article by Hamil R. Harris entitled Freedmen’s Bureau Records of 4
million former slaves to be released Friday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/06/19/freedmens-bureau-records-of-4-million-former-slaves-released-today/
The Washington DC Family History Center - A Branch of the FamilySearch Library featured an article at http://wdcfhc.org/
wordpress/
For more information about the project, visit, www.discoverfreedmen.org or www.familysearch.com.
Or check out the The Freedmen’s Bureau Project – Lead Us into the Light at http://www.aahgs.org/
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AAHGS News Check out the most recent news at the News blog: www.aahgsnews.wordpress.com! May/June 2015
AAHGS-Prince George’s County Maryland Chapter
(AAHGS-PGCM) May – June, 2015
By Carolyn Corpening Rowe and Jane Taylor Thomas
May and June were busy months for the Chapter.
The first activity was the regular bi-monthly
meeting. Dr. Janet Sims-Wood was the speaker on
May 15. Having retired as the Assistant Chief
Librarian for Reference/Reader Services at the
Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC),
Howard University, Washington, D. C., she was
the perfect person to give the attendees information on where and
how to use research repositories. She used a wealth of examples to
show what you can find in genealogical and historical institutions
throughout the country. Dr. Sims-Wood told the group that they no
longer had to travel to the various cities to access these collections.
In most cases, they can find what they are looking for on the Internet.
She gave them quite a few websites that would prove helpful in their
research. During her illustrious career as a librarian, author, editor,
she has been a adjunct professor at the Prince George’s County
Maryland Community College.
A few days later, on May 19, the
Chapter presented Ella McCall-Haygan to
the Fort Washington [MD] Senior Citizens’
Group. The Harmony Hallers Genealogy
Club, as they are called, was delighted with
Ms. Haygan’s presentation titled Rosa
Parks: Beyond the Bus: the Underground
Railroad to the Modern Civil Rights Movement. Ms. Haygan, who
was a personal friend of Rosa Parks, is currently the Co-Director of
the Washington DC/Metro Regional Chapter of Pathways to
Freedom’s Youth Program. The program sponsored by the Rosa and
Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, offers educational
and historical research opportunities for students aged 11 to 17. In
addition to working with youth in the Pathways to Freedom Program,
Ms. Haygan goes around the country speaking to adults about the
work that Mrs. Parks did during her life after Montgomery [AL]. She
emphasizes the love Mrs. Parks had for youth as the reason she and
her husband, Raymond, established the program. Haygan has an
extensive collection of Parks’ memorabilia that she shares with her
audiences during her presentation. The most memorable is a quilt
that Haygan designed tracing Ms. Parks’ path from Montgomery to
Michigan. Ms. Haygan also founded and runs a free social-services
organization, From Streets to Skills Social Services on Wheels, to
bring skills and services to youth, homeless families, former gang
members and others in need.
On June 2, 2015, AAHGS-PGCM presented Karen
Sutton to the Harmony Haller’s Genealogy Club.
Her subject was Preparing Now for Then. The first
half of her presentation included a discussion on how
to plan and prepare for your final days. She talked
about how to seek assistance, if needed, for wills,
power of attorney, living trusts, and funeral arrangements. The
second half of her presentation dealt with the funeral program and
how to mine it for genealogical information. In addition to the
biographical/genealogical data, there are clues to maiden names
(siblings), extended family members (other relatives), and medical
information (cause of death), Sutton was the first African American
to trace her ancestry back to a Black Revolutionary War Soldier and
is thereby a member of the Daughters of the Revolution (DAR). She
was formerly a historical interpreter in the African-American
Programs & History Department, Division of Historic Presentations,
Colonial Williamsburg [VA]. Sutton is a registered nurse and
instructor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Sutton
has one of the largest collections of funeral programs on the East
Coast.
The last event for the 2014-2015 program
year was the tenth Annual Juneteenth Seminar/
Workshop, held on Saturday, June 13, 2015, from
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at the North Forestville
Community Center, 2311 Ritchie Road, Forestville,
Maryland. After checking in and picking up their
registration packets, the attendees were treated to a
complimentary continental breakfast. This was a
time for the guests to meet and greet and chat about
their research and brick walls. Then it was time to
start to serious business of the day. Ms. Char
McCargo Bah was the keynote speaker for the
opening plenary. Following her presentation
the attendees went to the various breakout
sessions. The three concurrent sessions featured
Roland Barksdale-Hall speaking on Beginning
Genealogy, Dr. Reginald Washington on Freedmens’Bureau
Marriage Records, and Carol Petranick on Searching FamilySearch.
Then there was a break for lunch to allow the attendees to go to the
Park where the Park and Planning Juneteenth festival was getting
under way. There they could buy something to eat from the various
vendors and shop with other vendors for clothes books, jewelry, etc.
and listen to music by a variety of artists in varying genres. The
Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation, under
the leadership of the Chairman of the Prince George’s County
Planning Board, Ms. Betty Hewlett is one of our co-sponsors along
with the Prince George’s County Historical Society, and the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Suitland Ward.
After lunch, the concurrent sessions resumed with Maya
Davis speaking on Researching our Caribbean Ancestors, Aaron
Dorsey on Slave Genealogy Research. Charles Howard was to
present a session on City Directories, but he could not make it due
to an emergency at his house. The last and final set of three
concurrent sessions featured, Dr. Joan M. E. Gaither and Lyndra
Marshall speaking on Preserving Our Legacy: Honoring Our
Mentors (using quilts), Bernice Bennett on DNA and Genealogy, and
Damani Davis on the Exodusters: the First Black Migration. As
always, Julia Porter and Jeanette Madison prepared interesting and
educational activities for children and youth ages 7-12. All the
presenters are outstanding genealogists and historians (cont. on p. 24)
Co
urte
sy D
r. Le
ster L
ee
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Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. www.aahgs.org Founded 1977 May/June 2015 AAHGS News
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FIRST ANNUAL CATALOGUE OF VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY
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AAHGS News Check out the most recent news at the News blog: www.aahgsnews.wordpress.com! May/June 2015
War II, he was a “veteran” on the technical
front, working on a Navy project that
developed the first guided missile called
“THE BAT.” He received the Navy “E”
group award for his work at the National
Bureau of Standards. He lived with his
wife Ophelia T. Pinkard in Riderwood
Village Retirement Community. He and
his wife Ophelia hold the distinction of
being the first and only AAHGS family
life member. Ophelia went from labor to
heavenly reward in September 2011,
ending 59 years of a fruitful marriage. In
addition, he held Life Memberships in
Shiloh Baptist Church’s ASALH
(Association for the Study of African
American Life and History).
IN MEMORY
On May 6, 2015, John Henry Pinkard, Jr.
joined the Ancestor Chapter. He was born
on November 13, 1911, in a cottage on the
campus of Alabama Agricultural and
Mechanical College near Huntsville,
Alabama. His father, John H. Pinkard, Sr.
(d. October 1969), was a member of the
faculty and his mother, Beatrice G.
Pinkard (d. December 1982), taught in an
associated elementary school. The
Pinkards later moved to Washington, DC,
where John, Jr. was educated in the public
schools, graduating from Dunbar High
School in 1929. He graduated from
Howard University in 1938 with a
Master’s degree in Physics. During World
23
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AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORICAL AND
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, INC.
P.O. BOX 73067
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20056-3067
WWW.AAHGS.ORG
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
REMINDER: 2015 MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS ARE NOW DUE. MEMBERSHIP FORM ENCLOSED
First Class
U.S. Postage Paid
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Permit No. 137
(cont. from p. 11 Horace Waymon Bivins—A Soldier’s Soldier) on
earth more loyal and devoted to their country than the Negro," he
wrote. "God grant the time will soon come when this country will have
the power to enforce the teaching of this heavenly doctrine that all men
are created free and equal." The 10th Cavalry first encountered the
enemy on June 24, at a gap in the Cuban hills known as Las Guasimas,
which had been the site of a skirmish between Spanish troops and
Cuban insurgents. Although casualties were high, the Americans drove
the Spanish from their positions. A soldier to his very core, Horace
Bivins fought alongside Roosevelt and his Rough Riders at San Juan
Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War and earned a Silver
Star. “But for the timely aid of the 10th Cavalry, the Rough Riders
would have been annihilated.'' Bivins' most notable service in
Cuba, for which he was awarded a Silver Star, came during the famous
battle of San Juan Hill. A sergeant by then, Bivins was assigned to a
Hotchkiss gun battery. The Hotchkiss was a small artillery piece with a
rifled barrel. With the other members of his detachment killed or
wounded, Bivins single-handedly fired 72 shells from one of the
Hotchkiss guns, which recoiled six to eight feet after each shot. His
performance was all the more remarkable, in that early in the battle, he
had been knocked out briefly by a slug that passed through an iron-
plated hub of a gun carriage and hit him in the temple.
Robert Bivins ( [email protected] ) is an AAHGS Agnes Kane Callum
Baltimore Chapter member. Submitted March 29, 2015.
(cont. from p. 14 AAHGS—Prince George’s County) and well-known
throughout the genealogical community. They are all experts in their
subject matter and they are adept at imparting their knowledge to
others. The Chapter is thankful for their participation. It would be
impossible to provide this service to the community without their
cooperation.
Jane Taylor Thomas is President and Carolyn Corpening Rowe is Chair of
Juneteenth Program for the AAHGS—Prince George’s County Maryland.
Photography credits Carolyn Corpening Rowe. Submitted July 9, 2015.
FAMILY REUNION CALENDAR
Family Circle Reunion 2015
July 3-6, 2015, Charleston, SC
Ned Edwards, Jr. (President of the SC Delegates)
843-209-7830; 912-927-0051
Wilson At Large Family Reunion
Descendants of Martin Wilson born in 1810
South Carolina, Hampton County (prior to 1878 it was part of
Beaufort County)
July 23-26, 2015, Crystal City, Virginia & Washington, DC
Host: Jason Joiner
Contact: [email protected]
The Watts & Finch Family Reunion
Chicago, Illinois
Friday, July 31 - August 2, 2015
Family originated in Talladega & Coosa County, Alabama after
slavery
Lived in Dora, Walker County, Alabama until the 1920s
Contact: Marquita Beeman, [email protected]
Tarpley Family Reunion
July 3-5, 2015
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Welcome night July 3rd at the home of Arnold Jr. and Darieth
Chisholm Tarpley, 3208 Check Drive, Jefferson Hills,
Pennsylvania
July 4th picnic at South Park Black Ashes Shelter
July 5th Church Services
Tarpley family originated in Danville, Virginia and migrated to
Fairchance, Pennsylvania during the early 1900s
Contact: Bridgett Tarpley-Creach, [email protected]