African American ancestry Tag

02 Nov

Posted at 18:11h in Genealogy, Newsletter

ANCESTRY- CHRISTIAN LAND STEWARDSHIP One of our clients was recently honored by the Texas Department of Agriculture. In addition to her family history, we documented in a book the challenging path she took to restore her family's lands and then proceeded to donate land for a Texas State Veterans Cemetery. NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS – (October 15, 2025) - The Christian and Jones families have once again shown what it means to walk by faith, build by family, and serve by example. On this blessed occasion, the Texas Department of Agriculture, led by Commissioner Sid Miller (PI), presented the Christian Family with not...

18 Oct

Posted at 13:29h in Genealogy, Newsletter

GENEALOGIST- THE MORMON ASSASSIN My niece’s husband’s ancestor, William Adams "Wild Bill" Hickman (1815 – 1883), married his first wife, Bernetta Burchartt, in 1832, at 17. While living in Missouri, Hickman encountered members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveling from Kirtland, Ohio, to their new gathering place in Clay County, Missouri, and ultimately agreed to be baptized into the religion in 1838. Upon the killing of Joseph Smith in 1844, he and many other Mormons followed Brigham Young westward into Mexican territory. During this period, Hickman began to practice polygamy under the instruction of Brigham Young, marrying Sarah...

10 Oct

Posted at 11:54h in Newsletter

ANCESTORS- CAPTAIN STARBUCK'S JOURNEY Back in 2023, I shared information on my wife’s 5th Great Grandfather, Hezekiah Starbuck Starbuck We learned more about him on a visit to Nantucket, where it turned out he had kept a journal recorded from 1770 to 1775, as a whaling ship captain in the Pacific, which is in the hands of the Nantucket Historical Society. At Mystic River Seaport, we had the opportunity to board the Charles W. Morgan, an 80-year-old whaling ship (pictured) that remains afloat. It was interesting to see how it was set up and to see the captain’s quarters. Because the Atlantic had...

02 Oct

Posted at 21:01h in Genealogy, Newsletter

GENEALOGY- HE WASN'T SHOT IN THE WAR, BUT SUFFERED FOR 23 YEARS My wife’s three-times great-grandfather, Joseph Craig Needham, came to America at age 19 in 1841 or ‘42. At the age of 40, he left his wife and their four children, aged 14 to 3 months, at home, and enlisted for three years on February 29, 1864, at Clarendon with Company H of the Michigan Eighth Infantry (pictured in his soldier’s uniform). There were ten other soldiers in Company H who were older than him. His regiment served in front of Richmond when Lee evacuated on April 3, 1865. They were also...

02 Oct

Posted at 20:26h in Newsletter

ANCESTRY- THE FIRST LADIES AND ALL OF THE OTHER LADIES One of the questions that people ask when we’re building books is “What about grandma?” Where’s her page? The reality is, until the invention of family planning and birth control, most of our female ancestors were busy raising a herd of children, feeding everyone, tending to the time-consuming home, and helping with farm or ranch chores. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of public documentation about their independent activities, which may have occurred in their early or later lives. Until the 1960s, most married women were referred to as Mrs. "So and...

23 Aug

Posted at 13:35h in Newsletter

GENEALOGIST- NOT YOUR GRANDPA'S MARCHING BAND My wife’s grandfather was a drummer in the Straughn, KS, Concert Band, standing to the left of the drum in the colorized picture below. My wife inherited the legacy and was in marching band in high school and college. Later in life, she joined the local community orchestra and a traveling “second time around band” that performed in the 2019 Macy’s Parade and the 2021 Dublin, Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day parade. That band has transformed into a traveling symphony and has performed in Germany, Austria, Italy, and will next year perform in Belgium, France, and Germany. As...

16 Aug

Posted at 12:34h in Newsletter

ANCESTORS-GRANDPA AND THE GREAT CHAIN My wife’s 4th Great-Grandfather, Haynes Bartlett, was born in Newburgh, Ulster County, New York, on March 4, 1757, when the village was mostly comprised of rail fences. He learned the blacksmith trade in his early days in Newburg. He lived in Cornwall, Orange County, NY, when he enlisted in the Revolutionary War for five of the seven years, with three terms of enlistment ranging from 1 to 9 months. At one point, he served in the Dragoons. He was in New York City when the British captured it. After returning to Orange County, he helped in the...

26 Jul

Posted at 11:16h in Newsletter

ANCESTRY- FROM EXTORTION TO WASHINGTON'S APPOINTMENT My 5th Great Grandfather, Joseph Greenway, was baptized on August 4, 1756. He was taxed as a cooper in 1774. He was commissioned as an Ensign on January 20, 1776, for the 1st Pennsylvania battalion, Continental Line. Later that August, he was commissioned as a 3rd lieutenant to serve on the Frigate “Delaware”. In July 1777, he, along with 11 other Lieutenants, were dismissed from the Navy for attempting to extort higher pay and allowances. Before action was taken, the “Delaware” was captured, and the British in Philadelphia imprisoned him along with the rest of...

20 Jul

Posted at 12:49h in Newsletter

ANCESTRY- ANOTHER COLEMAN'S BROKEN HEART In the last edition, we covered the death of millionaire industrialist Robert and Coleman and future president James Buchanan’s fiancé Ann Caroline Coleman Ann Coleman It turns out Coleman had another daughter, Sarah, who is also believed to have committed suicide. Around 1824, William Augustus Muhlenberg (1796-1877) (pictured), co-rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, courted Sarah. Robert Coleman served on the vestry of St. James and had a bitter dispute with Muhlenberg over the latter offering evening worship services. Coleman then banned Muhlenberg from his house. Muhlenberg wrote in his diary, “But for no earthly consideration...

20 Jul

Posted at 12:26h in Newsletter

HOUSTONS PAY THEIR DEBTS In several past editions, I wrote about my three times great-grandfather, William Harper Smither. His father, John Smither (pictured), was born on May 27, 1779, in Richmond County, Virginia. He moved to Culpeper County, Virginia, and married Mary Polly Greenway in Chesterfield County, Virginia, on July 18, 1808. He was a Captain in the Virginia Regiment during the War of 1812. He failed in business in Culpeper Co. and then moved in 1824 to Huntingdon, Carroll Co., Tennessee. From there, William Harper moved to Mississippi. John, Mary, and the younger children moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1839, John...

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