Tag: african american history
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Look Out to Look In: The Search for a Living Descendant
Henry Sams (1915-1975) b. Jacksonville, Florida d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Half-brother of the Flowers children Born to Henry Sams and Nancy Sawyer Sams, Henry Sams Jr. spent his childhood in Jacksonville, Florida before his family’s migration to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Throughout his lifetime, he excelled in sports since his time at Overbrook High School. He also participated in pre-Olympic meets…
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Guess Who’s Back?
Watching the SuperBowl Game and cheering for the Panthers at the StreetBird (NYC) Still recovering from the loss. Last time I posted a blog was a little more than a month ago and how I miss having the time to do research. With work, school, conference prep, and a thesis proposal, I have had my…
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Thesis Woes
(A rare glimpse of me on the blog) As I entered my (second) first semester of graduate school, my goal was to meet with my adviser as soon as possible. I firmly believe that we are an academic “match made in heaven”. We discussed my background, interests, and most importantly my thesis. Since my senior…
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A Birth Certificate, A Research First in the Flowers Family History
I have researched the Flowers family for the past three years and never found a birth certificate for any member of this family. Was I surprised? It was not a required document to be recorded at a black child’s birth. For most African Americans born in the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth century, birth…
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Meet Elder Lillie Bell McLean, My Great-Grandmother
As 2015 draws to an end, we journey into a new year we leave many memories, both disappointments and accomplishments, behind. About two weeks before Thanksgiving, I received the news that my great-grandmother had fallen ill. If you are a follower of my blog, you know my dream was to spend the summer writing my family’s history…
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A Letter To Her Friend: Dear Johnnie
When I find a note one of the members of this family wrote, I always crack a smile. I smile because these letters reveal more than any census record, birth certificate, or newspaper article could ever show–their personality, their humor, and their love and at times hate for people. In this featured letter, Geraldine Wilson…
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A Revisit of Her Father’s Marriages: Harry Flowers and Lydia Bradley
As I narrow down my thesis research project, I am revisiting multiple aspects of the Flowers family’s life. I have an entire wall devoted to this research in my apartment. Call me a nerd, I will happily say that I am; however, I find it much easier to visualize this project and connect the last…
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Thank you Viola Davis!
I held my breath last night waiting for the winner of the category ‘Lead Actress in a Drama Series’ to be announced. Honestly, I did not care if Viola or Taraji P. Henson won for regardless of who won, we won. A slight pause and they announced the winner of the category. Adrien Brody called…
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Pennsylvania Death Certificates and the Florida Death Index, 1877-1977
Death certificate of Harry Florence Flowers (1845-1928) Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906-1963 Last April, the state of Pennsylvania made death certificates between 1906 to 1963 available on Ancestry.com. Again, if you do not have a membership with Ancestry, I will encourage you to do the two week free trial. Choose a period of time where you…
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Want to Start Researching Your Own Family’s History? Here are Some Tips
A Piece of the Flowers’ Family Tree I get this question a lot, so hopefully I can help someone out. Before I share some tips, let me give you a bit of my genealogical research background. I have my B.A. in history and graduated last May. I have under my belt a semester of graduate…
Diary of a Historian 