Tag: American history
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From the Schomburg: Geraldine Wilson’s Resume
Undated photo, Geraldine Wilson Papers, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture I concluded my summer travels…YAY! Panama was beautiful (will post later about that), gentrified Harlem treated me well, and Pennsylvania was full of reunions and research. I am still processing my research notes from the Schomburg. This time I carefully searched and read through her…
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Sawyer and The AME’s Christian Recorder
This blog is a continuation of my previous post on Joseph Sawyer and his articles within The Christian Recorder. I will continue to share bulletins which referenced Sawyer’s work in Florida. This is my first time reading these pieces; therefore, I highlighted information that caught my attention. Also I am in Panama this week and will…
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An Unexpected Surprise: New Findings on Rev. J.J. Sawyer
Still searching for a living descendant. I spent the majority of my research this month on compiling primary sources about Reverend Joseph J. Sawyer. Sawyer is a recent addition to my research; therefore, I need to ensure there is a good amount of information for his biography. I wrongly assumed a lot about his life and he proved…
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Its All In The Name
Vincent Allen Flowers 1906-2002 My thesis does not include the biography of Vincent Allen Flowers. To make my research more practical in two semesters, I focus on the biographies and more specifically the educational activism of Reverend Joseph J. Sawyer, Rachel Helen Flowers, and Geraldine Louise Wilson. Nonetheless, I continue to research all of the…
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May 2016
With three semesters of graduate school under my belt, I finished with a 4.0 GPA (look at God!). Honestly, this past school year was full of many challenges whether it was lack of motivation, regret, family, or extreme exhaustion. Nonetheless, I made it and I also passed my thesis proposal defense. I neglected this blog…
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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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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 Nancy Sawyer
To read about Harry’s first marriage, click here. Nancy Sawyer (b. 1873) Harry Flowers (b. 1845-6) Children–Chauncey Sawyer Flowers (b.1895), John Flowers (b.1898), Fred Flowers (b.1899), Rachel Helen Flowers (b. 1900), Theodore Flowers (b. 1903), Vincent Flowers (b. 1906), Gladyce (b. 1908), and Hilda Clifford Flowers (b. 1910) In the 1887 U.S. City Directory for…
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#NeverForget: Four Little Girls and Two Little Boys
On September 15, 1963, Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley were murdered in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Countless others were injured in the bombing of this church which has been a cornerstone in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham. Yesterday, as many posted images…
Diary of a Historian 