Tag: Black Ancestry
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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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Geraldine Wilson’s Statement of Purpose
When she applied to graduate school at New York University, Geraldine resided in Jackson, Mississippi where she worked with the state’s Head Start Program. As I researched Geraldine’s biography, I connected with her story, her resilience, and her passion for the education of African American children. It helps that her archival collection at the Schomburg…
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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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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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‘Day-O’: An Interview Between Harry Belafonte and Geraldine Wilson (Part 1)
Geraldine Wilson, date unknown When I first arrived at the Schomburg Center in 2013, I was full of many emotions. I was happy to research the Flowers family in such a prestigious archive, yet I was unsure of how to search through eighteen boxes of information in three days. Hours deep in Box 2 and 3…
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What Does A Researcher Do on Her Birthday?
Personally, I think I am my mother’s easiest child. I never asked for much and spent much of my childhood as I preferred it–alone and with a book in my hand. I tended to my little sister’s every need, skipped out on prom, never failed a course, and always prided myself on my independence. No…
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The Black Church and the Flowers Family (Part II)
Wesley Union AME Zion Church The image of this church was taken at its original location on the corner of Tanner’s Alley and South Street in Harrisburg. From Pennsylvania to Florida Reverend J.J. Sawyer was a powerful member within the Florida AME Church. He even introduced the Independent African Methodist Episcopal Church which was quickly…
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From Mother to Daughter: “What Do I Tell My Children Who Are Black?”
History helps us to understand who we are and how deep our roots have grown. It teaches us that we are a people with a glorious past that had its beginning in the dark corners of African civilizations centuries ago and spread to the lighted civilizations of today. In the following pages you will discover…
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A New Find: The Death Record of Nancy J. Sawyer
A few months ago, Pennsylvania released the state’s death records from 1906 to 1963. I must have overlooked the death record of Rachel’s mother, Nancy Sawyer, in my initial research…#iamafailure. This is a relatively short post, I just wanted you to see what I discovered about Nancy. 1. Her middle name–Throughout the majority of my research, I never had…
Diary of a Historian 