The Mad Genealogist

I received a email on my facebook page and decided to re-post it here in hopes that someone with more experience in African American research can help.

Hi Brian
I am doing research for my family, we are African American, we use Ivery after Emancipation. I see a lot of white Ivey’s around my ancestors. I wanted to know some tips or shortcuts, I have been doing a lot online with Ancestry and just looking up names. I have a lot of info on this family, but don’t want to do too much if they aren’t the ones. I just wanted to break our brick wall. I did get the will and appraisment record of Barna Ivey, now I’m working on getting back the sons, William and Malachi. Barna listed his slaves in great detail, I’m sure his sons kept great records like him, none of the names listed was I familiar with, but I will keep just in case later something comes up or other families I might run across might need them later. I work with Susette Cook on my d/c’s. I haved been to Bullock County Courthouse as most of my ancestors and living relatives still live down there. Making a trip in the spring again. I went to our family cemetery and did the history and phototaking on that. I have a website which I run with my cousin Lisa, it’s called Ike-Iveryfamily.org
So hopefully you can go on there and see some of the work I  have done, we are constantly working on it. Hope to hear from you soon, ask any question of me. U seem very knowledgeable abt subject and I could use a veteran to help me, I have been doing this since 2001. Still learning. Hope to hear from you soon, I hope I gave you enough info to respond to.
TrueAnn
Kentucky
“Happy Hunting!”

This was my initial response so someone correct me or add to it please. I will have True Ann come to this page to read the responses .

I am not extremely knowledgeable in AA research but do know enough to get by. I will post your situation on my blog and maybe someone that really knows this area. Off hand I know from my experience that many former slaves took on their former masters last names so I would start with the local Ivery’s for sure. Also check the 1850 and 1860 slave census schedules.

Waiting on the Genealogy community now ;>)……

The NC State Archives announced today that the newspaper digitization project is now available online – http://www.archives.ncdcr.gov/newspaper/index.html

They have digitized many papers — from their site, “These materials
include papers dating from 1752-1890s from cities like Edenton
(1787-1801), Fayetteville (1798-1795), Hillsboro (1786), New Bern
(1751-1804), Salisbury (1799-1898), and Wilmington (1765-1816) – a total
of 23,483 digital images that are keyword searchable.”

Newspapers are fundamental research tools for all researchers, from elementary school students and casual readers to university faculty and professional genealogists.  No other published source covers such a wide range of material and reaches so deeply into the communities in our state. They provide a wealth of data about the civic, political, cultural, and social events of the periods they document. Historic newspapers offer an intimate close-up view of the American past that few other sources can provide.

In 2009, the North Carolina State Archives completed a project to digitize newspapers from it’s collection that were, up until that time, only available on microfilm. These materials include papers dating from 1752-1890s from cities like Edenton (1787-1801), Fayetteville (1798-1795), Hillsboro (1786), New Bern (1751-1804), Salisbury (1799-1898), and Wilmington (1765-1816) – a total of 23,483 digital images that are keyword searchable. The project was made possible by a LSTA grant provided by the State Library of North Carolina.

Janet Wagniere, SCHS Secretary, emailed me that the The Shenandoah county Historical Society web site has just recently added an extensive amount of research on African Americans in Shenandoah County to their web site at  www.shenandoahcountyhistoricalsociety.org. One of the SCHS board members, Nancy Stewart, conducted an intense research on this subject.  Since it is such a specialized study, it may be of interest to those doing African American research in this area of Virginia.

I ran across this on a rootsweb list and was posted by Nancy of http://www.thepastwhispers.com. I just enjoy seeing these old places, (some of which are now gone forever). Even if you don’t have ancestors from these places, the photos are just become fun to look at.

Lincoln County, MS:

• Vintage Views of Brookhaven MS - http://old-new-orleans.com/Brookhaven.html
• Residences of Old Brookhaven – http://old-new-orleans.com/Brookhaven_2.html
• Whitworth College Brookhaven MS Photos bet 1880-1900 -  http://old-new-orleans.com/MS_Whitworth_College.html
• Vintage Views of Lincoln County, MS -  http://old-new-orleans.com/Lincoln_County.html

Claiborne County, MS:

• Vintage Views of Port Gibson, MS -  http://old-new-orleans.com/Port_Gibson.html

Copiah County, MS:

• Vintage Views of Wesson, MS – http://old-new-orleans.com/Wesson.html

Adams County, MS:

• Concordia – Home of Gov. Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, 1794 – http://old-new-orleans.com/Concordia.html
• Images of Jefferson Military College, Page 2 – http://old-new-orleans.com/jefferson_college2.html
• Historic King’s Tavern, est. 1769, Natchez – http://old-new-orleans.com/Natchez_Kings_Tavern.html
• 1930’s Photos of the following Adams County Houses:
  • Brandon Hall – http://old-new-orleans.com/MS_BrandonHall.html
  • William Foster House – http://old-new-orleans.com/MS_Foster.html
  • James Foster House – http://old-new-orleans.com/MS_Foster_James.html
  • Selma – http://old-new-orleans.com/MS_Selma.html
  • Propinquity – http://old-new-orleans.com/MS_Propinquity.html

Jefferson County, MS:

• Vintage Views of Fayette, MS – http://old-new-orleans.com/Fayette.html
  Scotland Post Office – Jefferson County 1849 – 1856 – http://old-new-orleans.com/MS_scotland_po.html
  Davis Family Tombstone Photos, Union Church Cemetery – http://old-new-orleans.com/Davis.html

Pearl River County, MS:

• Vintage Photos of Pearl River County MS – http://old-new-orleans.com/Pearl_River_Photos.html

Forrest County, MS:

• Vintage Pictures of Camp Shelby Hattiesburg – http://old-new-orleans.com/Camp_Shelby.html

Walthall County, MS:

• Photo, main street, Tylertown, MS, 1922 – http://old-new-orleans.com/Tylertown.html

Lowndes County, MS:

• Vintage Photo, Military Road, Columbus – http://old-new-orleans.com/MilitaryRoad_Columbus.html

Beginning Monday, Aug. 24, the fee for a single copy of a birth, death, marriage or divorce certificate or a report of fetal death from North Carolina Vital Records will increase from $15 to $24. The fee for additional copies will remain at $15 each. The change is due to a new law, the Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2009 (G.S. 10.22 130A-93.1), passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor on Aug. 7.

The cost for conducting a search of files for the record even if no copy is made will also rise to $24.

New forms for requesting vital records, with the updated fee information, will be available on the N.C. Vital Records website (vitalrecords.dhhs.state.nc.us/vr) beginning Aug. 24. Mailed applications postmarked on or after Aug. 24 must include the new fee, or the request cannot be filled and the application will be returned to the sender.
Vital records are also available from the Register of Deeds in the county where the event took place. For questions about the fee change, contact N.C. Vital Records at 919-733-3000.

World Vital Records is extending their promotion of for their offering of FREE PUBLIC ACCESS to its entire online collection to August 18, 2009. Originally it was suppose to end on the 13th.

Workers repairing an underground steam pipe at the University of South Carolina in Columbia found human bone fragments — believed to be the eery relics of a Civil War hospital that once treated injured soldiers fighting for both the North and the South.

“We don’t know what it is,” Richland County Coroner Gary Watts told South Carolina newspaper The State, adding that the fragments found range from a skull cap to half-inch pieces.

“It probably is Civil War remains, but we’re still going to do this as if it were a crime scene,” Watts told the paper.

The coroner’s office and the State Law Enforcement Division are excavating the steam pipe trench and examining the soil.

The coroner says he expects to know Tuesday if the remains are from the Civil War era. He has an anthropologist working on the case. Watts says the bones could be amputated body parts.

The fragments were found behind DeSaussure College, the second oldest building on campus. It was completed in 1809.

The building now serves as the offices of the college of social work on campus. It is named for the attorney from Sumter County who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Later, Henry William DeSaussure helped establish South Carolina College – now USC – during his 18 years in the Legislature, a university spokeswoman told The State.

During the Civil War, the school rented many buildings to the Confederacy as a hospital to treat the wounded from both sides of the battle.

Click here for more from The State.

World Vital Records is announcing the addition of the largest number of records to be released in a single day since the site launched in 2006. To commemorate this , for the first time World Vital Records is offering FREE PUBLIC ACCESS to its entire online collection beginning August 11 through August 13, 2009. According to them no credit card is required to get free access.

I just received an email like many of you probobly have, about upgrading to Family Tree Maker 2010.

This is what they claim is new:

• Easy family tree download from Ancestry.com – Import your Ancestry.com family tree, along with attached photos.
• Improved organization – Enjoy new ways to organize photos and other media.
• Slideshows – Create slideshows from photos in your tree.
• Family books – Publish beautiful keepsakes and books to share with friends and family.
• Standard source templates – Cite the right information every time.
• A new person view – View relationships within the context of your entire family tree.
• Scanner support – Add photos directly from your scanner.
• Family migration paths – View timelines and interactive maps highlighting events and places in your ancestors’ lives.
• Better Performance – Experience faster load times and navigation.

The upgrade cost is $19.95 if ordered before Aug 18th. I will upgrade mine and see if it is worth it. If you want to see for yourself then visit their FTM2010 Webpage.

Footnote is offering the 1930 US Census for Free for the month of August and “see the lives of people not just names”. You might wonder why they offer the 1930 US Census while other sites already have it. I believe they offer a richer experience at exploring the census. Some things I like that makes Footnote different are:

• Instantly see names you searched in the Footnote Viewer
• Add stories and pictures to a name
• Choose “I’m related” to show your relationship
• Keep and eye on things with Watch
• Memorialize a person instantly with a webpage and you can even share it on facebook
• Connect any of millions of documents
• Add your comments, memories to a name
• Connect with others that have similar interests
• Easier to find alternate names and spelling

They do not require a Credit Card to view the census but you will have to register for a free account. They also have the 1860 Census although it is part of the paid subscription.