A Legacy Of Service Honored: Adams County WW I Veterans Remembered

Last summer while researching in Mississippi, I had the opportunity to visit NAPAC  (Natchez Association for the Preservation of Afro-American Culture) and speak to the Director of Cultural & Heritage Tourism, Darrell White. During my visit, Mr. White discussed a project that the city  and museum were working on in conjunction with the GSA (General Services Administration) to have the names of African-Americans and other unlisted soldiers who served in WWI from Adams County, Mississippi on plaques. The city of Natchez originally displayed plaques of WW I soldiers names from the county dating shortly after the end of the war. However, these plaques didn't include the names of several white servicemen and none of the African-American servicemen who were on active duty during the war. This information was discovered by a graduate student, Shane Peterson, while he was in Natchez working on his thesis.

The push for a new plaque to be made was first published in the local news in March of 2010. My cousin, McKinley Barnes, was interviewed by the Natchez Democrat about his uncle Richard Lively who served and died in WW I. With the aide Darrell White, Shane Peterson, Ser Seshs Ab Heter-C.M. Boxley (Friends of the Forks of the Road); the project to get plaques got underway. GSA was generous enough to sponsor the creation and display of the new plaques.  In November of 2011, the plaques were dedicated at the Natchez Federal Courthouse.


Video of Plaque Dedication

While visiting the Mount Olive Baptist Church Cemetery and the Rounds Family Cemetery, I found the graves of African-Americans who served during  WW I. Many of these men were my family members. Their names now appear on the plaque in the honor of servicemen who served during WW I.

Descendant of Jerry and Flora (Rounds) Shepard
(Mount Olive Baptist Church Cemetery, Sibley, MS)

Son of Scott Washington Sr. and Roxie McFarland-Earls
(Rounds Family Cemetery, Rounds Plantation, Adams County, MS)

Marshall Glover, PVT US Army WW I
(Mount Olive Baptist Church Cemetery Sibley, MS)

Descendant of Charles and Charity Rounds
(Rounds Family Cemetery, Rounds Plantation Adams County, MS)

The Family Griot Blog Network

I appreciate the support I've received since I started actively blogging about my family lines in Alabama and Mississippi.  I've recently decided to start two new blogs to be included in a network of blogs called The Family Griot Network. One blog is specifically devoted to telling the story of The Rounds Family of Adams County, Mississippi . Additionally through my research I have found that the availability of online records regarding African-Americans in Wilkinson County, Mississippi  are difficult to find. My second blog, The Family Griot Repository will be a central resource for records I've located in Wilkinson County and Adams County, Mississippi pertaining to solely to African-Americans.

Thanks again!

The Family Griot
                                                              

Genealogy Road Trip 2011: Sunday Prayer at Mount Olive Baptist Church

Sunday morning prayer 

Mount Olive Baptist Church

Sibley, Mississippi

In Loving Memory: Folk Art in headstones

One of the things I've come to look forward to while researching my family is visiting the local cemeteries. I find the various headstones to be fascinating. They range from the most elaborate marble headstones with a photo of the deceased enshrined in a glass frame to folk art headstones made from concrete with handmade designs and customized memorializations. Here are a few of the folk art headstones I photographed at Mt. Olive Baptist Church Cemetery.

 

Mr. Joseph Perry
Born Aug 6, 1913 died Nov 16, 1973
“Rest In Peace”



Mother Mary Givens
“Our Beloved Mother” 
1860 – 1940 Aged 80



In Loving Memory of Laura C. Green
She was born July 10, 1921
She died Aug 21, 1990
She was Mother at Mt. Olive Baptist Church



           

              Mr. Buck Williams
             Born June 18, 1888
             Died Oct 13, 1966 At Rest





Once Was Lost, But Now Am Found: James Galmore Sr.



Sarah "Mama Sarah" Galmore-Thompson
and Family Griot on my very first trip to Mississippi

One of the few genealogical mysteries I'd been wanting to uncover was the origins of my Galmore family line. My maternal great-grandmother was born Sarah Galmore in about 1893 to Candy and Clara Galmore. Candy and Clara raised nine children; Anna, Nannie (Nancy), Mary, Jimmy (James), Clara, Cressie, Phoebe, Sarah, Candy and a nephew John whom they considered a son, in southern Adams county, Mississippi. According to Galmore oral family history, the Galmore's came to Mississippi from Virginia. This I have found is a common story among many Adams county African-American families as The Forks of the Road was a major overland slave market with major slave dealers operating out of Virginia.
In order for my search to begin, I looked for my oldest known Galmore ancestor which was my great-great grandfather, Candy Galmore. Through census research, I was able to determine that Candy Galmore was born in 1858 in Adams County, Mississippi. The earliest record of Candy was in the 1870 census. Listed as "Kendy" Galimore (a variant of the surname Galmore), he was living in Natchez, Mississippi. There were two other Galimore's who were listed  under household #261 with Kendy, Phoebe Galimore whose age is listed as 40 and James Galimore whose age is listed as 5.


The Galmore Family on the 1870 Census



 I was able to locate Candy Galmore and his descendants in each successive federal census from 1870 through 1920. Upon exhausting this resource, I then turned to trace any Galmores or Galimores in Adams County, Mississippi. My goal was to trace the descendants of James Galimore/Galmore, Candy's younger brother. While conducting a general name search in Mississippi at Ancestry, I came across a pension card for a much older James Galimore who had served in the 5th USCT Heavy Artillery out of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The person who applied for the pension was named Canada Galimore and the pension #839577 had been applied for from the state of Mississippi. I wondered if this Canada Galimore was my Candy Galmore.



Civil War Pension application card
for James Galimore

 I ordered the pension file for James Galimore from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Below are some of the key documents from the pension file that I used in analyzing if this James Galimore was the father and husband of Phoebe Galimore listed in the 1870 census. I followed up with another search of the federal census records from 1870 to 1930 for anyone in the state of Mississippi who was born with the surname Galimore or Galmore, as well as an interview with the oldest known Galmore descendant my grandfather also named Candy. My grandfather confirmed that William "Billy" Galmore was the father of John Galmore who had been raised with his mother, Sarah. Additionally, looking through the more recent Galmore descendants, there are a number of Phoebe's, Clara's, James' and even a few Candy's and Canada's in the family who took residence in the states of Mississippi and Louisiana.

The service record card
of James Galmore. This gives
a brief description of the soldier.



The request of James Galimore's children
Canada, William and James Jr. to receive a pension. This form lists the dates of their births as well as information about their mother Phoebe Galimore - Wade who remarried after receiving her husband's pay and bounty. It  gives details such as when Phoebe and James were 'married'. The brother Billy (William) was the father of John Galmore who was raised with my great grandmother,  Mama Sarah.



The determination by the Treasury Department,

 the Auditor for theWar Department

regarding the history of  payments made

to the Galmore family. Dated January 13, 1906.

Phoebe Galmore - Wade received James Galmore's

bounty payment of $100 and back pay of $30 in 1871.

Phoebe also received an additional $100 in 1879

based on the Bounty Act of July 22, 1861 because of

her status as the widow of James Galimore.



Page two of the letter from
the Treasury Department's office of the Auditor for the War Department

Family Griot just after barefootin' in the creek
at Ben's Corner. Yes that is mud and muck!

One of the things that the Washington Rounds Family enjoys the most when gathering for reunions is to enjoy various outdoor activities. At the Washington-Rounds picnic this year at Ben’s Corner the children and a few adventurous adults hopped in a cousin’s pickup truck and rode down to the creek that runs through the property. This is a fun  activity that has become tradition at family reunions held at Ben's Corner.



The creek at Ben's Corner. One of
our favorite places to go on the property.

 Many of us took off our shoes and jumped into the warm creek water. A female cousin who is known for never going without a pair of shoes joined us in the creek. We all had a good laugh about that!


What??!! No Shoes??!!



Road Trip Countdown: Canada "Candy" Galmore

Canada "Candy" Galmore

Canada "Candy" Galmore born in 1858, was the son of James and Phoebe Galmore. Phoebe and her sons, Candy and James first appear together in the Adams County 1870 census. Phoebe's occupation was listed as 'cook' and she was living near the household of a planter named A.M.  Poole. Phoebe received a bounty for her husband James, who served in the 5th USCT Heavy Artillery of Natchez, Mississippi.

Road Trip Countdown: Historic Natchez

 

Est. 1716
Welcome to Historic Natchez
on the Mississippi
2006

In 2006, this sign was purchased and placed on the legal city limits of Natchez, Mississippi to welcome visitors traveling along highway 61 North into the city. However, Natchez was not always the most welcoming city to people of African descent. During slavery, it was home to one of the largest overland slave markets in the U.S. at Forks of the Road in the center of the city.

Road Trip Countdown: Ormonde Plantation

Ormonde Plantation
(as it appears today)

The Ormonde Plantation was one of the workplaces owned by the Farrar and Ellis family descendants of Louisiana and Mississippi. The first time reference I saw regarding the Ormonde Plantation was on a private inventory of slaves dated 1829. Included on the inventory were enslaved Africans by the names of Chisolm and Maryanne and their daughters Charity, Margaret and Hannah.

Road Trip Countdown: Goliah Rounds

Goliah Rounds 1854 - 1931

Goliah Rounds was the middle child of Charles and Charity Rounds. He married Dinah Brown in October 1877. He took over the stewardship of the Rounds Plantation where he and Dinah raised their ten children. Their daughter, Alice Rounds-Washington is the Family Griot's great-grandmother.

Road Trip Countdown: Mt. Sinai Baptist Church

Mt. Sinai Baptist Church
Hwy 61 Sibley, Mississippi

One of the most crucial organizations of southern black communities was the church. It was an organization that granted comfort and support in times of need during slavery and the Jim Crow segregation eras. Mt. Sinai Baptist Church is one of the churches that many former enslaved and their descendants founded, attended and were buried in the church cemetery. This building is the new sanctuary, however the door hanging with the crescent moons and star in the middle is from the original church building.

Road Trip Countdown: Port Hudson, Louisiana



Port Hudson, Louisiana
Home of the 82nd USCT

Port Hudson State Historic Site was originally an Army post known as Port Hudson. From 1863 to 1865, my ancestor Benjamin Thompson served on active duty in the 82nd USCT and was stationed at this fort. He fought in various battles from Alabama to Florida in support of the Union during the Civil War. After leaving the Army he followed what is today known as highway 61 into Adams County, Mississippi where he settled and started the Thompson family line.

Road Trip Countdown: Rounds Plantation, Adams County, Mississippi

Rounds Plantation circa 1985

Rounds (Glen Aubin) Plantation in southern Adams Coutny, Mississippi was purchased by Charles and Charity Rounds during the Reconstruction Era. This is the home where the Rounds family built their life and legacy in the century following the Civil War. This is the place the descendants of Charles and Charity Rounds regard as our ancestral home.

Wordless Wedenesday: Mrs E. Green "At Rest" at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church




Mrs. E. Green
Born 1-15-1883
Died 9-17-1957
Age 64
"At Rest"

 

Call for Descendants: Rounds Family

This months Call for Descendants is calling for the Rounds Family of Mississippi.
There are two branches of the Rounds family originating from the state of Mississippi, one in Adams County and one in Humphreys County.

If you think that you are a descendant of either family, please respond to this call. There are people looking for you to help build their family tree.

The Family Griot

Tombstone Tuesday: Ethel Henderson

Ethel (Thompson) Henderson, eldest child of Calvin and Sarah (Galmore) Thompson. 1916-1978

Tombstone Tuesday: Perkins Galmore

The tombstone of Perkins Galmore, son of Kenndy and Clara (nee Perkins)Galmore. I suppose that she wanted us to remember who her people were, so she gave one of her sons her maiden name.

Mississippi Monday: Sibley Zydeco Festival

For the second year in a row, Ben's Corner Plantation will be the site of the Sibley Zydeco Festival. Ben's Corner is also the site of many Washington-Rounds Family Reunions and is the family homestead. Everytime we visit there, my family has great fun!

Be sure to check out the official site of the Sibley Zydeco Festival:

http://sibleyfestival.com/

Galmore Family in 1870 Mississippi Census

Today, I was conducting research in an attempt to get out of this family research slump. I decided to look for any records great great grandmother Clara Perkins-Galmore. My search focused my research on her maiden name, Perkins. I didn't yield any meaningful results. Afterwards, I just searched on the name Clara Galmore. In the 'other results', I came across the name James Galmore in the 1870 census records for Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi. I opened up the census record and saw three names I instantly recognized from the Galmore family: Phoebe Galimore, Kenndy Galimore and James Galimore.
From the 1870 census records, it lists Phoebe Galimore b.abt. 1830 as a Cook. Kenndy Galimore b. abt. 1855 and James Galimore b. abt. 1865 are not listed as having an occupation as they were aged 12 and 5 respectively. My great great grandfather's name was Kenndy Galmore and he was born in about 1855. He named two of his own children Phoebe and James. As a matter of fact, every generation since then has had a James and Phoebe in the Galmore descended family. Is this coincidence?

Photos: Sarah Galmore-Thompson(left), Phoebe Galmore(middle); Kendy Galmore; 1870 Census for Natchez, Adams County, MS

Adams County, MS Colored Marriage Records

A few marriage records from Adams County Mississippi. The years widely range from the late 1800's to the 1930's.