Book Review: "150 Years Later: Broken Ties Mended" by Melvin Collier



http://www.writeherepublishing.com/150YearsLater/


          I recently had the pleasure to read the second genealogical work written by genealogist and African American historian  Melvin Collier titled "150 Years Later: Broken Ties Mended".  This book takes you through Melvin's personal journey of tracing and chronicling his mother's family, the Reeds of northern Mississippi. This book covers from his ancestor William "Bill" Reed to his oldest known documented ancestors, Fanny and Lewis Barr of South Carolina. Melvin masterfully through his detailed and determined research is able to reconnect Bill Reed with his formerly enslaved family connection to the Barrs and Beckleys nearly a century after the family left South Carolina for Mississippi when the estate of his last known slave owner was divided among his children.
          This book is a must read for African Americans who are working on their own family genealogy. What I really enjoyed about the book is how it in many ways is an every man's story for African-Americans. I could relate to the family structure of having a 'brother' and 'sister' among the siblings. Among my Alabama father's siblings there was a 'brother' my Uncle Thurman and a 'sister' my Aunt Julia. I also could relate to the warmth of kinship between the extended family members Melvin met through his research. I feel the book put the traditional extended family and cultural norms of African-Americans upfront and in a positive spotlight.
         The highlight of the book  for this reader was the 2009 family reunion of the descendants of Fanny and Lewis Barr in Abbeville, South Carolina. Personally, I found that to be the most touching part of the book; the connections broken by the inhumane system of American slavery being mended by reuniting the descendants.
         In closing, I am grateful that Melvin wrote this second book from a personal perspective which serves to inspire researchers as myself to keep digging into their own genealogy and tell the stories missing from the historical narrative of this country.

Thanks Melvin!

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

50 Cent's story brings Genealogy to the Hip-Hop Generation

Video clip of 50 Cents journey in tracing his ancestors

Saturdays are pretty relaxed days for me. I usually dedicate a couple of  hours to mindless television watching. On my most recent channel surf, something caught my complete attention. It was an commercial on VH1 announcing a documentary about the rapper 50 Cents finding his roots. I was in total awe that this topic specifically in African-American history would be appearing on a channel like VH1, whose shows usually focus on pop and rock music and their trademark "Rock-umentary" series. Black faces and music are very scarce on this channel, even with the rise of hip-hop and neo-soul.

For VH1 to take on the topic of African-American genealogy and make it relevant to the younger generation of African-Americans by focusing on a hip hop artist from admittedly modest means is innovative, cutting edge and a brilliant idea. I am not an avid watcher of VH1 by any means, however I plan on having myself and my children planted in front of our television on Monday night at 9:00 pm to watch this show. Hopefully, it will interest the younger generation of African-Americans genealogical and historical research and that they will begin their own search for their roots.

Journey of Discovery. . .

Today I had a chance to reflect on exactly why I am researching my family genealogy and history. For me, it's a part of a greater journey of discovery. One that is within me and outside of me.
My journey on a quest to find my people began with a realization that African descended people in America were mostly missing from history books in the context of intellectual and humanitarian accomplishments. I began to research everything that I could about African descended people in America who had contributed anything of significance to American society. Along the way I discovered that as a group of people we are the most creative and most connected people that I know of. Our branch of the African Diaspora has survived and thrived under some of the most oppressive conditions in the Americas.
However, studying African-Americans wasn't enough, I had to take a look inward. I realized that I didn't know much about my own family, their achievements or their lives. These are the very people whose DNA and blood flows through me, their very existence allowed me to be brought me into being. As to date, I'm finding that success runs in my family in terms of their material wealth, spiritual wealth and gifts.
This journey has been eye opening for me in various ways. As I am journeying through this search for my family, I'm discovering more about myself, more about my people and more about my spirit.

I invite all my readers to continue with me on this journey of discovery. . .

The Family Griot