Cecelia's Dig

                           Anyone who does genealogical research knows that you sometimes "bump" into your ancestors,(and sometimes a friend's),while reading something totally unrelated. It happened to me on 2 May 2021.                             I was flipping through the online pages of The Austin American-Statesman (Austin, Texas), when my eyes caught the article to the left of the article I was reading. I saw my Granny's name, along with her sister Thelma's name staring back at me!                             My "Granny" and my "Aunt Thelma" are Mozell DANIELS and her sister Thelma MITCHELL. They, along with Ethel DIXON, are named as sisters of Richard LEWIS, whose Funeral Notice in the 21 July 1967, Friday newspaper was my gift from above. Thank You, Newspapers.com!                                                                 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥                             Upon finding Richard Lewis' Death Certificate in Texas, Death Ce

                                                                     Yep.                   Gave my saliva up....twice. Waited forever it seemed, for my DNA Ethnicity Results. My Birth Certificate states I'm "Negro".....and my skin has been Black my whole life. "Colored", "Afro American" and "African American" are all boxes I've checked over the years .                                              No matter how often my designated label changed, one fact remained: the ink/pencil mark I left in the box was always Black, and THAT is what I call myself.                                                                                              It was time for my saliva to talk to me.            I wanted to have a Profile Photo (above) showing my Black face to my DNA "Matches"                                                                        Another reason?             MAYBE it would trigger some newly confirmed

                 A few years ago, it started with finding this on Ancestry.com.                             New Orleans, Louisiana, Slave Manifest Name: Major Perry Gender: Male Color: Black Estimated Birth Year: abt 1829 Ship Name: Phoenix Port of Departure: Richmond, Virginia Port of Arrival: New Orleans, Louisiana Date of Arrival: 17 Nov 1847 Age: 18 First Shipper/Owner: David Cume First Shipper/Owner Residence: Richmond Second Shipper/Owner: Nathaniel Matthews Second Shipper/Owner Residence: New Orleans Record Type: Arrivals (Inward Manifests) My maternal 3rd great Grandmother Amanda Perry's father was named...Major Perry.                                                Her Death Certificate reflects this                         Months later I received an email from an associate of Nancy Jordan,                              a  volunteer affiliated with Olivewood Cemetery in Houston, Texas                                      

                                                                              Summer of 1977 was when I first heard about brothers Harmon and Jake Marshall, from their niece Vera Cook Steptoe, my paternal grandfather Vernon V. Cook's baby sister. She was called "Aunt Baby Sister" by the family, but not by me. I LOVED her name, "Vera"....and "Aunt Vera" was how I addressed her.  Over the years, I'd hear about them again from my dad's siblings. Harmon and Jake's parents, Cassius and Isabella Marshall                                          Harmon Marshall was born 1879, Overton, Rusk County, Texas. Jake was born to their parents Cassius and Isabella Mayfield Marshall in 1890, Houston, Harris, Texas. They had other siblings which I'll feature in another blog.                                           What blows my mind about these two is their GUMPTION to hobble..yes, HOBBLE on down to the WWI Registration Office, and sig

                                       *****************                                                                  ***************                         Last night, I posted an entry about my Santa Claus, Odell Bradshaw. A great, fun-loving, joyful man, who was really my 1st cousin 2x removed. Due to "Technical Difficulties, Maybe", I removed it. Here's the Low Down. But first, a smile from Uncle Odell........                                                                        After a few hours of sleep, I opened my blog to check who read it, and also to read it with fresh eyes. Well, I pressed a button to move a line of type.....and I messed up my whole blog entry. I attempted to fix it, but ended up deleting the original post. I don't think it was a "mistake", for too much weird stuff was happening. The thought suddenly hit me.... "Uncle Odell's hexing me!! He doesn't want his business in the Universe". My first

                               My Bigmama's baby brother was a faceless, nameless entity. I never knew his given name until I gained access to the U.S. Census Collection, back in 1998. When he died in 1977, my sisters and I knew him only as "Uncle Gray Ghost"..... the man who knocked on our grandmother's front door in the dead of night. It was the ONLY time he visited.                                 I once asked my grandmother why she called her brother "Gray Ghost". She said it was because he only came out at night. I remember the way he knocked verrrrry softly, so as not to wake up the house. He'd loudly whisper "Ernest...Ernest, it's ME!", between his knocks. Bigmama would call back to him, "Aw, Brotha! You only come around when you WANT something! Now, go on before you wake these kids."  I was awake by then, listening to her open her door to him, and listening to their "grown folks" conversation. Bigmama would ask