The Cookout

[YahudahQueen96]

I have been researching my ancestry for some months now. I became more invested after my great grandmother passed away in January. I am on different websites trying to trace my ancestors, building my family tree on ancestry.com, using other websites to obtain information, and using family artifacts.
I have only reached 2nd, third & a fourth generations. This is not easy, but totally worth it. Is anyone else researching their family background? How is your search going?

 

[Jay]

I have been researching my ancestry for some months now. I became more invested after my great grandmother passed away in January. I am on different websites trying to trace my ancestors, building my family tree on ancestry.com, using other websites to obtain information, and using family artifacts.
I have only reached 2nd, third & a fourth generations. This is not easy, but totally worth it. Is anyone else researching their family background? How is your search going?

I did the DNA test like an idiot when I was younger and it helped me fill out a lot of the tree on Ancestry.com. I was able to trace my family back a few generations on my Mom's side. My dad's side went back to Alabama and my Mom's side went back to Louisiana. I don't know much more than that outside of stories passed down. On my mom's side there was some Santeria practiced so it made a lot of sense why.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

I did the DNA test like an idiot when I was younger and it helped me fill out a lot of the tree on Ancestry.com. I was able to trace my family back a few generations on my Mom's side. My dad's side went back to Alabama and my Mom's side went back to Louisiana. I don't know much more than that outside of stories passed down. On my mom's side there was some Santeria practiced so it made a lot of sense why.

Oh okay cool. I never did a dna test. I don’t trust it. I go by records. My ancestors come from the Carolinas and Virginia. My mothers side is South Carolina. My fathers side is North Carolina and Virginia. I don’t know about my maternal grandfather. I am working on my entire family tree. It’s hard when I get no results. I have been learning a lot though. I had farmers on both sides of my family. I will have to ask relatives for more information. So far my maternal grandmother has been helpful. She let me borrow a family reunion book and it has the descendants listed. About two years ago I confirmed that my 3rd great grandmother was Cherokee. I cannot find much information on her. No death date, nothing. I’ve seen here listed in a couple on censuses. She became a widow with 13 children. I’m going to keep on digging for information. I wish I knew where she was buried. I found my 2nd great grandmother’s grave site today. I hope I can do some site seeing when I go to the next family reunion in South Carolina.

 

[Tati 304]

Oh okay cool. I never did a dna test. I don’t trust it. I go by records. My ancestors come from the Carolinas and Virginia. My mothers side is South Carolina. My fathers side is North Carolina and Virginia. I don’t know about my maternal grandfather. I am working on my entire family tree. It’s hard when I get no results. I have been learning a lot though. I had farmers on both sides of my family. I will have to ask relatives for more information. So far my maternal grandmother has been helpful. She let me borrow a family reunion book and it has the descendants listed. About two years ago I confirmed that my 3rd great grandmother was Cherokee. I cannot find much information on her. No death date, nothing. I’ve seen here listed in a couple on censuses. She became a widow with 13 children. I’m going to keep on digging for information. I wish I knew where she was buried. I found my 2nd great grandmother’s grave site today. I hope I can do some site seeing when I go to the next family reunion in South Carolina.

How did you find all that information was it difficult. I was going to do 23 and me but stopped when I saw people getting busted by law enforcement.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

How did you find all that information was it difficult. I was going to do 23 and me but stopped when I saw people getting busted by law enforcement.

Hello Tati. I use ancestry.com and familysearch.org. I started off building my family tree. When I added on, the information was popping up (hints). Like for my great grandparents, I create their profiles by entering the basic information I know (Full name, birthday, death date, where they were born, etc. I found out who my fourth great grandparents are by building up my tree over time. There are other users who share the same ancestors. I’ve found some on there. I analyze censuses, birth records, death records, and what my grandmother gave me (family reunion book. Earlier I restarted my membership for archives.com again because everything isn’t on ancestry.com. There is another site although extremely old called Afrigeneas. I entered n different surnames to see what I could find. Basically there are people who have family records. I emailed some ppl and so far I received one response for my mothers side. I am still waiting for that person to send me documents.
I’ve heard of 23 and me. I don’t trust dna tests for finding ancestors. I would do it if we controlled it. I am just using records to find my ancestors. It’s sad we have to go through all this to learn our roots.

 

[Tati 304]

Hello Tati. I use ancestry.com and familysearch.org. I started off building my family tree. When I added on, the information was popping up (hints). Like for my great grandparents, I create their profiles by entering the basic information I know (Full name, birthday, death date, where they were born, etc. I found out who my fourth great grandparents are by building up my tree over time. There are other users who share the same ancestors. I’ve found some on there. I analyze censuses, birth records, death records, and what my grandmother gave me (family reunion book. Earlier I restarted my membership for archives.com again because everything isn’t on ancestry.com. There is another site although extremely old called Afrigeneas. I entered n different surnames to see what I could find. Basically there are people who have family records. I emailed some ppl and so far I received one response for my mothers side. I am still waiting for that person to send me documents.
I’ve heard of 23 and me. I don’t trust dna tests for finding ancestors. I would do it if we controlled it. I am just using records to find my ancestors. It’s sad we have to go through all this to learn our roots.

Did you have to go look up the past census records or were all in the ancestry system?

 

[DARK MATTER GURL]

Hello Tati. I use ancestry.com and familysearch.org. I started off building my family tree. When I added on, the information was popping up (hints). Like for my great grandparents, I create their profiles by entering the basic information I know (Full name, birthday, death date, where they were born, etc. I found out who my fourth great grandparents are by building up my tree over time. There are other users who share the same ancestors. I’ve found some on there. I analyze censuses, birth records, death records, and what my grandmother gave me (family reunion book. Earlier I restarted my membership for archives.com again because everything isn’t on ancestry.com. There is another site although extremely old called Afrigeneas. I entered n different surnames to see what I could find. Basically there are people who have family records. I emailed some ppl and so far I received one response for my mothers side. I am still waiting for that person to send me documents.
I’ve heard of 23 and me. I don’t trust dna tests for finding ancestors. I would do it if we controlled it. I am just using records to find my ancestors. It’s sad we have to go through all this to learn our roots.

hey, I saw ur posts
I'm searching for my grandmother's
the info u gave has been very helpful
I'm having some trouble finding my 3rd great grandmother, I will try the family tree setup thx

 

[GwynShivers]

I have been researching my ancestry for some months now. I became more invested after my great grandmother passed away in January. I am on different websites trying to trace my ancestors, building my family tree on ancestry.com, using other websites to obtain information, and using family artifacts.
I have only reached 2nd, third & a fourth generations. This is not easy, but totally worth it. Is anyone else researching their family background? How is your search going?

I've family members that are in this field & are researching. Just like you, I'm going by what my Grandmothers have been telling me since age 5.
I've gotta research my Father's side. Both sides of my family settled in the Carolinas.
Both of my Grandmother's & my parents told me horrible experiences as slaves & I'll soon be writing books, in collaboration with my cousins, who are the researchers.
I've always been informed of who I am & where my family's from, thanks to my beloved elders.
My children & grandchildren also know all that my elders passed down to me, so our history will remain in tact & NEVER forgotten or altered.

 

[Rollie Forbes]

I've been able to trace my family back several generations (to the 1800's) by talking to my mother, and all of my aunts & uncles.
Both of my parents come from large southern families who preserved the tradition of passing down family history to younger generations. When we have family reunions, the elders chop it up with us and tell us about our families past.
Also, I have been blessed to see old family Bibles with birth/death dates & marriage dates, etc.

 

[Blackgravity]

I have been researching my ancestry for some months now. I became more invested after my great grandmother passed away in January. I am on different websites trying to trace my ancestors, building my family tree on ancestry.com, using other websites to obtain information, and using family artifacts.
I have only reached 2nd, third & a fourth generations. This is not easy, but totally worth it. Is anyone else researching their family background? How is your search going?

I started my search a few years ago after I did an Ancestry test, but a lot of the information came from my great Grandmother and a lot of my family. the furthest I can get to is 1825. It gets hard after that, my Dad, both sets of grandparents, and great-grandparents are gone so it's hard when you don't have the people with knowledge around to tell you more about the family tree.

 

[GwynShivers]

I started my search a few years ago after I did an Ancestry test, but a lot of the information came from my great Grandmother and a lot of my family. the furthest I can get to is 1825. It gets hard after that, my Dad, both sets of grandparents, and great-grandparents are gone so it's hard when you don't have the people with knowledge around to tell you more about the family tree.

True. I only had my Grandparents & Parents to rely on for pertinent information.
My Grandparents always told me that my Uncles are for entertainment purposes only, because they're always tipsy.
They can tell you how to make Moonshine & where to purchase it. 😅

 

[YahudahQueen96]

Did you have to go look up the past census records or were all in the ancestry system?

Hello. Each census should pop up when you add individuals to your family tree. You can print them out too. I view them and in the system your relatives will be highlighted. You can zoom in and look at the information. I print and write the info on the paper.

 

[Tati 304]

Hello. Each census should pop up when you add individuals to your family tree. You can print them out too. I view them and in the system your relatives will be highlighted. You can zoom in and look at the information. I print and write the info on the paper.

I need to sign up tonight after work and give it a shot.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

hey, I saw ur posts
I'm searching for my grandmother's
the info u gave has been very helpful
I'm having some trouble finding my 3rd great grandmother, I will try the family tree setup thx

You’re very welcome. Yes, set up your family tree starting with yourself and going forward. I have my self, siblings, parents, their parents, great parents, great grands, aunts and uncles, etc. I just add on as I go. I have a lot of my family on the tree. Once you add individuals, the system will generate the information you can add in your tree.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

I've family members that are in this field & are researching. Just like you, I'm going by what my Grandmothers have been telling me since age 5.
I've gotta research my Father's side. Both sides of my family settled in the Carolinas.
Both of my Grandmother's & my parents told me horrible experiences as slaves & I'll soon be writing books, in collaboration with my cousins, who are the researchers.
I've always been informed of who I am & where my family's from, thanks to my beloved elders.
My children & grandchildren also know all that my elders passed down to me, so our history will remain in tact & NEVER forgotten or altered.

That’s wonderful. I would be interested in buying your books. Information passes down in my family as well. I have been finding out some more information. I think stuff needs to be wrote in books. I’m all for learning information orally, but it would be best to keep important information written down.

 

[GwynShivers]

I need to sign up tonight after work and give it a shot.

I'm going to try 23andme. Jason Black has these people on All of his platforms.
I need more information regarding my Father's side of our family.

 

[Sapphire]

It is very hard to trace anything back unless your family knows. Even those DNA tests can be hit or miss and many of them were selling off information from people. I know enough about my heritage to be comfortable but it just sucks that most people have no idea because that was robbed from us due to slavery.

 

[GwynShivers]

That’s wonderful. I would be interested in buying your books. Information passes down in my family as well. I have been finding out some more information. I think stuff needs to be wrote in books. I’m all for learning information orally, but it would be best to keep important information written down.

Absolutely & I've got soooo much information that's etched in my brain. I want to get it out while I still remember.
I've had two brain aneurysm surgeries & I'm afraid I might get Alzheimer's or Dementia later, so I've gotta complete ALL my missions ASAP!

 

[YahudahQueen96]

I've been able to trace my family back several generations (to the 1800's) by talking to my mother, and all of my aunts & uncles.
Both of my parents come from large southern families who preserved the tradition of passing down family history to younger generations. When we have family reunions, the elders chop it up with us and tell us about our families past.
Also, I have been blessed to see old family Bibles with birth/death dates & marriage dates, etc.

Wow. That’s amazing. Many of our elders are deceased, so I have to rely on others. My grandmother has told my mother and I some things. We have a family reunion this summer of my maternal great grandmothers side who just passed. I will be traveling to South Carolina with my mother and brother and grandparents. I haven’t been to a family reunion since I was a child. I want to look at old grave sites, properties, and see if I can gain more info from relatives. I look forward to it. I’m a beginner with this. Later on I will head for the more advanced research. I am pushing myself to search for new things.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

I started my search a few years ago after I did an Ancestry test, but a lot of the information came from my great Grandmother and a lot of my family. the furthest I can get to is 1825. It gets hard after that, my Dad, both sets of grandparents, and great-grandparents are gone so it's hard when you don't have the people with knowledge around to tell you more about the family tree.

Hello Blackgravity. How does the DNA test work? I don’t trust it, so I only go by family records. I started my family tree in 2020 and put it down. Cancelled my membership and picked it back up the end of 2021. I became more invested in finding information when my great grandma died two months ago. I just use basic information to fill in my family tree and work on up. A lot of my elders are deceased too, so I can’t get any valuable information from them. Usually info is passed down in my family. Now that it’s coming back to me, I have a cousin who knows a lot. I have to contact him this week to find out anything I can use. So far I’ve been using the materials my grandmother gave me. It has helped me build my tree. I have only reached 4th generation (1800s).

 

[YahudahQueen96]

I need to sign up tonight after work and give it a shot.

Cool! Let me know how it all works out.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

It is very hard to trace anything back unless your family knows. Even those DNA tests can be hit or miss and many of them were selling off information from people. I know enough about my heritage to be comfortable but it just sucks that most people have no idea because that was robbed from us due to slavery.

Truth. I can trace back because I have information about who my relatives are. I have never used dna testing and don't plan to. I have found info on ancestry.com, family tree, other sites that I take from. A lot of the information is not accessible and you have to pay to retrieve it. I cannot go far back for both sides, but I work with what I have. I am going to be asking around.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

Absolutely & I've got soooo much information that's etched in my brain. I want to get it out while I still remember.
I've had two brain aneurysm surgeries & I'm afraid I might get Alzheimer's or Dementia later, so I've gotta complete ALL my missions ASAP!

I understand and wish you all the best. You will complete your missions. ✊🏾

 

[Rollie Forbes]

Wow. That’s amazing. Many of our elders are deceased, so I have to rely on others. My grandmother has told my mother and I some things. We have a family reunion this summer of my maternal great grandmothers side who just passed. I will be traveling to South Carolina with my mother and brother and grandparents. I haven’t been to a family reunion since I was a child. I want to look at old grave sites, properties, and see if I can gain more info from relatives. I look forward to it. I’m a beginner with this. Later on I will head for the more advanced research. I am pushing myself to search for new things.

Best wishes on your search! Try to talk to as many of your elders as possible. If any of them are in their mid 70's-80's, they can probably take you back almost 100 years (or more) for your family's history. They may even have photos or family mementos that they will allow you to see.
Also, get their addresses & phone numbers so that you can keep in touch with them. Before you know it, you'll have the bulk of your family tree mapped out.

 

[GwynShivers]

I understand and wish you all the best. You will complete your missions. ✊🏾

Thanks soooo much, I believe so as well!
The Most High has ALWAYS made a way out of no way! 🙏🏽❤🙏🏽

 

[Blackgravity]

True. I only had my Grandparents & Parents to rely on for pertinent information.
My Grandparents always told me that my Uncles are for entertainment purposes only, because they're always tipsy.
They can tell you how to make Moonshine & where to purchase it. 😅

Lmao, that's funny.

 

[Blackgravity]

Hello Blackgravity. How does the DNA test work? I don’t trust it, so I only go by family records. I started my family tree in 2020 and put it down. Cancelled my membership and picked it back up the end of 2021. I became more invested in finding information when my great grandma died two months ago. I just use basic information to fill in my family tree and work on up. A lot of my elders are deceased too, so I can’t get any valuable information from them. Usually info is passed down in my family. Now that it’s coming back to me, I have a cousin who knows a lot. I have to contact him this week to find out anything I can use. So far I’ve been using the materials my grandmother gave me. It has helped me build my tree. I have only reached 4th generation (1800s).

I don't trust ancestry 100% for results as far as where I come from, but what it does a pretty good job at is matching your DNA to people you are related to. When I first signed in it had damn near my whole family already mapped out! It starts getting fuzzy in the 1800s, my DNA shows I have "native" I prefer aboriginal, I honestly think they tamper with the tests so most #FBA can't link themselves to this land. I can, but a lot of us can't. I think it's by design.

 

[Tati 304]

Cool! Let me know how it all works out.

I signed up a few hours ago but didn’t have time to dive in. May have to start on saturday.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

Best wishes on your search! Try to talk to as many of your elders as possible. If any of them are in their mid 70's-80's, they can probably take you back almost 100 years (or more) for your family's history. They may even have photos or family mementos that they will allow you to see.
Also, get their addresses & phone numbers so that you can keep in touch with them. Before you know it, you'll have the bulk of your family tree mapped out.

Facts! I have some relatives to communicate with. I really have to reach out more. Two are in their 90’s. I have an uncle who turned 94 earlier this month. His memory is good, so I need to catch up with him. I need information on his mother, my great grandmother and his sister is my grandmother. I am named after her. I want as much information I can get. I also need to get in touch with cousins. I will keep y’all posted on my research. 😌

 

[YahudahQueen96]

I signed up a few hours ago but didn’t have time to dive in. May have to start on saturday.

Oh okay cool. It’s pretty simple. I started off with myself and parents. I was adding more relatives today. I am having a hard time with finding information. So today I discovered a 1st cousin whose name was Charles. He was born in March of 1899 and at the time of the 1900 census he was 1. Charles is the son of a 2nd great grand-aunt named Mamie. I figured out she had him at 16 and there was no father listed. The father is a mystery and I don’t know where to go from there. I don’t know when my cousin died. Even his full birthdate is missing. All I know is his first name Charles and his last name in the family reunion book is Ellison. He was an only child. I’m going to keep on searching. It can be a little discouraging, but I won’t stop learning about my family history.

 

[Sapphire]

Truth. I can trace back because I have information about who my relatives are. I have never used dna testing and don't plan to. I have found info on ancestry.com, family tree, other sites that I take from. A lot of the information is not accessible and you have to pay to retrieve it. I cannot go far back for both sides, but I work with what I have. I am going to be asking around.

Start where you can and see where it takes you. It is a great feeling to learn about your lineage and where your family came from.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

Start where you can and see where it takes you. It is a great feeling to learn about your lineage and where your family came than

Start where you can and see where it takes you. It is a great feeling to learn about your lineage and where your family came from.

Yes I have so many relatives on my tree. I added more today. I found a family reunion book for my maternal side. It has my 3rd great grandmother in there and 4 of her kids. She had 12 children when she married my 3rd great grandfather in South Carolina. My 3rd great grandmother was Cherokee Indian. I saw a new picture of her and got very excited. Also a picture of my 2nd great grand aunt (her daughter) that wasn’t in the family reunion book I have from 2012. The book I found posted on ancestry.com is from 2014 Georgia. I also found out my aunt had 14 children with her husband. I believe she has 2 daughters living and if so they are in their 90’s.

 

[DARK MATTER GURL]

You’re very welcome. Yes, set up your family tree starting with yourself and going forward. I have my self, siblings, parents, their parents, great parents, great grands, aunts and uncles, etc. I just add on as I go. I have a lot of my family on the tree. Once you add individuals, the system will generate the information you can add in your tree.

Thx 4 ur help, I'm having trouble with my female family members, can't seem to find much info . Ive used genealogybank & family search but nothing. Any suggestions?

 

[YahudahQueen96]

Thx 4 ur help, I'm having trouble with my female family members, can't seem to find much info . Ive used genealogybank & family search but nothing. Any suggestions?

Hello Dark Matter Gurl. You’re so welcome. I would keep digging. Did you find any census documents? I have found information from reading censuses. I am sorry you are having problems finding information. I am having trouble myself finding information on my father’s side. I use family tree which helps some.

I suggest adding onto those relatives like if they have siblings, add their parents, children if they have them. I have used find a grave and archives. Find a grave is used to find my deceased relatives and usually it’s on the ancestry.com website when hints are found. What information have you found so far? I have read over censuses from the mid-late 1800’s going forward. I had farmers on both sides. My mothers side Is easier because I’m closest to them and the information is easily accessible. I know that my Gaither side owned a farm in South Carolina. My great grandfather was an employer and some of his family worked on the farm. Please read over these forms. Many of my relatives could speak English but couldn’t read and write. Many had to labor and education wasn’t easy to achieve for many Black Americans.

I can share that I did find more pictures of my Cherokee ancestors. I found a family reunion book from 2014 on the site. I can confirm it’s my family because it had my great grandmother in it and some of her children. My third great grandmother was a Cherokee Indian born in South Carolina. She married my great grandfather and they had 12 children. I saw another photo of her, I found a photo of my other aunt. I took pictures (screenshots). I saw three of my other relatives, 2nd great grandfather, another aunt and an uncle. My grandmother gave me a family reunion book last time I saw her and it contains only three of my great grandmothers children. In the other book I found the picture of my aunt Roxie. This was last week. I was overjoyed. The book contained information that I didn’t know. I am not an expert in ancestry research. I just do the best I can and when I hit a dead end, I go to other relatives. This is why I have gotten more done on my mothers side.

More suggestions would be to use other genealogy websites and link with relatives. A site that I found was Afrigeneas and it is black owned, but I warn you it is old. The founder died in 2019 and she created the site in 1999. I’m not sure if people still use Afrigeneas, but I found it some months ago and got connected with someone who has documents on my ancestors. On the website you can enter in different surnames in your family. I tried my last name and didn’t get anything. But two other family names worked. The other suggestion would be the contact family members because they may know things that will help. I have relatives in my family who know family history. I have to get in contact with some. Let me know how that all works for you.

 

[DARK MATTER GURL]

I had to screen shot this info hun
thx soo much & have a blessed day Sis

 

[Mastamind]

Father's side is pretty much all back home, I've heard stories but haven't done enough research because I've been here my whole life. One side of my mother's side descended from here and we were supposed to dig deeper to find some of the relatives that were left behind...I need to help with that

 

[YahudahQueen96]

I had to screen shot this info hun
thx soo much & have a blessed day Sis

You are so welcome Sis!!!! I hope your search works in your favor. 😊

 

[YahudahQueen96]

Father's side is pretty much all back home, I've heard stories but haven't done enough research because I've been here my whole life. One side of my mother's side descended from here and we were supposed to dig deeper to find some of the relatives that were left behind...I need to help with that

Oh okay that’s cool. I hope you research your relatives. I would look up information on genealogy websites and speak to relatives. Unfortunately for me I don’t have many of my elders, but I can ask living relatives like my mother, grandmother, cousins, maybe aunts and uncles. This is a lot of work so I would just take my time. Ancestry.com has been helpful, but I use other sites if they don’t have anything on my family. I hope all works out for you! 😊

 

[Mastamind]

Oh okay that’s cool. I hope you research your relatives. I would look up information on genealogy websites and speak to relatives. Unfortunately for me I don’t have many of my elders, but I can ask living relatives like my mother, grandmother, cousins, maybe aunts and uncles. This is a lot of work so I would just take my time. Ancestry.com has been helpful, but I use other sites if they don’t have anything on my family. I hope all works out for you! 😊

You too, I'm gonna ask my family today

 

[jasonrest]

Oh okay cool. I never did a dna test. I don’t trust it. I go by records. My ancestors come from the Carolinas and Virginia. My mothers side is South Carolina. My fathers side is North Carolina and Virginia. I don’t know about my maternal grandfather. I am working on my entire family tree. It’s hard when I get no results. I have been learning a lot though. I had farmers on both sides of my family. I will have to ask relatives for more information. So far my maternal grandmother has been helpful. She let me borrow a family reunion book and it has the descendants listed. About two years ago I confirmed that my 3rd great grandmother was Cherokee. I cannot find much information on her. No death date, nothing. I’ve seen here listed in a couple on censuses. She became a widow with 13 children. I’m going to keep on digging for information. I wish I knew where she was buried. I found my 2nd great grandmother’s grave site today. I hope I can do some site seeing when I go to the next family reunion in South Carolina.

Wow, I was excited about chasing down my tree on ancestry.com until someone told me dna was mandatory.
knowing thats not true. I will look into that again.

Thanks for this post/info.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

Wow, I was excited about chasing down my tree on ancestry.com until someone told me dna was mandatory.
knowing thats not true. I will look into that again.

Thanks for this post/info.

No problem. I never heard such thing. I signed up in 2020 to start my search. Hung it up for awhile. Renewed my membership like the end of last year moving on. I really became more active after my great grandmother passed away in January. I never had to get a dna test and I don’t trust it. I found a relative on there and they asked about the test to see if we are related, but I told her I don’t trust it, which she understood. I go by records and information that I have. Best wishes on building your family tree. I will eventually build my own tree (handmade).

 

[YahudahQueen96]

Hey fam. So I want to give a quick update on my ancestry discovery. I have made so much progress adding to my tree and learning about relatives. One of my cousins on my fathers side has a book on our family history and she will let me know when she gets a copy to sell to me. I am looking forward to that.

On my mother’s side, I found a 2014 family reunion book from Lithonia GA. I saw an image of my third great grandmother and a picture of another great aunt. So there were two new images. Those weren’t in the family reunion book that was given to me. My third ggma was a Cherokee Indian. She married my ggfather and they had 12 children together. So I have both African and Indian ancestry. (Not $5 Indian).

I have been using ancestry.com a lot. I have added so many family members but still have a long way to go. I found a cousin who has a family teee and they are from my maternal great grandmothers Gaither side. I messaged them and let them know who I was. She gave me her number and we were chatting one night last week. It was cool. I actually saw her at my ggma’s funeral in February, but I didn’t know who she was! Crazy! I have to text her.

My family and I planned on going to the family reunion in North Carolina, but it was canceled due to the lack of registrations. I think this covid mess caused many issues. I hope we can have one next year. We really have to stay close to our families during this time. I just want to learn my roots and gain connections I never had.

I am still going to visit family in South Carolina this summer. I want to visit graves and gain more information from relatives that I haven’t seen in years. I also have to travel to New York to see my great uncle and his family. They are always asking me have I packed my bags to come there.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

Hey y'all. I am still researching my geneology. A male cousin messaged me on ancestry.com yesterday. I gave him my number to keep in contact. I am happy with the accomplishments I am making connecting with family I never met and discovering my ancestors. I am adding to my tree again. Some important names were discovered thanks to my grandmother. I now have the names of my 3rd great grandparents (surname:Johnson). I am waiting for hints to pop up. The only issue is I don't have any birth/death dates for them as of yet. I will keep on searching as best as I can. Another important artifact I received was my 2nd great grandfather Preston's death announcement, like a form of obituary that I requested through the Richland library in South Carolina.

 

[cjg]

Oh okay cool. I never did a dna test. I don’t trust it. I go by records. My ancestors come from the Carolinas and Virginia. My mothers side is South Carolina. My fathers side is North Carolina and Virginia. I don’t know about my maternal grandfather. I am working on my entire family tree. It’s hard when I get no results. I have been learning a lot though. I had farmers on both sides of my family. I will have to ask relatives for more information. So far my maternal grandmother has been helpful. She let me borrow a family reunion book and it has the descendants listed. About two years ago I confirmed that my 3rd great grandmother was Cherokee. I cannot find much information on her. No death date, nothing. I’ve seen here listed in a couple on censuses. She became a widow with 13 children. I’m going to keep on digging for information. I wish I knew where she was buried. I found my 2nd great grandmother’s grave site today. I hope I can do some site seeing when I go to the next family reunion in South Carolina.

Trust, as in keeping your information, or the results aren't trustworthy? I encourage everybody to go to African ancestry.com and do the Patrician or Matriclan ... If you are a man, the Patriclan will trace the men's lineage going back to the continent, ... I found out I have Guinea Bissau roots, from "those who resisted" ... Empowering information just knowing. Once it's done, they discard your info, so no selling or Henrietta Lack stuff

 

[YahudahQueen96]

Trust, as in keeping your information, or the results aren't trustworthy? I encourage everybody to go to African ancestry.com and do the Patrician or Matriclan ... If you are a man, the Patriclan will trace the men's lineage going back to the continent, ... I found out I have Guinea Bissau roots, from "those who resisted" ... Empowering information just knowing. Once it's done, they discard your info, so no selling or Henrietta Lack stuff

Hello. What I mean is I'm not giving my dna to ancestry sites. I had a potential cousin who asked me about it, and I told her I do not trust giving away that type of information. As I am a descendant of the enslaved survivors here in the USA, I am more focused on my ancestry here. I can look up stuff on the slavery database, and have been but it doesn't tell you much. I would have to dig deeper. I have to dig deeper with my US ancestry too. I have African ancestry as well as Indian (Not $5/Nor Asian). I have to travel to specific places to get more information. I also hate the fact that I have to pay to have access to census records. Then, some of the info is misleading or just false. Thank you bc you just reminded me I have to contact one of my cousins who found me on ancestry.com. Oh, and by the way I did find a genealogy website that is centered around Black people of African descent, but I could not go far since the site is old. I reached out to someone who said they have a census record of my family, but they never sent it to me. If you do have any tips I would be grateful.

 

[AChris]

I have been researching my ancestry for some months now. I became more invested after my great grandmother passed away in January. I am on different websites trying to trace my ancestors, building my family tree on ancestry.com, using other websites to obtain information, and using family artifacts.
I have only reached 2nd, third & a fourth generations. This is not easy, but totally worth it. Is anyone else researching their family background? How is your search going?

I started our genealogy records after my maternal great-grandfather died at age 96. My mom took over after a few years; she uses Ancestry as her primary source, and she is working through the 1870 census. Her ppl are mainly from GA. My dad's ppl are from VA and WV. I've been fortunate to get info from my grands and great-grands, some who lived to age 90 and beyond.

 

[YahudahQueen96]

I started our genealogy records after my maternal great-grandfather died at age 96. My mom took over after a few years; she uses Ancestry as her primary source, and she is working through the 1870 census. Her ppl are mainly from GA. My dad's ppl are from VA and WV. I've been fortunate to get info from my grands and great-grands, some who lived to age 90 and beyond.

Excuse me for my late response. That is wonderful how you were informed about your family history. I heard some from my family, especially my meternal grandmother. I discovered over info on the ancestry sites, newspapers.com, and find a grave. My maternal side is SC and I think NC. Mg paternal side is VA and NC. My family is scattered out, especially on the east coast. I have a few family in the Midwest/West. I have to get back into my ancestry research. I won’t be able to do what I want until I actually travel.

Also, I am going to ask my great aunt questions about our family. She is in her 80’s and in her right mind. Her sister, my great grandmother passed away months ago at age 90. So she is the only child left between just her sister. She does have kids and grandkids, but her sister was like her best friend.

Now I know there are Black people who live long ages. A Black woman I grew up knowing in church lived to 104 years. She just passed away weeks ago. I have a grandmother (not biological) who is 98 years old and still kicking. I pray that I live that long. It’s a lot of young folks dying. It’s not meant to be that way. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

 

[GwynShivers]

Excuse me for my late response. That is wonderful how you were informed about your family history. I heard some from my family, especially my meternal grandmother. I discovered over info on the ancestry sites, newspapers.com, and find a grave. My maternal side is SC and I think NC. Mg paternal side is VA and NC. My family is scattered out, especially on the east coast. I have a few family in the Midwest/West. I have to get back into my ancestry research. I won’t be able to do what I want until I actually travel.

Also, I am going to ask my great aunt questions about our family. She is in her 80’s and in her right mind. Her sister, my great grandmother passed away months ago at age 90. So she is the only child left between just her sister. She does have kids and grandkids, but her sister was like her best friend.

Now I know there are Black people who live long ages. A Black woman I grew up knowing in church lived to 104 years. She just passed away weeks ago. I have a grandmother (not biological) who is 98 years old and still kicking. I pray that I live that long. It’s a lot of young folks dying. It’s not meant to be that way. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

My Dad's Mom lived to 111 years old & my Mom's Mom lived to 113. Both of my Grandmothers taught me agriculture, caring for farm animals & how to make just about everything, except toilet paper. That was the only reason we went to the store. ❤️😁❤️

 

[YahudahQueen96]

My Dad's Mom lived to 111 years old & my Mom's Mom lived to 113. Both of my Grandmothers taught me agriculture, caring for farm animals & how to make just about everything, except toilet paper. That was the only reason we went to the store. ❤️😁❤️

WOW! That is amazing. We need to increase our life span. There are too many of us dying at young ages, so it's a blessing to know there are some of us living long lives. You are blessed to have grandparents that lived that long and taught you those crucial skills. I wish I was taught the same. I had ancestors who were farmers on both sides, but that ended some time ago (I don't know when). I would like to learn how to farm and eventually own one with my family. Making homemade products is interesting. Right now I am re learning how to crochet and practicing making items so I can become a business owner. Now when you talk about making your own stuff, does that include food as well as clothing? What about hair and body product? I'm curious.

 

[ladytlw67]

How did you find all that information was it difficult. I was going to do 23 and me but stopped when I saw people getting busted by law enforcement.

I'm from South Carolina. My father's side is from Darlington SC and my mother's side is primarily from Bethel NC. What part of NC & SC is your family from?