Reconnected Roots

For those of you who do not know, I have an overwhelming, personal interest in the story of Father Divine and the International Peace Mission. If you missed the post on my Great Grandmother, Cora, you can catch up here on how this fits in with genealogy and my family history.

In my quest to find out more about her life and ultimately her death, I became acquainted Father Divine’s adopted son, Tommy Garcia. Tommy’s quest, much like my own started out of a need for truth, answers and resolution.

In fact, as fate would have it, Tommy was the catalyst for my friendship with Tom McKnight. Yes, I know. Reconnected Roots has not been the same since Tom McKnight was here! His presence is sorely missed. But for those of you who enjoyed his 3-part series, know that he still follows this blog and reads all the comments. Additionally, I plan to ask him to write a post chronicling his ancestor’s life with Father Divine and the International Peace Mission.

Earlier this year, the three of us, myself, Tommy and Tom participated in a series of interviews with a nationally recognized writer J.F. Pirro out of Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Part I of the story is out! See Prodigal Son (Part I) By the way, Part II will be out in October, and rumor has it, that there is a mention of Cora in Part II, so stay tuned!

Here's the Story: Prodigal Son by J. F. Pirro

Until Next Time,

Many of you know I recently spent some time with my Great Aunt, who by the way is 97 years young! She is alert, independent, gracious and sharp. I had not seen her since I was a little girl, but we visited as if we had seen each other last week.

During my stay, she shared with me her Mother’s Bible. Her mother, Cora Tinsley Martin, was born in 1893 and is the focus of my ongoing inquiry into Father Divine and the International Peace Mission. Who's that, you say? Read here if you puzzled.

Aunt Dorris keeps meticulous records and when the subject of her Mother’s handwriting came up, she retrieved this invaluable heirloom, which in the margin has notes written by her mother. Aware of its value she keeps this bible, secured in plastic, away from the sun, dust or other perils. The pages are torn and tattered, the spine detached from its binding, but all I could think about was that this Bible belonged to my Great-Grandmother. She clearly studied it, noted it, prayed with it and then saw fit to send it back home to her daughter.

Aunt Dorris doesn’t need anyone to tell her the value of this heirloom, as although she shared this beauty with me, she made sure I did not handle it! And that was just fine with me. I was honored and grateful that she shared her most prized family antique with me and all of the stories that went along with it.

Priceless!

The effort to venerate Great Grandmother’s  presence continues; while there was a tacit agreement to place her picture on the kitchen door (the shack behind the Keller home), inclusion of her picture in the main house at present was suggested to be no larger than 5x7. One can draw one’s own conclusion and possibly be right.
 
An 8x10 for the kitchen door is also tacitly "reasonable" or acceptable, however a larger presentation whereby Great Grandmother, Great Grandfather and a pictorial organization chart to convey her role not only as cook, but as a mother, with a family is a more apt resurrection of history. She was one of many who were part of, and influenced the Keller household in so many different ways.
 
Viny Murphy, the other person depicted in the movies, plays and books was not the cook as most are led to believe. Her name is at least correct. Viny was nursemaid to Helen Keller's siblings; Phillip Brooks Keller and Mildred Keller. Now, as I have been advised, in the Southern context, the title nursemaid had a specific function and meaning back in the day, but I'll leave that for those more knowledgeable of such cultural and geographic settings to contemplate; thus, we were a vital element in people’s households and their lives more than what wants to be recognized.
 
Great Grandmother died in Tuscumbia, Alabama in August 1917. She has a headstone. Great Grandfather however remains in an unmarked and unknown grave. Through research - Great Grandmother and Viny Murphy were work mates; worshipped and fellowshipped together and shared roles as Committee members of Trenholm School, an African American school in Tuscumbia. Viny, who became a lead officer of an African American fraternal organization known as the Mosaic Templars of America (MTA) aka Order of Moses, ensured Sophie received her death benefit, and MTA headstone; thus, having been close to the Watkins family, she would have known where Rev. Fred Watkins was buried (though the MTA burial insurance fund did not exist at the time of his death in 1911). So, have the ancestors led me to find another unmarked grave? Was Great Grandmother buried next to kin (Rev. Fred) by Viny? I believe the evidence and logic  points to his burial spot having also been identified in what was the segregated part of Oakwood Cemetery where no records are known to exist. Another cold case mystery solved, I believe.
 
Viny died October 1919. She also has a headstone. I'm thankful for not only resurrecting the knowledge of the MTA's existence in northwest Alabama, but to have been blessed to put the pieces together that has brought this mission to this point thus far.
 
In closing, "Aluta continua," translated from Portuguese means, "the struggle continues" but this is the journey that those involved in history and genealogy must pursue. Vigilance, research, Divine Intervention (definitely) and ancestors tap-tap-tapping upon one's shoulder whispering "make sure we're not long gone and forgotten" is what this journey, my personal journey is, and continues to be about.
 
I would like to thank Amy for this opportunity to "pinch hit" during her absence and for the opportunity to have contributed to this wonderful blog site. I'm particularly more grateful that y'all don't bite but just nibble. Thank you for that. To all reading this blog and engaged in keeping the ancestor's existence alive,  
 
Peace, Love and Strength,
 
Tom McKnight

Sophia Napier Watkins is a name unknown to the world because her existence as a nameless entity is only conveyed through the interactions between "Martha Washington," and Helen Keller. “Martha Washington” was Helen Keller’s  playmate in movies of Helen Keller's life, beginning with "Deliverance" (1919); a black and white silent film; followed by more current "The Miracle Worker" versions. Notwithstanding, the plays and books of Helen Keller's life where "Martha Washington, whose mother was the cook" is the only reference to the cook's existence.
 
Further research and Divine Intervention has revealed that "Martha Washington" is really a fictitious name and that it was a name assigned by Helen Keller because as an adult, she couldn't remember her childhood friend’s name. Additionally, it was a characteristic name for an “African American,” during that period. Why an erroneous identity would be written and prevail as a "historic fact" and repeated as such for more than a century is left to anyone's imagination or speculation.
 
The truth is what it is, no more and no less. Thus no one has the right to misrepresent one's family tree. The so-called "daughter of the cook" is actually Mariah Watkins, the daughter of Uncle Rush Watkins. That would technically make Mariah - "Martha" -- the cook's niece and not her daughter. History must be seen as a dynamic and should not be viewed as a static. The fact that others have controlled the lens of how history is viewed, society must also realize that there are more than two sides to a coin, actually, there are three. In addition to heads or tails, the coin is capable of landing on its edge - straight up. 
 
The efforts of a Great Grandson to bring honor, recognition and justice where history is placed into proper perspective as a shared environment that encompasses European American, Native American and African American history so that it is not His(story) but a collective Our(story) is what research and perseverance is all about and the Ancestors will accept nothing less.
 
The effort has been considerable to have Great Grandmother, Sophia Napier Watkins' picture installed in the Helen Keller Museum in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Click here to see the October 2008 Times Daily newspaper article write up. The Keller Estate stated it would be wonderful to receive memorabilia of such significance. But is that just all political correctness at its best?

Stay Tuned For The Conclusion of “A Genealogy Journey of 14,496 Miles in 86 Days”

Peace, Love and Strength,

Tom McKnight

I had served with the United Nations for some 25 years, when Mom passed away in 2004. I came home from an overseas U.N. mission for the funeral. Knowing that Mom always wondered "what happened to the family" whose, family origins were in northwest Alabama and were separated during the Depression, I decided to make a tribute to her memory. After returning to complete my U.N. assignment I came back to the States in 2005 and dedicated the next 2 years in her honor to connect the family dots as best as I could.
 
Though family tree history was rarely discussed during my formative years, the little bit gleaned from Mom in my youth and adult life and especially from my Uncle in my effort to heal from her loss resulted in bits of pieces of information. Led by what I refer to as Divine Intervention and guidance from the 'Ancestors' who I believe will tap someone on the shoulder to make sure they're not long gone and forgotten, I settled in Russellville, Alabama in the Spring of 2005. It was then I decided to find family that I did not know existed and never met before. Armed only with a couple of family stories, one address of a cousin I heard about and a GPS, I set out on an 86 day drive covering 14,496 miles to find unknown and unmet relatives. To find the living, one had to research the dead as I soon found out. The 'Ancestors' make you work for their success.  
 
I began, by resuming a task leftover from the previous year's bereavement leave, based on parcels of information conveyed by my Uncle about the life of my Grandmother; Hattie Missouri Watkins Snyder. I never had the pleasure of her acquaintance, as she died in 1937, eight years before I was born. I set out to continue the search of her unmarked grave in Massillon Cemetery, Ohio. "Nonexistent," inaccurate records were at the source fueled by cemetery staff supposition of where Grandmother "might be buried." The final analysis resulted in a cold case resurrection bingo! 68 years after her death, her grandson researched, rattled cages and placed a headstone at her grave honoring her presence on this earth. As every civilized society has always honored their dead, neither time, distance nor circumstance should ever result in our treasured elders receiving anything less. 
 
Little did I realize that the 'Ancestors' were only grooming me for bigger, better and harder tasks. They make you work. The 14,496 miles drive in 86 days kept me on the road, eating fast foods on the way and gaining weight even faster but the mission to connect the dots, for Mom, prevailed. This journey comprises a lot of details of how bits and pieces of information and research of libraries for obituary data, churches where family member attended, Departments of Vital Statistics, Census records, probate court records all played a part in this ongoing story, which may be better suited for film or a novel.
 
Given the web site space limitation to tell all, as each family member I found beginning with the dead, led me to the living, the real mind blowing discovery during the marathon drive revealed that my Great Grandmother, Sophia Napier Watkins was the cook at the Helen Keller home at Ivy Green, Tuscumbia, Alabama when Helen Keller was a child.  Excitedly calling my Uncle, long distance no less, to convey this news, I discovered it was not news at all to him as he commented "Yes, I knew". Well, I replied "Why didn't anyone ever tell me?" "Because no one asked" was his answer. OK, I  consented, though my mind was boggled.

Why hadn’t I ever heard this information? Wasn’t this a noteworthy bit of family history? And why didn’t Uncle mention it to me, in our previous conversations?

Stay tuned to Part II of “A Genealogy Journey of 14,496 miles in 86 days.”

Peace, Love and Strength

Tom McKnight

Well guys, summer is almost here and I need a break! Am I just going to leave Reconnected Roots in limbo? Absolutely not! My good friend/historian/family researcher/humanitarian Tom McKnight will be in the big seat all next week! Lord only knows what he will be posting, so you will have to check back to see what he is up to. But I can guarantee you it will be hot! I don’t want to let all of his story out of the bag, but I will tell you that right now, that he’s in a fight to have his Great-Grandmother’s name venerated. Okay, I promise I won’t steal his thunder! But do me a favor. Everyone who reads this post, send Tom a big welcome via the comments section, so he knows this audience doesn’t bite!

Until Then,

Happy Researching!

The Troops are saluting you, genea-family, for all of your write ups and posts in their honor. On a personal note, I have learned so much in the way of African American History regarding the men and women who served during 1914 - 1953. And that is because each of you Bloggers took the time to write a post sharing someone’s story with us all. So, I thank you for making the 3rd Edition of the Carnival of African American Genealogy a success. The ancestors thank you. The genealogy community thanks you.

See you at the 4th Edition...Freedom-bound!

We’ve talked about it, tweeted about it, posted about it and now the Carnival is finally here! For this edition of the Carnival of African American Genealogy, {CoAAG} we are focusing on African Americans who served in the military 1914 - 1953. This is the only warning I will give you; prepare to be taken off your feet. You will feel proud, emotional, happy, dismayed and amazed all at once. We knew their contributions were many. We knew they often did not receive their due credit. We just did not anticipate the power of their stories. Alright, enough from me. Let me announce those who Served With Honor.

Carol, from Reflections From the Fence, wrote an excellent piece on Sapper Percy Fenton, who served in Canada's only all-black battalion, the 2nd Construction Battalion, based in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Read more about him in her post, entitled Sapper Percy Fenton, CoAAG 3rd Edition.

Angela Y. Walton-Raji, of My Ancestor’s Name, started the carnival off with a heartfelt tribute to her Grandfather Samuel Walton and them men of the 809th Pioneer Infantry -- “Quiet Heroes of the Brawny Arm.”

Craig Manson, of GeneaBlogie, tells us about a tragic incident that accounted for 15% of African American casualties in WWII. See Port Chicago: Tragedy and Travesty.

Dionne Ford, of Finding Josephine, told about her Great-Grandfather, Lifford Emerson Coleman, who was one of four generations in that family who served in the military. Read about him in her post; Carnival of African American Genealogy: Honoring my Great-Grandfather’s World War I Service.

Terrence A. Garnett of, tgarnett’s posterous, proudly salutes his PawPaw, Tharnar James Pipkins, who served in the Navy during WWI. They Served With Honor: Tharnar J. Pipkins (Navy and U.S. Air Force) 

Renate Sanders, of Into The Light, wrote an inspiring post about her father, Retired  Major Arthur Person Yarborough, who proudly served during WWII. Her post, CoAAG: Major Arthur P Yarborough - He Served With Honor chronicles his accomplishments.

Dorene Paul of Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay wrote about her family friend, Clarence W. Seavers. Not only was he a WWII Veteran, he was also the first African American clerk at the Sandusky Post Office. Read his tribute, entitled Clarence W. Seavers

Sandra Taliaferro, host of the 2nd edition of CoAAG, begins to unravel the story of her father, John Lawrence Taliaferro’s service in the Navy. See her post, CoAAG 3rd Edition, They Served with Honor: African-Americans in the Military (1914-1953) ~ John Lawrence Taliaferro, Gunner’s Mate Third Class, USNR at I Never Knew My Father.

Angela Y. Walton-Raji is back with a second post Remembering the Triple Nickle - the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion. Angela recalls her Father retelling the stories of the famed Battalion at My Ancestor’s Name.

Kathleen Brandt, of a3Genealogy posted an outstanding tribute to The Morris Brothers, specifically David Crockett Morris and his WWI contributions. See “WWI and The Morris Brothers.”

Amy Cain, of Reconnected Roots and your host for this edition of CoAAG, submitted a post entitled She Served With Honor: Major Charity Adams Earley, the first African American woman commissioned as an officer in the Women’s Army Corps.

Mavis Jones, of Conversations with my Ancestors, submitted a touching post about three of the Jones men, including her Father, who honorably served during wartime.  Read more on The Jones Men Who Served.

Vicky Daviss-Mitchell, of Mariah’s Zepher shared with us a post about six of her immediate relatives,  The Daviss men of Navasota, Texas. What an awesome family legacy!

Felicia Mathis, of Our Family as a Whole: Mathis/Mathews-Smith & Beyond shares the story of her Grandfather, Robert L. Smith and his service in WWII, to include his final military pay record! Here is the link to her post; Carnival of African American Genealogy: He Served with Honor.

Kathleen Brandt, of a3Genealogy followed up with a second post entitled
The Kansas Colored Troops. Included is an amazing photo roster of “Company D” as well as Corporal George Strader.

Luckie Daniels, of Our Georgia Roots, and Project Manager for the CoAAG closes out the Carnival with a personal interview with Mr. LeRoy E. Eley, Sr., one of the Original Tuskegee Airmen! They Served With Honor: Tuskegee Airman LeRoy Eley Sr. Offers Lessons For A Lifetime!

In 140 characters or less, tell us what FREEDOM means to you!

As we join the nation in celebrating historic Juneteenth, the Carnival of African-American Genealogy 4th Edition: FreedomTweet 2010 ~ What Does FREEDOM Mean To You? will pose that question to our community in an ALL DAY Tweet-a-Thon!

On June 19th for the 145th observance of Juneteenth, CoAAG will invite the community to tag Twitter.com like never before, *tweeting* their sentiments around the theme of FREEDOM!

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African-American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond. Read more...

To learn more about CoAAG's FreedomTweet Tweet-a-Thon check the FreedomTweet Blog for updates and follow us at Twitter.com/Juneteenth2010!

Starting today through June 12th genea-bloggers can write about the history of Juneteenth and promote other celebrations happening across the country! If you write a post about FreedomTweet and/or Juneteenth, please email us at CoAAG2010@gmail.com and provide the URL!

Please spread the word about FreedomTweet 2010 with your employers, churches, schools and community organizations -- everyone is invited to join in the celebration!

This CoAAG train is on the move! Choo-choo!

Or should that be *tweet-tweet*?!:-)

I can’t believe we have come to the end of this edition. Seems like we just got started!  In closing, I want to send out a heartfelt thank-you to bloggers who posted for this 3rd Edition of CoAAG. You are the reason for the success of this edition. You’ve made my job easy and allowed me to learn about some folks and events I previously knew nothing about. It was an honor to work with all of you.

As for the CoAAG Coordinator, Luckie Daniels, and the 2nd Edition host of CoAAG, Sandra Taliaferro, I wholeheartedly appreciate all of your help and guidance in hosting this edition. For those of you who don’t know I am a brand new blogger, so this was an unfamiliar task for me. I know there were a few occasions where you two wanted to “pull the plug” on the host, but as we conclude, I am so glad you didn’t. You two are both consummate professionals!

See you all at the 4th Edition!


-AMY