YOUR JOURNEY, SO FAR

4/15/2023

As an Art of Fact participant, this is a space for you to talk about your journey as you seek to find, connect to, and tell your family story. Post all the things you've learned no matter how small. Each discovery matters. To get you started, consider answering some or all of the following questions:

when you started researching your family story
the name of the ancestors you’re searching for
the types of records or resources you've checked so far
what you had hoped to find (“I was looking for Grandpa James’ birth record…”)
what you found (“…instead of finding Grandpa James’ birth record, I found a marriage record for Grandpa James to some woman before he married Grandma!”)
family stories
any new clues or leads
how you feel / felt about your find or lack of find

6 Comments

Jasmine Warren link

4/15/2023 02:29:41 pm

For the longest time, I have always wanted to know more about my family history. I always would push away time I think when I think out my great-grandparents parents. I'm from Battle Creek, MI aka Cereal City.

Jasmine Warren link

4/15/2023 02:42:07 pm

As I am starting a journey researching my family history, I feel a better sense of connectedness. I am in my 20's and am going through this life. I am continuous curious about where I came from and what my family members and ancestors. Now, I have just completed a DNA test to get an idea about my family history. As a Black person born and raised in America, in 1997 and so are my ancestors, this will be a interesting and a forever mind wondering journey.

Mary crosby

4/15/2023 02:42:53 pm

I've always been curious of my ancestry since I was young being that my Namesake is my Great Grandmother who bared sooo many of my members.But around 2018 is when I drew my first family tree and to see how how i was relate to my "distant" cousins and didnt even comprehend that in our childhood everyone was our first cousin.
I was searching sooo many ancestors these are the linages i knew before ancestry.com but even more extent membersFrankie Isadore OreeJesse Mary will clayborn elizebathAnna Elizah
Birth Records, Marriage license, divorce records, census, wills, land receipts
I wanted to see if we were native like everyone says

Jessica Ivey

4/15/2023 02:43:44 pm

Im looking for more information about my great grandmother. She died when my Granna was a kid, so I feel like we didn’t know much. I wanna know about her. I asked my grandma recently. I cant remember if I got a voice memo but I should.

This process has been extremely emotional. Never consistently. This very moment, Im getting teary eyed listening to One Day I’ll Fly Away-Jo Smaple and Lalah. I feel my inner child, I am holing the physical cd. Im hearing new musical nuances that went over my head before. Its sad because of the lyrics and the emotional expression of the vocal performance is pulling me.

I found a funny picture of my mom in high school with a jehri curl. I hope to find more pictures and information from both sides.

My late uncle Elmer completed the family tree so I feel like some digging has been done. Theres more to discover. Just feels like a head start and a hinderance at the same time.

Michelle S. Johnson

4/15/2023 02:47:05 pm

I started researching my family story as an undergrad when I asked my mother and godfather questions about my father. My godfather gave me Idlewild artifacts.

the name of the ancestors you’re searching for

Roy Smithen Merricks and documentary records corroborating oral testimony of his time in New York and at Juliard.
I am seeking student rosters between the 1930's, 40's and 1950's to see if I can confirm family stories. Three oral testimonies share that my father, Roy Smithen Merricks, attended school there. I do not know the date, hence the wide range. He was born in 1916 so I imagine it was closer to the earlier part of the time-period. He played drums professionally in Michigan in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids and allegedly Chicago.

Albert Dobison Johnson and documentary records corroborating oral testimony of his time with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

the types of records or resources you've checked so far
Census, City Directory,Team rosters,

Naomi link

9/16/2024 02:38:24 am

This was great to reead

YOUR JOURNEY, SO FAR

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