Yesterday I read an article in LA Times (link here) about the descendants of the owners of Bruce Beach hoping to get their property back then I went to newspapers.com to see what information I could find out about Bruce Beach and I came across a few articles one in particular I found interesting was from 1924 published in The California Eagle-an African American newspaper from 1879-1964. That speaks about the property attempting to be taken from the Bruce family.
Mr. Reuben Sims is the only documented lynching victim in Baldwin County, Alabama between 1877 to 1950.
Since he was the “only one” I wanted to try to find out a little more about the circumstances surrounding his lynching. Mr. Reuben Sims’ lynching made it in to newspapers across the country.
Below are some articles I found relating to Mr. Reuben Sims’ murder.
Did you miss Episode 82? Don’t worry, you can check it out now.
Ancestry has just announced 94 new and updated genetic communities for people of African American and Afro Caribbean descent. For more information Click Here
Did you know? Henry Ossian Flipper (1856-1940) was the first African American in the United States to graduate from the Military Academy at West Point in 1877. Flipper even wrote an autobiography titled Colored Cadet at West Point in 1878. To learn more about Henry Ossian Flipper click here
I was so excited when the Freedmen’s Bureau Project was announced. There were 1.5 million Freedmen’s Bureau records just waiting to be indexed. I’ll admit I signed up in June and didn’t index a damn record (excuse my French) until last week. I decided to give it a try and I started with the Freedmen’s Bureau Education Records, 1865-1872. On the first few records I just focused on the information they wanted in order to submit my records (batch). I wasn’t really focused on any other information that the document actually contained. As I was indexing the other day I noticed on the Teacher’s Monthly School Report from 1870 how the much was on this document. The report provided information like the total enrollment of students for the month, how many were black, how many were white, how many students could spell and how many were advanced readers there were even questions about regarding the teachers race and how much they had been paid that month. On one report, teacher Sylvester Dillon stated why the thought there was a decline in student attendance, “the cause for the decline in school is giving that this being a busy time with farmers the children are needed to assist.” I don’t know why but I thought that was really cool when I reading his words, I could imagine him writing that note it’s like I was going back in time. I think it’s important for genealogist to index some records not only to assist in the process to make the records searchable but also to understand what information is available to us from these records. For more info on indexing visit https://familysearch.org/indexing/
From 1909 to 1918 my three times great grandmother Diniah Burke aka Mother Burke lived in at least four different sections in Mobile, Alabama. According to the directory she worked as a laundress as well as a cook, I was able to track her and her son Bryant who often lived with her or in a few houses down via the Mobile County Directories. Next time I go to Mobile I’ll be sure to visit these areas.
Sources: 1909,1913,1915, and 1918 Mobile County City Directories via Ancestry.com
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King’s 86th birthday I wanted to repost a few pictures I took last summer on my research trip.
