Genealogy Workshop: The Search for Lost Relatives after the Civil War
This event is no longer on sale.
Celebrate Black History Month at the Museum as we explore the practice of formerly enslaved persons writing letters to the Freedmen’s Bureau and placing ads in newspapers hoping to reconnect with family after emancipation. These ads convey the heartbreak, desperation, hope and determination to locate and reunite with family members.
Each session will highlight these experiences and is designed to offer tips, resources and records for locating African American ancestors.
Session 1: Diane L. Richard, MEng & MBA, is a professional genealogical researcher, author and lecturer from North Carolina. She specializes in pursuing formerly enslaved ancestors and their descendants, using genealogical research tips, techniques, tools, strategies and under-utilized resource collections.
Session 2: Will revisit Houstonians Kelley Dixon-Tealer and her mother Alva Marie Jenkins discussing revelations of their ancestor featured in the documentary “A Dream Delivered: The Lost Letters of Hawkins Wilson.”
Session 3: Using available records and resources, members of the AAHGS Willie Lee Gay H-Town Chapter will assist Dixon-Tealer and Jenkins to track Hawkins Wilson and his children Osborne and Cyrilla after their move from Galveston to Houston in the mid-1880s. Both women will also discuss locating ancestors and living descendants.
This half-day of learning sessions is brought to you through a partnership between the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc., Willie Lee Gay H-Town Chapter (AAHGS) Freedmen’s Town Museums and Holocaust Museum Houston.
This event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. at the Museum. Attendees are invited to join us from 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.