Facebook and Genealogy

Just the other week I was looking for certain genealogy forms that I could fill out online (and save)  to make it easier to transcribe and track information that I found on a great-grandfather.

I went to my go-to sites: Cyndi's List (Charts & Forms),  National Archives (Charts and Forms) --  and of course, forms on Ancestry, and FamilySearch but didn't see exactly what I wanted. 

Yesterday the ancestors called out to me when someone from a Facebook group posted a link to free interactive research forms available on the St Louis Genealogical Society website.

Many people complain about the content they get on Facebook and I always tell them what they see on their FB page depends on what they "Friend", "Like" and "Join.

I happen to Like and Join a number of genealogy pages --  representing a variety of topics.     BGSAD - Buffalo Genealogical Society of the African Diaspora  is my local genealogy group.  We share a camaraderie and love of genealogy during our monthly meetings.  Even through many members have roots in various parts of the country, we are Buffalonians by birth, through migration or transplant.

While I don't attend meetings of WNYGS (Western New York Genealogical Society (WNYGS) Discussion Group), I do attend some of the seminars and workshops they sponsor.  Through my mother I'm only second generation born in Buffalo.  My father and none of his family members (his generation and above) were born in Buffalo. So I don't look for many Western New York records.

Most FaceBook genealogy groups are private and a few are even secret.  They vet those who request to join and monitor posts to make sure they are on track --  informative and respectful. For me, keeping up with all these groups and posts can be overwhelming at times but member posts are serious to the topic and very helpful.  I've loosely grouped the FaceBook groups I follow by topic:

GeneaBloggersTribe
We Are Genealogy Bloggers
African American Genealogy Blogging Circle

Technology for Genealogy
Generations Cafe
RootsMagic Users
Evernote Genealogists
Excel-ling Genealogists
Legacy User Group

Georgia Genealogy Network
Mississippi Genealogy Researchers
MISSISSIPPI Genealogy "Family Tree" and History Group

AfriGeneas African American Genealogy Community
Midwest African American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI)
I've Traced My Ancestor's Slaveholders
Our Black Ancestry
IAAM CFH (International African American Museum Center for Family History)
African-American Genealogy Forum
Genealogy of the United States Colored Troops

Genealogy! Just ask!
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness - RAOGK USA
Genealogy Do-Over
The Organized Genealogist
Genealogy - Improving your searches
Genealogy
DearMYRTLE

AncestryDNA Matching
Ancestry DNA for Dummies
DNA Newbie
Gedmatch.com Discussion Group
GEDmatch.com User Group

Genealogy and Newspapers
Genealogy & Historical Databases

Ancestry.com
Ancestry Dot Com - Helping, Sharing, and Venting
FamilySearch
FamilySearch Indexing




Copyright © 2019 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.

African American Funeral Program Collections

A question on the facebook page of the African American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research group (AAGSAR) prompted me to post this information that I complied as a reference source at the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Library which houses the Buffalo African-American Funeral Program and Obituary Collection.

African American Funeral Program Collections

A Select List

The Eula M. Ramsey Johnson Memorial Funeral Program Collection of 3,000 programs spans more than thirty years (1933-2017) of African American funerals in the Augusta area.  (Online)

African American Funeral Programs of San Antonio

The collection consists of programs that date from 1935 to present day and depicts the African American community in Bexar County.  (Online)

The Black Archives Obituary and Funeral Program Collection documents the lives and deaths of black South Floridians, 1962—2010. (In-house)

The Kelly Bryant Funeral Program Collection, housed in the North Carolina Room, Durham County Library, Durham NC., is a collection of local newspaper obituaries and funeral service programs.

West Tennessee African American Funeral Programs, 1958-2005

Brownsville/Haywood County 

Funeral Programs collected by individual residents and family members of Brownsville and Haywood Counties, Tennessee.

Maryland State Library Resource Center, Enoch Pratt Free Library

Funeral programs from the 1960s to the present. (On-site collection)

Index of Funeral Programs, 1800-1965

Compiled by the Indiana African American Genealogy Group, Indianapolis, IN

Hosted by the Allen County Public Library with obituaries from 1974-2010.  (Online)

Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical and Historical Society (MPAAGHS)

 MiddlePeninsula/Northern Neck Funeral Programs Project

A collaboration with Family Search to produce a free searchable online database of community funeral programs (FamilySearch account needed to access collection)

The Chatham County Funeral Programs exhibit documents the lives and deaths of several generations of African American Chatham County residents. 

Arkansas Freedmen of the Frontier - Ft. Smith's Black History Site, African American Funeral Program & Obituary Collection

Geographic focus of the collection mostly Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma.  Name index. 

Buffalo African American Funeral Program and Obituary Collection  (online)

Copies of the microfilmed collection are housed at the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Library and the Buffalo State College Monroe Fordham Regional History Center.

Mourning my great grandmother

My paternal great grandmother, Mary Clay Button, was 80 years old when she made transition.  Growing up and  for the longest time into my adulthood, I just thought of her dying as a result of just being old.  While I have had her death certificate for a little over a year and poured over every line, I never had her cause of death deciphered.  This weekend I had that opportunity when the Buffalo Genealogical Society of the African Diaspora had a workshop on Causes of Death from Death Certificates.  When I presented my great grandmother's death certificate, I was told that she died from breast cancer that had spread throughout her body.  For some reason, it hit me like a ton of bricks and I went into mourning.

The local African American newspaper, the Buffalo Criterion, had an article on her passing with the the first paragraph stating that she was ill for a year.  --  but no mention of cancer.  No one in the family ever mentioned cancer when they spoke of her.  But that's how it was at that time  --  cancer was almost thought of as a plague and not spoken of.  Her transition year was 1955, two years after I was born so I didn't get to know her but I've been told that she loved me.  She would bounce me on her knees and had a chant, "Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump.  You ain't jumped none today."

I jump in your honor & smile.