Last weekend, I participated in a transcribe-a-thon to index Free Negro Registers that have recently been digitized by the Library of Virginia. In 1793, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law requiring that all free Black people “be registered and numbered in a book to be kept by the town clerk, which shall specify age, name, color, status and by whom, and in what court … Continue reading Virginia Free Negro Registers
Here’s another situation where I was working on genealogy stuff and happened upon something lighthouse related. My relatives are at the top of this page from the Portsmouth City Directory from 1933 but I immediately saw the USLS (United States Lighthouse Service). More can be found about Holder Almy at the United States Lighthouse Society’s J. Candace Clifford Lighthouse Research Library: https://archives.uslhs.org/type-person/engineers Continue reading Another Lighthouse Related Find
A year ago I found the will of William Allmond on an index of wills in Isle of Wight County, Virginia on Ancestry. It’s taken me a year to circle back to look for the will on FamilySearch and I found it! It’s so hard to read but I do see “one Negro woman Charlotte”, “one Negro boy Sam”, “one Negro girl Hester” and “one … Continue reading One Negro Woman Charlotte 1854
How did I miss this? I had the information the whole time. I found my 4th great-grandfather, Alick Spratley, following back on one of my maternal grandmother’s maternal lines. I was so happy to go that far back that it didn’t click that I got his information from the 1850, 1860 and 1870 Censuses in Surry County, Virginia. WHAT?!!? Here’s the 1860 Census for reference. … Continue reading Alick Spratley of Surry County, Virginia
Africa Allman/Allmand/Allmond/Ives When I’m searching a genealogy database, normally the first thing I do is search for Allmond. Last year I found this pension card for Africa Ives also known as Africa Allman. I found it on FamilySearch but this one from Ancestry looks better. I think what stood out most was that his name was Africa. I was going through my genealogy OneNote notebook … Continue reading Africa Allmond
Time stood still for a moment when I found this. I’ve known about it all my life and didn’t know it was documented. I found this in the Virginia Pilot dated 03/04/1966. The town newspapers make no mention of this that I’ve seen. The whole tone of this seems patronizing. Continue reading Time stood still …
The Smithfield Schoolhouse Museum was built in 1932 as an addition to the Christian Home School, circa 1924, a historic Rosenwald School. The Christian Home School was originally on two acres of land in the Chuckatuck area in the eastern part of Isle of Wight County, Virginia. In the 1920’s, Julius Rosenwald, a former Sears, Roebuck and Company president, contributed $4.3 million to build more than 5,000 … Continue reading The Schoolhouse Museum
I found the birth record for my 2nd great granduncle Anthony Allmond. He was born May 15, 1853. You can see from the label that the record was “filmed out of sequence”. On the second page that should show the mother seems to be from a different page because it doesn’t match up. What you do see is William Allmond listed as owner. I wonder if there’s … Continue reading Birth Record for 2nd Great Granduncle Anthony Allmond
Looking for traces of my 2nd great grandfather, I mostly find him in real estate descriptions. He was born into slavery in 1856 (I found his birth record BTW!!!) and ended up owning 89 acres of land when he passed away. I don’t know when he died but I know that it was between the 1900 and 1910 Censuses. I’ve been looking for county records … Continue reading 2nd Great Grandfather Moses Allmond
genealo.ME 