Pearls of Wisdom From the Ancestors

I am pleased to report that I have been invited by a local church to speak at their Women's Breakfast on the topic "Pearls of Wisdom From the Ancestors."  A pearl of wisdom is "an important piece of advice or something people have learned from adversity over time, and often hang onto and pass to others." This talk will be based on the scripture below where Moses reminded the Children of Israel to remember to tell their descendants about how God delivered them from the many challenges they faced.

"And ye shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine houses,  and when thou walkest by the way,  and when thou liest down,  and when thou risest up."Deuteronomy 11:19.

Preparing for this talk has broadened my perspective about my family history and I have chosen ancestors from both sides of my family whom I have learned "pearls of wisdom" through things they said in general conversation or oral history interviews, and things I learned about them about some of them from other people or by researching their lives.

Flight to Freedom Production

I am pleased to announce a new historical production entitled:  Flight to Freedom: The Fields Family and Freedom's Fortress, which will be held twice on Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM at the historic Fort Monroe.  This production will be a collaborative endeavor with myself and Ms. Ajena C. Rogers, a descendant of James A. Fields.  Mr. Fields was a part of the first graduating class of Hampton Normal and Agricultural and Institute (now Hampton University) in 1871.  We will present a dramatic interpretation of her family’s escape from slavery in Hanover County, VA to Fort Monroe during the Civil War.  This production will include dramatic readings enhanced with us singing, multimedia PowerPoints, and video clips.  The event is free to the public.

For more information on the Flight to Freedom production, click here to visit this website.

For more information on James A. Fields, visit the James A. Fields House Blog at www.jamesafieldshouse.blogspot.com

Church Hats Program

Power of Blogging Presentation

THE POWER OF BLOGGING PRESENTATION

International Black Genealogy Summit

Friday, October 30, 2009

Allen County Public Library Room

Fort Wayne, Indiana

PRESENTATION SUMMARY: Workshop will demonstrate the basics of blogging, ranging from the technical aspects of blog creation, publishing and upkeep, to ways to steer traffic to a blog.

Here, I showed my blog awards section of the Find Your Folks blog.

Here, I demonstrated adding a photo to a blog entry.

They all seemed attentive and interested. I was pleased with the turnout for this workshop. Only two attendees had blogs; the rest were interested in learning what blogging was all about.

Power of Blogging Workshop

I will be presenting a workshop entitled "The Power of Blogging" at the meeting of the Hampton Roads Afro American and Historical Genealogy Society.

DATE: Thursday, October 8, 2009

TIME: 7:00 P.M.

PLACE: Hampton, VA Public Library, 4207 Victoria Blvd., Hampton, VA 23669, (757) 727-1154

WORKSHOP SUMMARY: Workshop will demonstrate the basics of blogging, ranging from the technical aspects of blog creation, publishing and upkeep, to ways to steer traffic to a blog.

Hampton, the Birthplace of Black America?

I am looking forward to attending the celebration of the 390th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans to America on tomorrow, September 26, 2009.

History books indicate that the first Africans arrived to America at Jamestown. However, Hampton History Enthusiast, Calvin Pearson says that Hampton is the birthplace of black America. (Read more on this story)

Stay tuned…I will report more about this historical celebration next week.

From Slavery to Freedom Festival - Speaking Engagement

I will be speaking at the “From Slavery To Freedom Festival” on the topic of Genealogy. This event celebrates the 390th Anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans in America. I will be the first speaker on the program. This program was previously scheduled for Saturday, August 15th at Gosnold Park, but was cancelled due to rain.

Date: Saturday, September 26, 2009

Time: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

Place: Mill Point Park, 100 Eaton Street, Hampton, VA 23669

Event is sponsored by the City of Hampton


Directions: I-64 exit 267 - Downtown Hampton. Right at the stoplight onto Settlers Landing Road. Follow Settlers Landing over bridge to Eaton Street. Turn right onto Eaton Street the park will be on the right.
I-64 West exit 267 - County Street. Left at stoplight onto Settlers Landing Road. Follow Settlers Landing over bridge to Eaton Street. Turn right onto Eaton Street the park will be on the right.

For more information about Mill Point Point, vist the website of
City of Hampton Parks and Recreation

My First Genealogy Workshop Presentation

I began tracing my family history in 1994 out of a need to understand my roots. After researching for several years, I felt the need to share my findings with others. As early as 1995, I began sharing my findings at family reunions.

However, a few years later, an opportunity arose for me to share genealogy and family history beyond my family. My first major opportunity to conduct a genealogy workshop came from the library of Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, VA. It was interesting how I got the invitation to speak at ODU. I was working as an applications computer software trainer (Microsoft Office/WordPerfect, etc.) and my company had a contract to train ODU employees in computer skills. I was originally supposed to conduct training at another company, but that class was canceled and I was sent to ODU to teach a computer class instead.

In my introduction to my class, I mentioned that my hobby was tracing my family history. Ironically the Friends of the Library of ODU were planning a genealogy conference and needed someone to speak about genealogy and computers. I don’t remember exactly who was in this class, but I guess someone in the class was on this committee because these were all ODU employees whom I was training.

Months later, I was invited to present a session on using Family Tree Maker and Internet software at the Friends of the Library genealogy conference on a Saturday in July 1998. The presentation was a success and I also learned a lot from the other speakers.

Now, almost eleven years later, I have had numerous opportunities to conduct genealogy workshops at churches, libraries, cultural festivals, and local and national genealogical societies.

This weekend, I was notified of my acceptance as a workshop speaker for the first International Black Genealogy Summit on October 29-31, 2009 at the Allen County Public Library. I look forward to this opportunity and to other opportunities to conduct workshops.