Every Family Has a Story

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post in which I asked the question, who do you think you are?  That question had never been more relevant than in the weekend I wrote about last week about attending the Nansemond Indian Nation’s Pow Wow. https://www.facebook.com/NansemondIndianNation/

As I looked around and spoke with people there, it was quite apparent that we had all come from descendants of Bass-related persons. In other words, we were all cousins, no matter the color of our skin. And our skin tones varied from very dark, to those like me with blond hair and blue eyes. Yet, we can all trace our heritage back to one or two people from whom we descend. My family’s story is old and rich. And it is multi-ethnicity.

DNA Testing

As DNA tests become more prevalent and as more and more people are tested, I think it will become even more apparent just how closely related most of us in these United States are. This is even more so for those of us whose ancestors weren’t born here, but who came on one of the earlier ships. We are part of those people who came from all corners of the old world and left a Europe who refused to allow freedom of ideas and freedom of worship. My European family came very early in the 1600s. That was one side. Another side was already here.

They were the indigenous people of these lands. People who were forced from the lands they had called home for generation upon generation. That they managed, somehow, to find common ground (no pun intended) and to get along, even marry and have families with one another, to me is nothing short of a miracle.

Learn the Truth

We must read again the histories of how this country was formed. The story we’ve long held to be true, the one we were taught in school about Pocahontas, has now been proven to be false in great part. How many have bothered to learn the true story? And this is just one story. How many others must there be?

Just this past week, the descendants of The First Twenty and Odd, celebrated the four-hundredth commemoration of the arrival of their ancestors. How many even know who the First Twenty and Odd are? I must say, I didn’t know until about two to three years ago. Again, part of our history never taught in our schools. How many of us are descendants of those people? How would you know if you’ve not been told? https://www.facebook.com/1619GenealogyBank

Find Your Story

What is your family’s story? Were you a part of the indigenous peoples? Were your ancestors on one of the early ships to arrive on these shores? Did your first ancestors here come in the great wave of immigration in the 1800s? Unless you delve deeply into your lineage either via a DNA test, a paper trail, or both, you may never know of your rich heritage.

Not everyone will have come early. Some are recent arrivals, and they have a story. They have families and histories. We all came from somewhere.

Have you traced your ancestry? Did you find surprises? Share your story with us. 

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Roots Run Deep and Hold Fast

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

This coming weekend promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. My husband and I are celebrating our anniversary. As part of our celebrations we will be traveling to Suffolk, Virginia, where we will be joined by our eldest son and his younger daughter. The four of us will be attending the 31^st annual Pow Wow of the Nansemond Indian Nation. The place of my roots.

Y’all know that I’m a big proponent of tracking one’s roots. Had I not been so diligent in seeking family members who knew more than I about my Mama’s family, this weekend would pass me by just as the previous thirty Pow Wows did. But thanks to newfound cousins who were and are far more knowledgeable about Mama’s family than we ever hoped to be, we will be in attendance this year.

Unknown Stories

Mama knew precious little about her roots. She, of course, knew her parents though her father passed away when Mama was only seven. All she knew of grandparents on his side of the family was that her grandmother was Ellen and her grandfather was Andrew.

When my sister and I began the search for our roots back in the 1990s, we were armed with a great deal of information on our Daddy’s side. But Mama’s was almost a blank slate. It was only after I joined Ancestry that I connected with cousins who’d been working on this side of the family for over forty years. Their research and documentation were solid considering all the work had been done the old-fashioned way, by combing through records in dusty old courthouses and pouring through library microfiche. The hours this must have taken still astounds me.

Proofs

One cousin volunteered to take a DNA test for us. It was at this point that we connected to unknown kin. We were able to piece together a family tree. The records we discovered—census records, marriage certificates, death certificates, land deeds, wills, etc. were tangible proof of the discoveries we made.

So, this coming weekend, we'll travel to Virginia to stand on the land that has been a part of the history of the Nansemond for centuries. A part of my Mama’s family. My family. My sons’ family. My granddaughters’ family.

There are no words for the overwhelming emotions as I write this. I will share photos and more reactions with you next week.

Roots.

Join our conversation. Have you searched for your roots? Share your discoveries with us.

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The photo above is of my Mama's family. Back row: Alberta Bass Cunningham, Rubye Bass Register, Beulah Bass Elmore, Bura Bass, 

Seated: Grandpa Wilburn Bass holding Mama, Dot Bass DuPree, Check Bass, behind in middle; Granny Ludie Smith Bass holding Doris Bass Blackburn, Mary Bass Derby.

Find Answers--Join a Group

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

When I began my genealogy journey almost thirty years ago, computers were not what they are today. We didn’t have Facebook nor did we have Family Tree in the capacity in which it exists today. That’s not to say that we didn’t have access to distant files, but other avenues of research and making connections were not as readily available as they are today.

I’m a member of no less than twelve genealogical groups. All of those are online. Back in 1983 when Ancestry first launched, they didn’t have anywhere near the number of files that are available to us today. And DNA testing was not even on the horizon. That began in earnest in 2000 when Family Tree became the first company to offer direct-to-consumer testing for genealogy purposes. In 2019, we cannot imagine not having these vehicles at our disposal. As the old saying goes, we’ve come a long way, baby.

A Discovery Worth the Twenty-Year Wait

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Last week I told you about genetic traits which have been passed down in my family for generations, indeed, since at least the 1500s. This week, I’d like to continue with genealogy.

My sister and I began our search for our roots about twenty years ago. When we first began this journey, we were helped by having been given a copy of a two-volume set of books titled, The DuPre Trail, compiled with the years of research done by Emimae Pritchard Langley. While we may not have known much about our father’s side of the family at the time, having these books greatly helped in our being able to piece together our DuPree tree. We are forever indebted to Mrs. Langley.

Native American Heritage-Have You Made This Discovery?

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

This weekend will mark the thirtieth annual PowWow of the Nansemond Tribal Association in Suffolk, Virginia. I had planned to attend, but at the last minute, I am not able to do so. It isn’t just the fact that this is the thirtieth event that is of significance, but this year, the Tribe has just been federally recognized. 

It is amazing that it took so many years for this to happen. The Nansemond Tribe has been around for centuries. They were/are, indeed, a part of the Powhatan Nation. I know you recognize that name. Powhatan was the father of Pocahontas. Fast forward a few years to 1618, and my own seven-times-great grandmother was born, a member of the Nansemond Tribe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansemond

Voices of the Past

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

The Headstone of my GGG Grandparents

Y’all know that I’m into charting the genealogies of my family. I’ve been working on some lines for as long as twenty years, maybe even more. With a few, I got lucky, or rather, blessed. There were people who did the foot work long before I became interested. And when I say foot work, I mean literal walking through courthouses, libraries, and cemeteries, not to mention, vacant fields where old homesteads once sat. I imagine they spent hours rummaging through dusty, old documents in search of that one paper that would tell them this is who you are.

New Tricks for the Family Genealogist

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Y’all know that I consider myself to be an amateur genealogist. I’ve been doing family searches for about twenty years, but I am by no means an expert. This has been a hobby for me all these years. I rely heavily on other family members who know how to do the serious looking. I also rely on websites for the latest information, but I didn’t know all  they could do.

I ran across an article in the past couple of weeks about a trick that the pros likely already know. I’ll admit, I didn’t know this one. They called it the most important search trick you’ll ever learn. Well, I can tell you that grabbed my attention . . . big time.

You Come First

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Now before you get all in a dither, let me explain. I’m not talking about first as in “it’s all about me.” I see things from a Christian world view, so to me, God is always first.  I’m speaking from a genealogical point of view, and in that case, you do come first.

When I first began searching my family roots back in 1999 or so, I had no clue where to begin. I just knew that I was born a DuPree, Mama’s maiden name, and who my  grandparents were.