Latest Genealogy-DNA News

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

I spent a bit of time this week looking into the latest information in the field of genetic genealogy. Tracing my family’s roots and my husband’s family’s roots has become a passion of mine. I became interested when I was in my teens, but I had no clue where to begin. It wasn’t until the 1990s that I immersed myself into figuring out our roots. I try to stay in touch with the latest innovations available for my searches.

Two of my ancestors had done an excellent job of tracing my Daddy’s DuPree side and his mother’s Burdeshaw side. Let me tell you, I admire these women more than I can say as their research was done years ago, back in the 1960s, perhaps some of the work on the Burdeshaw line, in the 1950s. This meant trips to libraries or to track down relatives unfamiliar to them. Emimae Pritchard Langley compiled the two-volume set of books titled, The DuPre Trail, and Rhoda Burdeshaw, missionary to China, wrote the genealogies of my Burdeshaw relatives.

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 Living, Breathing Heirloom

By Debra DuPreeWilliams @DDuPreeWilliams

About a year ago, I had the sudden and startling realization that a treasured family heirloom, my great grandfather's watch, had inadvertently been discarded. I won’t go into particulars about how this happened as that is not relevant to the story. Suffice it to say, it is no longer with us, but by now, one-hundred-fifty-seven years after his death, I doubt that his watch would still be ticking.

The pain of the loss of such a treasure was so great that I couldn’t bring myself to even think about it. I hadn’t even shared this information with my husband . . . until today. 

A Paper Trail and Tears of Joy

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

I haven’t posted anything about genealogy lately. I thought you all might like to hear about this. This past Sunday, twenty-five of my cousins were accepted as new members of the Nansemond Indian Tribal Association, or the Nansemond Indian Nation. Here is a link to their site.  https://nansemond.org/history/

Believe me when I tell you that cries of victory were being heard around the country. For such a long time, many of my cousins have sought admission into the Tribe. But for a very long time, they were excluded. It does no good to hash out the whys or wherefores as that is in the past. The thing is, they succeeded in securing what had become for them, a life-long dream.

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

I Wish I"d Asked That - Family Questionnaire Part 3

@DDuPreeWilliamsby Debra DuPree Williams 

This week we finish with our questions for family members. This is a great tool for those who don’t want to take the time to write a memoir. Your family will thank you one day if they haven’t already done so. I know that there are many questions my sister and I wish we had asked of our parents and grandparents, and even of our aunts and uncles. So many family stories lost to time. I hope you have found this helpful and that you have added your own questions to the ones in my list.

Barking Up the Wrong Tree

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Y’all already know that I am an amateur genealogist. I’ve been doing family searches for quite a few years and I’ve learned a great many things in that time, but I am, by no means, an expert. I still have to call on my sister Bobbie, or a cousin or two for help from time to time.

Genealogy is a lot of fun. I enjoy learning about my ancestors, where they came from and how they lived their lives. But the research can be grueling when you can’t find that one piece of the puzzle that will open a door. We call these situations, brick walls. I’ve run into more than one in my research. It’s disheartening when you know you know and yet you cannot find the piece of paper to prove what you know to be true. No lineage society will allow you to enter on your word alone. You must have that paper trail.

Who Do You Think You Are?

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

This has become not only the name of a popular television show in recent years, but a question asked on social media as well. As more and more of us delve into the tech-world and engage more and more people in the latest-greatest inventions like Instagram and Twitter, just to name a couple, we are finding groups of people who tell us, “Hey, we’re related.”

I admit it. I was hooked from the beginning on the television show, but I was also mesmerized by my family Facebook groups.

The DNA of Jesus

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliam

If you read my blog regularly, you have figured out that I am deeply involved in doing my family’s genealogy. I’ve been researching any and all sides of my family for decades. With the addition of DNA testing, I have connected with more cousins than I would have thought possible. Just this week I heard from two “new” cousins whose DNA was a match to mine. Turns out, one of the ladies and I are closely related. My great grandparents are her great-great grands. We will be getting in touch sometime this week.

That brings me to a show we recorded last week, the week of Easter. There are many such shows on at that time of the year, as if it is the only time we become interested in learning about Jesus. This particular show was a bit different. It was on the History channel and was called The Jesus Strand: A Search for DNA.