Rootwork Genealogy

06/24/2023

As a genealogist/historian, there are highs and lows like anything else. I’ve been very low as it regards to genealogy for 2 years or so. The reason being family standing in the way of research. Family not sharing photos, information etc. To do all this work and it’s a lot of work. Hours, days, weeks, months or extensive research. Reaching out to family you’ve never known and searching for history. Because we have to write our own. Long nights of sifting through records, some that are so gruesome and cruel that it’ll just drain all peace out of you (if you let it). This is work and to be the person holding missing pieces (pictures, family records etc), it’s gotta be heavy. Stop making this journey harder for me and those like me. We’ve lost enough history and identity. If I ask to see pictures or know family history and connections, SHARE THEM. If you have old pictures, even of those you can’t identify, SHARE THEM. The biggest part of genealogy is finding a part of yourself, finding a photo of a relative you look like and stories about them that help you see where you get it from. Just SHARE THEM, most younger people have a cellphone and only intend to take pictures on their phone. Not even leaving with it. Stop holding back. Stop standing in the way of progress. SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE before it’s too late. We still have people who can identify the faces in these pictures.

Now, rant over. Here’s a high from genealogy.

Yesterday, a cousin told me her and another cousin were talking about how much I resemble an uncle they have a picture of. The flare ignited and she talked so much about the picture that I insisted I see it lol now. 😂😂😂 and yeah, the resemblance is there. This is my 4th great uncle, James Bates, brother of my 3rd great grandfather, Henry Harrison, the father of Leroy Simpkins. To my Simpkins family, this y’all uncle too.

Putting faces with these names helps complete the puzzle. Thanks to those who share and don’t stand in the way. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻

08/30/2021

A little “light” discussion.
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08/07/2021

The very things that make us different are sometimes the very things that make us distant.

05/02/2021

Respect.

04/02/2021

🗣
coming soon!

04/02/2021

Watch your own.
coming soon!

04/02/2021

coming soon...

11/22/2020

One of the first people in what was to become America to own a slave (laborer for life) by definition of law was an Angolan man by the name of Anthony Johnson (born around 1600). Rumor has it that he was originally captured by a neighboring enemy tribe in Angola and sold to Arab slave traders. In 1621, he arrived on the Virginia shores as “Antonio a negro” a captive and under an indenture (laborer for a time) contract. He was sold to a planter by the name of Bennett, to work on his to***co farm. In early years, most prisoners/captives were held under indentured agreements. At the end of said indenture, they were free and sometimes received land/equipment etc. During this period, it wasn’t so much about race, as indentured servants were of every “color” and from every corner of the world. Most white laborers came to the colonies as indentured servants.
1622, Antonio almost lost his life not long after arrival, due to the Powhatan natives staging an attack to get rid of the colonists. They killed 350 colonists, 52 were killed on the place Anthony worked. Anthony and 4 others dodged death somehow.
In 1623, “Mary A negro” was brought in to work on the plantation, the ONLY woman on the plantation at the time. Virginia was populated by majority men. Anthony and Mary became husband and wife, having four children.
Sometime after 1635 Anthony and Mary bought their way out or their contract of bo***ge. They acquired their own land, in the 1640s they lived on their own place, raising livestock. By the 1650s they’d amassed 250 acres. For an ex-servant (black or white) to own your own land was uncommon, despite promises made by the Virginia company to give a tract of land to each servant at the end of service. For an ex servant to own 250 acres was even more rare. They acquired the land by the head right system by buying contracts of 5 indentured servants, one being his son Richard Johnson. Their land was on the Great Naswattock Creek in North Hampton County, Virginia.
In 1652, an unfortunate fire occurred and Johnson applied to the court for tax relief. The court reduced the family’s taxes, exempted his wife and two daughters from paying taxes during their natural lives. This change gave them the same social standing as white women, who weren’t taxed. The court case recorded Anthony and Mary as being Virginia inhabitants for 30 years and “respected for their hard labor and service”. Anthony owned the services of 5 men, 4 white and his son.
In 1653, John Casor, a black indentured servant’s contract who Anthony Johnson purchased in the 1640s, approached captain Goldsmith claiming his indenture had ended 7 years prior and that he was being held illegally by Anthony Johnson. A neighbor, Robert Parker intervened and persuaded Johnson to free Casor. Parker offered Casor work, he signed an indenture to the planter. Johnson sued Parker in the Northampton Court in 1654 for the return of Casor. The court initially filed in favor of Parker, but Johnson appealed.
In 1655, the court reversed its ruling. Finding that Anthony Johnson still "owned" John Casor, the court ordered that he be returned with the court dues paid by Robert Parker. This was the first instance of a judicial determination in the Colonies that a person who had committed no crime could be held in servitude for life (A SLAVE). Different from John Punch, who ran away during his indenture and was punished by being indentured for life.

10/15/2020

A riveting and insightful compilation of runaway slave articles from years 1800-1865. It will draw you in from the very first listing and keep your mind wondering of the fate that became of those daring enough to leave the plantation. It is an imperative read for anyone who has connections to slavery and the Deep South. Augusta, GA resides in Richmond County, which was #2 out of 20 counties for most slaves held in Georgia. You may find your own ancestors listed.

(These articles include names of enslaved person, description of said person and oftentimes an origin/destination. The slaver is also listed as well.)

ORDER YOURS NOW!

A 300 page book filled with runaway slave articles from Augusta, GA and surrounding areas. Dates are in order from 1800-1865 and filled with helpful information. This is another part of history that we’ve missed. Some of these people could be your ancestors. There is a description of the enslaved ...

10/10/2020

A riveting and insightful compilation of runaway slave articles from years 1800-1865. It will draw you in from the very first listing and keep your mind wondering of the fate that became of those daring enough to leave the plantation. It is an imperative read for anyone who has connections to slavery and the Deep South. Augusta, GA resides in Richmond County, which was #2 out of 20 counties for most slaves held in Georgia. You may find your own ancestors listed.

(These articles include names of enslaved person, description of said person and oftentimes an origin/destination. The slaver is also listed as well.)

Order yours by clicking the link.

A 300 page book filled with runaway slave articles from Augusta, GA and surrounding areas. Dates are in order from 1800-1865 and filled with helpful information. This is another part of history that we’ve missed. Some of these people could be your ancestors. There is a description of the enslaved ...

10/02/2020

MY EDGEFIELD RUNAWAYS BOOK IS STILL AVAILABLE!!! ORDER YOURS HERE!!

THIS IS HISTORY, 70+ pages of runaway slave articles from Edgefield. Read about the ones who got away!