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Louisiana Family

“White or Mexican(White)” is what I saw in a death record on Ancestry.com back in 2010 while researching my great grandmother Josephine Nelson, née St. Louis. This came as quite a surprise to me especially since I was new to genealogy and assumed that all of my ancestors were rich shade of brown like me and also from Louisiana, not Mexico! Needless to say, this label has left me and other family researchers perplexed. Based on the queries and information that I have seen, this label appears to have been given to deceased individuals throughout Louisiana regardless of their ethnicity or whether they identified as Creole or not. Their families were probably unaware of how they had been recorded in this index and in other government records that tracked race, including census records. What also confused me was that around the same time that I discovered this death index record,…

Genetic Geneology - The DNA Reveal

Opportunity Mourned, Life Celebrated – Our Elders

April 29, 2017January 27, 2018| Karen Galloway|7 Comments

"Funeral Procession" by Ellis Wilson

Lately, it seems as if barely a week goes by without an elder in the family or community passing on. Last month it was Uncle Johnny, last week it was Mr. Jackson, this week, Uncle Buddy. Our elders, especially the 80 and 90 somethings have really been bidding us adieu, like the carbonation bubbles that sit at the bottom of my glass and then suddenly release themselves , float to the top, and dissipate ,so these elders seem to be flying away at a rapid clip! With advances in medicine and improvement in overall quality of living , maybe there’s just more elders making it to 80 and beyond, and then dying. On the other hand, perhaps this feeling of “lots more people dying” is just a naturally occurring phenomena for all of us as we ourselves age, as we continue on our own slow march toward death. I feel a…

Free Persons of Color

Their Labor Revealed

September 22, 2016April 9, 2018| Karen Galloway|14 Comments

The first African-American Women Army Corps unit, the 688th Central Postal Battalion

While on my journey of ancestral research and discovery, I have been intrigued by the many occupations in which my ancestors, relatives, and their neighbors labored in order to earn a living or satisfy their enslavers. There were those who rotated between several jobs and those changed careers though out the course of their lives. Here are just a few of the occupations in which they worked: Dietitian/Nutritionist, Military Police, Teacher, Principal, Preacher, Homemaker, Seamstress, Food Service Worker, Domestic, Servant, Rice Farmer, Sugar Farmer, Soldier, Mechanic, Technician, Dock Worker, Barber, Carpenter, Laundress, Laborer, and Slave. Here is a sampling of my predecessors and their peers listed along with mention of their primary occupations. More than likely they had legitimate side hustles in order to make ends meets. 1910 Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana , United States Federal Census Oscar St. Louis a rice farmer Auguste Nelson a sugar farmer 1930 New…

A Tribute

First Steps

March 9, 2016November 10, 2016| Karen Galloway|Leave a comment

So this is my first blog post. I guess we all have to start some where! I feel like a new born colt, giraffe, or a toddler for that matter , who is trying to walk for the first time- all wobbly-legged and unsteady. The good news is that they usually gain steady footing pretty quickly in order to obtain sustenance, keep up with the herd , or avoid predators! Well I’m not trying to keep up with the herd or fend off predators as much as I am just trying to get going! Sometimes just starting is the hardest thing ! So pardon the bad grammar and writers’ faux pas! I am just trying to get this train out of the station! This blog is dedicated to my ancestors and family-known, unknown, yet to be born or discovered. Those that were enslaved and free. Those that sojourned and…

Tag: genealogy

Race and Identity in The Louisiana Statewide Death Index

May 19, 2018May 31, 2018| Karen Galloway|9 Comments