Newspaper Page Text
10D
FEBRUARY 18, 1999
Have you ever tried to imagine what your ancestors were like, what they thought, what they felt?
Can you imagine your farthest back African ancestor in the United States? What did he or she look like?
What language did he speak? Is it possible that you may look just like him or her? '
Finding a Place Called Home:
An African-American Guide to Genealogy
and Historical Identity
A Book By Dee Parmer Woodtor, Ph.D.
More than ever before, Afri
can Americans are embracing
their past and looking for their
history, both collective and
personal. As the black middle
class continues to grow, more
and more people are feeling a
sense of indebtedness to their
ancestors, expressingthe need
for remembrance of things
past.
In Finding a Place Called
Home (Random House, $25),
Dee Parmer Woodtor, Ph.D.,
teaches readers how to sort
out their racial cultural iden
tities, and how to begin the
step-by-step process of search
ing for one’s familial African
roots. Advising readers on
ways to sidestep the road
blocks that often hinder black
genealogy, Woodtor explains
how to use census reports,
slave schedules, courthouse
records, the Internet, and
Library of Congress fetes publication
of African-American Newspaper
and Periodical bibliography
The Center for the Book in
the Library of Congress her
alded the publication of Afri
can-American Newspapers
and Periodicals: A National
Bibliography (Harvard Uni
versity Press, 1998) on Febru
ary 9th. The reception, which
included a brief program, was
part of the Center’s “Books &
Beyond” series and of the
Library’s celebration of Afri
can-American History Month.
“Thisis the first comprehen
sive guide to the vast body of
newspapers and periodicals by
and about African Americans,”
said Center for the Book di
rector John Y. Cole. “It draws
on theresourcesofthe Library
of Congress and other research
libraries, large .&i small, but
particularly on the collection
at the Wisconsin Historical
Society, where the editor,
James P. Danky, is newspa
zl_ and librar
an.” Mr. also is editor
of Black Periodicals and News
AUGUSTA FOCUS
other sources to trace a family
tree. She also shares many
personal stories of African
Americans who have gone
through this experience.
Beginning with the impor
tance of probing the immedi
ate family history, Woodtor
emphasizes the necessity of
taking a family census and
exploring the nooks and cran
nies of the oldest generation.
Hearing their memories, ex
ploring keepsakes, and exam
ining family documents all
play an essential role in not
only absorbing the history be
fore it’s lost, but also in indi
cating an idea of where to be-
One critical part of research
ing is knowing how to inven
tory each family record.
Throughout her book, Woodtor
uses tables toguide the reader
through the genealogy maze.
papers (1979). He was a
speaker at the program.
The two-volume African-
American Newspapers and Pe
riodicals contains more than
6,000 entries. It uncovers hun
dreds of new sources for Afri
can-American studies from the
United States, Canada, and
the Caribbean in newspapers,
magazines, letters and other
literary, historical and popu
larwritings. The 10-year com
‘pilations project was funded
primarily by the National
Endowment for the Humani
ties. The associate editor is
Maureen E. Hady, African-
American newspapers and
periodicals bibliographer at
the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin. The foreward is by
Henry Louis Gates Jr., direc
tor of the W.E.B. Du Bois In-
FOCUS your news in Augusta’s finest newspaper.
Fax it in to Augusta Focus at (706) 724-8432.
FINDING A PLACE CALLED HOME
£ GUIDE TO APRICAN AMERICAN GDNEMOBY AND (STOICAL CTHITY
DEE PARMER WOODTOR, PH.D,
3 b
Once the extended living
family is marked on the fam
ily tree, the ancestral limbs
and trunk must be found
through interviews, court
house documents, grave mark
ers, old periodicals and church
records. Detailinghow tofind,
sift through, and use each of
these resources, Woodtor pro
vides an invaluable guide
stitute at Harvard University.
The bibliography sells for
$125. For information or to
order by telephone, call
Harvard University Press at
(800) 448-2242 or (617) 4956-
2480.
The Center for the Book in
the Library of Congress was
established in 1977 to stimu
late public interest in books,
reading and libraries. Its pro
gram, which is supported
mostly by private funds,
reaches into every region of
the country through anetwork
of 36 affiliated state centers
and more than 50 national
educational and civic organi
zations. For more informa
tion about the Center for the
Book and its activities, visit
its web site at www.loc.gov/
through the tangled African-
This book also includes a spe
cial section on tracing Carib
bean ancestry.
The idea of personally con
fronting a past that is
shrouded in mystery and mis
information is still new for
many African Americans. But
for a growing number of gene-
Original records
found in personal or
family papers .
Fairly common
— Birth/death certificates
— Newspaper clippings
— Photographs (1890+)
— Land deeds
. — Obituaries
— Insurance policies
— WWI and II discharge papers
— Marriage certificates (1920)
— Church programs/bulletins
Fairly rare ~
— Marriage certificates (pre-1890)
— School records pre-1900
— Photos (1860-1890)
— Club and organizational records
— Masonic papers pre-1900 :
— Scrapbooks
Very rare
— Letters - early 20th century
— Employment records %oo
— Black newspapers pre- A
— College year books pre-1900
— munrmo
— Civil War M papers
* Source: “Where so Write for Vital Records, " U.S. Dept. of Health.
alogists, both seasoned and
novice, finding answers to
questions about how their an
cestorsreally survived slavery
has become a lifetime pursuit.
Finding a Place Called Home
elucidates that the African-
American family’s history is a
unique one -- its naming pat
terns, its paths of migration,
its physical features, its sheer
ability to replicate itself from
one generation to the next.
The idea
of person
ally
confront
ing a past
that is
shrouded
in mystery
and
misinfor
mation is
still new
for many
African
Ameri
cans.
About the author
Dee Parmer Woodtor,
Ph.D., is an instructor at
DePaul University’s School
for New Learning in Afro-
American Family History
and Genealogy. She is the
author of the children’s book
Big Meeting. She lives in
Evanston, Illinois.
Finding a Place Called
Home: An African-Ameri
can Guide to Genealogy and
Historical Identity
. Random House/Hardover/
25
ISBN: 0-375-40565-X