Decoration Day Roll Call

Today, we honor our war dead. If I could, I would be placing decorations on the following family veterans gravesites:

Charles Troy Bowie (1915-1945), U.S. Army, Epinal American Cemetery, Epinal, France.

Rene C. Mischeaux (1948-1969), U.S. Army, Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, California

They both gave "the last full measure of devotion" in service to our nation.

While we're here at our virtual national cemetery, we note the service of these other relatives, who, while not war casualties, nonetheless served valiantly:

Zeke Johnson (1847-1933), 18th U.S. Colored Infantry, Blue Ridge Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri.

Frank William Gines (1935-1999), U.S. Army, Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado.
Henry Edward Gines (1935-1993), U.S. Army, Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado.

Perry Wesley Gines (1928-1986), U.S. Coast Guard, Leavenworth National Cemetery, Leavenworth, Kansas.

Richard Edward Gines (1926-1996), U.S. Army Air Forces, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.

Bobby G. LeJay (1938-2007), U.S. Army, Carver Memorial Cemetery, Shreveport, Louisiana.

Herman L. Brayboy (1935-1996), U.S. Army, Zion Rest Cemetery, Shreveport, Louisiana.

William G. Wells (1929-2005), U.S. Navy, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St Louis, Missouri

There are 363 Bowies, 246 Mansons, and 168 Birdsongs buried in America's National Cemeteries.

Epinal American Cemetery, Epinal, France
Final Resting Place of Charles Troy Bowie of Longview, Texas

African-American Military History: Perry Wesley Gines

My uncle, Perry Wesley Gines (1930-1986), left, and an unidentified Coastie friend, about 1949. Perry retired from the Coast Guard at the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 5, the highest warrant officer rank.

Black History Month: Black Catholics in America

I have obliquely alluded, in this space, to the fact that I am of the Roman Catholic faith. This may come as a surprise to a lot of folks, some of whom believe a black Catholic is rarer than a campfire at the North Pole. Frequently, when people learn that I'm a Catholic, they say, "When did you convert?" Well, in my case, I didn't convert--I'm a so-called "cradle Catholic." But I will admit that I'm just a second generation Catholic.

I come from a maternal line that has a lot of Baptist preachers. Most prominent of these would be my great-grandfather, James William Long (1866-1945). He was a deacon at Kansas City's renowned Paseo Baptist Church before becoming pastor of Sunrise Baptist Church. My mother's uncle, Henry Willie Gines (1903-1980) was a Baptist preacher as was his son, Frank William Gines (1935-1999). My aunt, Delorise Gines, has a ministry that grew out of her participation at Paseo.

So how did I end up Catholic? Well, the earthly answer goes like this: my grandmother, Annie Florida Corrine Long, had a stormy relationship with her father, the aforementioned Rev. James William Long. I don't know all the details, but I'm sure it was not helped by her desire to be a dancer in Kansas City's vaudeville revues. When she left her parents' house in the 1920's, she became a dancer and never opened a Bible nor set foot in a church (except for weddings and funerals) ever again. Her children, including my mother, grew up "unchurched," for the most part.

But, as a teenager, my mother had three close friends, who, in today's vernacular, "hung out" together. They took turns going to each other's churches. One girl was Baptist, one Methodist, and one Catholic. As a result of these friendships, my mother eventually became very active in the Methodist church. She was a leader in a statewide Methodist teen group. Even while she did this, my mother continued to attend her other friends' churches and continued to study religion on her own. Ultimately, for reasons personal to her, my mother at age 16 became a Catholic.

Meanwhile, in Texas, my father was having religious experiences of his own. I don't know of any clergy on my father's side and I don't really know of any specific religious preferences in his family (with one exception). But because the Depression-era schools in Aransas County, Texas, refused to educate black children, the first school my father attended was a Catholic grade school. This evidently made an impression on him and he, too, became a Catholic as a teenager.

When my parents met in college, their Catholicism was something they had in common.

As I grew up, the only other black Catholic family I knew of was that of my paternal great-uncle, Herman Walker (1906-2002). And I don't think he was born a Catholic; rather I think he converted when he met and married his wife Ida, a French Creole Catholic from Louisiana. But he was a devout Catholic. His funeral program noted that he had attended St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Houston for sixty-six years and that he was a member of The Knights of Columbus and the Holy Name Society.

Despite their apparent invisibility, black Catholics have played important roles in the Church in America due originally and derivatively to the nation's French and Spanish heritages. In fact, the first blacks in America were Catholics. They helped settle America's oldest European-established city, St Augustine, Florida, in 1565.

Over the next few posts, we'll tell the stories of significant African-American Catholics.

Where Were They in 1808?

Awhile ago, the challenge issued by Lisa was to describe where one's ancestors were in 1908. I blogged about that here. Now the topic is where one's ancestors were in 1808. Many bloggers have written about this already; I'm just getting caught up.

1808 was a signal year for some of my families. That was the year that Congress banned the Atlantic slave trade from the United States. The U.S. Constitution of 1789 had provided in Article I, section 9:

The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.

This somewhat obtuse sentence was one of the several compromises in the Constitution on the issue of slavery. The importation of slaves could not be banned by Congress for two decades after the Constitutional Convention. Note that states were free to ban slavery at any time; and several had done so prior to 1808.

Manson: Charlotte Manson, the likely first ancestor born in America, was probably still with her Scots-Irish parents in South Carolina or northern Georgia. We have not yet discovered her parents' names.

Gines: I have no information about the Gines family that goes back to 1808. I do know that they likely came from the Carolinas.

Bowie: James Bowie, free man of color, is believed to have been born in the 1790's in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, and probably was living there in 1808.

Brayboy: William Brayboy was born into slavery in South Carolina in the 1790's. I do not know where in South Carolina.

Johnson/Carpenter: Benjamin Carpenter had been born in 1745 in Gloucester, New Jersey. In 1808, he and his wife, Elizabeth McFarland Hughes, lived in Harrison County, Virginia (now in West Virginia). Their son William, grandfather of Ezekiel Johnson, was born in Harrison County in 1790.

LeJay: I am reasonably certain that my LeJay ancestors were held in bondage in South Carolina in 1808. They were most likely in the eastern part of South Carolina.

Birdsong: John Birdsong III and his wife, Elizabeth Latimer, had moved to Oglethorpe County, Georgia, by 1808.

Sanford: The earliest known ancestor in this family, William Sanford, was born into slavery in Virginia in 1809.

Bryant, Long, Gilbert, Martin: I have no information on these families in 1808.

Where Was Your Family in 1908?

Lisa, who has the energy to write several interesting blogs, posed the question, "Where was your family in 1908?" on, appropriately enough, her 100 Years in America blog.

A century ago, neither of my paternal grandparents had been born yet, although one, my grandmother Jessie Beatrice Bowie, was just a year away. Her parents, my great-grandparents, Hattie Bryant and Elias Bowie, Sr., had recently met and were living in San Antonio, Texas. Hattie's and Elias' parents were also in Texas. Guy Bryant and Maria Martin lived in Rockport, Aransas County, Texas, in 1908. Guy was a butcher. John Wesley Bowie and Amanda McCray made their home in the east Texas town of Longview in Gregg County. They lived at 114 Morgan Street and 63 year old John did "odd jobs."

My other paternal great-grandparents, Otis Manson and Bettie Sanford, lived on a farm near Rockdale, Milam County, Texas. My great-great-grandmother, Matilda Manson, lived near them. Bettie's father, Billie Sanford, a 98 year old former slave, was still alive, also in Milam County. Billie would live to be 106 years old.

My maternal grandfather, Eddie Gines, was 10 years old and lived with his parents, Richard William Gines and Sylvia LeJay, at 1540 Ashton Street, Shreveport, Louisiana. Great-grandpa Dick was a fireman at Shreveport's electric powerhouse. I know nothing of Dick's parents. Sylvia's parents were Lewis LeJay and Syntrilla Brayboy. By 1908, Lewis had probably passed away. Syntrilla, however, still lived in De Soto Parish, Louisiana, not far from where she had been held in slavery.

My maternal grandmother, Annie Florida Corrine Long, was six years old and lived with her parents, James William Long and Mary Elizabeth Johnson. Their house was at 2711 Wyoming Street, on the west side of Kansas City, Missouri. Great-grandpa James was a Baptist preacher and in 1908 was the pastor at Kansas City's Sunrise Baptist Church. His parents, Richard and Pauline Long, were deceased. My great-great-grandfather, Zeke Johnson, was still alive and well in Kansas City. My great-great-grandmother, Sarah Gilbert, may have been alive in 1908, but this is not certain. Zeke's father, Dan Carpenter, was alive at age 83, in Clay County, Missouri, just north of Kansas City. He died at age 95. There is some evidence that Zeke's mother, Harriet Mitchell, was alive and living in Johnson County, Kansas, but this is not certain. She would be about 83 years old as well.

In 1908, none of these ancestors could have foreseen me and life as it is today.

Veterans Day

In Appreciation: Veterans Day 2007


In 1954, Congress and President Eisenhower re-designated Armistice Day as Veterans Day to honor all veterans, living and dead.

My uncle, Richard Edward Gines, served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Forces at the end of World War II. Following his discharge, he continued his education at New York University. He then was employed as a financial writer by The New York Herald Tribune. Later, he became a manager in the air freight industry. He died in 1996 and is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

My uncle, Perry Wesley Gines (left) and a "Coastie" friend in the late 1940s. Perry served more than 33 years in the United States Coast Guard. He retired as a CWO-4 (chief warrant officer-4), one of the few African-Americans to reach that rank. He died in 1986 and is buried at Leavenworth National Cemetery in Kansas, with his wife, Kay Frances. The Kay Frances and Perry W. Gines Scholarship at the University of Alaska is named for them.

My grandfather, Quentin V.H. Manson, a jazz musician, served with the Army Band at Camp Wallace, Texas, during World War II. After the war, he moved to California and was part of the vibrant jazz scene in central Los Angeles. He died in 1987.


My great-uncle, Carl Edward Manson, shown in front of his Los Angeles millinery shop, c. 1966. He has a World War I draft card on file, but I don't know if he actually served. One clue, however: his wife is buried at Riverside National Cemetery and is listed as "Wife of -- --." Carl's actual burial site is unknown.



My father is pictured outside his mother's home in Pasadena, California, on his way overseas in 1965. Commissioned through ROTC in 1955, he served tours of duty in Germany, Korea, and Vietnam. He retired as a lieutenant colonel and commenced a long second career as an administrator at San Jose State University in California. My parents continue to reside in San Jose.


OTHER VETERANS

My twin cousins Frank W. Gines and Henry E. Gines were both veterans. Frank served seven years in the Army as a paratrooper, earning numerous awards and decorations. Following his military service, Frank worked at the Rocky Flats nuclear plant in Colorado for 24 years. He was also a minister of the Gospel, having attended Western Baptist Bible College. He worked at several churches, ending at his death as assistant pastor of the Mount Sinai Baptist Church in Denver. After his retirement from Rocky Flats, Frank took a part-time job as head of player security with the Colorado Rockies. He passed away in 1999.

Henry Gines was a Vietnam veteran who attained the rank of sergeant major in the Army. Henry and Frank are both interred at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Colorado.

ALMOST VETERANS?

My great-uncle Benjamin Franklin Long has a World War I draft card on file, as does my grandfather William Edward Gines. However, I can't find any record of their actual service. My great-uncle Clarence Long also has a World War I draft card on file, but it's likely that he did not serve. To the question "Where employed?" on the draft card, Clarence candidly noted that he was a "Prisoner, Municipal Farm," in Kansas City.

The Next Generation

Happy Birthday (12th) to Dallas Miller Manson of San Jose, California! His parents are David Q. Manson and Creola Lee Miller Manson. His grandparents are Harold V. Manson and Lillian Gines Manson of San Jose; and Louis Mannuel Miller and Eleanor Edwards Miller of Los Angeles.

Research Resource: National Register of Historic Places Nomination Forms

Many are familiar with the National Register of Historic Places. A good resource for research is the set of nomination forms for places on the Register. These are available from the National Park Service at the address on this page.

The Park Service hopes eventually to have all of the nomination forms online. But until then, a e-mail to the Park Service will get you the materials. They responded to my e-mail within a day or two and sent me materials in less than three weeks. I was not charged for the material.

So what does one get? Well, I sent for the nomination package for Buena Vista, the plantation in De Soto Parish, Louisiana, where my Brayboy, LeJay, and probably Gines, ancestors were held in bondage by the Boykin Witherspoon family. The nomination papers included a written statement of significance prepared by the nominator. This statement described the property and included an historical note that contained a transcription of the1859 contract to build the estate. There were also three pages of photographs and two pages of diagrams.

Information similar to this can be found in the nomination papers of any of the properties on the National Register. If your family had any connection to a National Register property, these papers may add to your understanding of the family.

A Kansas City Follies Girl, c. 1920

Annie Florida Corrine Long

She later was known as Florida C. Gines, my grandmother.




Coming Up: Research Trips--The "Don't-Overs"

Mom's Diamond Jubilee

Mom & Dad, 2003


This week, my mother will celebrate her 75th birthday. Seems like just yesterday we were marking her mother's 75th birthday. That was 1977 and my mother then was younger (by almost a decade) than I am now. How does that happen? Tick, tock! Tick, tock!

Mom was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Her father, Eddie Gines, had come there from Shreveport in about 1920; for what reason, I do not know. Her mother, Annie Florida Corrine Long, was a native of Kansas City. Mom was one of seven children, four of whom survive.

Mom had red hair as a child, a fact which lately I've come to regard as a genealogical clue. Her mother reportedly said that no black child had any business with red hair, and therefore combed Mom's hair with coffee every day in the hope that it would turn black. Mom still has red hair seventy-five years later and my sister was born with red hair.
I never had the impression of my mother as "bookish," but she did go to college at age 16, and majoring in education. graduated at age 20. She met my father during their college years (she was a junior when he was a freshman). And speaking of "bookish," the story goes that when he asked her to a basketball game for their first date, she brought a book and spent the whole game reading it! Fortunately for me, that did not keep them from continuing to date and eventually marry.

Mom, Dad, Future Genealogist, and Grandmother (Jessie Beatrice Bowie), 1955

My parents live in California now, far from where either of them was raised. I doubt that as a child or even as a young adult, my mother ever foresaw living in California. I'm not sure what her dreams were as an adolescent. I do know that she gave up a postgraduate fellowship to become a wife and mother.

I can see my mother dressed as the archetypal 1950s housewife. My father was an Army officer; she was in the Officers Wives Club--a much-maligned institution by the late 1960s and 1970s. We went to Mass every Sunday and every Holy Day of Obligation; Mom was in the Ladies' Soldality. She took an active interest in our schooling and was in the PTA. She stood for propriety, integrity, good manners, and respect for others.

But at the same time, I never saw Mom as a June Cleaver or a Stepford Wife. She was fiercely protective of her brood; indeed, there were sometimes battles to be fought for us at a time when kids our age were being shut out of public school or being blown up by domestic terrorists at Sunday school.

My earliest recollection of my mother involves a tornado. We lived in Jefferson City, Missouri. Mom was hanging laundry on the clothesline in the back and I was sitting on a step at the back door. The winds picked up suddenly and the sky turned green. Mom hurriedly took the wash down said we had to get inside. Then I next recall us living at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Mom was pregnant with my sister. She was sweeping the floor when she began coughing violently. I didn't know what to do. As she bent over double in pain, the lady next door came over. Mom was taken to the hospital where it was discovered that she had coughed so hard that she had broken a rib.

We went to Germany in 1958 on the same troop ship as one recently drafted Private Elvis Aaron Presley. Mom appears in a photograph taken on the ship which appears on the back of one of Elvis' first post-Army albums. In Germany, Elvis was extremely popular. One day, a young German man appeared at our apartment and asked if we had any pictures of Elvis. Mom said, "No," and began n to close the door. The young man now demanded a picture of Elvis and punctuated his demand by pulling a knife. Mom forced the door closed with all of her weight (perhaps 110 pounds); locked it and called the police.

I've never seen my mother take a drink of alcohol, although she maintains a supply in the house for guests. I saw my mother smoke a cigarette just once. And the circumstances were strange. We lived in Albuquerque then and the lady who lived next door (and is now likely deceased) smoked like a chimney. One spring day, when I was about twelve, I came home from school to find Mom and the neighbor lady sitting in the front yard in lawn chairs. Each was smoking a cigarette. I was shocked to see Mom with a cigarette in her hand. I said, "Mom, what are you doing?" She said, "I am smoking. Would you like to try it?" I hesitated, and then said, "Okay." She handed me the cigarette and told me to draw the smoke into my lungs. I tried to do so and ended up coughing my head off. Mom asked, "What do you think?" I said, "it's awful!" She said, "That's right, so don't ever do it again." That was the only time I had a cigarette and the first and last time I ever saw my mother with a cigarette.

In 1965, my father got orders to go to Korea. It was what the Army calls an "unaccompanied tour." That meant that we would stay in Albuquerque during his year Korea. Mom would do the job of two parents. She made it look effortless all the while making sure we thought of and wrote to our father often. Again, in 1968, Dad got orders to go to Vietnam for one year. And again, Mom had to be two parents. I can't imagine this is easy for any mother, but it must be particularly difficult f or a woman with three adolescent boys with typical adolescent boy interests.

Mom has a great sense of humor. That's a good thing for her children who occasionally make fun of her Midwestern accent! She has certain favorite sayings. ("That's wrong; that's wrong as two left feet!"). And of course we knew we were in real trouble when she called us by our full names! She cried with us when our first pet, parakeet named Billie Boy, died suddenly.

My mother probably wouldn't in the first instance describe herself as an animal lover. But the facts may prove it. In 1966, when he was back from Korea, Dad one night found a a jet black Persian kitten under his car. Mom said we could keep the kitten just until we found the real owner. She made it clear that the cat wasn't staying. Seventeen years later, my mother called me at my Air Force base in Britain to tell me that Topcat had passed away. When my grandmother's husband passed away, leaving their dog King homeless, Mom welcomed him to her house. When my brother was sent to Germany by the Army, Mom took it in his dog, Tiger and ended up keeping him until the dog died away six years later.

Today, my mother still works a forty hour a week job. She's a Eucharistic minister at her church. (It is a bit of an adjustment for a pre-Vatican II Catholic boy such as my self to get used to taking communion from his mother!). She takes pride in the accomplishments of her children and grandchildren.

So this week, we'll celebrate Mom's Jubilee, knowing that no celebration can possibly convey the joy we feel and the joy we've always felt at being lucky enough to have her as our mother.

Product Review: Find-A-Grave

The geneablogosphere has been buzzing lately with news of exciting partnerships, new databases, and innovative technologies--all of which I'm very enthused about. This morning, however, I was reminded that some of the existing, older research products out there remain highly valuable and worth revisiting from time to time.

I had not visited Find-A-Grave in quite awhile, but I ended up there this morning in the course of a lengthy Google search. At Find-A-Grave, I found details and photos about several folks whose names have turned up in this space. As a result, I found information that I had not seen anywhere else.

For example, I've written about Daniel Henry Sanford. I did not know his exact date of birth, nor did I know his wife' s complete maiden name. At Find-A-Grave, there was this post. This great contribution by Ronnie Bodine tells us D.H. Sanford's date of birth, his wife's complete maiden name, and gives us not only picture of the gravesite, but a nice photo of Daniel and Texonia together.

Someone else has contributed this photo of Daniel's father's gravesite. I also came across an entry for a Mrs. E.G. Sanford of Milam County. That's a name I'd never heard before. She must have some relationship to the other Sanfords in Milam County. I haven't found her in any census record yet either.

Find-A-Grave also has entries for Izola Manson (my great-uncle Carl's wife) Perry W. Gines (my uncle) and his wife Kay.

Find-A-Grave depends on data contributed by users. There are some users who have contributed thousands of photos and other information. [Several years ago, I contributed this information on Amanda McCray Bowie. I noticed today, however, that my photo has been replaced by another one. I think mine was better.]

There are thousands of entries on Find-A-Grave. It's simple to use and simple to contribute. When you're scanning gravesite photos for your own use, help other researchers by stopping in at Find-A-Grave and sharing what you have.

Preparing for A Research Trip

I've mentioned that the Summer 2007 Research Trip might be to Northwest Missouri. At the moment, the matter of such a trip is on hold for a variety of reasons; however, I thought it would be a useful exercise. My maternal Gines ancestors moved to Kansas City from Shreveport about a hundred years ago. Some might be found in Kansas. So here's what I would do.

1. Review and organize notes relevant to Northwest Missouri families (Gines, Long, Johnson, Gilbert).

2. Set research goals and priorities (e.g., find parents of Sarah Gilbert Johnson)

3. Use FHL Catalog as a guide to potential resources.

4. Identify, contact local genealogical, historical societies; document repositories, records offices.

I do this to make sure they know I coming as well. And I also use it as any opportunity to confirm hours, policies, extent of holdings.

Clay County Archives and Historical Library
Tel.: 816-781-3611
210 E Franklin, Liberty, MO 64068
Mailing Address
P. O. Box 99, Liberty, MO 64069
General Information: info@claycountyarchives.org

Platte County Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc.,
P. O. Box 103, Platte City, MO 64079-0103

Museum Address: Ben Ferrel Platte County Museum, 220 Ferrel Street, Platte City, MO 64079
Tel.: 816-431-5121
rootswebcom/~mopchgs

Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society
129 W Lexington Ave, Mezzanine
Independence, MO 64050
(816) 461-1897, Ext. 305

Jackson County Courthouse
415 E. 12th Street, 2nd floor
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
(816) 881-3242
(816) 881-3234 fax

Independence Office
200 S. Main
Independence, Missouri 64050
(816) 881-1626
(816) 881-4473 fax

Platte County Clerk's Office
415 Third St., Suite 30
Platte City, MO 64079
Phone: (816) 858-2232

Kansas City Public Library
14 West 10th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105

Mid-Continent Public Library
Genealogy and Local History
317 W. 24 Highway
Independence, MO 64050-2747
Phone 816-252-7228
Mon - Thur 9-9, Fri 9-6, Sat 9-5


Kansas City, Kansas Public Library,
625 Minnesota Ave.,
Kansas City, KS 66101.

Kansas State Historical Society
6425 SW 6th Ave
Topeka, KS 66615
(785) 272-8681


Unified Government Clerk
701 N 7th St, Suite 323
Kansas City, KS 6610
913-573-5260

5. Determine locations of potential resources. Match resources to locations.

6. Contact repositories, libraries, etc to confirm addresses, resources, hours, and policies.

7. Contact cousins and let them know travel plans

8. Check to see if there are any Random Acts.


Other than making the travel arrangements, what else should I be doing?

The Surname Gines

Gines is a name with Welsh, English, German, and Spanish origins, depending on the particular family. The name developed in different ways, at different times, in different parts of the world. It is related linguistically to many other names. For example, the Welsh-English variant may be derived from the English Johns. Some scholars believe that the Welsh names Joynes and Jones are variants of Johns. The name Gines may have developed thusly:

JOHNS---->JOYNES----->JOINES----->JONES----->JINES----->GINES

Evidence of this appears in some early North American public records wherein members of a single family are sometimes surnamed differently as Joines, Joynes, or Gines. For example, the 1787 tax records of Rowan County, North Carolina list an Ezekiel Jones, apparently referring to Ezekiel Joines. This man's son appears in the same records under the name "Jines." Other variations of the English surname include Goins, Goines, and Gaines. (For more on the example cited, see the excellent work on the Descendants of Ezekiel Joines.).

By the way, despite the possible English root with a "J," the American Gines families (except the Hispanic-derived ones), generally pronounce the name with a hard "G."

The Spanish version of Gines is Gines. The name makes its most notorious appearance in Spanish as the moniker of the ringleader of a gang of condemned galley slaves in the novel Don Quixote. Of course, the Spanish Gines is not a homonym of the Welsh-English or German name of similar spelling.

EARLY AMERICAN SETTLERS: The Maryland State Archives record one Joel Gines as the owner of 208 acres in Anne Arundel County in 1787. The 1810 Federal Census has John Gines in Johnston County, North Carolina. These early settlers may have come from Warwickshire, England, the county which includes Loxley (Robin Hood's birthplace in legend), Stratford-upon-Avon (where Shakespeare lived) and, more importantly today, Birmingham.

In America today, there are at least five Gines family groups. The Midwestern Gines families are largely descendants of German and English immigrants in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. Their genealogy has been well-documented by Ron Gines. (Ron and his mother, Wanda L. Gines, have published a two-volume book called Our Brink Heritage ([1998] Gynzer Publishing, Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 98-71249, ISBN 1-57502-784-4), available at most libraries.)

The LDS Gines families are centered in Utah and Idaho. They were among the founders of the LDS community in Woodland, Utah. These families comprise the largest Gines family group in America today. They trace their origins to the German-English Midwestern Gines family group.

The African-American Gines families can be found in the Midwest, the South, and Texas.

The Latino or Hispanic Gines families are of two sub-groups: one is centered in the Southwest and is mainly of Mexican descent; the other is found in the urban areas of the Eastern United States, being primarily of recent Puerto Rican ancestry.

There is an Asian-Pacific Islander Gines family group consisting of Filipino-descended individuals. They are concentrated on the west coast and in Hawaii. Like the Latino Gines families, the Filipino Gines families trace their roots to Spain.

MY FAMILY: Also now located primarily in the Midwest, my Gines family ranges from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi to Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri to Minnesota. This American family seems to have begun in the Carolinas and migrated to Louisiana. Mostly African-American, this family has a strong record of achievement and service, counting among its members clergymen, teachers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, military officers, media executives, physicians, and community leaders.

Another Cousin Found!

A few weeks ago, I met a cousin from the Brayboy branch of the family at a genealogical conference in Sacramento. That was a very fulfilling meeting on a number of levels and I'm still processing some of the information she gave me. One thing, among many, about that chance meeting, was that it was the first time ever that I had come face to face with a Brayboy cousin. A few days ago, a person left a comment on an older post here concerning the LeJay branch of the family. The LeJays have been the most difficult family to find. The commenter said she was researching the LeJays as well! Turns out that the commenter, a college student, is also a descendant of Sylvia LeJay Gines, my great-grandmother (and of course, therefore, also a descendant of Syntrilla Brayboy LeJay, Sylvia's mother). This cousin belongs to the Nacogdoches, Texas, branch of the Gines family. Richard William Gines (1860-?) and Sylvia LeJay (1863-1940) lived in Shreveport and had ten children, the oldest being Frank Gines (1883-1946). He married Willie V. Cole (1890-1983) and they ended up in Nacogdoches. The third of their eight children was Jennie V. Gines (1918-2006). Jennie became the great-grandmother of my commenting cousin. (And since it appears that the rest of that branch is still alive, I'll stop there). I'll be sending my newly discovered cousin further information on her family tree. It's a bit unusual to find someone at her stage of life interested in her ancestry. But she is a person with a bright and active mind (as I can tell from reading her own [non-genealogical] blog).

The Sisters Speak

One indulgent pleasure of being a genea-journalist is occasionally hearing from one's readers that they enjoyed a particular piece. It's even better when the subjects of one's writing respond positively. (This is indeed a rare treat for genea-writers, since most of the folks we write about are . . . , well, you know . . .gone).

Anyway, after Three Sisters was published in the Carnival of Genealogy, I heard from Bernadine Coles Gines and through her, her sister, Ruth Coles Harris. Ruth wrote, "WE LOVED THE ARTICLE!" She also had some corrections. She retired as chairman of the Accounting Department at Virginia State University, not the Business Department. And concerning her academic achievements, Ruth says, "I doubt very seriously that I graduated first in my NYU class." She was, however, first in her class at VSU, where her degree was in business administration. She also said, "I don't know how important this is, but to be factual I passed the exam in November 1962 but wasn't certified until April 1963. So [one may] either say I became the first black woman to pass the exam in 1962 or the first black woman to become certified in 1963."

Bernadine also had some corrections. About the story that their grandfather gave them a typewriter "when Bernadine and Ruth were about ten and five years old, respectively," she points out that there is just a two yearage difference between them, so Ruth would have been eught years old. Concerning the statement that "In a 2003 interview with her journalism major granddaughter, Bernadine that from the time she was in the fifth grade, she knew she was going to college," Bernadine says that it should have said, "I knew when I was 5 years old that I was going to college even though I didn't know what college was." The discrepancy was the result of a transcription error in the original source.

By the way, there is an oral history interview with the sisters' mother, Ruth Wyatt Coles, at this link: http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/afam/raceandplace/orals/rcoles.html . Unfortunately, there may be a defect in the recording, because I've been unable to hear it above a whisper and there's a lot of background noise. Nonetheless, a synopsis of the interview reads:

Ruth Coles was born around 1900 and although her family did not live on Vinegar Hill, her father was a barber in that section of Charlottesville. She remembers how important family was for them. Also, she recalls that neighborhoods were close and discusses how she, her family, and their neighbors enjoyed attending houseparties in the neighborhood, playing croquet, and maintaining a flowergarden. Coles says that she did not consider issues of class to divide the black community much, remarking on how poorer citizens, for example, shopped at the second hand store on Vinegar Hill and therefore could always dress well and "in style". After completing high school at Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute in Petersburg in 1929 (currently Virginia State University), Coles returned to Albemarle County to teach school for thirty years, eighteen of which were spent teaching in Charlottesville. Much later on in life, she and her daughter were the first parent-child pairing to graduate from Virginia State University together.

Try the oral history link and see if you you have better luck than I did. The site is part of a collaborative project of the Virginia Center for Digital History and the Carter G. Woodson Institute of African and African-American Studies.