2018 - My Genealogical Year in Review

Sankofa Bird Gold Weight. The concept of Sankofa reminds us to "go back and get it," to remember our past as we move towards our future. Brooklyn Museum [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)]

It's that time of year, when we take stock of what we've done over the last 12 months and think about what the new year might bring. In the spirit of reflection and accountability, in this post I'm looking back at what I did - or didn't - accomplish in 2018 in terms of my family history work. I'll post again after the new year with my hopes for 2019.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements: Fall 2018

It's been pretty quiet over here, but don't worry - things are absolutely happening behind the scenes in KINterested Land!

For one thing, I had the great fun of attending my biennial Cooper-Cummings Family Reunion last month, celebrating and reconnecting with my mom's maternal family. Expect a post on that soon.

I've also been continuing to research the Worthen family - the sister and children of my maternal 2x Great-Grandmother, Scoatney Scott. Specifically, I've been trying to learn more about Masonia Scott Worthen's sons, Thomas, Henry, and Grant, and their time first as loggers near Shelton, Washington and then as servicemen in World War I. To that end, I've got a new book on my shelf:

The Case of the Second Masonia, Part 2: Finding the Smoking Guns

In Part 1 of this post, I introduced a "new" name to my family tree: Masonia Scott. But, of course that name is not that new - it's the same name as my 2x Great-Grandaunt. And just for kicks, they were both born in Georgia and both moved to Portland, Oregon, but were not mother and daughter. So, what was their relationship? Were they aunt and niece, as I suspected, or was there some other relationship here?

Google got me one very significant step closer to an answer. See, I believe that contextual information is *key* to understanding the names, dates, locations and events of our ancestors' lives. So parallel to my research into both Masonia Scotts, I was also trying to learn more about Portland's black community in general. What was life like when "my" Masonia moved to Portland around 1920? What did she and her children encounter? What institutions were there to support them, and what opportunities were available to them?

The Case of the Second Masonia, Part 1

A funny thing happened while researching my 2x Great-Grandaunt* Masonia (Scott) Worthen in Portland, Oregon: I came across a second Masonia Scott.

Who was this woman, and with that name, what was her relationship to "my" Masonia Scott?

My Masonia Scott had been born in Georgia about 1863 to Solomon and Cherry Scott; had married, had children with and then somehow separated from Henry Worthen; and then moved across the country, first to Washington State and then to Portland, Oregon.

I first came across this new Masonia Scott in the 1920 Census, when she was living with her sister Ruth, her parents James and Sarah Scott, and James Hunter, probably her mother's brother.

Work and War on the Road to Portland

I began and ended one of my recent posts with the question: How did Masonia Scott Worthen, sister of my 2x Great-Grandmother Scoatney Scott Cooper, end up moving all the way from Georgia to Portland, Oregon in the early 1900s?

The Many Names of Masonia (Scott) Worthen

Sometimes your ancestors are hard to find. Sometimes that's because they have the most awesome names, and no one writes them correctly. And for them, well, sometimes it's just fun to keep track of all the ways you find them along your research path.

So, without further ado and in no particular order, my top 10 favorite misspellings of Masonia Scott Worthen (ca.1863 - 1951)...so far!

Finding Scoatney's Family: An Unexpected Migration

Masonia (Scott) Worthen Funeral Notice. The Oregonian (Portland, OR) 27 June 1951, P27.

On June 28, 1951, my maternal 2x great-grandmother's sister, Masonia Scott Worthen, was laid to rest in Portland, Oregon. Born in Georgia about 1863, she somehow came to live in Portland between 1910 and 1920, widowed and with 3 sons, a widowed daughter and a granddaughter - all born in Georgia - living with her. How did they come to make this move all the way across the continent - and frankly, across climates - and what was life like for them as they tried to make new lives on the West Coast?

Scoatney (Scott) Cooper: A Timeline

Scoatney Scott is my maternal 2x Great-Grandmother. More specifically, she is my mother’s mother’s father’s mother. Here’s what that looks like:

Scoatney Scott  →  Noah Cooper  →  Elnora Cooper  →  Mom  →  Me

For as long as I can remember seeing my mom’s Cooper-Cummings family tree, I remember seeing her name, with her husband July Cooper, right up near the top of the tree. But I’ve never really known that much about her. With another family reunion coming up this summer, I decided to see what more I could find about her life and her family.

Shared by cousin F. Davis.

Wedding Wednesday: Rufus Littlejohn and Flora Virginia Woods

For all the sleuthing I've done around my 2x Great-Grandfather Rufus Littlejohn, I've written very little about what I actually do know about his life: the time he spent in Steubenville, OH. So I thought I'd dive back into themed posting by focusing on the seeming start of his Steubenville story, his marriage to my 2x Great-Grandmother Flora Virginia Woods.

Rufus Littlejohn and Flora Woods were married in Jefferson County, Ohio on December 25, 1899. Yes, Christmas Day! (If you're keeping track, another pair of my 2x Great-Grandparents, Laura Ann Scruggs/Screws/Strugs and James Steven Evans, married on Christmas Eve 1901.)

Here is their marriage record:

Seeking Family in Farewells

You know I can't leave anything alone. So, even though I've concluded that the Rufus Littlejohn who dies in Pennsylvania in 1934 is indeed my 2x Great-Grandfather, I still want more proof. Something closer to a smoking gun. The obituary of Rufus' brother Ed Littlejohn was so helpful in placing Rufus in Cleveland in 1923 that I've been wondering if any of his other siblings have obituaries that could do the same thing for other years. So, I guess now I'm on The Sibling Hunt.

Based on the 1870 and 1880 Census, plus death certificates that include parents' names, I've been able to pull together the following list of Rufus' siblings, children of Strap and Eliza Littlejohn. And, because I like charts, I've been using one to track information I've been collecting on their passing.

Restoring a Name for Baby Boy Littlejohn

I recently wrote two posts where I referred to a child of Rufus Littlejohn and Jane "Jennie" Alexanders. In one, I referred to him as an unnamed baby boy. He didn't show up in any of the later records I found for his parents or siblings, and I didn't know what had happened to him or how he'd disappeared.

I'm happy to say, I now know his name: Julius Littlejohn.

I wish his was a happier story, and a longer one. Unfortunately, Julius died shortly after he was born - just 2 days later.

Here is the record of Julius' birth: