Alex Genealogy

05/30/2026

I’m in Plaisance, Louisiana where my ancestors at. Everybody interred here are on my family tree. This is where Alex Genealogy started.

05/30/2026

This lovely photo of twin brothers Steve and Steward BARNABA, Jr., was shared by Stewards granddaughter Alanna. They are the children of Steward Leo BARNABA and Madeleine FUSELIER, creoles of Prairie Laurent, Louisiana; Together they had four daughters; Clemmie Barnaba Auzenne, Leola Barnaba, Mable Barnaba Auzenne and Madeline Ruby Barnaba Guidry, and four sons, Oswold Barnaba, Peter Claven Barnaba Steve Barnaba and Steward Barnaba Jr., the twins here pictured.

I am absolutely loving how the internet is getting me connected with people who don’t mind sharing their family history. After all, we are all connected somehow, even those cousins who use Fiji water for their gumbo and those who be eating crawfish and crabs with their gloves on 😘

05/30/2026

This home for me!! It’s where my heart is!!!

05/30/2026

The genes in my family are strong! This is my younger bro Peewee and my son Alex, Jr. All our children favor.

05/30/2026

Just How Deep Do I Go with My Research?
Well!! I’m Discovering Everybody Is Related.

During my years of extensive slave research, one powerful truth keeps showing up, many families lost connection simply due to spelling changes in surnames or the complete loss of their original names. That’s why my work isn’t just about names on paper, it’s about reconnecting people to each other and to their truth.

In this short write-up, I want to share how my cousins, Louis Sherry GAILES and his wife Helen Louise WASHINGTON GAILES, both deceased, were actually connected by blood, descendants of the same enslaved ancestor.

Louis was born around 1927 in Opelousas, Louisiana, to Odell Edward GAILES and Ethel GUIDRY. Helen was born around 1937 in Washington, Louisiana, to Aaron WASHINGTON, Sr. and Letha NESBIT.

Here’s where it gets deep, Louis is the great-grandson of Washington GALES, a former quadroon slave owned by Joseph GRADENIGO, a free man of color, who later purchased his own freedom. While Washington GALES was enslaved, he had at least two known children:
1. Emile (Helen’s grandfather), who was born to Arthemise, an enslaved woman described as “Negro.”
2. James William GALES, who was born to Louisa, another enslaved woman.

Emile, Helen’s direct ancestor, used both his father’s forename and his father’s former owner’s surname, which was not uncommon among freedmen navigating a post-slavery world. His identity shows up in historical records like this:
• GRADENI, Emile Washington (Washington & Artemise THOMAS) m. 5 Feb. 1883 Irene THOMAS, widow of Gustin LEDE (Wash. Ch., v. 1, p. 83)
• WASHINGTON, Emile m. 29 Jan. 1883 Irene THOMAS, widow of Justin LEDE (Opel. Ct. Hse., Mar. #12683)

This shows how one person, through complex naming traditions and fragmented records, can appear under multiple surnames. That’s why families like the Gailes, Gills, or Gales may have thought they were part of a small lineage, never realizing that “Papa Washington” also had some Washingtons out there.

That’s the kind of detail my research uncovers, not just names, but hidden branches and buried legacies.

Part 1
Kristi Wyatt

05/30/2026

05/30/2026

Who’s following from Mobile, Alabama????

05/30/2026

Good morning from Beaumont, Texas??? Where you woke up at??

05/30/2026

🧬 Which One Died Listed As a Negro? Let’s Talk About It.

As a genealogist and historian, I’ve spent years confronting the cracks in how race has been defined in this country, especially in Louisiana, where bloodlines, paper trails, and appearances rarely tell the same story.

In the image below are two men, both Martel descendants. One is the great-grandson of B.A. Martel, a former judge in St. Landry Parish. The other is the great-grandson of Eugene Martel, B.A.’s brother. Same lineage, different outcomes.

Only one of them was legally classified, and died, as a Negro under the racial laws of the time.

Take a moment. Based on appearance alone, which one do you think it was?

This isn’t just about passing or pigment. It’s about how flawed and dangerous racial classifications have been, and continue to be. I’m including this in a documentary I’m working on to show how race was, and still is, weaponized to divide, restrict, and erase.

Drop your guess in the comments. Then let’s have the real conversation.

05/30/2026

Insurance: What’s your full name and date of birth?
Me: Alex Da’Paul Lee, January 9, 1888!!!
Insurance: Wait! Huh?

I been down those rabbit holes too long 😆