Our Folks' Tales

02/06/2026

Do you believe in the "Magic of the Second Look"?

I am constantly amazed by how I can read a Census record ten times and see nothing... and then read it the eleventh time and see everything.

I think it’s because we often research with a specific question in mind ("Where is John?"). Our brain filters out everything that isn't "John."

But when we step away and come back later with a quiet mind, the filters drop.

Suddenly, we notice that the family living next door has the same last name as John’s wife. Suddenly, we notice the tick mark in the "Owned Property" column. Suddenly, the story opens up.

If you have a file you haven't touched in six months, maybe this weekend is the time to open it again.

You are a different researcher now than you were then. You know more. You see more.

Has this ever happened to you? What did you find on the second (or twentieth) look.

(Image Description - an old, handwritten ledger. Photo by camera obscura on Unsplash)

02/05/2026

I was thinking today about the phrases that color my childhood memories. Not necessarily the deep life advice, but the quirky, specific expressions that just were.

In my house, if there was confusion or chaos, you’d hear: "What shot who?"

And if the day had been long and the work was hard? "I’m plum tuckered."

I love these phrases because they are like little time capsules. As soon as I say "plum tuckered," I can picture the my dad and grandfather say it. I can hear their voices.

Oral history isn't just about the big stories; it's about the texture of the language our folks used every day.

So, I want to hear the quirky ones.

What is a phrase you grew up hearing that you still find yourself saying today?

Drop them in the comments! 👇🏾

(Image description - my grandfather Preston Ellyte Cumbo and grandmother Bela Mae Brown Cumbo)

02/04/2026

Free webinar from Enslaved At Oakley. Don't miss it.

Join us on February 11 at 7:00 p.m. ET for VGS’s free February webinar, presented in recognition of Black History Month. We'll be discussing the Enslaved at Oakley and Beyond Project with author, Joseph Roby. Register here: https://www.vgs.org/event/webinar-in-conversation-with-joseph-roby-11-feb-2026/

Researching enslaved individuals is often challenging, particularly when records name the enslaved only indirectly or not at all. In many cases, locating and thoroughly analyzing records created by enslavers is the key to identifying and tracing African American lives across time. The Enslaved at Oakley & Beyond Project demonstrates how careful, contextual research into enslavers and their families can illuminate the lives of those they enslaved—and how responsibly locating, analyzing, and sharing these records is essential to that work.

This program will depart from a traditional webinar format and take the form of a moderated conversation with Joseph Roby (The Enslaved at Oakley & Beyond Project), Kelley Conner Lear, CG®, and Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy. Together, they’ll discuss methodology, interpretation, and ethical considerations in this type of research. Time will be reserved at the end of the session for audience questions.

02/03/2026

We spend years searching for our ancestors. We find their names, their dates, and the places they called home. It is a labor of love.

But the leap from "Researching" to "Writing" can feel huge.

I know this because I have stood exactly where you are standing.

When I was writing my book, The Slaves Have Names, I was staring at piles of inventory lists, court records, and genealogy charts. I had to figure out how to take those dry facts and weave them into a narrative that honored the people I had found.

It wasn't easy, but it was the most rewarding work I have ever done. And now, I want to help you do the same.

Whether you have a binder full of notes or a rough draft that needs help, I work with family historians in two ways:

🌿 Book Coaching: If you are staring at your research and thinking "Where do I even start?"—we can work together to build your outline and draft the stories chapter by chapter.

📖 Editing: If you already have pages written but want them to shine, I can help you polish the narrative so your grandchildren will actually want to read it.

The goal is the same: To take the history you’ve found and breathe life into it, so it isn't lost again.

I have a few openings for Coaching and Editing starting late February.

Send me a message if you’d like to chat about where you are and what you need. Let’s get these stories told.

(Image Description - my notes as I do further research on the family of Anthony and Ardelia Harris at Birdwood in Albemarle County, Virginia.)

02/03/2026

Black Virginians, these grants have helped creators make some of the most amazing things. Apply if you qualify.

02/02/2026

"Legacy" is a word we use a lot in genealogy. Usually, we are looking for it in the past—in wills, deeds, and census records.

But last night, we watched a legacy being built in real time.

Kendrick Lamar officially broke the record for the most Grammy wins by a rapper in history, surpassing Jay-Z with his 27th win.

Why does this matter to a history page? Because history isn't just what happened 100 years ago. It’s what we are writing today.

One day, 50 years from now, a future historian will look back at this era of Black music and see this name at the top of the tree. They will trace the line from the griots to the bluesmen to the record-breakers of 2026.

We are watching the "primary source documents" of the future being written right in front of us.

02/01/2026

Black History Month Spotlight - Part 1 of 4

Meet Reverend Samuel R. Harris: Our Founding Pastor

This Black History Month, we're honoring Reverend Samuel R. Harris, the founding pastor of West Bottom Baptist Church—a man whose faith shaped our community for generations.

A Man of Vision

Born around 1838 to parents Ben and Lucinda Harris, Samuel R. Harris grew up in slavery but never lost sight of God's promises. By 1870, he was living in Cunningham with his wife Willie and son Peyton, working as a farm laborer while answering a higher calling to ministry.

1865: A Church Born in Freedom

In 1865—the very year the Civil War ended—Reverend Harris did something extraordinary. He helped found West Bottom Baptist Church, establishing a spiritual home for a community stepping into freedom for the first time.

The first services weren't held in a building. They gathered under a brush arbor on the road to Stern (now Route 656/Glenarvon Drive). No walls, no pews—just freed men and women, the open sky above them, and the presence of God among them.

The Founding Brothers

Reverend Harris was joined by faithful brothers: Jeffery Creasey, Isaac Broxton, Ellis Watkins, Phillip Gilbert, Harris Creasey, Oliver Creasey, Jesse Nicholas, James Lyles, and others. Together, they laid a foundation that has stood for 161 years.

This Man, This Moment

This portrait, preserved at West Bottom Baptist Church, shows Reverend Harris in his pastoral dignity—Bible in hand, his expression reflecting the strength and wisdom that guided our church through its earliest years.

Look at this face. This is a man who believed in impossible things. A man who gathered people under a brush arbor and said, "We are going to build something that will last."

And he was right.

Next week: See the log cabin church that gave West Bottom Baptist its first permanent home.

West Bottom Baptist Church: Founded 1865 • Fluvanna County, Virginia

01/31/2026

This morning, I am digging into the Gardner and Allen families at Birdwood. George W. Allen Jr. and Virginia J. Gardner had 12 children.

Virginia's parents were James Gardner and Carrie (Hettie) Newman, and Hettie's sister Emma Gardner married Adam Shanks, who was working at Birdwood in the years just after Emancipation.

Another siter of Hettie was Millie Gardner. She married John Gohanna, and they had three children, Katie, Albert, and Hester Gohanna.

These three families were enslaved at Birdwood, and they were all connected by marriage. As genealogists, we know these families were connected by more than workplace, but to actually see the ties between them, wow!! It's something to behold.

I expect we are going to find all three of these families were connected to more of the families at Birdwood, and I can't wait to find out.

Below, there's a small mapped representation of these families' connections to one another that I made using a tool called Kumu. (Highly recommended.)

If you have ties to these families or just want to know more, please let me know. I'm happy to share family trees and such.

01/30/2026

We are two days away from February 1st.

While the world celebrates Black History Month with famous figures and public events, here at Our Folks' Tales, we celebrate the history that happened at the kitchen table EVERY DAY of the year.

We celebrate the grandmothers, the farmers, the midwives, and the laborers who built our families and our country.

Who is the one ancestor you want to tell everyone about this month? Drop their name and one thing about them below. Let's start the celebration early.

01/29/2026

If you are hitting a brick wall with your research today, I have a tip for you.

Actually, I don't have a tip—my mentor does.

Almost everything I know about African American genealogy, I learned from the incredible Shelley Murphy (aka "familytreegirl"). And the most important lesson she ever taught me was the FAN Principle.

She taught me that when you can’t find your ancestor, you have to stop looking at them and start looking around them.

You have to look at their Friends, Associates, and Neighbors.

Families rarely moved alone. They moved in clusters. They married the people next door. They witnessed documents for their cousins.

So, try Shelley’s advice today:

Find your ancestor in the 1870 Census.

Don’t close the page. Look at the 10 households before them and the 10 households after them.

Write down those names.

Often, the clue to your great-grandmother's maiden name isn't in her record—it's in the record of the elderly auntie living three doors down.

If you aren't following Shelley yet, you need to fix that immediately. She changed the way I see research, and I bet she’ll do the same for you.

Have you used the FAN principle to break a brick wall? Let me know below!

(Image Description - some notes I made using the FAN principle about Birdwood Plantation in Albemarle County, VA)