Our Folks' Tales

09/01/2025

I’ll be there. Hope to see you.

Charlottesville, Virginia....

08/28/2025

08/27/2025

Known as “familytreegirl,” Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy has been an avid genealogist for more than 40 years. She is a sought-after national lecturer recognized for her inspiring and interactive “SO WHAT” approach to genealogical research and her problem-solving strategies, including the use of timelines. Dr. Murphy serves as Descendant Project Researcher at the University of Virginia, seeking descendants of the enslaved laborers who helped build the university. She is also a Coordinator and Instructor at MAAGI, develops programs for the IAAM Center for Family History, and serves on multiple boards and councils, including the Library of Virginia and the 10 Million Names Project.

Catch her at the AAHGS 2025 National Conference:

Welcome, Orientation, and Newcomer’s Session – October 9, 3:00–4:00 PM

Learning Reverse Genealogy: Tracing Descendants to Ancestors – October 10, 5:15–6:15 PM

Don’t miss the chance to learn from Dr. Murphy and connect with fellow researchers.
Register today: https://aahgs.org/annualconference

08/26/2025

We are honored to host the Third Annual Gathering of Brown's Cove Enslaved Descendants on September 21, 2025 at the Event Lodge. For Families of the Descendants- please register by September 7, 2025.

08/12/2025

Southern Albemarle folks, check out this great event coming up in just a couple of weeks. I'll be there and hope to see you.

08/07/2025

Black Americans in Illinois can submit a DNA sample to a university-based project trying to find their ancestral homes, living relatives in Africa.

07/30/2025

I've uncovered the names of a few more people who were enslaved at Birdwood in Albemarle County, VA.

First, Bob was enslaved there and confessed to having burned down George W. Craven's barn (still looking into that specifics of that) and was sentence to hang. But his sentence was commuted to "transportation beyond the United States," and so he was likely sent to Liberia in late 1850 or early 1851.

Secondly, Adeline Bankhead, William Garth's granddaughter, was given two enslaved women Sofey and Kitty, and another granddaughter, Celestine Garth Walker, was given a "girl" named Creakey and her two children. These "gifts" were recorded in William Garth's account book from 1844-1856 (at Special Collections at UVa.)

I'm still digging into more details about all of these people, but both Bankhead and Walker lived past Emancipation, so it's likely Sofey, Kitty, and Creakey and her children were free at Emancipation.

That said, if any of this information resonates for you, please let me know. I'm happy to see what else I can find to tie to what you might know about your family.

THANKS.

07/25/2025

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07/19/2025

07/12/2025

Friends, it's been a while, but I'm digging into some new documents today, and I've come across a record of sale (in Deed Book 32 of Albemarle County - 1834) for Yarico and her son William. William Garth and Nathaniel Wolfe sold them for $5 to John Fray on Sept 22, 1834.

The only Yarico I can find in Albemarle after this date is Yarico Wells Clements (1816-1876) whose owner, Fontaine Wells, petitioned for her freedom and permission to stay in Virginia in 1835. Her husband was John Clemen/ts, per her death certificate.

Does the name Yarico sound familiar to you? It's a new one for me. Any of you with Albemarle ties have any further information about this woman or women?

And do any of you know why two people might own one person and sell to another person? (John Fray owned mills, so maybe it was for her labor.) Was she owned by a business? I've just never seen that before.

THANKS.

Image from Family Search.