By Marie Fricker
During a spur-of-the moment field trip to the Massachusetts Archives Building in 2007, I learned that my great-great-grandmother was not a white woman. Next to her name, Amanda Perkins, age 80, on her 1925 death certificate, was the abbreviation, “Col.,” which stood for “Colored.”
This unexpected find launched me on a decades-long journey to discover my roots, beginning with my mother’s paternal ancestors, Ransom and Amanda Perkins, who had been slaves on a plantation in Augusta, Georgia until they were freed in 1862. Their light-skinned daughter Elizabeth, my mother’s grandmother, later moved her family to Boston where they passed as white. But on the early census records they were listed as “Mulatto.”
My Mom died not knowing a thing about her family’s mixed-race background but I wanted to know everything, not just about the African-American relatives but also about my father’s grandparents, who fled the potato famine in Ireland to immigrate to Newfoundland in the 1850s.
Genealogists, whether expert or amateur, are the “scribes” of their tribe. They are called by their “genes” to bring life to those who came before them and to chronicle the struggles and resilience of their ancestors as they lived and died for their families.
“The study of genealogy is a perfect fit for retirees,” said Martha Mayo, former director of the Center for Lowell History and a lifelong genealogist. “Unlike some hobbies, which may call for more physical stamina, you can search for ancestors from the comfort of your home or a local library. All you need is a computer, an internet connection and the patience to dig through records.”
The rewards and thrills of genealogy are addictive if you get hooked on the chase of finding your elusive relatives from centuries ago. Imagine looking at your great-grandfather’s handwritten signature on his World War I draft card, or finding a long lost relative on an 1870 passenger list at Ellis Island?
As an ancestry sleuth myself, I have often stayed up until 3 a.m. when on the track of nearly solving a longtime mystery in my roots. But if your sleep means more to you than poring through faded records, take a break in your quest at bedtime, but don’t be surprised if your “genes” call you back in the morning to resume the hunt.
The good news is that genealogy is far from the arduous task that it was 20 years ago when I first caught the bug. The digitization of vital records has been a godsend. Instead of hauling giant register books around dizzying archive buildings, Xeroxing yellowed pages from local town hall ledgers, or scrolling through miles of slippery microfilm in darkened rooms, people can now search worldwide databases while sitting at their kitchen table and sipping a cup of coffee.
Local libraries usually offer free ancestry browsing services on site, but most of the commercial providers, like the giant Ancestry.com, require a paid subscription for customer access to their full collection of records. There is also an additional membership fee (well worth it, in my opinion) for old newspapers and magazines dating back to the 1700s. You can also buy an at-home DNA test to find out your specific ancestral regions and ethnicities.
“At first, genealogy may seem like a simple hobby,” said Mayo, who enjoys her ancestry pastime even more in her retirement. “You find a few census and birth records that match your search names, and get mildly intrigued. But keep at it, digging deeper, uncovering family secrets, and you are hooked.
“While you may at times think you’ve discovered everything there is to know about a particular ancestor, rest assured you haven’t. There is always a new challenge, an unexpected clue or a missing puzzle piece to find. It’s an open-ended journey. And after all these years, I’m still dogged and persistent and I still love doing it.”
Ancestry service companies are vying for customers on today’s social media market by offering discount DNA kits, introductory free memberships, and special holiday promotions. Some of the more popular providers are Ancestry.com, My Heritage.com, familytree.com, 23andMe.com and FamilySearch.com, which is a free service run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Remember, searching for ancestors is not everyone’s “thing.” Don’t be surprised if some friends and relatives belittle your zest for the field of genealogy.
My sister Betty recently questioned my motivation for staying up late one night combing an old Southern newspaper that held the key to my great-grandfather Ransom’s death.
I phoned her immediately when I saw the barely legible article in the 1886 edition of the “Savannah Morning News.” It said a 45-year-old “Mulatto” waiter named Ransom Perkins had fallen overboard on the steamship “Katie” and drowned. There was a reward being offered for the recovery of his body, which was found the next day. His wife was listed as Amanda Perkins of Augusta, Georgia.
“It is our Ransom,” I said to my sister when she sleepily picked up the phone. “Now I know why he wasn’t on the 1880 census record. I’m sorry he died that way, but isn’t this amazing?”
“Why do you care,” said my sister with a yawn. “We never met these people. They’re strangers. Stop dwelling on the past.”
But, in my opinion, the past is a wonderful place in which to dwell. It’s where our ancestors lived, raised their families, fought for freedom, endured wars, famines and worldwide epidemics, got the right to vote and used it, and did all they could to survive so that, one day, we could too.
I thank my ancestors daily for the legacy they left us. They will never be strangers. Genealogy has told me their names.
We are the chosen…
In each family there is one member who seems called to find the ancestors. To make them live again, to tell their story and to feel that, somehow, they know and approve. Doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts, but instead, breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the scribes of the tribe.
Marie Fricker will be hosting a genealogical panel discussion, “Let’s Dwell on the Past Together!” at the Scituate Senior Center on May 14 and June 11 from, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Call 781-545-8722 to register.
