What do you do when your ancestors are pulling you in different directions?

Grandmothers

Sarah E. Morningstar Porter & Elnora York Trotter

On Friday, I found myself going back and forth between African American research topics and German (and German-American) research presentations attending presentations on African American Apprenticeships, Black Laws in the North, Freedmen’s Bureau Labor Contracts, German Church records and Germanic Origins of German-speaking immigrants.  And I, of course, now want to run off in five totally different directions in my research.

 

Some of the speakers were ones I’ve seen before and enjoyed (Thank you, Michael D. Lacopo, James M. Beidler and Judy G. Russell!) and the others were new to me but had fun and knowledgeable voices. Wevonneda Minis presented the James Dent Memorial Lecture: Freedmen’s Bureau Labor Contracts—which gave me a better background in the period and new ideas of record sets to look for. Ari Wilkins delivered two fascinating presentations—on Plantation records and Apprenticeships—that were very informative with great case studies.

It was a fun day capped with a dinner gathering of the Michigan researchers and friends.

Happy hunting,

Jess