Find Your Folks

Sunday Crowns Program

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:49:00 +0000

My "Sunday Crowns" Program began as an idea for Black History and Women's History months for 2012. The response to the program exceeded my expectations and now it is becoming an annual event.

What is Juneteenth?

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:01:00 +0000

Juneteeth (June 19th) is a celebration of the day that Texas slaves were informed that they were free from slavery. On June 19, 1865, General Order No. 3, which informed the slaves of their freedom, was read at the Ashton Villa in Galveston, TX by Union Army General Gordon Granger. To commemorate this day, former slaves in Texas began having celebrations the following year. Since then, African-Americans in Texas and numerous states around the United States annually celebrate “Juneteenth” with picnics, parades, programs, and other community event.

TIPHC - Juneteenth - Part 1

TIPHC - Juneteenth - Part 2

TIPHC - Juneteenth - Part 3

What is Juneteenth?

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Learn about Juneteenth, the African-American holiday which celebrates freedom from slavery.

Library Thing - Online Book Catalog and Social Media Website

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 12:54:00 +0000

I was a virtual attendee of Roots Tech this year and learned so much from the presentations which were live streamed. From the presentation by Laura Prescott, entitled “GenealogyResearch Online: Sites and StrategiesThat May Surprise You,” I learned about the online book cataloging and social media site, Library Thing, www.librarything.com.” I never knew that such a site existed.

My Book Collection History

I have been a book worm all of my life and my family and school mates can attest to this fact. My book collection includes textbooks from courses I've taken and taught, and books on the topics of genealogy, history, computers, Microsoft Office software packages, writing, crafts, Bible/spiritual, inspirational, nonfiction, novels, and God knows what else.

I got my undergraduate degree in 1985 and a master’s in 1990, and yes, I still have a few of my textbooks in which I have used as references throughout the years. A few of the textbooks purchased during my undergraduate college years (1981-1985) even still have the price tag on them. LOL. I know that the concepts from these books can now be easily found on the Internet, but I’m not yet ready to get rid of these personal heirlooms. SMH.

I took a Marketing course during the Spring semester of 1983 at Virginia Union University, Richmond, VA. I can't seem to let go of this textbook which still has the price tag for $20.95 on it.

My book collection is in various formats: paper, cassette tape, CD, e-books, and digital. Occasionally, I do a purge in which I usually donate books to my local libraries, and now it’s time for another major purge.

My First Day of Using Library Thing

So yesterday morning, I began adding a few of my books to the Library Thing online catalog. I love the fact that you do not have to create a new login, but can use either your Facebook or Twitter account logins.

Books can be added by typing in the title, author’s name, ISBN, etc. Tags can be added to help organize each book. The default collection folder is named “Your Library,” but other collection names can be added by the user such as the one that I named “Library Check-Out.” Book data can be searched from 700 available catalogs such as the “Library of Congress” or “Amazon.com.” If a book in your collection does not have an ISBN or can’t be found in any of the online catalogs, you can manually type in the information.

Adding Books Options in Library Thing

Once each book is added, you could see how many other Library Thing users have the same book. I connected my account to Twitter and Facebook and could see which of my friends on these sites used Library Thing. Another major selling point for me about Library Thing is that you can import a book list or export it to various formats such as .CSV which can be opened in Microsoft Excel. Click here, to view current entries in my Library Thing book catalog.

Library Trip

With the Library Thing site, you can access your book catalog from anywhere you have Internet access. Yesterday afternoon, I went to the public library to research books related to African Americans During the Civil War. Earlier, I had set up a “Library Check-Out” collection folder in my Library Thing account. Using my Kindle Fire HD, it was so easy to type in the ISBNs in the Library Thing catalog of the books I browsed at the library and the ones I checked out. Now, as I continue my research, I have a record of books on this research topic.

Taking It One Step at a Time

Since purchasing a NOOK e-reader last May, I have begun purchasing digital books. In November of last year, I purchased a Kindle Fire HD. My current format preference for most book topics is digital, but for computer software books, I still prefer the hard copy. I anticipate that my book purge will be a long journey, but using a site like Library Thing will be a tremendous help for me in taking the first step in this journey, which is to determine what I have in my book collection.

Thanks for this invaluable tip in your presentation, Laura Prescott. And thanks to the Roots Tech organizers for making some of the presentations available to the virtual audience.

Excerpts from Flight to Freedom Program

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:57:00 +0000

Ajena Rogers, a descendant of James A. Fields and I will be presenting “Flight to Freedom” for the College of William and Mary's Lemon Project on Friday, March 15, 2013 at 6:00 PM. The event will be held at the Bruton Heights School in Williamsburg, VA. Here are some clips from the performance we did at Fort Monroe last August. We have another performance coming up in May at Fort Monroe and one at the Hanover County, VA Tavern. We are extremely excited particularly about the tavern engagement because her ancestor Martha Fields worked there as a Cook when she was enslaved by the Winston family.

Family History Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:12:00 +0000

Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:15:00 +0000

I've been listening to this video repeatedly for two days now. The music and testimonies are so inspiring. Thank God for those who would not turn around or back down from the fight for freedom so that my generation could have a better life.

My Introduction to E-reader/Tablet Technology

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:16:00 +0000

Increasing the Font Size on my NOOK reader is one of my favorite features.

I am new to e-reader/tablet technology and have been a bit slow in embracing this technology. In late May of this year, I purchased a NOOK Simple Touch e-reader, because I had seen it repeatedly on the textbook website of a school where I’m taking classes. Prior to the summer term, the textbook list for the course I was enrolled in said that there was no textbook for my course. A few days prior to the start of the course, I was informed by the instructor that there would be a required textbook. Since I was scheduled to go out of town for a conference within a few days of learning about the textbook, my dilemma was how to get the textbook quickly so that I would not fall behind in my class readings. After a little Internet research about e-books and e-readers, I skeptically decided to purchase a NOOK during my out-of-town trip, and purchased the NOOK Simple Touch.

Later that afternoon, I purchased and downloaded my textbook to the NOOK reader, and sat in my hotel room and began reading and playing with the features of this new technology. “This is great,” I said to myself, “to be able to download my textbook and not have to wait on it to arrive in the mail.”

To my surprise, the text on NOOK reader was easy to read and hold. The size of such a small device was one of the reasons I was reluctant to embrace the e-reader. When I discovered that the font size of the e-reader could be increased, I knew money spent on this new technology was a great investment. Since purchasing my NOOK, I have not only enjoyed using it for textbooks, but also for pleasure reading, as well as saving documents in .pdf format and loading them to read on my NOOK.

This morning as part of my Black Friday Shopping, I purchased the new Kindle Fire HD in which I will report on later.

The 2012 Atlanta History Expo Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 21:52:00 +0000

2012 Atlanta Family History Expo Conference Participants Visiting Exhibit Tables

The 2012 Atlanta Family History Expo began this afternoon at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, GA with registration at 1:00 PM and the opening keynote session at 2:00 PM by renowned author and speaker Robert S. Davis, M.Ed, MA. Early conference participants began the Expo by visiting the various exhibit tables in which they could talk to exhibitors, see genealogical product demonstrations, learn about useful services to aid them in their genealogy and family history quest, and thumb through books and other literature before making decisions on which one(s) to purchase.

Hanging Out at the Bloggers Table

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:00:00 +0000

2010 Atlanta Family History Expo Bloggers of Honor Table

I am looking forward to attending the Atlanta Family History Expo next month. My first expo attendance was in 2010 also in Atlanta. One of my favorite parts of the expo was hanging out at the Blogger table. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I skipped a few sessions just so I could remain at the table and enjoy the presence of my fellow bloggers and the numerous visitors to our table.

I had met most of the bloggers online prior to the conference, but it was even more exciting to meet them face-to-face. The Official Bloggers (also known as Bloggers of Honor) of the Family History Expo receive full registration benefits and have the following responsibilities:

Pre-Conference: announce and promote the expo, sponsors, exhibitors, and activities, as well as share press releases.
During Conference: share daily happenings at expo, share blogging tips with attendees, and highlight websites, tools, and discoveries made.
After Conference: Summarize overall conference experience.

So as I prepare for the conference, I am also preparing for the blogging tasks by looking at new social media tools and new features in Twitter and Blogger. One of the new tools I’m looking at is called Storify which I found on the blog of fellow Blogger of Honor, Linda McCauley of Documenting the Details. Storify is a website that creates and preserves stories or timelines using social media, photos and videos and I like the way that Linda has used it to document the story of other genealogy conferences. Click here for a sample of how Linda used Storify at the 2012 Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference.

To others who have served as official bloggers at any genealogy conference, what other tools or tips do you have to share with the 2012 Atlanta Family History Expo Bloggers of Honor?

Kumasi-Ghana Oral Historian Speaks At Georgia Family History Expo

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 00:40:00 +0000

Monday, Oct. 15, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kumasi-Ghana Oral Historian Speaks

At Georgia Family History Expo

DULUTH, Ga. -- Paul Adjei of Kumasi-Ghana, Africa will present at the 2012 Georgia Family History Expo Nov. 9-10 at the Gwinnett Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, Ga. Following is a schedule of his presentations.

Friday at 6:30 p.m. Adjei will present, “Africa the Root of Our Ancestors.” This class will help family historians understand Oral histories to be key resources on both sides of the ocean. “Oral genealogy is the systematic collection of living people's testimony about their own experiences. Oral history is not folklore, gossip, hearsay, or rumor. It is the passing of information from one generation to another for preserving the root,” Adjei said.

Saturday at 10 a.m. Adjei will teach class participants to discover the records available for African research. The class is titled, “Echoes from Africa.”

At 2:30 p.m. Saturday Adjei will team up with Gracy for a panel discussion to highlight the importance of DNA and oral history in genealogical and family history research.

An advanced reservation is recommended for this event. Register at www.familyhistoryexpos.com prior to the Expo for significant savings. Individual courses can be ordered for $20 each.

-END-

Family History Expos, Inc. is a Utah-based company headquartered in Croydon, Utah. FHE has been holding successful events throughout the United States, teaching thousands to learn the art of and experience the spirit of family history research, since 2003. Twitter hashtag: #fhexpo

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Disclaimer: I received a free registration as an official blogger and speaker for the

2012 Atlanta Family History Expo.

2012 Atlanta Family History Expo Blogger of Honor

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:33:00 +0000

I am pleased that announce that I will be a Blogger of Honor at the 2012 Atlanta Family History Expos. I attended the 2010 conference and had a FANTASTIC time where I met numerous bloggers and genealogists whom I had gotten to know online prior to 2010.

I will also be conducting a workshop at this conference entitled “Thinking Out of the Box - Creating Things with Genealogy.”

(All Levels) Is genealogy only about who begat whom or would you consider thinking out of the box by creating a new way of researching and sharing your genealogical stories? In this workshop, participants will learn ways to be creative in sharing their genealogy research.

Congratulations to the other Bloggers of Honor.

Happy 49th Birthday to Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 22:12:00 +0000

Flight to Freedom Production

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:37:00 +0000

I am pleased to announce a new historical production entitled: Flight to Freedom: The Fields Family and Freedom's Fortress, which will be held twice on Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM at the historic Fort Monroe. This production will be a collaborative endeavor with myself and Ms. Ajena C. Rogers, a descendant of James A. Fields. Mr. Fields was a part of the first graduating class of Hampton Normal and Agricultural and Institute (now Hampton University) in 1871. We will present a dramatic interpretation of her family’s escape from slavery in Hanover County, VA to Fort Monroe during the Civil War. This production will include dramatic readings enhanced with us singing, multimedia PowerPoints, and video clips. The event is free to the public.

For more information on the Flight to Freedom production, click here to visit this website.

For more information on James A. Fields, visit the James A. Fields House Blog at www.jamesafieldshouse.blogspot.com

Blog Talk Radio Show - “Thinking Out of the Box - Creating Things with Genealogy”

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 10:56:00 +0000

Listen to internet radio with BerniceBennett on Blog Talk Radio

Table Displays at Crowns Program

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 21:39:00 +0000

I did two table displays at my Crowns program held on Saturday, June 30, 2012 with various hat related photos and other items. The hats on the first table belong to a colleague. The hat, pocketbook, tablecloth, and Bible cover on the second table belonged to my maternal grandmother.

The Perfect Hat

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 19:52:00 +0000

This hat which I received as a gift from a friend on Sunday, June 24th was a perfect match for this outfit. Minutes before she gave me the hat, I was sitting in my car and pulled out the jacket to this outfit from a bag which was in the passenger's seat. This bag of clothing was to be taken to the cleaners the next day.
"I'll wear this outfit on Saturday," I said to myself as I looked at the jacket. Minutes later I went into the restaurant to meet with three high school friends. One friend had moved away and she arrived to the restaurant a few minutes later with three bags containing individual gifts for the rest for us. As I peered into my bag, I stared in disbelief and told my fiends that prior to coming into the restaurant, I had just decided to wear an outfit with the same colors as the hat. After we finished our meals, we took pictures of me wearing the hat. Afterwards we went to my car and compared the hat with the outfit to be sure that that the colors matched. My friends all agreed that it was a perfect match.
"A hat sets off an outfit," my grandmother would say if she were alive. This hat indeed set off this outfit and I look forward to wearing the assemble again.

Professor Dru on Pier at Crabshack Restaurant overlooking James River Bridge, Newport News, VA

Professor Dru at Crowns Program, Isle of Wight County, Museum, Smithfield, VA

Blog Talk Radio Show

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 19:32:00 +0000

Familiar Faces on Museum Poster

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 23:55:00 +0000

Yesterday, I went over to the museum where I will be presenting my hat program this Saturday. The main objective of this trip was to look at the area where I will be presenting and to discuss logistics of conducting the program. As I entered the museum, to my right I saw out of the corner of my eye this large poster on this board advertising my program. “Oh…Grandma!” I said to myself at my initial glimpse of the familiar face of lady on the right in the top photo. I had already been sent a .pdf file of this advertisement, but seeing the enlarged poster of my maternal grandmother’s face on the message board of the Isle of Wight CountyMuseum was a true delight. As if this were my first time seeing this poster, I stopped to look at it on the board. To the left of my grandmother is Sister Odell Hayes who was a member of our church as well as one of my Sunday School Teachers and this photo was taken around the 1950s. The lady below Grandma and Sister Hayes is Anna T. McPhillips, a family member Thomas MacEntee and her photo was taken around 1923. The photo of the two adorable little girls dressed in their Easter’s finest during the 1960s is of Heather Wilkinson Rojo and her little sister. These are all lovely representatives of “Hat Queens and Princesses” and I look forward to the presenting of my third hat history program this year. It will be a year next month since Grandma passed awat and my family and I miss her dearly. But despite that she has left this earth, her spirit still lives on through her teachings and her HATS!

Contributing My Research to a Worthy Cause

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 23:26:00 +0000

I've been busy working all week on an application to the National Park Service (NPS) to nominate the James A. Fields House for inclusion in the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. This project was initiated by one of Mr. Fields' descendants and I'm helping her to get the application completed by adding the historical research which I've done on her ancestor whose historic house is in my community. We are both thoroughly excited about this joint endeavor and expect positive results from our submission. As a genealogist and family historian, I am thrilled to be able to contribute my research to such a worthy cause.

Hat History Program

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:37:00 +0000

I am pleased to announce that I will be doing another Hat History Program later this month at the Isle of Wight County Museum in Smithfield, VA (Home of the Virginia Ham).

Thanks to Thomas MacEntee and Heather Rojo for use of your hat photos.

.

Let Freedom Ring!: Hanover Tavern

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sun, 27 May 2012 01:05:00 +0000

Let Freedom Ring!: Hanover Tavern: I’m looking forward to visiting the Hanover Tavern located in Hanover County, VA and the surrounding area on tomorrow for the Civil War Ba...

Sunday Crowns Program Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:29:00 +0000

Video of the speech I made at the Sunday Crowns program on February 18, 2012.

Sunday Crowns Program Speech - Part 1 of 3

Sunday Crowns Program Speech - Part 2 of 3

Hat Program Speech - Part 3 of 3 Hat Program Speech - Part 3 of 3

Another Hat Program

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:10:00 +0000

I am pleased to announce that I’m taking my hat program on the road and a program will be held on Saturday, June 30, 2012 in the town of Smithfield located in Isle of Wight County, VA Museum, . Smithfield, VA is “Home of the Virginia Ham” and I am looking forward to this opportunity.

Continuing our Family's Hat Legacy and Why I Wear Hats

noreply@blogger.com (Professor Dru) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:12:00 +0000

This is my sister Deborah sharing her thoughts about continuing our family's hat legacy and why she wears hats.