Housekeeping

I have not contributed to this blog for almost two years. During that time, however, I have continually been researching and compiling information, updating BLACK RESIDENTS OF GREENBRIER, MONROE, SUMMERS, AND POCAHONTAS COUNTIES by C. Haynes and contributing these Notes to the West Virginia Division of Culture and History Archives and to the Greenbrier Historical Society. A number of important events have happened in these two years. On a trip to Lewisburg a distant cousin handed me a box of about 100 photos that she had retrieved from a family home. Family members were cleaning out a house and the photos were destined for the trash bin. Luckily, she grabbed them. The photos included a tin type. Most were not labeled and so the identities of the people in the photos can not be known. A couple of the photos were identified, however, including one of my grandparents. Also a photo of my grandfather's sister was labeled. The photos are instructive for how people dressed, and how they looked in general. My favorite is of a forlorn looking Santa Claus standing with a child seated on a donkey. Apparently they didn't sit on Santa's lap at that location in those days. Some of the photos have already been included with my Notes which have been sent to the previously mentioned Archives & Historical Society.
I have been able to update much of the information that I have previously posted & I intend to share the new information here as part of the "housekeeping" task. WV Birth, death, and marriages are now on the internet and are accessible by going to the West Virginia Division of Culture and History site. Some counties are still not available but I am sure they will be available in time. Another valuable tool is the World War I and II Draft Registration cards which can be accessed on one of the subscription based genealogical sites. I am currently culling W.V. court cases for information about Black residents of the area. Some of the cases are extremely interesting & give alot of information about how people lived and interacted at a specific point in time.

Rev. G.B. Gibson

Pastor at the John Wesley United Methodist Church in Greenbrier County, Lewisburg.

Rev. William Rhodes Grigsby

Rev. William Rhodes Grigsby was the son of Frank A. Grigsby and Emma Rhodes Grigsby. He appears on the 1920 Census in Greenbrier County, Lewisburg District as a Black Male, age 42, with Marie (36), William (16), Robert (14), Mamie (12), Gosta (11) &. Frances (4). He appears as W. Grigsby. W.V. Death Certificate # 8353 indicates that he died on 7/25/1922 in Greenbrier County & that he was a Minister. He was a pastor at the John Wesley United Methodist Church at Lewisburg, GC.

Rev. Robert L. Kelly

He officiated at the following (Black) marriages:

1851 -
Clarence Oren Curry & Eva Mae Woods, 11/8/1951

Rev. L.B. Allen

I'm not sure if Rev. Allen was Caucasian or Black but he officiated at the following (Black) Greenbrier County marriages:

1950/1951 - Thomas Rodger Adams & Maggie McDowell

761st Tank Battalion - World War II

Cleo Caval Haynes Dickason Blakely was my grandfather's sister. She was born in Brushy Ridge, Greenbrier County and was one of the 14 children of George Washington Haynes and Elizabeth Jane Payne Haynes Haynes Lewis.

Cleo was a teacher in a number of locations in W.V. and she was also the principal of a school. I saw her a couple of times when I was a small child. The only thing I can recall about her was the delightful task of brushing her waist long black hair.

When I began to do genealogical research I learned a lot more about Aunt Cleo including the fact that she had a son, Sidney Andrew Dickason, who was a member of the 761st Tank Battalion in World War II.

Yesterday as I was flipping through the channels, and upon seeing the face of a Black soldier, I stopped at the HISTORY CHANNEL. To my surprise, the channel was airing the documentary FIRST TO FIGHT - THE BLACK TANKERS OF WORLD WAR II.

Here are a few quotes from the documentary:
"676 African American soldiers" ... "seven-six-one tank battalion" ... (Patton said) "Your people are looking for great things out of you" ... "awarded the Presidential Unit Citation" ... "34 men from the 761st died" ... "US Army - Fort Hood".

Also see "BROTHERS IN ARMS = The Courageous Story of World War II's 761st Black Panthers" by Kareem Abdul Jabbar & Anthony Walton.

The documentary was very moving & I was proud to know I had a cousin who was a member of the battalion. I'm not sure how many other citizens of West Virginia were members of this battalion. I hope to visit the D-Day Museum in New Orleans to follow up on this documentary and perhaps do some research to see if I can find other WV names.

Rev. R.D. Haynes

Rev. R.D. Haynes officiated at the following (Black) Monroe County marriages:

1903 -
Edward Burk & Maggie V. Syms, 7/9/1903

& he officiated at the following (Black) Summers County marriages:

1890 -
Ballard W. Haynes & Laura J. Pack (after 9/1890)
John R. Bennett & Ellen Nora Bush (after 9/1890)

1891 -
William Peters & Carrie Gore, 7/3/1891

1892 -
James R. Loggins & Anna B. Gore, 2/28/1892
Charles C. Gore & Ada Bunch, 5/18/1892
James A. Meadley & Sabrina Price, 7/24/1891
James Gore & America Crump, 9/11/1892
Grant Haynes & Malinda Webster, 12/28/1892

1894 -
Samuel M. Kinley & Henrietta Hargo, 4/21/1894
Frank Gore & Nancy Walker, 6/5/1894

1895 -
Frank H. Brown & Fannie Gore, 3/7/1895
Alexander Shanklin & Sarah Leftridge, 8/9 or 10/
Randolph Brooks & Ella Pack, 12/24/1895

1896 -
J.E./Z.E. Dobbs & Annie Bell Kent, 5/14/1896
William E. Huffman & Nellie Clay, 11/26/1896

1898 -
Robert Harris & Ardelia Shanklin, 6/12/1898

1899 -
James E. Merchant & Ada Meadley, 5/1899

1901 -
Charles W. Gore & Lula Haynes, 5/16/1901

1902 -
Robert Gore & Mayme Pack, 2/21/1902
David Hargro & Minnie Agee, 12/23/1902

1903 -
Oliver Age & Nessie Gore
Julia Gore & (unintelligible)

Rev. Jennings

Rev. Jennings officiated at the following (Black) marriages:

1951 - Lindsay Dane Williams, Jr. & Ruth Ann McKinney, 6/8/1951