Lucky Me, Lucky You, Lucky As Can Be!

I attended an event sponsored by the PBS Station in Arizona along with the Arizona Informant and others that showcased African Americans:  Many Rivers to Cross soon to be released in a six part series October 22 2013. 

I was fortunate to win in a raffle the two discs set by the same name, and as soon as it is ready I will receive it in the mail.

I posted on Face book what a good time I had. One of the comments I got was from Selma, a genealogy friend of mine via AfriGeneas, the mother of all the African American Genealogy sites.   She said,” Lucky you Vicky." !

I do agree with Selma, mainly because the luck I have been having lately is making it to the little room down the hall in time and my past track feats kicked in at an older age.  I am blessed though that I am getting up each and every morning. Thanks to God that I am wide eyed the entire day.  

Selma got me to thinking about " Lucky You"; I don’t know any You’s or Youse’s  but I sure know some Lucky’s, Luckey’s and Luckie’s.

In Phoenix I knew Charles Luckie, Gloria Lucky, and David Luckey

I went to school and also worked with David at Western Electric. 

All three of these people may have known each other and all three surnames were spelled different from each other.

I even have some lucky numbers; 123….635….524 and on and on and on. I just wish they would get lucky one of these days on the Pick 3

I am lucky to have forged long time friendships, some sight unseen, like Selma who unselfishly gives her genealogy wisdom to others and to Valencia King Nelson who is the rock of AfriGeneas.  Not to mention Arthur Thomas and Angela Walton Raji who I have met, and did not run in the other direction when they saw me grinning.

For the jazz enthusiast back in the swing era days, Lucky and his Mills Blue Rhythm Band entertained all over Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He was the toast of clubs like The Cotton Club and the Savoy. Joining up with the likes of Ella the great Fitzgerald , Bill Doggett and Dizzy Gillespie and others.

He later moved towards what they called Rhythm and Blues.  A couple of his songs were Shorty's Got to Go, Sweet Slumber and Waiting Just for you.

Oh,  did I mention he was born in Anniston, Alabama in 1910 as Luscious Leroy Millander. 

Luscious and Lucky!  Now how lucky is that combination. Judging by his picture he was quite a good looking man. 

My thought triggered by Selma:

In my research I came across a Lucky Singleton who was from Marshall Texas and lived not that far from my Ancestors. Lucky had a son Major Singleton who lived here in Phoenix and who also had a son he surely named after his father.                                                                                                           Unfortunately Major’s son passed away at the age of 15.

Then there was a Lucky Singleton Jr who married a Roberta Choyce from Marshall Texas. 

                 here is the excerpt of  Lucky Jr and Roberta Singleton  

Lucky, the senior’s un - lucky trip:

Lucky, the Senior, wife  and a few of his family members and neighbors  heard about a plan to go to Liberia for a fee of ten dollars down for each person and the rest within six months after arriving.

 According to the Sunday Edition on February 8^th 1880, The New York Daily Tribune had an article stating that a group of twenty one people arrived in New York.

 Among this group was lucky, his wife and two children, Augustus Singleton, Willie Daniels, Lemuel Manyweather, his wife and child, Lawson Silas, his wife and two children, and Thomas Larkins along with his wife and six children. 

Thomas Larkins actually got the idea of going to Liberia from his brother in law, a chap by the name of Mathews.  He had been in Liberia over two years and sent glowing reports home and suggested that they take the trip as well.  They were surprised when they got to New York that the person who was to have engineered the way from there was nowhere to be found. 

They ended up asking for assistance from the Charities of  Commissioners and Charities who sent them to the King County Alms House as paupers of the state.

They were very poorly nourished and without funds to take care of themselves.

 What terrible luck they were having:   

                                                                                                                       Larkins daughter was left in New Jersey because she had given birth and needed care. Larkins wife died of Pneumonia after they reached the Alms house. 

They were described as from the south, truthful but unsophisticated 

Harrison County Texas must have been a hot bed for emigrating to Liberia. Mathews has another brother who is very instrumental in recruiting people from there. Another group of thirty was supposed to leave from Marshall at   the end of February 1880 and another contingent in March of the same year.

Even though they told the reporter that they had no complaints from bad treatment from whites or lack of work, I find that hard to believe, especially in 1880.

They stated that Liberia was the Promised Land for them and others and wished for a new life in a new home.

After much ado and facts as the folks at the Alms House had given them, the party with much hesitation decided to return back to Marshall. The article does not say when lucky and his family returned to Marshall but they all were assured help getting back home instead of help to Liberia.

Lucky and his family made it back home to Texas where he and his family were seen listed in the 1900 census.

I can imagine for those who research and can’t find their families around this time, chances are, they may have been some of those who actually made it to what they called their promise land.

   

I would hope that Lucky, Mr Larkins and family found their true niche in Marshall Texas and perhaps they even knew my family.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                             

I Am Who I Am: I Am Ancestors A Plenty

Across the ocean I really began with many hearts beating. 

I am who I am, but who am I? 

This journey has taken me through many census pages looking and seeking parts of me that came to America many years ago.

There were two changes in my life that started me on my Daviss Journey.

The first one started one day in June 1961.

I was sitting on Agneda Taylor Hodge's front porch in Altus Oklahoma.  She was the sister of my brothers wife Gwen. 

I spotted this man walking on the grounds of Lincoln High School located next door.
His back was to me but his walk looked oh so familiar.
In fact he had that cool walk just like my brother Theodore and his frame, head and all, resembled his.

I asked Agneda if she knew who he was. She said it was Prof Davis, the school principal.

My ears perked up; Prof Davis, how does he spell his name? Heck if she said Daviss with that extra S then he had to be a part of me. One "S" she said, but now that I think about it, he does kind of look like your brother. 

Agneda used the terminology Prof instead of Professor. That made me think that she must think well of this man Prof or was that a term used in a small town where everyone knows everyone.

I can’t remember if the sail went out of my boat but I did dismiss the connection because all I knew was that I had Two S’s in my Daviss.

A couple days later this lady came over who was a teacher at the school. We got into a conversation and she told me her name was Mrs Jones, but just call her G.G. like the rest of them. (another sign of familiarity) but knowing my age and manners, I stuck to Mrs Jones. 
Prof Davis name came up and I told her what I told Agneda, about him walking like my brother.

Well this teacher asked me what my parents names were and where were they from?  Of course I said Theodore with two S’s on the Davis and that he lived in Denver Colorado.
She told me that Prof had a brother named Ted who lived in Denver. She was not sure if his real name was Theodore nor if he was known as one S or two but she would find out from Prof.

Thinking to myself, my Denver dad is a two S kind of guy.

The next day there was a knock on the door and bless my heart, there stood that man who was walking on the school house grounds with a picture album in his hand.  He came in the house, opened the book and said to me. Is this your father?

Staring back at me was a photo from long ago that was a duplicate of the very one in an album I had. 

That man had a big grin on his face. He was my father’s brother! Wright Cuney Daviss, son of James Penn and Betty Owens Daviss.

                                                                                                                        

Prof Davis was actually Prof Daviss! Wow, I got a good hug out of that one and I returned the favor and hugged him back.

A two S Daviss carrying a one S name. 

That revelation blew me away but it also put in the back of my mind if I was related to other one S Davis somewhere in this here universe. (that is another story for later).

The second journey was after I moved to Dallas.

Again there was a knock on the door. This time it was a young lady in a white hat cocked to the side, and standing next to her was a nice looking gentleman.

The young lady said, Are you Vicky?
Yessssss, that’s me as I looked at them out of the side of one eye.  Rolling around in my  mind I was thinking, what in the heck do they want with me?

The young lady said, I’m your cousin. I’m Erma Jewell and our fathers are brothers. My father is John Pierce Daviss, and this is my husband Richard Lewis.

Erma Jewell and I got to be quite close after that.
I would drive down to Conroe Texas and visit Uncle John, Aunt Harriett along with Cousin Erma.

I learned that Erma Jewell and Richard called each other Buddy. I thought that was the cutest thing.

On one visit I drove down, trailed her to Navasota and Piedmont where they were having a Homecoming Celebration at Little Flock Baptist Church.
It was then I met  my aunts Jessie (Miss), Elena and Jimmie, Uncles Spencer, Harry, Owens and Uncle Zeke. 

I also did a double take when I saw my aunt/cousin Romona Burks Daviss, whom I had not seen in years when I lived in Los Angeles.

She was visiting her sister Cammie. My mom, grandfather, and the rest of my siblings went over to cousin Cammie's for dinner. 

At the time I had no idea that she was married to my uncle Harry. I just knew we were cousins on the Burks side.

I wanted to know more about my family.

I was too late to meet a grandmother or grandfather on that side.
I am told though that I had been here on numerous occasions as a baby, that Aunt Jimmie had kept me quite often, and my brother Theodore even lived there and went to a school by the name of Carver in Navasota. 

What got me was Aunt Elena; When I walked over to meet and tell her who I was, she already knew. She told me that she had thought about me every day for 26 years...26 years! Why, that was exactly how old I was.  

So here I am: Who for the life of me am I

Who were these people that I spring from? Where did they live, what did they do for a living. 

They had to be strong people

They prayed for their children, they farmed the land, they taught their children in school and they helped bring life into the neighbor women who were about to give birth. 

Louis Cooper registered to vote in 1867.  He was the husband of Mary White He had to be a strong man to even register and so close to the end of slavery.

I am Louis Cooper

On the 1880 census Mary White Cooper who was the grandmother of James Penn Daviss, was a widow. Her husband Louis passed away and left her to work for shares in order to eat and feed the rest of the children.

I found her not only on the population census but on the Agricultural census as well where it shows how many cows and mules she had and the crops she grew. Talk about a strong woman.

 I am Mary White Cooper

Louis and Mary's Children  Sallie, Lydia, Jerry, Cherry, Anna, Roxie and Eliza all grew up to have children of their own. 
They are the Zephyrs, Williams, Scott's, Nelms, Minors, Boggess, Parhams, Mathis, and numerous others who all stem from those roots. 

I am Louis and Mary's Children

Living a couple houses up was one of her daughters Sallie.  Sally was married to Ed Kinney at the time and the census shows that James and Leah were the step-children. Sally later married James Conway.

I am Sally White Cooper Conway and James Conway

James, Sallie’s son grew up and married Betty Owen daughter of Thornton and Francis Bradley Owen . They had 8 children. 5 girls and 3 boys. 

James Penn became a teacher and a preacher, and after his wife Betty Owen passed away he married Gertrude Sims Pierce.
Together they combined their children, along with Gertrude bringing Elo and Jimmie Pierce into the marriage.
James Penn and Gertrude had seven children together.  6 boys and 1 girl. 

I am each and every one of those 17 children of  the Owen and Sims Women

I am James Penn Daviss and Gertrude Sims Pierce Daviss.

I am the thoughts that filtered through their minds concerning God, Family and Education. 

Just like that old time favorite licorice candy called Good and Plenty filled to the top of the box

I am one of the children who grace this Room of Ancestors A Plenty, with twigs, limbs, and leaves. Whose visions, strength come from the Room of Ancestors A Plenty of hatched roofs, trunks, branches and roots prior to merging into one. 

Like that little wooden church in the country called little Flock Baptist Church or the old homestead of each of our fore-parents. 

Where the Rooms of Ancestors A Plenty in Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, California, Wisconsin and Michigan our blood runs deep.

It flows from one to another like the limbs on that Baobab Tree in Africa.

 I am each and every one of you: For that I am eternally grateful and I Thank God. 

Love And Romance Prevails Lawrence Style

Not too long ago I connected with a neighborhood friend.

We immediately started talking about stories back in the day.  Everyone called him Junior Lawrence. You know how we do, it’s two names rolled in to one. Never mind that his first name is Herbert.

 We talked about how when the Lawrence Family first moved into the neighborhood they woke up to a cross burning in their yard. 

One other time two men drove up and tried to pull his brother Roger into a car. If it was not for one of the neighborhood men Mr. Finis Hardiman, who happened to be outside at the time, Roger would have been in deep ca ca.

Despite all this we had a very good childhood and our parents were our rock.  All the Lawrence guys, Roger, Ricky and Herbert were examples of being raised right.

I would bet that that when they all got to be grown men and had children of their own, that the example of their parents were instilled in them. 

Oh, I also meant to say that Junior was a pretty good basketball player back in the day.

Speaking of Lawrence, I ran across this article that speaks about a Dr. Laurence (sounds the same, spelled differently) who fell in love with an ex-slave by the name of Maria Evans aka Maria Laurence.

Dr. Laurence met Maria, and for over fifty years they lived together as man and wife.  

Dr. Laurence passed away in 1891 and Maria filed for his dower as his widow. The relatives are contesting the 100,000 suit. Never would Dr Laurence marry an ex-slave so the money should not go to her.

Maria was born in Adams County Mississippi in 1853 but her story was actually born when she was 17 years old. You see a young white man by the name of John Evans saw her on the auction block and was immediately smitten. He vowed to purchase her, set her free and marry her. It took him about seven years to save but by then she was sold and taken to Kentucky. After following them he finally was able to secure Maria for the sum of one thousand dollars. 

As the story goes he then took her to Cincinnati Ohio in 1848, freed and supposedly married her. They eventually made their way back to Yazoo Mississippi where they lived until 1861 then moved to New Orleans. John and Maria opened up a boarding house and eventually Dr. Laurence moved to New Orleans where he stayed in their boarding house.

John passed away in 1865.

Eventually Dr. Evans fell in love with Maria and in 1877 they ended up in Chicago as a couple.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Afro American Feb 22, 1896

          Here they are in the 1880 Chicago Illinois census

      

             Order In The Court, Here Comes The Judge

                             St Louis Post Dispatch Nov 13, 1895

  

Looks like Maria Lawrence an ex-slave had evidence that was too strong to deny and she won her claim!!

Love and Romance is a powerful thing and people will go from state to state, ordeal to ordeal to show their love for one another.

      Wow, here is Prince of Love in 1870 Navasota,Texas

                     This house is full of Romance

As Al Green said on his song 'Love and Happiness"  love will make you walk away with victory and make you moan for love. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, hmmmmmm!

    Here's to Love, Romance, Happiness and Good Cheer

Who Done It: The Butler That's Who

One of my very favorite Rhythm and Blues singers is Jerry Butler. 

His hit For Your Precious Love still sends me back running to the hallway of my memory bank.  I think it resonates more now than back in the day when I was a young lady who fell in love with the song.

In 1958 when the record came out I was hardly in love but I think I was more in a Puppy kind of love or infatuation. In fact the fella that had my eyes all a flutter came back into my life years later.  But what I saw before and what I saw later was much different. 

For that’s what love will do and all that wider and deeper love that was supposed to grow did not happen.

It was kind of like Uhhhhhh what was I thinking.

Anyway back to Mr. Butler.

When he put out the song Hey, Western Union Man.  I went back for some reason to the day my mother got a telegram announcing that her grandfather Joseph Taylor had died. I remember that as if it were yesterday. I stood looking up at her and saw tears in her eyes. 

I think that was the start of me being weary of the Western Union man to bring back any kind of news.   

The next time the Western Union man came was when my father in law Floyd Mitchell passed. This time I had the tears streaming down my face.

Mr. Mitchell was one of the kindest men I knew and also one of the most gifted. He was what you would call a Jack of all trades. He could cook, bake, fix about everything there was to fix and to top it all he could draw the likeness of people at the drop of a hat.

I just wish that my daughter could have gotten to know him. I did share with her though that he was born in Hope Arkansas to Joe and Nancy Cryer Mitchell and that he had a sister Pauline who lived in Altus Oklahoma and a brother Wardell who took up residence in Kansas City Missouri.

I never did send or receive a telegram from my baby nor ask the Western Union man to “send it right away to my baby, Oh Western Union Man get on your bike right away”.  Visualize I must, so here it is below. (click on image to enlarge)

Now the movie The Butler has come out. It’s the historical life story written by Danny Strong and directed by Lee Daniels that chronicles the life of the real Eugene Allen who served as a Butler to eight presidents. Forrest Whitaker plays the part of Mr. Allen.

Forrest Whitaker comes from my research neck of the woods. He was born to parents Forrest and Laura Smith Whitaker in Longview Texas.  Although they lived in Longview, poppa Whitaker went to school in Marshall which is where my maternal lines are from. The family stayed until Forrest Jr was around six weeks old and moved to California.

Then there is Octavia Butler 

Octavia was the leader in African American Science fiction writers. Some of her works were Kindred  and Parable Of The Talents.

She was born in Pasadena California on June 22 1947 and raised by her mother a single parent also named Octavia.

Kindred is the story of an African American woman who travels back to the South to save her ancestor who is also a slave owner. In the interim she has to also save herself.

Octavia passed away after a fall near her home in Lake Forrest Park 
Washington at the age of 58.

Speaking of back in the day. I mean way, way back in the day. I came across an article about the Butler slaves, owned by one of the richest slave owners Pierce Butler. 

Pierce, grandson of Major Pierce Butler was born Mease but changed his last name to Butler in order to inherit portions of his grandfather’s estate.  The change came about because of his grandfathers wishes.

Pierce the grandson squandered most of his money and had to sell over 400 slaves in Savannah South Carolina back in 1859.  He was saved from bankruptcy with this sale but still owned about 500 slaves at Emancipation in 1865. (click on images to enlarge)

Listed below are portions of the newspaper article listed above that was in the New York Daily Tribune April 1859.

                                                          

Buyers came from all around from Virginia to Texas as well as newspaper folks because this was one of the largest sales in the history of the United States.

This article was listed in the 1938 Atlanta Constitution . Rest in Peace

Here is Liverpool Hazzard in the 1870 Census living in the home of Peter Mack. I wonder if the eighty year old Elsie Hazzard is his grandmother. 

 

Here is the 1930 Georgia census with Liverpool listed as a widow

Liverpool  Hazzard  is such a strong name to have. I see the name was not taken after his last owner Butler. Another sign of strength is his longevity. 

Me With My Dumb Butt:

I don't want to take a joke to far but:

I woke up in a mild sweat, grabbed the first piece of paper (old envelope) I found and a pencil.

Quickly I wrote, " hands on hip with palms out," "man," "Alabama", "head on ground",  "round, smooth dark skin"," "Derby" "portly face", "lying flat on ground"

I then started to put the pieces together.

The Dream:

My sister friend Carolyn,(who had spent over 25 yrs off and on with my brother) and I were standing in a line somewhere when I told her to look at that man in line over there.

He's standing there all proud with his hands on his hips.

I giggled a little and said, he looks funny with his hands on his hips and his palms outward like that. He acts as if he does not want to touch the inside of his hands on his pants.

I giggled again and  wondered what he looked like from the front. 

From the back he was tall and slender, but those hands positioned like that threw him off.

Carolyn replied, he is from Alabama I bet; all the men stand like that are from Alabama. 

Alabama, Alabama!!! why, I am  going to be researching and looking for my folks in Alabama. That is, if I ever get out of Texas with my research.

Me with my dumb butt walked over to him to ask those simple words...who are your people in Alabama. :) 

When I got to where he was, all I could see was a head on the ground. No body just a head. What happened to the tall man?

Do you think I took off running. Nope! not in this dream I didn't. 

I laid down on the ground facing him and asked, " are you from Alabama?" 

The head smiled. He had a fat portly face, dark skin and a deep smile with dimples. He had a hat on his head that looked like a derby that men wore back in the twenties. 

He then shook his head yes and smiled wider.

Me again with my dumb butt asked, 'who's your people and what was your mother's maiden name?" 

The head said, Jo Hopkins!

That's when I woke up and looked for something to write with.

I turned on my computer went straight to Ancestry and tried to find a Jo Hopkins. 

I had no luck looking in Texas and Alabama but I sure tried to find that clue somewhere.

(I don't know what that dream meant but I at least looked at it as a clue.)

That was on a Sunday when I had the dream.

Monday's Conclusion I Think:

On Monday, my grand-daughter and I went to take care of a few errands, one being the Credit Union. 

I sent her in with my card but she quickly came out saying that I had to come in because she was not on the card according to their policy.

  

I went in, stood in line, teed off because I had to get out of the car.

I will be durn if I did not see a tall man with hands on his hips just like in my dream. His palms were facing outward.  I froze! 

Me with my dumb butt did not ask him if he was from Alabama.

Nor did I lay down on the floor like a fool. 

I stared at him for a long time looking up and down from his face to his hands.

He looked nothing like "the head". 

The lady in the office located next to the line came out and said that their system was down and that they could not process anything for a while.

She had no idea when it would come up, but she would be happy to do the paper work and input the information later. 

I quickly ran into her office. Not that I was scared mind you of the man with his hands on his hips but eerily weary of what I should do. 

Should I say, excuse me sir but....or... can I ask you a question sir.... or... I don't want to sound silly sir, but... Whew my head was spinning.

When I finished my transaction, I glanced and saw that the man with the outward palm was still there. 

I went out the front door, started my car up and left.

Now I am wondering if that man was named Hopkins. Did I miss my chance?

I don't know but I sure as heck didn't ask.

The Big Spring Break

The Plan:
Plans had been made for Spring Break and five young college girls were all set to go to California for a week of fun at the amusement parks and the beach. Friday was the big day but the trip would not start until one of the young ladies got off work later in the evening.

One of the plans was to detour to another city, spend the night at my grand-daughters uncle and aunt’s house, and then head to Los Angeles where a hotel room was reserved until Tuesday.

The Storm:
I love the weather channel and most days aside from looking at MSNBC and CNN I tune in on what the weather looks like in other states. What caught my attention right away was that a massive storm was headed into California and by early Friday morning Arizona would feel its wrath. Snow up in the northern half and rain and high winds in the southern half of the state.

I am now concerned that these young ladies might not know what lies ahead. As the hours pass by and the sky turns dark, here comes the rain and hail. My daughter and I both call our lil lady and tell her what we see coming. The response we got was “we know”.

As the rains beats down harder and no letup in site, another call was made by my daughter again saying that it was storming too hard and it was too late in the evening to head out. They would probably not reach Moreno Valley until about 12:O’clock in the a.m. The response “we know”.

I was worried and my daughter was also. In fact I could see the water rising up in her eyes because she knew that the girls were not thinking straight. So I made a call to my brother, the Uncle!! After expressing our concerns to him, he called. His response to his niece was “%$$%^&” and “&%&**” and “I mean it!!!!!!”

The next thing we knew the girls came by the house and said they would not leave until early in the morning around 5:00 A.M. The text message came in around 7:O’clock A.M. and they just hit the road. I asked my daughter if they had overslept even though I was okay with that time. She said they may have been relieved to leave when they did. LOL

Aside from calling when they reached a point to tell us where they were, the next important call came when they got to Los Angeles. They found the hotel but could not find a place to park. I could hear my daughter saying that it must be awfully crowded. She said can’t you guys just pull up front and go check in and then find a parking spot.

The next I heard from daughter was’ what do you mean there was no up front, what’s the name of the hotel?
After a few more words and telling my grand-daughter to call as soon as they check in, she got on the Internet and Thank God for Google

Good Gracious Googly Woogly Now!

The next sound I heard was Oh My God, Mama, this is the hotel where they found this lady’s body in the water tower. Mama, this is where the serial killer Richard Ramirez stayed!! The next sound I heard was my daughter’s finger hitting the digits on her phone calling her daughter. The first call was not answered. The second ringy-dingy was and they had checked in to the infamous Hotel Cecil.

My grand-daughter must have said something to the fact that the room was small after listening to what my daughter told her she found out on Google. She stated that she would call her back after talking to her friends. The nights had all been paid for and their money was all rationed out on what they were to spend while they were there.

Me, I got on the phone again and called my brother, told him what daughter found on Google and asked him to call her again. He called and told them that he knew the area and that they should consider what they would lose versus what they would really lose as far as safety. The area they were in was full of folks that were not so desirous. They would be subject to be ripped off of their belongings etc, etc. He also stated that he could get them a couple rooms at the base.  Again my granddaughter said she would call him back after talking to the rest of the girls.

The Rest Of The Story:

Hopefully they were in the process of getting the heck out of there when they decided to take pictures of what the room looked like. As they were filming, they heard a man scream from the room next door.

The Calm After The Storm:

The young ladies had to cut their losses, see what they can find that will be free but fun and know that lessons had to be learned. Lessons like you do in school to get a good grade. Do your homework because it pays off in the end.

Don’t let this be the last of your spring breaks as a group; it’s all a part of growing up. By the way, old Hugh looks like he is all waxed up (smile)