Seven Generations of my Family lineage documented On Display At the National Archives in Atlanta

Continuing my ancestral journey on display at the
National Archives in Atlanta. 

    I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the Black Family History Symposium sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in partnership with the National Archives and Records Administration in Atlanta, Ga.  The theme of this year's event was "Continuing the Journey of Generations."

   My participation in this event included a display of seven generations of my ancestry, covering some 275 years. The research on display goes as far back my fourth-generation great-grandparents -- a former slave woman named Agnes, who gained her freedom on December 16, 1779, and her French consort, an American Revolutionary War Patriot, Mathieu Devaux dit Platilla. The display shows the various documents that helped make me eligible for induction into the National Society Sons of the American Revolution.

  Also on hand throughout the day were several family history and genealogical organizations, including representatives of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), and the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) Metro-Atlanta Chapter.

  I was honored to have received an Award of Excellence in Leadership and Service from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here are a few pictures from the event.

My sisters, Jane Bronner (L) and

 Cynthia Henderson (R) joined me at

 the National Archives in Atlanta.

Photographed by

Jena P. Jones
the funnyfarm photographic services

www.f2photos.com

Jane Bronner (back) and Cynthia Henderson (forward),
review our family's lineage displayed in cases.

Documents and pictures of my induction into the
National Society Sons of the American Revolution
on display.

Civil Rights photographer
  Dr. Doris Derby
reviews my family photos in the display case.

 A look from above of what
 Dr. Doris Derby and others are viewing

Author and member of AAHGS Metro Atlanta Chapter,
 Melvin Collier, reviews
my family documents on display.

A view from above of what
Melvin is viewing

My sister Jane Bronner (left) explains
family links to a few onlookers.  

Anita Henderson sees some familiar faces in
my family history display case.

Representative Mrs Leslie Watkins of the DAR
and Mr Bruce Maney of the SAR 

These Boy Scouts were here today to earn their
Genealogy merit badge
Michael Henderson and Bruce Maney
Button Gwinnett Chapter, Georgia Society SAR 

Michael Henderson and Charles Williams,
Founder and CEO
 Save the Family Institute, Inc

Members of the Afro-American Historical and
Genealogy Society AAHGS - Metro Atlanta
 assist attendees with information about the organization

Virgil and Debra Fancher, Cynthia Henderson
Mrs. Ruth Saunders and Jane Bronner

Full House Captured by Photographer
Jena P. Jones
the funnyfarm photographic services
www.f2photos.com

"Your Ancestors are Looking For You"
was the theme of my keynote address.

 presented with an
Award of Excellence in Leadership and Service
by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

         Be sure to visit my Facebook page: GOT PROOF!  There you'll be kept posted on my new memoir due out early spring 2013

North Carolina Man finds Slave-Turned-Patriot Ancestor

Mr.Earl Ijames,Curator North Carolina
Museum of History, Chaz Moore - descendant of
Slave Patriot Toby Gilmore
and Michael Henderson - President
 Button Gwinnet Chapter Georgia Society SAR

A descendant of a chieftain’s son kidnapped from Africa and sold into slavery in Massachusetts more than 250 years ago  became the first black member inducted into a North Carolina chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution this weekend.

Chaz Moore, 30, is a descendant of Toby Gilmore, the son of a chieftain in coastal West Africa who was kidnapped at 16 and sold into slavery in Massachusetts. He gained his freedom after fighting for American independence against the British.

Moore, a native of Worcester, Mass., only recently learned he had an ancestor who had joined the Colonists’ side during the Revolutionary War.

“Growing up, I wasn’t even certain that African-Americans even fought in the Revolutionary War,” Moore said. “It’s not something that’s talked about. Then to say, ‘Well, yeah, they did, and you’re a direct descendant of one’ was unbelievable, humbling. I had to redefine patriotism for myself.”

Moore has been a Raleigh firefighter for about five years. On Saturday, he’ll become the first black inducted into the North Carolina chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution in a ceremony at the state Museum of History, according to The Associated Press.

The involvement of blacks on the American side during the Revolution is an often overlooked fact. Many blacks, both enslaved and free, sought to join with the Colonists, believing that it would either lead to their freedom or expand their civil rights, according to Philip Foner’s work, Blacks in the America Revolution.

American states had to meet quotas of troops for the Continental Army, and New England regiments recruited black slaves by promising freedom to those who served.

During the course of the war, it is believed about 20 percent of the northern army was black, while at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, Baron Closen, a German officer in a French regiment, estimated that the American army was made up of about one-quarter black troops.

Moore’s knowledge of roots came through a cousin whose research into the family tree took her to the Old Colony Historical Society in Taunton, Mass.

The family history took another turn in 2010 with the discovery that a relative named Maud May Sullivan, born in 1881, had been raised not by her mother, but by a stepmother, according to The Associated Press.

Her biological mother, Almira Sullivan, had died in 1883, and she was a descendant of Toby Gilmore, slave and patriot, the wire service added.

So standing there that day in the museum was another Gilmore descendant. And no one was more surprised to learn this than Andrew Boisvert, museum archivist and library manager, who had studied Gilmore for nine years.

Because descendants had moved and last names had changed through marriage, Gilmore’s line was thought to have ended in 1921 when a descendant named Caroline J. Gilmore, who had married one of Gilmore’s grandsons, died. Gilmore’s story is well-known in the area and still taught to children, Boisvert said.

“This is a guy who was born free, raised as a slave and then became a free man afterwards,” Boisvert said.

Gilmore, born Shibodee Turry Wurry, was about 16 when he was kidnapped by slave traders in 1757. The slave ship changed course from Virginia to Rhode Island because of a storm, and the traders sold some slaves to pay for repairs.

Capt. John Gilmore of Raynham, Mass., bought Wurry and renamed him Toby Gilmore.

Some historians estimate that about 5,000 blacks fought against the British, although the number could be much higher.

Records show Gilmore joined the war three times, although he gained his freedom with his first eight-day enlistment, Boisvert said. He became a successful farmer, built two homes (one of which still stands), fathered eight children and lived to the age of 70, according to The Associated Press.

In 2006, when Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. learned he was the descendant of a Revolutionary War veteran, the executive director of Sons of the American Revolution estimated about 30 of the group’s 27,000 members were black.

The society doesn’t ask for race on its application so no one is really certain how many members are black, said Don Shaw, SAR’s current executive director.

Grave Dedication Ceremony Commemorating the Patriot Service of Capt. Stephen Heard, Capt. John Darden, Georgia slave woman named Kate and her Husband named Jack.

The Unveiling Ceremony of the
Patriot Grave Markers for the
Georgia Slave woman named Kate and her Husband named Jack

October 15, 2011, in the city of Elberton, Georgia at the Stephen Heard cemetery many gathered to commemorate the patriot service of Capt. Stephen Heard, Capt. John Darden, a Georgia slave Woman named Kate and her husband Jack.

 The Georgia Society, Sons of the American Revolution including Button Gwinnett Chapter, George Washington Chapter, Virginia Society,  Samuel Elbert Chapter (Host Chapter), and Washington-Wilkes Chapter, along with the National Society Daugther of the American Revolution- Stephen-Heard Chapter (Trustee of the Historic Heardmont Cemetery -Elbert Country Georgia)  and The Kettle Creek Chapter, Georgia Society recognized four Patriots of the American Revolution, including the first female of color named Kate.    The recognition of this woman named Kate along with three others was a significant event.  

It was truly a proud moment for all Georgians as this occasion also honored the first and only female of Color in Georgia as a Patriot of the American Revolution.

Below are several photos that captured this day.

Posting the Colors
Ed Rigel, Sr.Color Guard Commander, Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution 

Master of Ceremonies
Compatriot Bob Carr
State Secretary, Virginia Society SAR
President, George Washington Chapter,
Virginia Society SAR

Compatriot Bob Sapp

President,

Georgia Society
 Sons of the American Revolution

Brings Greetings

Compatriot Charlie Newcomer, III

Vice President General South Atlantic - 

 North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida

Patriot Service of Stephen HEARD
Provided by
Ann Whitney
Descendant of Patriot Stephen HEARD
Fauquier Court House DAR

Patriot Service of John Darden
Provided by Dr. John Darden
Descendant of Patriot John Darden 

Patriot Service of
The Georgia Slaves  KATE and Jack
Provided by LCDR Michael Nolden Henderson, USN Retired Vice- President, Button Gwinnett Chapter
Georgia Society, SAR

Unveiling of SAR Marker
for the Slave Woman named Kate and Husband Jack
LCDR Michael Nolden Henderson, USN Retired
and
Rev Sam McIntosh
Pastor, Vance Creek Baptist Church

LCDR Henderson and Pastor McIntosh 
return to their seats after Unveiling of the 
Patriotic Markers

Georgia Patriots of the American Revolution
Kate and her husband Jack

Reading of the Proclamation
Revolutionary War Service of
Governor Stephen Heard
by
Mr. Tommy Lyon - Chairman
of the
Elbert Country Board of Commissioners

Presentation of Wreath and Honors

Compatriot Jim Lynch

President,

Button Gwinnett Chapter

Georgia Society SAR

 William Day Chapter DAR 

Leslie Watkins

LCDR Michael Nolden Henderson, USN Retired
Vice- President, Button Gwinnett Chapter
Georgia Society, SAR

Rendering a Salute to

Georgia Patriots of the American Revolution

Kate and her husband Jack

Colonel Elijah Clark Militia, GASSAR
Renders a Salute

TAPS

Ed Rigel Jr.

Color Guard Member,

GASSAR

and

LCDR Michael Nolden Henderson USN Ret.

Georgia Society SAR, COLOR Guard

Retiring the colors

After the ceremony many gathered for photos and  well wishes:

Members of the Button Gwinnett Chapter Georgia Society SAR
(L) Compatriot Bruce Maney, Compatriot Henderson, Compatriot Terry Manning
And Compatriot Lynch

Guest and Descendants of
Patriot  Stephen Heard and John Darden

(L) Rev and Mrs. Sam McIntosh, LCDR Henderson, Mrs. Diana Mauldin,
Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy O. White

Fellow Compatriots Representing the
Virginia Society, SAR

LCDR  Henderson Congratulate Mrs. Julia CARR a descendant of Stephen Heard
and wife of Compatriot Carr for her authorship and narrative of the Life of
Patriot Stephen Heard
and his association with the
Georgia Patriots Kate and Jack 
For without the Heard family's oral remembrances passed on and told today this
would not have been possible. 

We will always remember the Patriotic Service
provided by Georgia Patriots
Kate and Jack
No longer Forgotten Patriots of the
American Revolution

The actual mentioning of Honoring the Service and Memory of Georgia’s Revolutionary War Patriots  Stephen Heard, John Darden, Mammy Kate, and Daddy Jack, Dionyuis Oliver and Peter Oliver in Congressional Record.    See page 208 of 229 or in the search box, type in Mammy Kate.

double click here: Congressional Record :

For the Historic Record

For additional coverage  see AJC article dated Oct 14, 2011, titled: Ceremony to honor patriotic Georgia slave woman

By Tammy Joyner 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In 1779, colonial Georgia was under siege and a future governor was set to be executed by the British. But the world's most powerful army at the time was no match for a shrewd and spirited slave woman.

Stephen Heard was wounded and jailed in Augusta for fighting against the Tories in Valentine's Day skirmish called Kettle Creek, just outside what's now Elbert County. When the woman known as "Mammy Kate" learned of Heard's capture, she rode 50 miles by horse to Augusta to help her owner. She devised a plan to wash clothes for the Tories which ultimately won Kate their trust, according to oral accounts of the incident which took place over a couple of months. Shortly before Heard's scheduled hanging, she asked soldiers if she could wash Heard's clothes so he wouldn't die in dirty clothes. They agreed. The six-foot-tall woman toted the diminutive Heard out of the prison in a laundry basket full of clothes. She and her husband, Daddy Jack, then carried him to safety. The couple's daring escapade saved Heard who was later appointed governor of Georgia. (Heard offered Kate her freedom but she preferred to stay with the Heard family).   See more here     

Mammy Kate Georgia Patriot in the American Revolution

Claude Thomas Pierre METOYER- A Louisiana Patriot of the American Revolution

Placed by
The Natchitoches Chapter
Louisiana Society Sons of
the American Revolution

Placed by
The St Denis Chapter,
National Society Daughters of
the American Revolution

Many gathered on a beautiful Saturday morning,  Oct 8, 2011 in the American Cemetery, Natchitoches, La for a  Patriotic grave marking of a Louisiana Patriot of the American Revolution named,  CLaude Thomas Pierre METOYER.  The two host chapters that sponsored the ceremony were the Natchitoches Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution  (SAR)  and the St Denis Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).   Both organizations placed their Patriotic markers on the Tomb of Patriot Metoyer.   Metoyer is the Progenitor of the Metoyer Family and many of his descendants were on hand to witness this honored ceremony.  Below are just a few pictures of that event.

Descendants of Claude Thomas Pierre Metoyer
 Dignitaries and Other Guest

Compatriot Tony Vets  
President,
The Natchitoches Chapter SAR

Demon Battalion ROTC,
Northwestern
 State University 

Presenting Colors

                      

Pledge of Allegiance

The Honorable
Mildred E. Methvin
5th Great Granddaughter of
Claude Thomas Pierre METOYER

Descendants and Guest

Presentation of a Wreath

Michael Nolden Henderson
Lieutenant Commander, USN Retired
Vice-President,
Button Gwinnett Chapter
Georgia Society,
Sons of the American Revolution

Claude Thomas Pierre METOYER
LOUISIANA PATRIOT
of the American Revolution who served under command of
Spanish Colonial Governor General
Bernardo de Galvez

(L) Fr. John Cunningham,
Tony Vets, President Natchitoches Chapter SAR,
The Honorable Mildred E. Methvin,
LCDR Michael Henderson, VP Button Gwinnett Chapter, Georgia SAR
Dr. Colleen Lancaster, Regent St Denis Chapter DAR,
Compatriot Clifford Normand, La Society SAR Registrar,
Spanish Soldier, Charleen Kennedy, Regent, Les Repides Chapter DAR

Tony Vets, LCDR Michael Henderson, Clifford Normand

Elaine Phillips Webster (5th Great Granddaughter)
 Cousin Barbara Henderson, Frances Henderson
(Aunt and member of DAR),
Karen Phillips Alonzo and Kathleen Phillips Newbill
(5th Great Granddaughters)
Back Row Cousins Jacqueline Henderson and LCDR Michael Henderson

Parents of Elaine, Kathleen and Karen,
Donald Jr, Donovan and Damon
Donald Phillips Sr. and Lucille Metoyer

A tribute to my Aunt
Lucille METOYER 
1934 - 1995
4th Generation Great GrandDaughter
of
CLAUDE THOMAS PIERRE METOYER
A Louisiana Patriot of the
American Revolution

Many Thanks to
Compatriot Tony Vets Sr.
 For Making this an
Outstanding Event

 Thanks to the Spanish Soldiers and Militiamen
who served under the Command of The
 Spanish Colonial Louisiana Governor General
Bernardo de Galvez
We will always remember
your contributions