The Zeitgeist and Serendipity
In light of current events and the preceding article (“Inconvenient Facts”), the most recent issue of NGSQ is of particular interest. It’s also particularly timely, an almost impossible achievement for any journal with a production schedule that stretches over many months of planning, developing, editing, and finalizing.
LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL, authored the issue’s lead article, “Parents for Isaac Garrett of Laurens County, South Carolina: DNA Corroborates Oral Tradition.” Earlier this week, Garrett-Nelson wrote a Facebook post about the publication and its timing.
Zeitgeist. The image on the cover of the June issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) is my great-grandfather: Wister Lee Garrett (1863–1928) of Laurens County, South Carolina. The NGSQ editors could not have predicted the death of George Floyd or the ensuing protests that would focus the nation’s attention on unjustified killings of Black people by police, yet they selected the image of a parent who suffered the pangs of having his unarmed nineteen-year-old son killed by a white peace office, after his son complied with a request to step outside a church. The peace office was held blameless after he testified that the victim had “made a flourish as if” to draw a pistol and he feared for his life.
My great uncle’s killing took place 101 years ago, one of many in a long line of racially based injustices that continue into the present. Genealogy can be a force for social change, especially in a time that may well be an inflection point in race relations. By correcting misconceptions and fostering intellectual integrity as we tell the lives of our ancestors, genealogists can contribute to the process of racial reconciliation.
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About Author
Aaron Goodwin
Aaron is a genealogist and house historian specializing in New York City research across all time periods, from the Dutch colonial era to the 20th century. His book, New York City Municipal Archives: An Authorized Guide for Family Historians, won the National Genealogical Society’s 2017 Award for Excellence: Genealogical Methods and Sources. He is also editor of NGS Monthly, former contributing editor of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, and former editor of the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. In 2011, he received the American Society of Genealogists’ Scholar Award.
Thank you, Aaron!
Thank you for publishing the article “Tabitha (Bugg) George Smith of Mecklenburg County, Virginia in the March 2015 NGS Quarterly page 5, by Leslie Elaine Anderson, MSLS.” The article is based on the descendants of a slave who lived on the China Grove Plantation, then owned by Richard Dabney Bugg (1817-1884). “China Grove plantation was built by Samuel Bugg about 1800″ as shown in the article on page 7, reference # 9.
From the information I have on the my Bugg family, which was taken from “Bacon’s Adventure,” by Herbert Marion Bacon. I believe China Grove was built by Samuel Bugg, IV (1717- ca 1777), the son of Samuel Bugg, III and Sarah Bacon.
Being a descendant of Samuel Bugg, III and Sarah Bacon, I found the article very interesting. I never expected to connect to a living descendant of a slave who was owned by a member of my family. Tabitha’s life intrigues me and I contacted Leslie to thank her for writing the story.
It was mentioned above, that we never know what we will find in our family tree when we search for the truth. I found a line of my ancestry where I have another interesting non-white connection. My great-great-uncle Flemming Jordan Bulifant had a long running relationship which included at least two, possibly more, children with Margaret A. (Harris) Stuart. As I was researching the 1860 and 1870 census records of Charles City County, Virginia, there were no Indian’s, Chinese, or other ethnicity, other than white and black in 1860, and white, black and mulatto in (1870).
In 1860, Margaret and her children are listed as black. In 1870, they are listed as mulatto. From these census records I made the big mistake of thinking that Margaret and her children were black or half -black. WRONG! When I located a descendant of Margaret’s, and I learned they were Indian. Through this connection, I have met via letters and email, a group of wonderful ladies. I will cherish the relationships we have had together. Maybe one day I will meet them in person. They have expanded my knowledge and understanding of their side of Virginia’s history.
To anyone reading this, I encourage you to look into all of the roots and branches of your family tree. They will take you to places in your mind you never thought you would go, and you will be the better for it.
Carolyn H. Brown – recipient of the 2013 NGS Award of Meritt.