Archive for the ‘Genealogy’ Category

African American Genealogy Workshop 3.13.10

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

WBCH African American Genealogy Workshop, Saturday  March 13, 1 – 3 PM.  Family history is all the rage! In 2008 public television first aired “African American Lives”, a 4-part series in which Henry Louis Gates introduced famous African-Americans to their genealogy. Now there is a new NBC series, “Who Do You Think You Are?” that showcases the family history search of a different celebrity each week. So, how do they do it?

 This month’s African American Genealogy Workshop features two special guests: 

 Susan Chiarello, From the Virginia Genealogical Society: Susan Chiarello, a native Virginian, Treasurer for the Va. Genealogical Society, member on the Board of Governors for 4 years has been a genealogy researcher for 15 years, transcribing and publishing for the Va. Genealogical Society and the Library of Virginia, through-out all parts of Virginia.

Paula Royster, founder of the Center for African American Genealogical Research, Inc. who will talk about the importance of the U.S. Census to genealogy searches, and about her recent trip to Ghana for the establishment of the Sankofa Genealogy DNA project that is collecting African DNA to be placed in a database to connect African Americans to their African roots. “DNA helps us complete the story from incomplete slave records,” says Royster.  

Are you interested in finding out more about your family history? Join us at WBCH every second Saturday to learn more about how to start your genealogy journey. www.WBCH.org or call (804) 643-2717 to learn more. 

  1. William Byrd Community House224 S. Cherry Street  Richmond, VA 23225 

WBCH Genealogists Help Establish The Ghana Genealogy DNA Project

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Sankofa Project

Houston, October 26, 2009  –

In an effort to help verify the migration patterns of different African tribes, Family Tree DNA will be cooperating with the Center for African American Genealogy Research (CAAGRI) and the Public Records and Archives Administration of Ghana (PRAAD), by testing several hundred members of the Nzema, Ga, Fante, Ewe and Asante tribes.

The DNA tests will be one of several aspects of a wider genealogy workshop led by Paula Royster, director of CAAGRI, aiming at “highlighting the importance of recording their oral traditions by showing them how to record it”. The workshop will include the use of online databases to search for ancestors and descendants, preservation of song lyrics and photographs, transcription of stories passed down from generation to generation, and forensic genealogy. The event will take place this Friday, October 30th, at the PRAAD offices in Accra, Ghana.

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