Screech Lefebure
Staff Writer
Occupation, height, mental illness and land ownership are just a few things you can discover about your lineage.
Wednesday, the Black Student Union presented a lecture by Charlie E. Woodson, a descendant of Black History Month founder Carter G. Woodson, on how to trace one's genealogical roots.
Woodson's interest in the subject stemmed from the fact that his family came from Buckingham, Va. - Carter Woodson's hometown. That fact led Woodson on a journey into all kinds of other history relating to his family.
Woodson said he now feels that everyone should be able to know how to trace their genealogy.
For Americans and African-Americans in particular, identity can be an incredibly hard thing to establish, he said. He offered a few helpful hints on getting started learning about one's ethnic identity:
Begin with yourself. List all the information you know: full name, date of birth and so forth so that your descendants will know who you are.
Look through records: original certificates, newspaper clippings and other documents can provide insight into your relatives. Woodson said church archives, national archives, Masonic and Elks Club records and immigration files can all be valuable sources.
Talk to older members of your family and write down what they have to say. There are historians in every family, Woodson said. "Catch them before they die."
Get organized. In other words, file everything for safekeeping and reference.
Be systematic. Work from the known to the unknown when tracing your roots.
Woodson also told the audience not to forget family friends. "Family friends may know more than relatives," he said.
Woodson said discovering genealogical history is not always easy. There are many pitfalls, he said, such as finding people with similar names to yours who are not actually related to you.
He cautioned the audience not to "take the first story you see or hear as fact. Be critical."