#peacetotheancestors: If you knew my Grandmother, you know she was constantly embedding #knowledgewisdomandunderstanding upon me. To help cope with her absence from the physical, I began thinking about our talks and how, around this time last year, she summoned me to work on a genealogy project and gift her an #Ancestry DNA test for Christmas. With the support of Mimi Lynn, I've been retracing our Davenport heritage and stumbling upon proof of a lot of the things our Grandmother told us. Beings how she taught me to discover "the library within the library," as she called it, I've developed a keen since of listening to people and a natural liking to learning from people that have lived and experienced the history. Yet never in my wildest dreams did I ever think my Grandmother's teachings would be the cornerstone of my #heritagequest. Upon discovering yesterday was my Great-grandmother's oldest brother's birthday, yesterday's discoveries were all the more special for two distinct reasons. One: I ended the day tracing our lineage as far back as 1862 and even though the census records indicate #theancestors as Mulatto and/or Negro throughout the years, the records show the Davenport's as land owners and men with occupations. I especially love the fact that my Great-grandmother's grandfather was a janitor at #RalpMaconCollege because although the 1900 census records indicates that he and his son [our Great-great-grandfather Marshall Davenport] could not read or write, the 1910 census clearly shows that our Great-great-grandfather could read and write. In retrospect, one would have to say "James Davenport did more than put food on the table, he chose a profession that evoked food for thought amongst his family too." -Stevie #sentimentsofsankofa circa 2019 • #speaktotheelders https://www.instagram.com/p/CWZhpfJLfxa/?utm_medium=tumblr
