The 2024 Hunter/Burns Family Reunion took place in Montgomery, Alabama the capital city of the Yellowhammer State. Montgomery, AL is known for it's civil rights history as it was host to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In 1955, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. arrived at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and led a boycott of the bus system in Montgomery. It was there that Ms. Rosa Parks had refused to give up her seat to a white passenger and of course it was also know that Black passengers after paying their fare were forced to enter the bus through the back doors. It was a shame not to have been able to attend this reunion and see some of the historic sites there especially those concerning the Civil Rights Movement. Expected on the itinerary was visiting the city of Selma, AL which was the site of a march to Montgomery, AL that a protest for voting rights for Blacks. That march was dramatized in the blockbuster film Selma released in 2014. Anyway here's some swag that will be shown ...

My mother Lois Diana Burns Jenkins passed away after 10:00 PM on Monday, August 26, 2024. Until her very last breath she fought a long courageous battle against an illness. One of her last acts as our Tribal Historian ( Emeritus ) was to take an Ancestry DNA test and made many discoveries with regards to her maternal grandmother's family (Emma Hunter Burns). I was glad even as she was in the hospital in May that she was still willing to do so. She was also in on a call with a member of the extended family another act to help expand knowledge of her maternal grandfather (James Lee Burns) family's roots. Something written about briefly on this blog. She was a longtime banker who first started at the First National Bank of Chicago where she was a Trust Officer and then later became a Vice President at the Black-owned lender Seaway National Bank of Chicago. She graduated from JFK High School in Mound Bayou, MISS and after a period of part-time study she gained her undergrad degr...

Aggie Farrow - Find a Grave  It was a bit of a task to find out when Mama Aggie Andrews had passed away and some semblance of where she had passed away. Or even to have some confirmation of when she was born. All we have are census records to show that she was around. I found her in 1870, possibly 1880, 1900, 1920, and 1930. She was emergency contact for her son Turner when he was part of the WW1 US Army. Another son Will who joined the US Army listed her as someone he needed to support on his draft card. We found that she had married a Mr. James Farrow in the 1920 US Census. Which leads credence to family legend as recorded by our tribal historian. And now we know about when she was born and had passed away. She lived a long life I wonder how many of her grandchildren got a chance to know her. Sadly most of the ones I could haved asked has since passed away. Both Mama Aggie and Mr. Farrow died in 1944. Perhaps there's a way to find out if there is an official record for Aggie a...

James L Burns - June 18, 1898 Our Tribal Chief was born on this day in June 18, 1898. And he transitioned  ✝ well into the 20th Century in May 1988. Imagine all the things going on during his lifetime. Two World Wars, the Spanish-American War, Korean War, Vietnam War, the Cold War (and he just missed the conclusion), Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of two US Presidents, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement, the Jim Crow South, men landing on the moon, I could go on. Here's his one connection to the 2nd World War. As you may recall his two older brothers Turner and Will had served in the 1st World War, however, James himself never served in the military. However, he still at 43 years of age had to register for the draft during that very awful global conflict. It's amazing what is found online when you're looking for information on your ancestors

Have you bought a kit? In April, our Tribal Historian and myself ( The Custodian ) spoke with a DNA match over the phone. I won't identify him at this time unless he says it's OK to do so. It was the first time we had spoken with a grandson of Arthur Burns.  As a reminder Arthur Burns is a younger brother to our Tribal Chief James Lee Burns. In my ongoing research I found out about him through the obituary of their older brother Will Burns . Arthur Burns (1900-1979) We learned through my 2nd Cousin that my late grandmother Gurtine and her living brother & sister has one paternal first cousin that's still alive. She won't be identified at this time as well. We had a nice chat over a relatively short period of time talking about their roots and they have their own "tribal historian". And it's exciting to reach out to other members of this extended family. One thing I have noticed over the years, is that for our reunions we've never really had anyon...

 On April 27, 1988, James Lee Burns - father, grandfather, great grandfather, & great-great grandfather -  made his transition ✝ from this earthly life. His funeral was held on May 1, 1988 at Wanderer's Home MB Church in Mound Bayou, Mississippi located near the Bolivar & Sunflower County Line. He was also buried on the church's grounds. Our tribal chief with his great-grand daughter Not too long after his funeral we went to the property he owned with his departed wife Emma Hunter Burns. The house was long gone at that point so it was a vacant lot. Thankfully that plot of land remains in the possession of his descendants. Below was his obituary from his May 1, 1988 funeral and once you take a quick read, I will share further thoughts. Click for larger resolution It's funny how much an ancestor and my own life intersect that is we were living at about the same time though in my case I was nothing but a pup. And even more interesting is when a great-grandparent meets ...

Willie (?) Burns The known father of our Tribal Chief James Lee Burns is a man named Willie Burns . We know this primarily from his two daughters Lee Alice Burns Travis & Lucyrene Burns Robinson and was also noted in our Tribal Chief's obituary from his 1988 funeral. However, to find this Elder Willie has proven to be very elusive. Turner Burns - James' older brother - on his Social Security file lists his parents as Steve Burns and Aggie Andre (or perhaps he was trying to spell Andrews ). Wait who is this Steve Burns? Turner and James' older sister James Etta (Jeanette) lists her parents as William Smith and Aggie Follery on her own Social Security file. Although it's safe to say Great-Aunt James Etta and her older sister Bessie may well have a different father than Turner and James. And here's where the plot thickens. On FamilySearch.org I found a marriage record for Aggie Andrews and a Stephen Burns from Hinds County, Mississippi. Don't believe me? Cl...