Join US Black Heritage Connecting Challenge--May 2024

+18 votes
809 views

      US Black Heritage Project's

Connecting Challenge

Our for 2024 goal is 400k. With all the help we've been getting on our 1880 census project, we're definitely going to make it!

Need a fresh project? Check out our USBH 1880 Census Project. We have a spreadsheet for every state. Our goal is to create a profile for every Black American enumerated on the 1880 census. (reminder: single profiles created don't count for this Connecting Challenge--only people attached to family)


We met the US Black Heritage Project's goal of reaching 250,000 African-American profiles in the year 2023 early! Now let's work toward our 2024 goal of 400,000 total profiles. We'll reach it by continuing the Connecting Challenge. It is similar to the WikiTree Connect-a-Thon with a few exceptions. Please read our challenge space page for all the rules.

Who can participate? Any WikiTree member who has upgraded from guest and has signed the honor code

Start/End: This Challenge is a month long. We begin on the first of each month and end at midnight EST on the last day of each month.

A participant sticker will be available to all members who join in for at least one of the months. Special stickers will be awarded to all participants who create at least 25 profiles in a month. A Winner's sticker will be given to the top contributor each month.

To Partipate:

  • Read the rules please!
  • Click on the "answer" button below my name on this post to declare you want to participate.
  • Start with an existing profile and create a family member attached to that profile. Keep adding as many family members up, down, and sideways on the tree as you can. Each new profile is one point.
  • Make sure the research is correct! Use primary documents to find and prove relationships.
  • Add the {{African-American Sticker}} to any profiles of Black Americans who lived in the USA, so the project can keep track of the profiles and honor their heritage.
  • Add at least one strong source to every profile.
  • Use the Challenge Tracker to keep track of every new profile you create for this challenge. It will count the total for you automatically. If you discover you forgot to track some, you can list them here to count.
  • Repeat.
  • If you are working on enslaved ancestors, every new slave profile you link to a slave owner using the USBH Project's guidelines, counts as a connected profile. See the Heritage Exchange Portal for more information.

Have questions? Please ask.

Only have time for a few profiles? Please join us! Every contribution gets us closer to our goal.

Do you need some profiles to get you started? 

If you are already on the WikiTree Discord server, you should have access to the US Black Heritage Connecting Challenge channel. If you can't access it, please send me a message.

Thanks for growing our tree!


  • Our April Challenge total: 5,226
  • Total count of profiles as of April 28: 340,434
  • April Winners: Emma MacBeath, Nanette Pezzutti, Nancy Thomas, Carolyn Martin, Miyako Jones
in The Tree House by Emma MacBeath G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
edited by Emma MacBeath
I'm running behind and will have March totals sent out this week.
Hi Emma,

Three times now when after making a new profile when I click on Challenge Tracker it changes color to gray but then it just sits and thinks and doesn't go on to the next screen to choose which challenge and what was done.  Frustrating. I have closed everything and restarted my computer but it just did it again.

Susan
Hi Susan, The tracker problem has been reported. If it's not fixed already, it should be soon. If you created any profiles that couldn't be counted on the tracker, please list them in an answer below and I'll add them to the total at the end of the month.

41 Answers

+7 votes
I will continue dealing with adding people I have been researching on Family Search.
by Susan Burgess G2G1 (1.4k points)
Thanks, Susan!
+7 votes
I'll keep working on Georgia!
by Terri Smith G2G6 Mach 1 (11.8k points)
Thanks, Terri!
+7 votes
I will keep going on 1880 census NY counties.
by K. Price G2G6 Mach 1 (14.6k points)
Thanks, K!
+7 votes
I'd like to join for May 2024...
by Susan Hautala G2G6 Mach 2 (20.4k points)
Thanks, Susan!
+7 votes
Hi Emma, I'd like to continue and will contribute as many as possible. Sue
by Susan Pearson G2G6 Mach 1 (15.4k points)
Thanks, Sue!
+7 votes

Count me in, please! smiley

by Amy Johnson G2G6 Mach 6 (60.8k points)
Thanks, Amy!
+8 votes
Count me in for May, Thank You!
by John Stewart G2G4 (4.5k points)
Thanks, John!
+7 votes
I'm in!  Connecting through the 1880 census.
by Nan Starjak G2G6 Pilot (386k points)
Thanks, Nan!
+7 votes
I plan to keep adding new Black family profiles this month.
by Georgette King G2G4 (4.7k points)
Thanks, Georgette!
+7 votes
Hope to get more done
by Jennifer Robins G2G6 Pilot (261k points)
Thanks, Jennifer!
+7 votes
Me too, please! We can do it!
by Sarah Turner G2G6 (8.6k points)
Thanks, Sarah!
+7 votes

Still working on the 1880 census for Schoharie, New York.  With these smaller counties it's almost like doing a one place study, at least for its black community.

I'd like to share a win - researching Hannah Prime https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Swartz-2892&errcode=saved.  She's found in the household of Peter Lewis, listed as "mother" so I thought she might have married a second husband after Peter's father. But then I found a NYC death record showing Peter's wife Harriet Lewis's parents as Hannah Swartz and Joseph Prune!  

So if you're researching upstate NY, it's worth looking at NYC death records.  They sometimes give the names of both parents - even if they don't always dot the i's!

by Jaki Erdoes G2G6 Mach 6 (68.1k points)
Woot woot! Thanks, Jaki.
+7 votes
The Challenge Tracker has not been working for the last hour and a half. It has been reported here: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1740910/challenge-tracker-not-working

I added connected some people but could not access the tracker to obtain credit.

Unknown-682002

Harris-67394

Harris-67395

Harris-67396
by Nancy Thomas G2G6 Pilot (211k points)
And more: Mitchell-48547, Marshall-32173, Marshall-32174

Unknown-682031, Patrick-7633, and Patrick-7634

Powell-28501

Statres-1, Reeves-12664, Reeves-12665, Reeves-12666

Unknown-682070, Unknown-682067
+7 votes
I'm working on the USBH 1880 Census Project again! I hope to add several more today and every day in May 2024.
by Lisa Haskins G2G1 (1.6k points)
Thanks, Lisa!
+6 votes

I believe these 3 profiles didn't get counted:

Lelia Rudell (Summers) Ball ID: Summers-9287

Chester Brown Summers ID: Summers-9285

Robert Virgil Summers ID: Summers-9286
Susan ID: Kimes-427

by Susan Burgess G2G1 (1.4k points)
+6 votes
Profiles created on 5/5/2024 when tracker was broken.  Please add to my totals:

1.[[Unknown-682034|Emma (Unknown) Arnold (abt.1834-)]]

2.[[Allen-70988|Lena Allen (abt.1880-)]]

3,[[Allen-70987|Moses Allen (abt.1856-abt.1929)]]

4.[[Cassity-330|Kate Cassity (abt.1854-)]]

5.[[Cassity-329|Sarah Cassity (abt.1853-)]]

6.[[Cassity-328|Fredonia Cassity (abt.1872-)]]

7.[[Cassity-327|Calvin Cassity (abt.1851-)]]

8.[[Cassity-326|Duncan Cassity (abt.1859-)]]

9.[[Cassity-325|Catharine Cassity (abt.1858-)]]

10.[[Unknown-682014|Hannah (Unknown) Cassity (abt.1813-)]]

11[[Gruves-6|Molinda Gruves (abt.1877-)]]

12.[[Gruves-5|Amos Gruves (abt.1872-)]]

13.[[Gruves-4|Gincy Gruves (abt.1876-)]]

14.[[Gruves-3|Henry Gruves (abt.1869-)]]

15.[[Gruves-2|Betsy Gruves (abt.1874-)]]

16.[[Unknown-682012|Kizzie (Unknown) Gruves (abt.1845-)]]

Thanks!
by Carolyn Martin G2G6 Pilot (286k points)
+6 votes

Here is a list of the profiles that I added to an existing profile while the tracker was down yesterday. May I please get help in adding them to my count? Thanks!

Hale-14150
McGowan-4378
McGowan-4379
Reynolds-31076
Reynolds-31077
Reynolds-31078
Reynolds-31079
Reynolds-31081
by Georgette King G2G4 (4.7k points)
+6 votes
I want to participate in the May challenge.
by Suzanne Lowe G2G5 (5.5k points)
Thanks, Suzanne!
+6 votes
I'll join again!
by Suzanne Dyck G2G6 Mach 2 (22.8k points)
Two Suzannes in a row. Love it! Thanks, Suzanne!
+6 votes
Declaring my wish to participate! amazed by USBH project team.
by Jennifer McDougall G2G5 (5.9k points)
Thanks, Jennifer!

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