Help Connect Canada and USBH Project Notables for February 2024 - Black History Month! [closed]

Question

The Canada and USBH Project's Joint Black History Month challenge is open. We are highlighting African Americans/Black Canadians notables whose heritage covers both Canada and the United States and who need to be connected to the Global Family Tree.  Can you help by adding profiles of family members until a connection to the Global WikiTree is made?

The current tree sizes as of January 25, 2024, are shown for each profile.  Even if a connection is not made, adding even a single profile to a family is helpful and appreciated!

In alphabetical order, the notables needing assistance are:

1. Salome Bey - Canada/USBH - Singer/songwriter Tree size start - 3; 35 - 02/01/24; 57 - 02/10/24; 62 - 02/22/24.

2. Henry Bibb - USBH -Abolitionist/writer, Tree size start - 4; Connected 1/27/24.

3. Ruthy Blackburn - Canada/USBH - Freedom Litigator, Tree size start - 3

4. James Wesley Hill - Canada/USBH - Underground RR Conductor Tree size start - 20; Connected 1/27/24.

5. Army Howard - Canada - Track - runner, Tree size start - 25; Connected 1/26/24.

6. Barbara Howard - Canada - Track - runner, Tree size start - 11; Connected 1/27/24.

7. Ferguson Jenkins - Canada - Baseball, Tree size start - 29; Connected 1/27/24.

8. Amelia Johnson- USBH - Writer, Tree size start - 0; 30 - 02/01/24; 31- 02/10/24; 47 - 02/22/24.

9. Elijah McCoy - Canada/USBH - Inventer, Tree size start - 22; 24 - 02/01/24; 28 - 02/10/24; Connected 2/15/24.

10. John Ware - Canada/USBH - Western Cowboy, Tree size start - 22; Connected 1/27/24.

For more US Black Heritage (USBH) Project activity, check out the US Black Heritage Project page.

For more Canada Project Notables Team activity, check out the Canada Project Notables Team page.

Comments

Ruthy Blackburn's link didn't work for me.  Can someone check it?

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Thanks.  The link for Ruthy has been corrected.

Answer 1

James Wesley Hill is connected. I connected him via a profile I created two years ago. He is connected through one of the Howard/Holland brothers whose stories fleeing USA are well documented .

There are numerous descendants of T John Holland/Howard and Henrietta Holland today, not only in Hamilton, but throughout Canada and the United States. They gather every two years, alternating between Ontario and Maryland, to honour and celebrate their proud African-North-American heritage

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Howard-28313

Comments

Not only is it wonderful that James is connected, but this connection also connects three other notables including track star Donovan Bailey. 

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If anyone can find a public domain image for James Wesley Hill, please upload it so he can be used in next week's connection finder related to the Underground Railroad.

Answer 2

I'm going to work on Amelia Johnson since we have writing in common.

Comments

I've been noodling around on this one today and it must be so close to connection! Her daughter Jessie was a pianist who performed with Marian Anderson in Boston way back in 1920, and Jessie's husband was a very well known physician and preacher at Twelfth Baptist Church in Boston. Surely these remarkable people are already connected somehow...

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Oh cool! I had a feeling there would be more notable people in this family.

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Amelia's CC7 connections have increased from 0 to 31.  Hopefully with some additional connections, she will become connected to the main Wikitree soon!

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Emma,

A brief update.  7 of 10 are connected. Two other profile have had many additional connections to their trees. The Canada Project will keep the challenge going until it opens its March challenge. You had a great idea to tag team for Black History Month!

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Actually, I think this was your idea, Russell! And you're right, it was an awesome idea. What amazing progress we made this month and we still are only half way through.

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Dual credit for the collaboration effort. After hearing your idea for USBH to collaborate with other projects for Black History Month, I suggested the Canada/USBH collaboration. By the way, the Canada Project suggested James Wesley Hill who was connected in this challenge for the Underground Railroad connection finder.

Answer 3

I put research notes on how to connect Ferguson Jenkins here. Will not be able to do it to later so if someone wants to do it before me, please go ahead

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jackson-56353

Comments

Thanks for your amazing (as always) research! I'll get on this!

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I still can't find a source for the marriage of Cassie Lucas and Leroy Pope.

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There are two Canadian voting lists with them living together (just the two of them) (1952 and 1957?? Forget years) Cassie doesn’t change her name, so not sure they were legally married but it appears the family thought of them as a ‘married’ couple.

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Oh, and her daughter’s obituary lists her as Mrs. Leroy Pope.

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#3 Her death and funeral notice was announced as Mrs. Cassie Pope, 80, of Colborne Street (same street as 1952 voting register), Chatham. The Windsor Star, Windsor, Ontario, Canada · Monday, January 10, 1977

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I am heading out again, please continue creating these profiles. Or i can do it later tonight.

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Ferguson Jenkins is connected.

Also connected another cross border USBH notable

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Fitzbutler-1

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Great work on the connection!

Answer 4

I am working on Salome Bey.

Comments

Salome now has a CC7 of 12. I have added siblings that I know are deceased. I can’t seem to find any more about her family so I will leave it to others.

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Salome could be attached to an unconnected Jewish branch, but might involve a still living person, see research notes here https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wideman-580

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Yes, it looks like wife is still alive, looks like she was working on her husband’s profile at FamilySearch at the start of January.

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I could not find proof that Lorraine Wideman-Bay married a Mr Jefferson to become Lorraine Jefferson.

It looks like one of Salome’s daughter’s has a tree on Ancestry based on the unique username. It shows some relatives but there are no sources listed.

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Based it off Preston’s obituary and it mentions Lorraine and her early death. But connection will not work as a living person is in between.

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I can’t see the obituary because it is behind a paywall.

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It is on his profile

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If anybody is interested in adding profiles, a lot of profiles can be added from here and up. She is at cc3 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Nixon-8179

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Salome's CC7 connections have increased from 3 to 57, hopefully some additional connections will connect her to the big tree!

Answer 5

I might look at Henry Bibb. But no promises.

Answer 6

Army Howard is connected, his wife's second husband was already in the tree!

Comments

What a good way to start the challenge!

One down on the first day.

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And he has 617 connections now. Brilliant!

Answer 7

I found first names for four of Henry Bibb's brothers. He mentions John, Lewis, and Granville on 23 Sep 1852 in his newspaper. See "A Letter to my Old Master" and "Just Escaped from Slavery" -- Link to Newspaper Page

He mentions George on 4 Nov 1852, see "Letter to my old Maser No. 3" -- Link to Newspaper Page

Comments

Also! I'm new here so I don't know the protocol on adopted family. Henry Bibb's wife Mary remarried to Isaac Carey, and they adopted Florilla Tucker who is connected to the big tree, but not currently connected to Mary and Isaac. 

If I linked Mary and Isaac as Florilla's non-biological parents, would that connect Henry to the big tree?

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Hi Naomi, whenever possible, we try not to add adopted kids to their adoptive parents, but instead connect them to biological parents. However, we don't always know the biological parents and WikiTree does allow us to mark parent connections as non-biological. However, when you mark someone as non-biological, I don't know if the Connection Finder skips that connection (my guess is it does, but you could try it to find out).

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Gotcha! I've added Mary and Isaac as non-biological parents to Florilla, since it does not appear Florilla's bio-parents are known.

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Henry now shows as connected.  Good work!

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Yay, how cool!

Answer 8

John Ware is connected. First had to connect a end-user (with dna) branch first, then connected Ware’s branch to that branch . He connects via a Canadian soldier who is killed in action during WWII 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Darby-3458

Comments

You are a superstar!

Answer 9

With the excellent work so far, 5 of the 10 profiles are already connected!

Comments

This is great! I just updated the USBH Notables spreadsheet with these new connections!

Answer 10

Woohoo! Barbara Howard will show up as connected soon. Her sister Melba was married to Ora Avis Dennis, a frequent remarrier. I'd made his profile in 2021!

Comments

Sweet! And Ora's parents already existed but weren't attached to him, and THEY were also connected, so it's a double connection!

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Way to go Kate!

Answer 11

Update on the challenge. 6 profiles are connected. 4 more need to be connected. 3 of the remaining 4 profiles have had additional profiles added.

Please assist by adding additional family members.

Answer 12

Wow! Half connected already.

Answer 13

While four individuals remain to be connected to the main Wikitree, three individuals have seen gains in their CC7 connections count:

1. Salome Bey - 3 to 57

2. Amelia Johnson - 0 to 31

3. Elijah McCoy - 22 to 28.

Whether you have helped on these notable as of yet, please help get these notables connected to the big tree by adding additional connections to their trees.

Comments

Elijah McCoy should be connected now (when it next updates).

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Excellent work to connect McCoy!

Answer 14

I've created profiles for [[Duchemin-96|Almeide Maxis Duchemin (1810-1892)]] and her parents.  She's cofounder   of 2 Catholic religious orders of Sisters and has a page on Wikipiedia, but I don't  know how to make her Notable.  While she was born and died in the United States, she did live for more than 20 years in Canada.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Maxis_Duchemin

Comments

Jim, I added a Notables sticker as a start. However, please review Requirements for Notables on Wikitree for other items that remain to be completed on her profile and for working on other notables on Wikitree. 

Answer 15

Thanks to everyone who assisted in the Black History Month challenge.  

Please check out and assist with the Canada Project's March 2024 Challenge,