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                    INTERVIEW WITH ANGELA Y. WALTON                      
              AUTHOR OF "BLACK INDIAN GENEALOGY RESEARCH                 
       AFRICAN AMERICAN ACESTORS AMONG THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES         
                                                                         
                Interviewed by: Idette and Neil Vaughan                  
                                                                         
        Genealogy is such a fascinating topic and we're pleased to       
   have Angela Y. Walton author and renown genealogist share her         
   genealogy findings regarding her family history with the readers      
   of "Poetry In Motion."  But first a brief biography is in order       
   before we get underway.                                               
                                                                         
        Angela Y. Walton was born in Ft. Smith Arkansas.  She is         
   currently an Associate Director of Graduate Admissions at the         
   University of Maryland located in Baltimore, Maryland.  Her           
   interest in genealogy began in the 1970's when she discovered one     
   line of her family descended from the Choctaw Nation.  This           
   discovery led her to research her family and Indian history and       
   resulted in the publication of her new book "Black Indian             
   Genealogy Research.  African American Ancestors Among the Five        
   Civilized Tribes."  We found Mrs. Walton's family history             
   fascinating and are confident that her history will leave an          
   impression on you to extent that you too will delve into tracing      
   your roots!                                                           
                                                                         
                                                                         
                    INTERVIEW WITH ANGELA A. WALTON                      
                                                                         
   1.   Ms. Walton, please tell us a bit about your background and       
        what events, inspirations, etc. led you to become an             
        authority on the subject of genealogy?                           
                                                                         
        I grew up in Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma, and was      
   fascinated as a child by the many stories told to me by my            
   grandmother about her family, and about my great-grandmother.  In     
   the mid 70's, realizing my grandmother was getting on in years, I     
   decided to learn as much about her childhood as possible.  In         
   order to accomplish that goal, I "interviewed" her and she told       
   me about her life and childhood in the 1890's and the early part      
   of this century.  From the information garnered from my               
   grandmother, I drew a diagram of my family tree as she told it to     
   me.  This was my first attempt to illustrate my family structure.     
   When I showed the diagram to others and noticed their                 
   fascination, I realized that I had done something extremely           
   significant in terms of my family history.                            
                                                                         
        Apart from that, I had another set of stories that filled my     
   imagination.  These stories stemmed from my great-grandmother,        
   who it was always emphasized, was part Choctaw Indian.  When she      
   passed away in the 60's her family Bible was passed on to my          
   family.  Inside that Bible, was a document pertaining to some         
   land given to my great-grandmother in 1912.  Stamped on the           
   document was an imprint from the Choctaw Nation.  This document,      
   (which I later learned was a plat map of a township in Indian         
   Territory) kept me fascinated for years.  I wondered if I would       
   ever be able to really find out more about this connection that       
   my great-grandmother had to the Choctaw Nation.  On a chance          
   visit to the National Archives, I began to look around some           
   Indian records, and to my surprise, I found an entire set of          
   documents indicating the application and enrollment of my great-      
   grandparents as citizens of the Choctaw Nation.                       
                                                                         
        The biggest surprise was my discovery that the Five              
   "Civilized" Tribes owned African Slaves and that there are over       
   20,000 records on microfilm throughout the country to illustrate      
   this.  I realized that I had to educate myself about this, and        
   learned from several sources, that the Indians were not kindly        
   slave masters, and bought, sold and whipped these Africans like       
   their white neighbors.                                                
                                                                         
        My great-grandparents were admitted to the Choctaw Nation as     
   freedman-former slaves, as they have proven that their slave          
   owners were Indians.  This was the case with the Cherokees,           
   Choctaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles and Creeks.                           
                                                                         
        Interviewing my grandmother and subsequently drawing my          
   family tree and learning of my great-grandparents connection with     
   the Choctaws Indians really got me started.  As I began to meet       
   other African American Genealogists, I knew there was a need to       
   share my findings and to help others discover the wealth of data      
   on their own families.  As a result, I publish the "Frontier          
   Freedman's Journal which is an African American Genealogical          
   Journal of the South, Indian Territory and the West.                  
                                                                         
        The journal's focus is on Black families in the South and as     
   well as West of the Mississippi.  The journal provides articles       
   about Black genealogy, the "Black Indians" and also highlights        
   the efforts of the U.S.C.T.s (200,000 Black men who fought in the     
   Civil War as part of the U.S. Colored Troops).                        
                                                                         
        2.  Using your family pedigree as an example, please tell us     
            how you began your search.                                   
                                                                         
        One thing a genealogist learns is the search for one's           
   ancestors is never complete.  There are direct ancestors --           
   parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc.  In addition, the     
   collateral ancestors, the brothers, sisters and children of           
   direct ancestors, who are the great uncles, aunts and cousins.        
   They must be documented and there are many ways to do so.             
                                                                         
        In my own family history, I have been able to trace my           
   family to the 1790's, but only on one side, my mother's.  Her         
   great-grandparents were born as slaves in Virginia, taken to          
   Tennessee and then to Mississippi.  After emancipation, they          
   moved to Arkansas, where my mother and her mother were born.  On      
   my father's side, his mother's line goes back to Tennessee, and       
   his father's side goes back to the Choctaw Nation in the 1830's.      
                                                                         
        Please note, when one goes back a generation, the number of      
   ancestors will double.  Every person has:  2 parents, 4               
   grandparents, 8 great grandparents, 16 great great grandparents,      
   32 great great great grandparents an so on.  The challenge in         
   genealogy is to identify, if possible each direct ancestor for        
   each generation.                                                      
                                                                         
        So far, I know all 4 of my grandparents, 6 of my 8 great         
   grandparents, 8 out of 16 of my great great grandparents and I        
   know 4, out of 32 of my great great great grandparents.  This         
   only takes me to the 1790's, and the search continues.  Of course     
   for African Americans this is more difficult when one encounters      
   those ancestors who were slaves, and the effort to identify their     
   parents is extremely difficult, but it is possible.                   
                                                                         
        The task is to identify the slave owners, and then study the     
   slave owner's records, such as property records, and tax records.     
   All property was taxed, therefore, tax records hold a wealth of       
   data for Black genealogist since their ancestors are frequently       
   listed in those old courthouse records as property.                   
                                                                         
        Also, other sources are helpful such as those military           
   records from the Civil War.  Blacks have fought in every war          
   since the revolution, and military and pension records exists for     
   all of these soldiers.  It was through the Civil War pension          
   files that I have documented my mother's line.  My mother's great     
   grand father fought in the Civil War, and in those files, I           
   learned of my mother's great great grandfather who travelled as a     
   civilian refugee in his 70's to assist the Black troops in the        
   War.  This man, John Young, was born in the 1790's in Virginia.       
                                                                         
        3.  After Mr. Alex Hailey's renowned book "Roots" debuted        
            and the movie aired a few years ago, in your view today      
            are there many Black/African Americans embracing the         
            importance of knowing their roots?                           
                                                                         
        Absolutely!  There are hundreds upon hundreds of African         
   Americans researching their family history.  There are more than      
   20 Black genealogy organizations nationwide, and new chapters         
   constantly forming.  African Americans are entering the computer      
   world with several computer networks offering opportunities for       
   African American genealogy.  One interesting example, American On     
   Line (AOL) has a feature whereby individuals can chat back and        
   forth on line.  Each week, a group of Black genealogists meet and     
   assist each other with their research problems, and then record       
   the dialogue allowing everyone to download the notes from the         
   meetings.  There are several conferences taking place around the      
   country.  There was a Black genealogy conference in Virginia last     
   week and in May, two Black genealogy conferences will take place,     
   one in Chicago and the other in Washington.                           
                                                                         
        4.  Please tell us your philosophy on genealogy:  What is it     
            REALLY about and where it is all heading?                    
                                                                         
        Genealogy does incredible things for our people.  Many           
   African Americans are uncomfortable with our history.  Genealogy,     
   is the story of how we connect to that history.                       
                                                                         
        For example, my mother has never wanted to know much about       
   history, since she heard many painful stories from her                
   grandmother about the horrors of slavery.  This always saddened       
   her.  However, since learning about her great grandfather, who        
   fought in the Civil War, and how his father, in his 70's              
   travelled with them, assisting the Black troops as a civilian         
   refugee, she has such a sense of pride, and interest in anything      
   that I find.  By knowing that one of her ancestors was a slave,       
   but that he fought for is freedom, and did not simply wait idly       
   for the "white folks" to free him, the issue of slavery is no         
   longer a source of shame and pain.  Reading more about slavery        
   has an empowering effect on the individual, and by knowing where      
   we truly come from, and what happened during those years, we are      
   strengthened to go forward.                                           
                                                                         
        It is not unusual for us to have a sense of defeat about our     
   lives as Africans in America.  However, genealogy can teach us to     
   face the real truths about ourselves and this truth is very           
   liberating.                                                           
                                                                         
        Another example, many Black folks walk around talking about      
   being Indian, and embrace the Indians as brothers.  However, with     
   the reality that Indians owned slaves, and were not especially        
   kind towards their Black slaves, a new reality emerges.  Have we      
   ever heard any Indians talk about us as brothers or sisters?          
   This has come only from us, and the Native American community,        
   especially the nations I mentioned earlier, are and have always       
   been silent about this relationship.  We learn that movies such       
   as "Possee" where not realistic with brothers having picnics with     
   Indian Maidens on the plains.  In fact, the Buffalo Soldiers were     
   fighting the Plains Indians and were settling the West.  The          
   Cherokee and Choctaw Nations made it a felony in their nations to     
   marry an African, and the constitution of the Cherokee Nation         
   forbade any offices to be held by any Africans.  This does not        
   discount that many relationships did occur, but the knowledge of      
   the true history should make us less cautious to label ourselves      
   as Indian, when we are truly African Americans who have a             
   connection to the nations, but as freedman.                           
                                                                         
        For myself, I find that genealogy is empowering in that the      
   connection to history, makes one comfortable with one's history.      
   It is through genealogy that the adage about "knowing where you       
   have been can show you where you are going."  I personally            
   believe this is true, and I encourage all to enter this wonder        
   excursion into family history.  I assure that you will emerge         
   with a stronger sense of self and pride in our African presence       
   in this country.                                                      
                                                                         
   CONCLUSION                                                            
                                                                         
        Many thanks Angela for sharing such a resourceful and            
   fascinating account on your family history and genealogy              
   experience with us!                                                   
                                                                         
        In closing we wish to provide you with the following list of     
   sources you can turn to for tracing your family history:              
   Family Records, Libraries, Census Records, Military Records,          
   Passenger Arrival Records, Land and Tax Records, Vital Records,       
   Probate Records, Deeds, Guardian Bonds, Note the spelling of          
   Names, County Boundaries, Family Bibles, Tombstone Records,           
   Newspapers, and Church Records.                                       
                                                                         
        In addition, the National Genealogical Society offers a home     
   study course entitled "American Genealogy:  A Basic Course", call     
   (703) 525-0050 for more information.                                  
                                                                         
        Well, that's a wrap.  Just wanted to mention that in your        
   search should you find information that may be distressing, take      
   it for what it's worth.  We are not responsible for the deeds of      
   our ancestors!                                                        
                                                                         
                                                                         
   RESOURCES/REFERENCES                                                  
                                                                         
   "Black Indian Genealogy Research.  African American Ancestors         
   Among the Five Civilized Tribes", by Angela Y. Walton-Raji,           
   Heritage Books, 1540E Pointer Ridge Place, Bowie, MD 20716            
   (301) 390-7709.                                                       
                                                                         
   "The Frontier Freedman's Journal", Angela Y. Walton-Raji,             
   Publisher, 6508 Woodbridge Circle, Baltimore, MD 21228-1126,          
   (410) 719-7899 [voice], (410) 788-0009 [fax].                         
                                                                         
   Home Study Course, National Genealogical Society, Glebe House,        
   4527 Seventeenth Street North, Arlington, VA 22207-2399, (703)        
   525-0050.                                                             
                                                                         
   ================================================================      
   Neil Vaughan (President) and Idette Vaughan (Vice President &         
   System Operator) of Renown Information, Inc., Founders of The         
   Blacknet BBS may be reached:  via U.S. Mail, Bowling Green            
   Station, P.O. Box 817, New York, NY 10274-0817, via voice (718)       
   951-9250; via fax (718) 377-3653; via BBS No.: (718) 692-0943;        
   via E-Mail Networks Node Addresses re: AfroNet 101:13/104,            
   Fidonet 1:278/206 and K12Net 1:278/618.                               
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