Willette Bryant's Page

Hi Willette:
New computer, new operating systems (x2 or 3, depending on how you count), new network ... all have had me mostly offline since Halloween.
Will track down the death certificate repository details and report back. --GJ

Hi Willette:
I viewed the page, "Collections"; didn't spot any collections from Arkansas or Mississippi. They do have a set of private "communities" (by private, I mean that only subscribers can view the posts). Personally, I've never understood "private" query boards. When we write a query, we want the world to know about it! If it's private, only that small group of members will have access.

My 2 cents--I don't think this is a resource is likely to pay dividends for you over and above what you can access at FamilySearch.org (free).

Hi Willette:
I haven't used the peoplefinder and don't subscribe to Intelius. I do use the free options from www.whitepages.com, to locate phone numbers.

Hi Willette:
Happy to look at that entry, believe I've looked at him before. While it's not in the research log, I've thought he might be one of the men listed in the WWI draft list that we did post to the challenge (Don't believe I put that list in the log; it's one you'll have to add.)
As you know, it's usually hard to make connections from a single census entry, especially when there is a gap of many years. ---Ala, that's the reason to "log" items as things that "might be relevant" if you developed more information.
We are so in need of more instances of the parents names from records other than census (because census are notorious for spelling anomolies; in my opinion, this is especially true for African American census entries) .
More in a bit. .--GJ

Am I correct that you have a private family tree at Ancestry? Some suggestions:
(1) If you want to keep your existing tree private, consider setting up a public tree for your Lomax line. (And...use the spelling Lomax in that public tree.) You have lots of source references now, too! Based on the all the queries I read over the weekend, there are many Lomax researchers trying to connect African American Lomax families.
Let me know if you have any troubles opening up the Research Log (MS Word file). See page 10 of the research log for 1930 census of Lillie A. Wilson ... by that time, Freddie is divorced as "Freddie Slaughter.
I'm going to post that time to your challenge in a few minutes. See notes from yesterday's interviews on pages 11, 12, etc. I thought the deed and mortgage notes were very positive.
(2) If some of the records "might" exist in the hands of family members, whether at Washington or elsewhere, try, try to locate same.
(3) You wrote (at the challenge) that your sisters were born "there." Do you know the name of the county where they were born? Was it San Joaquin? Your sisters are living, so I'm not encouraging their names be published at the Most Wanted board (nor do I think names of living persons should be published in family trees); however, I'll send you a private message in the hope we can find their entries in California Birth Index. (There were 10 Bryant's born at San Joaquin 1863-1965. The details about their births may ultimately help you to locate the divorce record that reports your father's first wife's name and, if born at California, the birth record of the other child who was born to him by that first wife.
(3) Knowing that the African American cemeteries aren't indexed suggests the time that would have been spent trying to track down the county cemeteries and/or films would be better spent seeking volunteers who might find the cemetery and arrange to photograph the tombstones.
Hope you'll keep up the research log! More later. --GJ

Hi Willette:
I posted an Item about RAOGK to your challenge. Here's the message you might send:

Brenda:
Thank you for all you do as a RAOGK volunteer.
Hoping you can help me learn if an obituary or death notice was published for Bert Cammon/Cammons; his entry in California Death Index, 1940-1997 (Ancestry.com [Bert Cammon]) reports he died 11 Dec 1958 at San Joaquin County, California.
Thanks in advance for any assistance you are able to provide. --Willette.

Posted a query in "our" name (as reply to John Lomax) at Genforum. See
http://genforum.genealogy.com/lomax/messages/716.html

Willette:
This date I spoke to the Monroe Co., Arkansas County Clerk of Circuit Court, Alice Smith, and also to Bill Sayger, Central Delta Depot Museum, Brinkley, Arkansas. Will post comments to your challenge; however, Bill knows a one indexed Lomax grave and several other unindexed Lomax graves. He mentioned and we confirmed that Louis Jordan's wife (wiki calls her Flossy Moore, Jordan's childhood sweetheart) had been previously married to a Lomax! (See her 1930 census entry, neighboring Prairie Co, Arkansas, indexed as Flossy Lomax, ae 20; she was then a widow).