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filler@godaddy.com
Dot connector-in-chief
Over the years, I have gone from casual Ancestry browser to full-bore family historian and genealogical investigator. From connecting adoptees with birth families to confirming parentage, I help folks get acquainted with their origin stories.
atlas of black ithaca
Part of my fascination with my family tree is the extent to which my family is so deeply of Ithaca – a place smack in the middle of New York State, whose Black population has narrowly exceeded five percent at most since its founding.
My maternal lines predominantly consist of Black and mixed folks that had only ever been from New York or the broader TriState region for far longer than I could have imagined. Meanwhile, my paternal lines are mostly Great Migration folks from Arkansas (by way of the Carolinas) & the DMV. In essence, I am the living union of these two distinct patches in the quilt that is the Black American story – one that we hear about quite often, while the other is dimly lit at best.
My mission is to understand and map my folks' stories; place us in context in the spirit of helping others do the same.
living history
My family tree now contains more than 6,000 people including dozens of confirmed DNA matches with common ancestors as far back as 4th great grandparents. My effort to archive my family and our community at large is very much a work in progress and a work in public – I invite Ithacans, past and present, to join me. Share your stories, images, dates, places, people – I'm here to gather and share it all, for us and our future generations.
Let's build together.