Selected Past Meetings/Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2021‑24 2015‑20 2010‑14 2004‑09 |
| Mar 2024 | Mary Chamberlin, an amateur genealogist, gave a talk on "Identifying African-Americans Who Lived and Worked at Hundley Hall" (virtual). |
| Jan 2024 | Dr. Alan S. Taylor, a specialist in the early history of the United States and a professor at the University of Virginia, gave a presentation on his book, "The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832" (virtual). |
| Sep 2023 | Karice Luck-Brimmer, an Education & Community Initiatives program associate for Virginia Humanities, gave a presentation on "Tracing Our Ancestors' Footprints" (virtual). |
| Jul 2023 | Adrienne G. Whaley, the Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, gave a presentation on "Finding Freedom: Exploring the stories of African American men and women in war-torn Virginia" (virtual). |
| May 2023 | Dr. Tonita Ross-Dozier, Program Coordinator for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) PWC Digital Learning Lab, gave a presentation on the National Museum of African American History and Culture's Digital Learning Lab (PWC) during the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting (virtual). |
| Mar 2023 | Ms. Ashley R. Craig, Community Outreach Specialist for The Library of Virginia, gave a presentation entitled, "Finding Your Roots at the Library of Virginia" during the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting (virtual). |
| Sep 2022 | Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy gave a presentation entitled, "An Introduction to the International African American Museum's Center for Family History" during a joint virtual meeting of the AAGHS-Hampton Roads and MPAAGHS. |
| Jul 2022 | Mr. John M. Johnson, author of A Death Mob Gathered: The Lynching of Raymond Arthur Byrd, gave a presentation of the book during the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting (virtual). |
| Jun 2022 | Tuskegee Airman Lieutenant Colonel Harry T. Stewart, Jr., USAF, Ret, was interviewed by Colonel Karen L. Ray, ANC, Ret, as a part of MPAAGHS's monthly meeting (virtual). LTC Stewart is one of the few surviving members of World War II's 332nd Fighter Group, a group of African-American military airmen formed during the era's culture of unit segregation by race and commonly known as the Tuskegee Airmen. |
| Mar 2022 | Ms. Rosalyn Green gave a presentation entitled, "From My Grandmother's Oral History to an Article: Strategies for Researching and Recording Your Family's Oral History" during the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting (virtual). |
| Jan 2022 | Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy gave a presentation entitled, "Are You Ready? Prepping for the 1950 Federal Population Census" during the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting (virtual). |
| Nov 2021 | Bessida Cauthorne White, President of the Society, gave a presentation entitled, "DNA 101: An Introduction to Genetic Genealogy" during the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting (virtual). |
| Sep 2021 | Mr. Ric Murphy gave a presentation about the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage (SDUSMP), a lineage society for descendants of individuals enslaved in English colonial America and the United States of America from 1619 to 1865 during the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting (virtual). |
| July 2021 | Reverend Dr. J. Elisha Burke gave a presentation entitled, "SACRED SPACES: Preservation of African American Churches, Cemeteries, Historic Structures, Associated Land and Landmarks " during the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting (virtual). |
| Mar 2021 | Allison Thomas and Maria Montgomery gave a presentation entitled, "How Gwynn's Island Came to be Known as the ‘White Man's Paradise’" during the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting (virtual). |
| Jan 2021 | Dr. Julie Sullivan-Detheridge, author of Against the Tide: The Turbulent Times of a Black Entrepreneur, gave a presentation of the book during the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting (virtual). |
| 2020 | 2021‑24 2015‑20 2010‑14 2004‑09 |
| Nov 2020 | Kamilah Stinnett, Hannah Scruggs, and Lisa Crawley, all genealogy reference assistants at the Robert F. Smith Explore Your Family History Center, shared methods of researching African American family history beyond 1870 into the era of slavery using a variety of techniques, record types, and case studies from Virginia and Alabama. The Center is part of the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. This presentation took place during the virtual monthly meeting of MPAAGHS. |
| Nov 2019 | MPAAGHS held a workshop "Views of Slavery in Virginia: Informing Your Ancestor Search". There were two presentations. The first, "Middle Passages: Enslaved Migration To, Within, and Out of Virginia", was given by Dr. Phillip Troutman, Director of Writing in the Disciplines, Assistant Professor at The George Washington University. The second, "Hear the Ancestors Speak: Slavery Accounts from Library of Virginia Records", was given by Greg Crawford, Local Records Program Manager, Library of Virginia. |
| Feb 2019 | Mr. Wayne Karl Driver, author of The Road Back to Route 606: The History of the Driver Family From Gloucester County, Virginia, gave a presentation of the book at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Nov 2018 | Ms. Vanessa D. Porter, Clerk of the Circuit Court of King and Queen County, gave a presentation on "Genealogy Research in the Courthouse" at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Mar 2018 | "The Hail-Storm: John Dabney in Virginia", a new documentary film about John Dabney, a long-forgotten Virginia culinary legend was shown at the Historic Middlesex Courthouse in Saluda, VA. |
| Mar 2018 | Dr. King Davis, Professor of Research in the School of Information and African American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, gave a presentation on "Records of the Central Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane" at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Jan 2018 | Renate Yarborough Sanders, an experienced genealogist with more than 20 years experience, gave a presentation, "One Slave - Many Owners: Following the Path of My Formerly-Enslaved Ancestor - A Case Study" at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Nov 2017 | Bessida Cauthorne White, President of MPAAGHS gave a presentation, "DNA 101: An Introduction to Genetic Genealogy" at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Sep 2017 | An African American Genealogy Conference with the theme "Virginia: Where African American Genealogy and History Begin" was held at the Library of Virginia (Richmond, Virginia). |
| Jun 2017 | MPAAGHS members conducted a panel discussion about creating church histories at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| May 2017 | Gayle Jessup White, Community Engagement Officer at Monticello gave a presentation, "Slavery at Monticello: Telling the Complete Story"at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Mar 2017 | Dr. Phillip Troutman, Assistant Professor of Writing and of History at The George Washington University gave a presentation, "The Second Middle Passage: the Domestic Slave Trade out of Virginia, 1790-1865" at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Nov 2016 | Marvin T. Jones, Executive Director of Chowan Discovery Group gave a presentation on the Winton Triangle (NC) at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Sep 2016 | A presentation on GEDmatch, an online genetic genealogy tool was given at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Apr 2016 | A discussion on Getting Started on Researching Your Family Tree took place at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Mar 2016 | MPAAGHS visited the Library of Virginia in Richmond to view the Emancipation exhibition, Remaking Virginia: Transformation through Emancipation. |
| Feb 2016 | Michelle Taylor, a 2015 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), will discuss her ancestral ties to Montpelier, the home of President James Madison, at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Dec 2015 | Author Pauline Mansfield discussed her recently released book (Songs of a Father), a biography of her father, renowned tenor Emanuel Mansfield at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Sep 2015 | MPAAGHS visited Gwynn’s Island Museum and Gwynn’s Island Civic Center in historic Gwynn's Island, Virginia. |
| Jun 2015 | Discussion of Genetic Genealogy at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Mar 2015 | "To Be Sold: The American Slave Trade from Virginia to New Orleans" Symposium was held in both the Library of Virginia (Richmond, Virginia) and The Historic New Orleans Collection (New Orleans, Louisiana). Panelists in both Richmond and New Orleans made reference to their publications and others. |
| Mar 2015 | Pamela B. Williams, veteran Reunion Planner, conducted an African-American Family Reunion Workshop at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Feb-Apr 2015 | Funeral programs were sought from the community to add to an online database hosted by FamilySearch.org |
| 2014 | 2021‑24 2015‑20 2010‑14 2004‑09 |
| Nov 2014 | MPAAGHS held a workshop "Celebrating 10 Years of Exploring, Connecting, and Documenting African-American Families". Highlighting the activities were the presentations by two speakers from the Library of Virginia: Cara Griggs, Reference Archivist and Greg Crawford, Local Records Program Manager. |
| Oct 2014 | MPAAGHS members met at the King and Queen Courthouse Tavern Museum in King and Queen Court House, VA for a meeting and tour of the museum. |
| May, Jun 2014 | Funeral Programs Indexing Project |
| Feb 2014 | College of William and Mary anthropologist Michael Blakey presented his Remembering Slavery, Resistance and Freedom Project and its search for historic African-American cemeteries throughout Virginia. David Brown, archaeologist and Co-director of the Gloucester-based Fairfield Foundation, described the cemetery component of the Foundation’s work in the Middle Peninsula. This Black History Month Program was co-sponsored by the Middlesex County Museum & Historical Society, Inc. and the Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical & Historical Society. The meeting was held at the Historic Courthouse in Saluda, VA. |
| Jan 2014 | Meg Hughes and Jackie Mullins of the Valentine Richmond History Center gave a presentation on "Preserving Paper, Photographs, and Textiles" at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at the Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Dec 2013 | Genealogist, blogger, and lay historian Percy E. White II gave a presentation on "My Road to the Past and Present" at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at the Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Jun 2013 | MPAAGHS member Dr. Alvin C. Lomax gave a presentation on the Negro Organization Society at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at the Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Apr 2013 | Authors Camilla Lewis Tramuel and LaVonne Patterson Allen discussed their new book, Early African Americans in New Kent County, Volume I, Early Education - Colored Schools, at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at the Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Feb 2013 | Ron Mihills gave a presentation on the genealogy software, Family Tree Maker at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at the Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| May 2012 | MPAAGHS members visited the historic Jubilee Farm in King William, VA. |
| Apr 2012 | MPAAGHS members met in Deltaville, VA and visted Fishing Bay Estates, Stingray Point, and the Deltaville Maritime Museum. |
| Feb 2012 | The Northern Neck Chantey Singers performed at the Saint Clare Middle School in Locust Hill, VA. |
| Feb 2012 | Brent Morgan spoke on the release of the 1940 Census at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting. The meeting was held at the Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Nov 2011 | MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting at the Middlesex County Museum & Historical Society, Inc. in Saluda, VA. |
| May 2011 | MPAAGHS members visited the FamilySearch Center of Tappahannock, VA. |
| Mar 2011 | MPAAGHS members visited the Library of Virginia and The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. |
| Jun 2010 | Sarah Dillard Pope of The Menokin Foundation addressed the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting at the Essex Public Library in Tappahannock, VA. |
| May 2010 | MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting at the Middlesex County Museum & Historical Society, Inc. in Saluda, VA. |
| Apr 2010 | Funeral Progam Project Reception at the MPAAGHS Monthly Meeting at the old Beale Baptist Church in Tappahannock, VA. |
| Mar 2010 | The Voices of Freedom "Living History" Program at Angel Visit Baptist Church in Dunnsville, VA. (map) |
| 2009 | 2021‑24 2015‑20 2010‑14 2004‑09 |
| Oct 2009 | The deadline for the Funeral Programs Project was extended to November 1, 2009. |
| Oct 2009 | The MPAAGHS 5th Anniversary Workshop took place at Angel Visit Baptist Church in Dunnsville, Virginia. Earlier in the day, the Final Collection Time for Funeral Programs Project took place. |
| Mar 2009 | Field Trip to King and Queen Court House tour of Circuit Court record room conducted by Vanessa Porter, Deputy Circuit Court Clerk. Tour of King and Queen County Courthouse Tavern Museum conducted by Ellen White. |
| Feb 2009 | The Essex Public Library invited MPAAGHS to create a display for Black History Month 2009. The group created a genealogy exhibition that was on display during February and March 2009. |
| Oct 2008 | Field trip to the King William County Museum tour conducted by Alvin C. Lomax |
| Jun 2008 | Celebration of the 105th birthday of Meta Dishman, of King and Queen County, VA |
| Mar 2008 | "Remembering Together: Stories of Obstacles and Opportunity" an oral history practicum facilitated Dr. Barbara Finkelstein, Director Oral History in Education Institute, University of Maryland, College Park |
| Feb 2008 | "How to Collect Oral Histories" Speaker - Christina Draper Director, Virginia African-American Heritage Program Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy, Charlottesville |
| Jan 2008 | Special presentation of vintage photograph of St. John’s Baptist Church by Thomas C. Harris |
| Mar 2007 | "Preserving Works on Paper"
Speaker - paper conservator Susan Butler-Walters |
| Feb 2007 | "Virginia Freedmen Indexing Project" Speakers - Darrell Walden and Bessida Cauthorne White Article - Reconstructing African-American Roots (1 MB) |
| Dec 2006 | "Family Wisdom: Celebrating 200+ Years of Love and Strength in an African-American Family" talk and book signing with author, Howard Adams |
| Jun 2006 | Field trip - J. C. Graves Museum, Walkerton, VA tour by museum director Nannie Banks Taylor |
| Apr 2006 | "The Line that Leads to You: Telling Your Family Story in Fabric" Speaker - fabric artist Janice Williams |
| Feb 2006 | "Protecting and Preserving Family Collections" Speaker - Edward D. C. "Kip" Campbell Director, Collection Management Services The Library of Virginia |
| Dec 2005 | "Using Family Tree Maker Software" Speaker - Bessida Cauthorne White, assisted by Ronnie Sidney |
| Dec 2005 | Dedication of William Moore Highway Marker |
| Nov 2005 | MPAAGHS is featured in a front-page-of-section story in the Newport News Daily Press |
| Oct 2005 | "Use of County Court Records in Genealogical Research" Speaker - Carolyn Clark, Deputy Clerk, Essex County Circuit Court |
| Jun 2005 | Field Trip to The Library of Virginia |
| May 2005 | "Research of Seven King William County, Virginia African-American Families" Speaker - Alvin C. Lomax |
| Mar 2005 | "Whispers from the Dust: The Freedmen Records and African-American Family History" Speakers - Darrell Walden and Roice Luke |
| Feb 2005 | "Tips for Researching Free People of Color" Speaker - Gloria Waller |
| Jan 2005 | "Tips for Searching Family Trees" Speaker - Bessida Cauthorne White |
| Dec 2004 | Panel discussion, "History of the Rappahannock Industrial Academy" panelists included Thomas Harris, Ruth Corbin Morris, and Laura Jane Wyatt Tildon |
| Sep 2004 | Organizing Meeting |