Page 8 - GCS & Clay County Publication

Genealogy: Church Records Tell A Story Of Members, The Institution, And Community
By Lillie Samuels
Recognition of family lines have continued since the beginning of time in the Bible. Chapters in the Old and New Testaments are dedicated to lineage that gives life to people and stories. The first book in the Bible, Genesis, introduces us to Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel and includes lineage. Churches take part in genealogy by embracing families and recognizing how they relate(d) to the community. In addition, historical church records include events, activities, and photos of members.
Even before states were mandated to record vital records, churches were asked to keep track of vital events in their local population and report them to a central church authority. Churches also kept records of baptisms, christenings, marriage, burials, and their membership. Collectively, these records carry value in researching family history by assisting us in telling life stories including participations made for the advancement of the church, and community. Every entry produces mental images of events and roles of our ancestors that help to define their beliefs, character, and accomplishments. Knowing how our ancestors interacted adds to understanding who they were. Archived files also tell the important history and story of the church. Just as we seek to develop the story of our ancestors, we must strive to seek and document the same for the church. Securing these important and historical documents provides a chance to develop the church history and membership.
For African Americans, church documents play a major role in piecing together what was purposely taken away in many instances. A brief overview of the African American journey includes captivity, holding, Middle Passage to the Americas, sales at auction, oppression, dehumanization, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights Era. Many files were distorted or remain uncovered. To some degree, these events continue today. Despite this travesty, we are strong, stand tall, and carry great pride for our culture.
Mending pieces and rebuilding is challenging but it has built an inner strength, purpose, belonging, and a growing determination to uncover and document our cultural story and miraculous survival. In addition to church documents, family records and public records from federal, state, county, and organizations are part of our main resources. These records provide clues that introduce us to ancestors and enhance our family and community knowledge. Each clue motivates a continued path to seeking and finding more.
We undergo the same process to tell the church story from its beginnings and throughout its existence. Depending on how long the church was established, there could have been several pastors, membership lists, events, ministries, and achievements. Journals, documents, and photos are invaluable to gather, organize, and document information that enhance the story and history of the church. Member contributions complete the whole church story because of actions needed to carry out ideas and plans. Many details can be forgotten if not recorded. Yet, it is never too late to continue, start gathering, and record past and present church transactions.
In the poem, On the Pulse of Morning by Maya Angelou, she wrote, “History, despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” Inner strength and determination give us the courage to rebuild the past. We learn from our past and that creates a healing sense of justice. Our story is not over, but in fact, is in its early beginnings. Collectively, every single story of individuals, families, and institutions add to documenting our journey. Strive to uncover hidden pasts and share your findings that help mend pieces of our story back together again. Each document is a catalyst to uncover,
document, share, and publish to further strengthen the fiber of the African American community as part of the communities where we live.
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Lillie Samuels began family research in 1984.
She serves as President of Afro American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) Tampa Chapter. Lillie published Evergreen Cemetery, Beaumont, Texas and
is working on the second edition