Today I received the coolest surprise — a blog comment to my Rensler’s 150 post from John STEWARD, who not only has Rensler images of his Ancestors, but also images of he and his brother captured at the historic Cincinnati photography studio!

The fact that like me, John’s Ancestors made the trek from Alabama (Hope Hull, Lowndes County) to Cincinnati AND that he too has family in Kentucky only adds to my curiosity! You just never know when a new cousin will appear, right?

So with permission, I share John’s Rensler Photography images and the family details he provided earlier.

John’s blog comments…

John Steward & Brother

Here’s praying that John finds family connections and that one day, he and I both have the opportunity to chase more of our Ancestors through the remaining 20K+ Rensler artifacts!:-)

Nothing like a good Ancestor mystery and Rensler inspiration to shake things up! I’ll keep y’all posted!:-)

Luckie.

My Lord, without a doubt there is no single person who had a greater impact on my life than Anbownes. There is no person’s absence, that I miss more.

She was a firm, honest, no-nonsense straight-shooter. She was everything you dislike as a child and everything you come to respect and admire as an adult.

She was the personification of honor. People spoke [and speak] of her with reverence.

My Grandmother was regal in appearance, always impeccably dressed, with the most beautiful, pecan hued hands and fingernails I’ve ever seen. There are moments when I seem to catch a hint of her gardenia scent. There are MANY days when I miss the sound of her deep, husky voice singed from many years of smoking.

Her love and loyalty were the rock we all –especially my Mom– held on to and truth be told, Mom started leaving us the day Anbownes transitioned.

I know now, what I didn’t quite understand then… watching a good Mother leave you is the hardest life challenge any child will face. It is impossible to sustain this kind of separation (not loss) and not be permanently changed.

By example, Anbownes and Mom taught a scared (and clueless) child how to Mother her Son. And though hurt by my circumstance, she never faltered in support. Because she stood by me, I am the woman I am today.

Once during her daily bath, she told me that if she were a millionaire, she could not have had better care. Those words comfort me now. I know without a doubt, she knew that I loved her.

I was with Anbownes to the very end, standing beside her when she transitioned. And when she “went home”, I began a new journey — across a bridge — to become a me that I could be proud of; a me that was more like her.

When you’re weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all

I’m on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can’t be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

In honor of Fannie Louella Jackson Barwick, Anbownes, my bridge over troubled water — both then and now.

I love you.

Luckie.

P.S. Bownes, how am I doin’?!:-)

[Image source: Fannie Jackson Barwick age 18 yrs old ~ 1938; Wife of William C. Barwick]

I attended this BARWICK Family Reunion in Dothan, Alabama but failed to capture any Oral History to aid my family research today. I was too busy complaining about the summer heat and lack of things to do!

Amazing, the gift of being young and clueless — you miss treasured opportunities that may not come your way again!:-(

Pictured — Siblings, Elizabeth Ella and Willie C. BARWICK aka E (my Grandfather) with Mary WESTMORELAND BARWICK (wife of Cleveland and Grandmother of Cousin Glenza) in the middle.

E was always impeccably dressed in a suit, tie and hat! Handsome ain’t he?!:-)

Looking forward to meeting Cousin Glenza and family in Cincinnati this July!

Thank God for aging and wisdom!:-)

Luckie.

To this day, My Great Grandmother, Lena Mae McKENZIE BARWICK is the gentlest, sweetest woman I’ve ever known.

Born 9 March 1902 in Lewisville, Alabama to Ella Mae MARTIN and Joseph James McKENZIE, I remember most her deep faith in God and her ability to quote biblical scripture at will.

I still chuckle at the thought of returning to Cincinnati in 1995 with a severe Caesar cut (yes — I’d shaved all the curls down to a barely visible shadow), and being informed by my Grandma that there was no shame in a wig — God would respect my crown anyway he could get it!:-)

I still marvel at the strength both of my Great Grandmothers possessed. Both survived poverty and less than easy Husbands, yet remained steadfast in God and Family. Never appearing to waiver.

Like most of the Barwick/McKenzie women, Grandma was blessed with long-life, transitioning on 11 March 2002, at the age of 100 years old.

The poem below, was written by my older Brother, William, for her 100th Birthday and was read at her Home Going Service.

How timely that it would be presented here today on this Sentimental Easter Sunday 2010, as my Barwick timestamp for Grandma’s Hand…

I think about my Grandma
and I think of loving hands,
Two hands that do their best
to carry out the Lord’s commands…
Two hands that clap in joy fullness
while she joins in a song,
Two hands that hug and comfort,
as she passes love along…
Two hands that are my Grandma’s
that have always done their part
To spread the love of Jesus,
so abiding in her heart.
I think about you. Grandma,
and I see a gentle model of the kind
of life that everyone should live…
You’ve built a strong foundation on the
solid ground of faith in God by always giving
all that you can give.
I thank you for the joy you are to all the
family members and for being just what
you were meant to be,
A person full of dignity,
of love and laughter for the Lord —
a Grandma who means everything to me.

Happy Birthday, With Love
Written by Great Grandson, William Marshall

With all my heart, I love and miss you Grandma.

Luckie.

[Note: Image of Grandma, Lena Mae Barwick McKenzie, with my Cousin, Ralph Byrd. Although the year is unknown, knowing my Grandma, she was dressed for church!:-]

Flavious and Great Aunt Hannah BARWICK SLAUGHTER on their Wedding Day!

I am so excited to be preparing for a visit this weekend with Aunt Hannah (age 90 years old)! This will be the first time she’s seen baby Jaiya Devi and I know that she is VERY anxious to spend time with Mom.

Don’t worry, I go equipped with portable scanner and can’t wait to get my hands on her coveted picture stash! Who knows what I’ll return with!:-)

Wish us safe travel…

Luckie.

Willie Charles Barwick ~ my Maternal Grandfather

Most of you don’t know that I am in the process of purchasing 150 glass-plate negatives from the historic Rensler’s Photography Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Willie Charles Barwick

Rensler’s opened its doors in the early 1900’s and closed-up shop in 1989. With the closing of the family-owned studio, thousands of historic images and/or glass-plate negatives were sold.

Many named images with associated records, from the years 1950-1989, went to Cincinnati Historical Society. These images live in storage, uncatalogued and totally unavailable to the community.

Hannah Barwick

Thousands of unidentified images, pre-1950, were sold to Cincinnati locals and I am working with two of these gentlemen to identify and purchase 150 African-American Rensler images from the earliest years through 1950.

Elizabeth {Ella} Barwick

Why do I care? Aside from having a soft-spot for unnamed Ancestors, my Georgia and Alabama lines intersected in Cincinnati by way of my Maternal Grandparents, Fannie Louella JACKSON and William Charles BARWICK.

Lena Barwick

At the time, Rensler’s was one of the few studios willing to photograph African-American people, so over the years my family often turned to the studio to capture special moments. My cherished 1930 Catie WINGFIELD DORSEY Rensler image allowed me to see my 4th Grandmother for the first time and the BARWICK siblings original Rensler images {seen throughout this post} from the late 1930s are my prized possession!

Yes, I’m hoping my purchase of the unknown, will reveal more of my missing family to me. However, should I receive 150 Ancestors with no ancestral connection to me, I will be just as content.

James & Mary Barwick

I will believe whoever comes to me was intended to and I will honor them by sharing them with the genealogy community in the hope they can be identified and eventually returned to their loved one.

We shall see what happens… I’m uber-excited to say the least!:-)

Also expect future updates on the larger effort underway by me and a few Genea-Friends, to preserve the several thousand remaining glass-plate negatives.

A descendants work is never done…

Luckie.

[Note: Both Great Aunt Hannah and Lena are still living in Cincinnati. I hope to travel there to see them this month!:-]

The Barwick Sisters, all five – Aunts Lena, Dorothy, Ella, Helen and Hannah.

Cousin Glenza, this is for you because I know how badly you wish to see the living Sisters {Lena, Hannah & Helen}.

Looking forward to July 2010.

Luckie.

It has truly been a SUPER-busy but blessed week for me! Seems like my formal name change on Tuesday switched on a light & I’ve been in motion ever since — putting my promises of progress/change in 2010 to action.

At the top of my list – honoring my commitment to the LowCountry Africana team to provide coordination support for the collection of Georgia [Low-Country] records.

Well I’m happy to report, early this morning in the wee-hours, the LowCountry Africana – Georgia Records Collection went live! Yep, that’s right — we’re gearing up to kick some Georgia genealogy *brick wall* booty!:-)

In the upcoming months I’ll take on several genealogy projects that will have a deep impact and benefit to the African-American researcher tracing slave ancestry in Georgia — trust me. And as part of my genealogy commitment for 2010, I’ll continue to assist descendants of slave holding families with sharing their Ancestors slave data.

This work is essential to connecting our collective “genea-dots” and bringing historical peace to our Ancestors.

For my Friends and Family who have supported me here at Our Georgia Roots for almost 2 yrs now (wow – that long?!) – THANK YOU. One day you will know, in full transparency, just how much I depended on this community to pull me through one of the toughest periods of my life.

But let me also challenge you to keep up the work of supporting genealogy blogs as a whole, and Slave/African-American Ancestry-based dialogues specifically.

As a community, we have a lot of “catch-up” work to do and a very unique task that differs from the average researcher — that of researching the slave AND the respective slave holder.

We must TALK, we must SHARE, we must CONNECT and while I love OGR @ Twitter, it is your support on the blog(s) that has posterity. Tweets are what they are meant to be — brief, fleeting connection points.

Support of a blog and/or community, not only encourages the author, it binds him/her to the community and many times is instrumental in beating down a long-standing brick wall.

So please, if you are not blogging – head to Blogger.com now, you’ll be live in MINUTES. If you are not sharing — jump in to the conversation now. If you are not documenting — pick up the pen, paper or mouse now and get busy!

Our Ancestors have waited long enough to have their memories revived and stories shared. Don’t allow you, the chosen Griot of your family to be the barrier in their way.

Now, enough lectures — go read LCA Georgia Collections Launches! Time To Work! cause we’re gonna shake the tree at the root Baby and gather a bounty of Genea-fruit!:-)

Luckie.
@LCAfricanaGA

The last two living BARWICK siblings, Aunts Hannah and Lena BARWICK.

Aunt Hannah will turn 90 yrs. old on Dec 28th!:-)

Luckie.

Color guard consisting of African Americans Corporal Gilbert Henderson, Staff Sergeant Edward W. Malone, and Sergeant John Pierce, Antiaircraft Artillery and Guided Missiles Center, Fort Bliss, Texas, July 25, 1946.

Honoring our Veterans of past and present, lest we forget…

Luckie.

[Image Source: NYPL, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture / Photographs and Prints Division]