Question

African American Project News

June 2019

The African American Project is a sub-project of the United States Project. This project is ideal for anyone who likes a genealogical challenge and is interested in American history.

Profile of the Month:

Lieutenant Henry Ossain Flipper (He is not connected. Can you help?)

Lieutenant Henry Ossain Flipper was the first African-American graduate of West Point Military Academy. Born near Thomasville, Georgia on March 21, 1856, Henry O. Flipper rose to prominence as the first African American graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1877. Despite being born into slavery to Festus, a shoemaker, and Isabella Flipper, Henry was reared in a family that emphasized excellence, and he and his younger brothers all became respected members of their communities as a military officer, AME bishop, physician, college professor, and farmer...

The Mission:

• To collect in one place information and resources to assist in building and documenting African-American Genealogies.
• To bring together WikiTreers interested in connecting African-American families to the Global Family Tree.
• To improve the profiles of the people who emigrated and the people who were forced to emigrate from Africa to North America, specifically the United States.
• To provide and maintain a logical and organized structure and to create a method to link unconnected family trees in a way to help individuals identify and celebrate their history. It's incredibly difficult for most families to go back further than the Civil War, but that doesn't mean they can't connect to the tree laterally in modern times.

What are some of the things we are working on:

• Creating profiles for persons enumerated in the 1870 US Federal Census in Horry County, South Carolina.
• Adding profiles for soldiers that served with the 54^th and 55^th Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War.
• Creating profiles for individuals who lived in Maryland, Virginia, and the “Little Dixie” area of Missouri.

It would be totally awesome if someone would lend a hand and try to connect some of the soldiers who served in the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantry during the upcoming Connect-a-Thon.

54th Massachusetts Infantry (Colored), American Civil War

55th Massachusetts Infantry (Colored), American Civil War

Comments

Dear Lucy,

   I was able to add a few family members for Henry.  No connection yet.   A couple sources indicate Henry O. Flipper's mother's maiden name was BUCKHALTER.  Maybe someone who knows the Atlanta, Georgia area can check that out.  I'll keep looking for a bit.  -NGP

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Thank you Nanette!

Answer 1

just an fyi, while trying to connect Stevenson's to the global tree, I came across this profile, a soldier in 29th Regiment, Connecticut Infantry (Colored), Civil War

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stevenson-1977

click through to his FAG for a picture "A photograph featuring John and the Cazenovia branch of the GAR was featured on History Detectives on PBS."

I was unable to connect him to the global tree.

Comments

if you connect John Stevenson, you also connect 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Robbins-2464

a member of the 55th Massachusetts Infantry.

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You know, that is one of the things that bothers me, is that so many Buffalo Soldiers and Civil War soldiers have no known relatives and did not have children. I'm going to have to collect these "alternative" sources for future reference.