Highlights from Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s WikiTree Challenge

Question

Week 5 of The WikiTree Challenge was incredible!

In an amazing show of collaboration, challenge participants added 633 profiles to his branches. There were 22 new direct ancestors and 83 nuclear relatives of ancestors. Nine of the new ancestors were new to Dr. Gates!

Altogether, over 50 members made 2,276 edits to his ancestor profiles. Many did research while others worked on free-space profiles, categorization, and contributed in other ways.

Here are some highlights from our discoveries:

• Charles Kinnison Redman was one of the first Black students to attend Allegany High School in Cumberland, Maryland. Integration began in the fall of 1955.
• Many of Dr. Gates' ancestors worked at the Piedmont Paper Mill. You can read more about this mill on the page started by Eef van Hout.
• Dr Gates' great-great uncle Pero Mitchell was one of the nine men in his branches that served in the Union Army during the US Civil War.
• Charles Bruce and his family were owned as slaves by Abraham Vanmeter who emancipated Joe, Sarah and some of their children in his will in 1820. Those that weren't emancipated were heirs to Mrs. Elizabeth Vanmeter, who left them her entire estate, including over 1,600 acres of land.
• Sarah Susan (Hamilton) Redman was found in the 1870 census, which revealed a new set of parents: Thomas Hamilton & Ann Rebecca (Duke) Hamilton.
• Records indicate that James Redman and Elizabeth "Betsy" (Lowry) Redman may be the parents of David Redman.
• On Dr. Gates' tree the parents of Martha (Pogue) Myers are shown as George & Martha Pogue. Census records indicate that her mother may be Phoebe instead.
• Samuel Duke & Sally (Allen) Duke were found as new parents for Hannah Duke. See Hannah's profile, as multiple points of inferred evidence are discussed there. 

Team Captain: Emma MacBeath

MVP: Nan Starjak

Bounty Hunters: Nan Starjak • Mary Jensen • Elaine Weatherall • Nick Andreola • Maddy Hardman • Carol Keeling

Special Mention: Morgan Mulligan for all of her valuable contributions! Also, to Mary Jensen who was, up until the final hour, the MVP for the week. Thank you both!

For more information see the challenge scoring explanation and check out the week 5 statistics to see a summary of all the contributors.

If you missed the wrap-up LiveCast and want to see Dr. Gates' reaction to our endeavors, you can view it at any time on YouTube. Dr. Gates joined at the 30 minute mark.

Comments

See here how this challenge has brought us all closer together (in terms of connections, I'm not speaking of the amazing teamwork!)

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Through my Howard line, I'm 26 degrees from Henry Louis Gates.  Thanks to all for participating!

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My mother was a 1955 graduate of Allegany HS in Cumberland.  I just emailed to ask if she remembers Charles Kinnison Redman.  I'm pretty sure she still has her class yearbook, so I will try to get a photo of him.

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Update on the yearbook.  Mom checked her copies of the 1955 and 1956 yearbooks (called "Allegewi").  She says there is nobody named Redman shown, and indeed, no black students at all shown in the yearbooks.  I see there is an Ancestry link to the yearbook (and a photo, subscription required), so I don't know why there is an apparent discrepancy.

Answer 1

Thank you everyone. I watched the interview.  Good job all around.
You did a great job of managing the process Emma - and thank you for asking him!
It was so endearing when he wanted to call his wife to also appreciate the work that had been done.

Answer 2

Dr Gates, always says how rare and difficult it is to find information about enslaved ancestors. If he saw what I JUST found. I think he would fall off his chair!! :)

Myself, I am blown away!