NOW TAKING NEW INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS!

COMPLETED: The Cottage Hill Reparational Genealogy Project, Huntington NY

Never think that racism and enslavement somehow weren’t as bad in New York as they were in the Deep South. We’re uncovering the proof.

“Crow Hill” was a disparaging nickname given to Cottage Hill, a neighborhood in Huntington occupied by the formerly enslaved and their descendants. We’re restoring the proper name in our work, but not ignoring the racism of the White residents who found it necessary to be that racist, even about the name of a neighborhood.

The Cottage Hill Reparational Genealogy Project is an informal collaboration with my cousin and the Huntington Town Historian. My cousin is a Huntington native who shares my interest in reparational work. He’s doing the newspaper research, and I am doing the genealogy. Together, we are building a carefully-documented tree for one large, extended community of mixed African, European and Native American descent, and making it available on FamilySearch.

The elders in these linked families were enslaved, and the stories they told to the newspapers describe the violence of enslavement in the area. We are bringing these lines down to the present day, and improving the historic representation of People of Color from Long Island, NY in the FamilySearch one-world family tree, with free access for all.

Living Reparational Clients/Collaborators

Bill W.

Found both biological parents using AncestryDNA
Researched tree back to earliest enslaved ancestors on Ancestry
Expanded Ancestry tree to include ancillary lines
Located living cousins so that client could establish family contact
Connected client with social media resources related to his parents’ areas of origin
Transferred research to FamilySearch.
PROJECT COMPLETED.

Donovan H.

Researched tree back to earliest enslaved ancestors on Ancestry
Expanded ancillary ancestral lines
Conferred with client on his own concurrent research of local records
Transferred research to FamilySearch.
PROJECT COMPLETED.

Davetta W.

Researched tree back to earliest enslaved ancestors on Ancestry
Traced two ancestors to membership in the same USCT unit
Transferred research to FamilySearch.
PROJECT COMPLETED.

Elxenia J.

Researched paternal lines to earliest enslaved ancestors on Ancestry
Currently awaiting maternal data from client
Currently transferring research to FamilySearch.
Researched tree back to earliest enslaved ancestors on Ancestry
Expanded ancillary ancestral lines

Currently transferring research to FamilySearch.

Marian C.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Laken R.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Andrew W.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Roberta C.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Shae W.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Shameka A.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Rhonda B.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Gerri G.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Robert C.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Marilyn N.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Lisa T.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Karen W.

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Che’venna D.

PAUSED researching deceased ancestors in Ancestry.
PAUSED transferring ancestors to FamilySearch.

Joi M.

Currently researching deceased ancestors in Ancestry.
Transferring ancestors to FamilySearch.
Awaiting results of DNA test.

Lynching Victims, 1619 – Present

Lifting the names and shedding light on the lives of those whose death overshadowed their human identities

Kalief & Venida Browder

Researched maternal line back to earliest enslaved ancestors on Ancestry
Currently transferring research to FamilySearch
Currently working with siblings to discover their biological parents.

Isaac McGhie

Started tree with very little data; research stalled.

Maurice Stallard

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Hayes & Mary Turner

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Elmer Jackson

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Elias Clayton

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Ruby McCollum

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Harriette & Henry Moore

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Ledell Lee

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Will Brown

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Raymond Byrd

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.
Transferring research to FamilySearch.

Trayvon Martin

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Jesse Washington

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Sank Majors

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

James Reeb (white)

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Vickie Jones

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Famous People in the Black Community

Madam Nellie Jackson

Researched tree back to earliest enslaved ancestors
Expanded ancillary ancestral lines
Transferred most of research to FamilySearch.

Claddis Reevers

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Estelle Hurst (white)

Currently researching to reach deceased ancestors on Ancestry.

Recy Corbitt Taylor

Expanded ancillary ancestral lines
Transferred research to FamilySearch.
PROJECT COMPLETED.

Florence Griffith Joyner

Researched tree back to earliest enslaved ancestors on Ancestry
Researched tree back to earliest maternal ancestors
Expanding ancillary ancestral lines
Researching paternal ancestors
Currently transferring ancestors to FamilySearch