That Ol' Newspaper

We as family historians and genealogists, spend hours, weeks, months and years researching our ancestral & collateral lines.  We look for documents that will tell us who our 3x or more great grand parents are, who their parents were and their brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and cousins on down and across the lines to get a better idea of the people, whose DNA we walk around with in our blood.

Sometimes all we have are facts to go on.  We find out when they were born, when they died, where they lived, who they married, and who they birthed.  As genealogists, we build stories around the information we have.  We read about the history of the towns they lived in, we look for leads as to who the neighbors were, and what organizations they may have belonged to, and where they might have worked.  We want to know what churches they went to and if they even went to school.  Who were these people that we call our ancestors?

I spend much of my time carving, molding, forming, putting skin upon the bones of my ancestors and as if I were a god, breathing life into them so I can see them, feel them, and know them.  One of the resources I use regularly are old newspapers. Newspapers have been key for me in building my ancestor's lives.  I have lost count as to how many articles I have found through online newspapers and indexes.  Some newspaper articles, I have had to order through libraries, and historical archives for a small copying and mailing fee.  It has been well worth my efforts.

Some of the databases I use are:

1. Genealogybank.com

2.  Newspapers.com

3.  Ancestry.com

4. ProQuest.com: Newspapers
5. Library of Congress

6.  and Googling newspaper archives where lots of other sites pop up.

I recently searched for my maternal great great grandfather William H. Cully and found that he sold or gave 100 acres of land to his son George Cully months before he died.  Seeing this gave me a clearer picture as to why George didn't receive land in the probate records after his father passed and why his other children did along with my Great Grandfather Ambrose Cully.  It is the little details that make the stories clearer.

New Berne Weekly Journal, 11 March 1902, Page 4
Newspapers.com

Another example is that my father Walter Porter was an entertainer and active in politics in Los Angeles, California before I was born.  My mother Betty was right there with him participating in civic and political affairs as I have always known her to be.  This article adds to the wealth of information I have received over time.  My parents are no longer living, so to have these articles have helped me to hone in on their lives in Los Angeles and what specific events and people they knew while they were there.

My Parents, Wally & Betty Porter w/Atty. Billy G. Mills

There is so much information one can find by researching online for newspapers.  If you are unsure where to look, start with my list.  Going to your search engine is one of the other great ways to find newspapers that you can immediately search or to find indexes to where you can go to order the information you need on your ancestors.  I would type in the city, county, state, country, etc with newspaper archives, etc., and you will soon be on your way to making great discoveries.  

Let's breathe life into the one's that came before us.  You will discover that they lived fascinating lives.

Greetings From Sunny San Diego, California!

Holding my grandmother's mirror

Wow!  I made it!  My name is Yvette Porter Moore, and my online name is The RootDigger.  I have a difficult time pinpointing the exact day and year that I began my family research.  I believe I was born with the questions ingrained in my psyche & heart, "Who am I? & Where Do I come from?"  I remember being inquisitive in anything that wasn't mine in the house.  I would go through my mother and father's  papers, photo albums, and anything that was in a folder in the file cabinet.  Nothing much got by me.  I remember my mother being so upset because I was tearing photos out of her photo album.  I had to have been about 4 years old.  I loved the people in them, and I wanted to know who they were.  I wanted those photos to be mine.  I had no idea that this first act of curiosity was going to be my mission in life.  I began digging then, and I continue this day to dig.  I now try to tell the story of those that impacted my life through the generations from blood ancestry to spiritual ancestry.

Yvette Porter Moore
Happily Adopted by Loving Parents

When I was eight, I found out I was adopted. Questions about my adoption did not rise in me until I was fifteen and I gave birth to my first child. I wanted to know who I was, where did I come from, and who in this world looked like me?  There was not much I could do about getting my questions answered because I was underage, and had to wait for the ripe ol' age of eighteen.  

Yes, my mother told me that I was born in Los Angeles.  She told me my mother was Mexican and my father was African-American.  She also let me know that they were very young and were not able to provide for me.  This is all I knew.  I didn't know if I had siblings or anything else.  I was raised in an African American household, and the fact that I had Mexican Ancestry appealed to me, however, I did not know much but wanted to.  It was not until I was eighteen years old that I was able to get non-identifying information on my birth family.  I was thrilled when it came packaged in the mail.  It revealed what I already knew, except there was more information added.  My father was described as having an olive complexion.  Both sets of grandparents were still living at the time of my adoption.  My mother was anxious to get back home after she gave birth to me.  My mother's race was Caucasian and Mexican.  Then at the bottom of the paper, standing out-bright as day, My name: Victoria.  Wow!  A clue!  Can you believe that?  I was thrilled because I knew with that information, I would be able to discover more.

My parents Betty & Walter Porter,
and brother Marshall

I have since found both birth families.  I have relationships with some members of each family and I am beginning to feel after twenty-five years of discovery, bonded.  I feel like I belong.  I am who I am and all I have to do is "Be."  Be that Sister, Be that Auntie, Be that Cousin; Nothing more and nothing less.

I currently research all four sides of my family ancestry.  I research my adopted and birth families.  I have many many cousins and I am thrilled that I have taken the time to search and to make my own family.

My Birth father Family

I am so excited to be a part of the World Wide Genealogy Blog.  I thank Julie Goucher for including me in this new community of bloggers.  I hope you come along with us as we take you through our journey worldwide.

I mainly got interested in genealogy research when my mother Betty Mae Peters encouraged me to look up information for her so she could add to her memoirs of New York.  I had decided after she passed away that I would write her life in Sugar Hill, and so that's when I began digging.  Some of those stories can be found here: A Taste of Sugar Hill.

I currently am the Vice President of the San Diego African American Genealogy Research Group.  I am a part of a few communities online such as The African American Slave Ancestry Research Group, Geneabloggers, and Our Black History. I am also on "The Clock" to earn my way to being a Board Certified Genealogist.

I have many blogs but they are all linked to The Ancestors Have Spoken.  I find that it is my calling to tell the stories of my ancestors because they want to be known.  The more time goes by, I feel the urgency to research and write more.  It is my hope that I spark an interest in others and that I also drop cousin bait all over the world.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me, and my ancestors.  I know that they are smiling and rooting us all on!!