I
have come to realize that we are on the ancestors’ time. Therefore, when we
embark on a genealogy journey to trace our family histories, we must have patience. We also must never
give up. Everything that we want to know will not be found within the time frame
that we imagine. If we get easily frustrated and decide that we don’t want to
be bothered with genealogy research anymore, then whatever was meant to be
found will remain buried. I truly believe that our ancestors want their
stories told. At the same time, I feel that they ascertain the perfect time
when to drop a major clue out of the blue.
I
moved to the Washington, D.C. area in April 2013. Now, I honestly believe that
my ancestors were waiting for that move to happen. They had a lot of things in
store for me, and being in the D.C. area would be perfect. I needed to be here to
also attend the 2015 Earley-Jenkins Family Reunion in Alexandria, Virginia. On
the day I moved to the D.C. area, hearing “The Earley-Jenkins Family Reunion”
would have meant nothing to me. I was clueless about my connection to this
North Carolina family. Two months later, on June 18, 2013, the ancestors
obviously stated, “It’s time!” A
major clue was revealed. That major clue enabled me to break down one of my
brick walls and learn more about my father’s great-grandfather John “Jack” Bass’
family, especially the plight of Jack’s mother, Beady Bass. Previous blog posts
disclose the Bass discoveries in greater detail.
However,
allow me to summarize in a nutshell. In or around 1849, my
great-great-great-grandmother Beady Bass, her children, two brothers, their mother Rose, and possibly her very elderly grandmother Peggy were
taken to Hinds County, Mississippi. Persistent research finally revealed that she
had a younger sister named Brittie Ann
Bass. Aunt Brittie Ann remained in North Carolina because their former
enslaver, Council Bass, had bequeathed her in 1830 to one of his three married
daughters named Charlotte Holloman; she stayed in North Carolina with her
husband, while her two sisters migrated to Hinds County, Mississippi and Madison
County, Tennessee with their husbands. Those sisters took nearly all of Aunt Brittie
Ann’s siblings away from North Carolina. Sadly, Grandma Beady and Aunt Brittie
Ann never saw each other anymore. She subsequently “jumped the broom” with a
man named Langley Earley, and they had a large family who lived near Ahoskie in
Hertford County, North Carolina after slavery. Aunt Brittie Ann died in 1914. Her death certificate reported that she was “about 100,” and she was
definitely in her mid to late 90s when she died.
Shortly
after discovering the whereabouts of Aunt Brittie Ann, I was fortunate to find
a family tree on ancestry.com that contained one of her sons, Goodman Earley, the
same son who was the informant of her 1914 death certificate. Andre Early of
New York had uploaded his family tree there. Goodman was Andre’s
great-grandfather, and Aunt Brittie Ann was his great-great-grandmother. Soon
after making contact with Andre, he invited me to the Earley-Jenkins Family
Reunion, a reunion of Aunt Brittie Ann’s descendants! He was the 2015 reunion
organizer, and it was slated to be held right here in the D.C. area, practically
in my back yard, in Alexandria, Virginia.
On
this past Saturday, while I gazed into the eyes of Aunt Brittie Ann’s
descendants, I was in disbelief. All of this happened within a short time frame
– from uncovering Grandma Beady Bass’ family and her permanent separation from
family members in 2013, to meeting the descendants of one of her long lost
sisters in person in 2015! The ancestors were with me as I relayed this unknown
history to the family. Mouths dropped while I gave my presentation. Everything
seemed so surreal. I had purposely refrained from telling family members how I
was related when I was asked before my presentation. I simply stated, “If I
tell you now, it may be hard for you to believe, so let’s wait until I give my
presentation.” Many understood why I stated that. They never imagined
that my connection to the family would be in this manner. I was lovingly
embraced, and I felt that North Carolina hospitality. Grandma Beady and Aunt
Brittie Ann were happy. They had been reunited.
Here
are some pictures from the family reunion:
Andre Early and me
Descendants of Goodman Earley (Brittie Ann’s son)
Descendants of Rev. D. Westley Earley (Brittie Ann’s son)
Naomi Murrell-Bunch of Ahoskie, N.C. delivering the
Earley-Jenkins Family Reunion History. She is a great-granddaughter of Aunt
Brittie Ann’s son, Rev. D. Westley Earley. Cousin Naomi told me that her
grandmother talked about Brittie Ann a lot!
Cousin Naomi Murrell-Bunch
Earley-Jenkins Descendants
Look at that beautiful cake!
With Alice Medford, another descendant of Rev. D. Westley Earley
The Earley-Jenkins Family knows how to dance!
With Cousin Dana Early-Jeune, who wrote on her Facebook page, “Connecting the dots w/ a family member. Sisters separated because of slavery & never knew what happened to each other once the slave owner died & left slaves to his kids. One went to Mississippi & the other one stayed in NC. WOW!!”