The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same

There is saying that “history repeats itself”. My story started 85 years ago and it still haunts David Madlock’s son today.  Unfortunately, it is a too familiar story in the African-American Family.

I have been researching the real maiden name of my great great grandmother, Lula.

In the 1880 Census, Lula is listed as the step-daughter to the head of the household, David Clark. 

Lula married Louis Madlock on December 17, 1889. Her maiden name was listed as Clark on her marriage record. So, it was evident that she took her step-father’s last name.

So, in my quest to find out her “real” maiden name, I started looking at death certificates of her children. Her oldest son was David Madlock. (Ironically, my grandfather was named after him.)

While examining David’s death certificate, I noticed that he was a farmer. His wife was Lillian. His father was Louis Madlock and his mother was Lula Clark. My great grandmother, Addie Campbell, was the informant on his death certificate.

Cause of death was a gun shot wound. But it was a gun shot wound from an officer. Officer? Gun shot wound? What was this about?

Excerpt from the Southern Reporter Newspaper.

A search of his pockets did not reveal a pistol, but a bottle of whiskey was found therein. (that seems to be a familiar statement)

Until the 1940s, not a single black police officer worked in the Deep South – including South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama – yet in the 1930s and 1940s, these states had most of the black population in the United States. Most blacks were eliminated from the hiring process because they posed a threat to white supremacy.

At the time of David’s death, he had 3 sons. His youngest son is still living today. He is 96 years old. His mind is still fairly sharp. Each time that I talk to him, he repeats the story of when the sheriff killed his daddy. He states there were other reasons on why the sheriff killed his father. His father’s killing, scared a lot of blacks in that area. David’s family eventually moved North with the exception of his youngest son. His youngest son was raised by his grandmother. He stated that the family never talked about the day that his father died. His grandmother never allowed him to speak bad about police officers either.

Here it is 2016 and the narrative still hasn’t changed.

Cemeteries Tell Stories

Somehow, on my journey on researching ancestors, I developed a hobby of visiting cemeteries, especially old cemeteries. Cemeteries are a gold mine of information. Sometimes, tombstones tell more than just a name and death date.  They give clues to other parts of their lives. You might find a woman’s maiden name on her tombstone or you might find out if the person had any military involvement. At one time, families had plots and those buried were often related to each other.

In November 2014, my cousin Mack and I visited the “Old Hopewell Black Cemetery” with the help of Mike (who knows where almost any cemetery in Yalobusha County, Mississippi is located). The cemetery was not close to where most locals indicated. I was told that the cemetery was so old that there probably aren’t any tombstones there or the tombstones probably weren’t in good condition. Those statements did not discourage me from finding this cemetery.

The cemetery is about 3 miles southwest of Coffeeville, MS in the woods and about a mile from the nearest road. We had to cross a low swampy area to reach the cemetery. To our amazement, we found the tombstone of my great great great grandfather, Aaron Dudley.

Aaron Dudley (August 10, 1828 – August 8, 1909)

Mississippi did not start producing death certificates until November 1, 1912. So, seeing this old tombstone was an unbelievable feeling.

In July of this year, I attended the Midwest African American Genealogy Institute in St. Louis, MO. Angela Walton-Raji, who is also a DNA cousin of mine, was teaching a session in the Institute about restoring and preserving cemeteries. My eyes lit up during this session. This is something that I want to do. During her lecture, she talked about symbols on tombstones. My mind immediately went back to the Old Hopewell Black Cemetery and I remembered seeing those unfamiliar symbols on the tombstones.

After the Institute ended, I emailed Angela a picture of one of the tombstones in that cemetery. Angela immediately sent back pictures and links to other websites that explained the symbol on that particular tombstone.

The tombstone reads “E.D. Turner Climax Circle No 19 died January 24, 1925”. His grave marker depicts a curious symbol on the top depicting an animal and the letters RCF. RCF stands for Royal Circle of Friends. Royal Circle of Friends is an African-American fraternal organization that was founded in 1909 in Arkansas. The organization was founded to supply insurance to the African-American population but was also dedicated to the moral, physical, social, and economic welfare of its members.

Other Tombstones Located in Old Hopewell Black Cemetery

Herron Jackson August 11, 1912 – July 24, 1937

Sara J. Kee 1871-1909

Roxie, daughter of Nat and Sara Kee December 17, 1890 – June 15, 1908

Riney Brown died May 7, 1939 age 65 years

Henry Dudley June 24, 1866 – February 28, 1938

Bettie Dudley April 13, 1865 – August 4, 1952

Eliza Dudley February 4, 1888 – April 7, 1889

Sammie Dudley May 24, 1895 – December 26, 1895

Henry Dudley April 23, 1896 – May 10, 1897

Anna Dudley Kimble July 6, 1864 – March 4, 1903

Abner aged 76 years

Mary P. Tinnon died March 1953

Celia Greene June 20, 1868 – May 24, 1942

C.A. Green age 19 years

Who knew that these symbols were telling a story, a story of camaraderie, support, and solidarity of African Americans.

  

The Story Behind the McKinney Name of Panola County, Mississippi

Periodically, family members have asked the questions: “Who is the start of our McKinney line?” “Where did the McKinney’s come from?” “Are we related to the McKinney’s over there?” etc. None of these are unusual questions. These are typical questions for anyone who is interested in their family history.

I’m going to use DNA genealogy along with oral and written family history to discuss my findings on the McKinney Family thus far.

Here is an excerpt from the McKinney Family History. “The McKinney journey began somewhere in the early 1800s. A black female was born. She was given the name Rodie, a slave name which means “servant”. Rodie gave birth to a male child named Marion. Her sister gave birth to a male child named Lorm Perry. Marion and Lorm were brothers, since Rodie and her sister had a child by the same white slave owner. Such an occurrence was prevalent during slavery. Marion was a victim of circumstance. It was forbidden that a black child use the last name of his white paternal parent. It was through the providence of God that Rodie married Jim McKinney, thereby giving Marion a last name.”

Let’s compare this written family history to the DNA results of my great Uncle, the grandson of Marion McKinney.

Figure 1

Figure 2

In figure 1, my great Uncle's Ancestry composition consist of 60% Sub-Saharan African, 38.7% European, and 0.8% East Asian & Native American. 

His ancestry composition was passed down to him from his paternal and maternal side. So, his European composition is a combination of several ancestors. 

Figure 2 shows his haplogroup. His maternal haplogroup (in pink) is L2a1a2 and his paternal haplogroup (light blue) is R1b1b2a1a2f. If you google his paternal haplogroup, you will discover that his paternal haplogroup is European. So, what does this mean? A male receives his paternal haplogroup from his father, who received it from his father etc. 

So, let’s go backwards on my great Uncle's paternal haplogroup.

Great Uncle McKinney < Green McKinney Sr. (his father) < Marion McKinney (his grandfather) < white father (his great grandfather)

So therefore, my great Uncle’s DNA results coincide with the family written and oral history that Marion McKinney’s father was white. 

Let's go back to the original questions.

1. Who is the start of our McKinney line? For the time being, the earliest known male-line ancestor of the McKinney Family is Marion McKinney.

2. Where did the McKinney's come from? In the Census reports, Marion stated that he was born in Mississippi. His mother, Rodie/Rhody, sometime listed Mississippi and Tennessee as her birthplace. Jim McKinney listed he was born in Tennessee.

3. Are we related to the McKinney's over there? It depends. The majority of the McKinney's in Panola County were descendants of Marion McKinney. Keep in mind that Marion acquired his last name from his step-father, James "Jim" McKinney. Census Reports indicate that Jim and Rodie/Rhody had other children. Some of these children disappeared from the Census. So, it is possible that they move away or died.

Look for upcoming blogs revealing the last slave owner and the name of Marion's father.