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| Nurturing Our Roots Producer and Host Antoinette Harrell and Stephen Harrell, Sr. Photo Credit: Walter C. Black, Sr. |
Today my cousin Karran Harper Royal co-host of Nurturing Our Roots Television Program and I drove to Clinton, Louisiana with Stephen and Elton Harrell from New Orleans, LA. Stephen and his brother knew their grandfather Garrett Harrell was from Clinton, Louisiana., This was the oral history that was told to them by another family member.
My Harrell oral history was told to me by my mother Isabell Harrell. My mother said that her father Jasper Harrell, Sr., told her that his father's family were from Clinton as well. I traveled many times to Clinton to make a connection with Harrell's who never left the small town. Last year Stephen and I talked about his family genealogy to find out if we're related. We won't stop until we find out if we are related. Stephen's great grandfather Beaugard Harrell was born in 1860 in Clinton. Louisiana. Beauregard married a woman name Louise. To their union ten children was born; John Thomas, Lucy, Mary, Margaret, Walter, Clara, Cornelia, Carrie, Garrett, Emma and Octavia Harrell.
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| Karran Royal co-host of Nurturing Our Roots Television Talk Show, Elton and Stephen Harrell |
According to the 1880 U.S. Census Beauregard lived in the 7th Ward, East Feliciana, Louisiana. He's listed as a mulatto. He was living in the house with a cousin by the name of Admiral C. Spears. Beauregard was a farmer by trade.
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| Photo Credit: Walter C. Black, Sr. |
After we spent several hours in the clerk's office in Clinton researching the Harrell lineage we went to see James Harrell. James is the owner of a mechanic shop in Clinton and I knew if anyone could help us it would be James. He stopped working and talked with us a while about his family lineage. James' father was Gus Harrell and Gus is the son of Beauregard Harrell. While sitting down waiting for James to call his sister Hazel and cousin Jack to talk with us, Elton was just saying how James reminded him of his male family members on the Harrell side of the family. That's when James said that Gus father was Beauregard Harrell, "we all started laughing with joy knowing that a family lineage connection was made."
Hazel was so excited to meet everyone. It felt like we had known them all of our life. Before we left we exchanged phone numbers and planned a date to meet up again and visit the Harrell cemeteries in Clinton and meet other Harrell families. At this point Karran and I are looking into researching and documenting all the Harrell's who live in Clinton, Louisiana. Although we have a lot of help from other Harrell's who are trying to make a lineage connections as well. This week I received many phone calls from other people who carry the surname Harrell. Some people have sent me photographs, documents and family trees. So that tell me that we're on the right track.
