Teaching Family Members How to Conduct Genealogy Research in St. Helena Parish

Monteral and I are first cousins, and both were given the gift of preserving family history. Her father, the late Raymond Harrell, Sr., passed away and left her a rich collection of family photographs. She had shared this collection with me for various reasons. Several of the images are in the newly published book entitled " Images of America" African Americans in Tangipahoa and St. Helena. These rich images help tell the stories of the lives of African American people in the two Florida Parishes.  Her father took pride in preserving the collection and so does Monteral. 

Last summer, she and I packed lunches for my grandchildren and her daughter, and we took the four and a half hours to drive to Union Parish to research our Randall and Priscilla Blackburn Harrell. When we reached the courthouse, the lights had just gone out, and we were astonished. We waited about for a couple of hours before heading back. 

 

Last week we went to the St. Helena Parish Clerk of Court for more research. That was the first time that Monteral went inside the vault and researched for slavery records. She found one inventory of a mother and her three children being sold in St. Helena Parish. That was somewhat emotional for her. 

In the pictures above Wanda Knighten, Glyniss Vernon Gordon, Thomas Cook, and Monteral Harrell all are related and have family ties to St. Helena Parish. Everyone found something that day and was very happy with their research. 

Photo Credit: Walter C. Black, Sr.

Mike Aaron, Sr., and Maggie Bush Aaron

Mike Aaron, Sr., and Maggie Bush Aaron. They were the parents of Clotidle, Mildred, William Van, Louis Van,  and Mike Aaron, Jr. Mike was butcher for Lafayette Hayden in Amite, Louisiana. His wife Maggie was a cook. Maggie was the daughter of Toney Bush, Sr., and Mary Temple Bush of Amite, Louisiana. 

After talking with Edwin Temple and reading several family obituaries it was confirmed that William Van was one their sons. Louis Van was another son of Mike and Maggie Bush Temple. Louis was born in 1921 and died in 1922.

Source: Edwin Temple

 William Van Aaron is one the sons of Mike Aaron, Sr. and Maggie Bush Aaron

Hammondee Green Murdered by a Mob in the Amite City Jail in 1956

Hammondee Green
Photo Courtesy: Robert Jackson

Robert Jackson said that many people seek history from  movies, and things of that nature. "How many of you sat down and engage in your family history, " asked Jackson. His great grandfather Hammondee.  Through oral history, he was told a small mob of people went to his grandfather's home and asked him to come out of the house to go to jail in Amite, Louisiana. They told him if he didn't come, they were going to burn the house down with his family inside. Fearing for the safety of his family Hammond Green  left out the front door to face the mob. It's alleged that his only crime was being a strong African American man. He was a husband,  father, son, and brother. He was taken to Amite City Jail and later found hanging in the cell with testicles in his mouth. The family was told that he committed suicide. 

According to the Louisiana, Statewide Death Index, 1819-1964, Hammond Green was 35 years old when he; was murdered. He died on October 28, 1956. He was the son of Dolph A. and  Ella Coreen Green, he is buried at Jackson Chapel AME Church in Greensburg, Louisiana.  He was the brother of; Velma, Margaret, Jesse, Luella, Percy, Roosevelt, Bertha, and Lena Green.

He was working at the Hammond Coca Cola Bottling a Company. He was enlisted in Camp Playche, Louisiana.  Company: Co, "E" 10th Bn 2nd Reg., ASFTC., and he Ranked as Pfc.  

While many African-American throughout the south fought for Civil Rights, the movement would bring about justice and equality for African-Americans in the 1950s and 1960s. The family of Hammond felt they had no one to turn to according to one family member.  " How is it that a man who put his life on the line for the county comes back and Lynch himself and cut his testicles out and stuff them in his mouth said the family member.

Early Photograph of Amite No 1 Church of God in Christ

Amite No. I Church of God in Christ
Photo Courtesy:  Rev. Raymond Foster, Sr. 

Over the past couple of months, I've set in the homes of many people whose family ties are deeply connected in St. Helena and Tangipahoa Parishes, Louisiana.  Years ago Delores Zanders Levy passed away and her mother archival collection was passed down to Rev. Raymond Foster, Sr., and when I say that he was the right person to inherit the rich collection, I mean it with everything inside of me. Too often we hear that someone threw away all the pictures, documents, and other records that can help tell the story and history of African-American people of the two Louisiana Florida Parishes.

About two years before Delores passed away I visited her home to talk with her about the family history and photographs. My maternal great-grandmother Emma Mead Harrell was the aunt of her mother Colitidle Zanders." Mrs. Clotilde kept everything," said Rev. Foster. She did throw away anything.  In her own right, she was an archivist.

There are other women in the community that kept the history of churches, schools, civic and social organizations and well as their own family history and photographs. Rev. Foster is quite an oral history keeper himself. I learned more about the Foster Family history from him on this visit. Women such as; Grace Belvin Walker Perry,  Alma Harrison Vernon, Gertrude Love, Zemora "Hilda" Vining and I know there are others.

There was this one statement he made about the history of a small community in Tangipahoa Parish called Shiloh. He told Glyniss Vernon and me if we look at one of the old Plat Maps, we'll find that Shiloh was called "Congo Square" I can't wait to do more research on this subject.  It will be posted it right here on Nurturing Our Roots Blog Site.

This photo is the Amite NO.1 Church of God in Christ. From left to right; James Sheridan, Irma Della ?., Celestine Foster, Annie Edwards, Edna Buckley, Christine Alle, Algia Mae Spears, Irene Benton, Leola Buckhalter, Lolly Edwards, Mrs. Freddie Cage and husband Eld. Freddie Cage, Second Row: Left to Right; Celie Love, Mildred Warner, Tina Jackson. 

A Vessel of Honor in Memory of Elder Nathaniel Richardson, Sr.

Elder Nathaniel Richardson, Sr. 

Nathaniel Richardson, Sr., was born to the parents of Thomas Alexander Richardson and Melissa Wheat on June 20, 1940. He was married to Alma Jean Taylor, and to this union was added five children.

After high school, he attended Texas Southern University. He later moved to California where he worked as a machinist at Western Gear Corporation. In 1983 he returned home to his hometown of Amite, Louisiana where he resided until his death.

Elder Nathaniel Richardson, Sr. was a true servant of the Lord and a lover of the brethren. He served as the former pastor of Morning Star COGIC (Hammond) and the New Spiritual Growth COGIC (Amite). Elder Nathaniel Richardson, Sr., severed on several district departments: District Evangelist Department, and as the District YPWW coordinator.

He was preceded in death by his parents (Thomas Alexander Richardson and Melissa Wheat-Richardson), wife ( Alma Jean Taylor-Richardson), and four siblings; Thomas Richardson, Walter Richardson, Samuel Richardson, & Alex Richardson.

He is survived by: five children ( Wendell Richardson, D'Juana Richardson, Amelia Richardson -Davis (Ray) Nathaniel Richardson, Jr., and Sonja Richardson; grandchildren, five siblings: Helenstine Emmitt Richardson, Sr. (Carolyn), Joseph Richardson (Joyce), Earl Richardson, Sr, (Diane) and Darnell Richardson, Sr. (Gayle);brothers and sisters-in-law: Dorothy Richardson and family, Harold Taylor and family, Rachel Jordan and family, Marilyn Diggs and family, Gladys Holmes and family, Yvonne Williams and family, Charles Moore, Ray Taylor and family, Tommie Taylor and family, Kenneth Taylor and family, Hicks family, and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Richardson-Williams.

Source: The Funeral Program for Elder Nathaniel Richardson, Sr.

The Collection of Hillary "Zemora" Vining.

Four African American Men Lynched in Ponchatoula, Louisiana

Lynching Ponchatoula, Louisiana
Photo Courtesy: Ponchatoula, Louisiana Photo Collection

On September 21, 1900, on an oak tree on Beech Street in Ponchatoula, Louisiana., four African American men who were accused of robbing the family of Louis Hotfelter, were taken from the jail cells and lynched. They were charged with choking and beating the wife of Louis Hotfelder. It was alleged that Charles Elliot,  Isaiah Rollins, Nathaniel Bowman and  George Bickham were forced to confess to the robbery at the Hotfelter's home. 

It was reported that the wife of Hotfelter later identifies another man two days later. Nevertheless,  the angry mob wanted to make an example out of these men regardless if they were innocence or not. The mob was determined to send a loud message to the African American community concerning attacks on Anglo-Saxon people in the Ponchatoula community. 

14 African American men were picked up and detained. Sheriff  Frank P. Mix couldn't hold back the angry mob, they used axes to break down the door of the jail and forcibly to took Elliot, Rollins, Bowman, and Bickham to an oak tree in the African American community to be lynched. 

Dr. Kingsley Garrison recalls looking at the photograph as a boy around the age of seven. He knew James Elliot the brother of Charles Elliot. He said his mother had the picture looking at it and somehow he was able to see it. Although Dr. Garrison said that folks who talked about the lynchings is now deceased and not too many people are not talking about it anymore. 

Their bodies hung under the oak tree until the following morning when Mayor William Jackson ordered that their bodies be cut down. It was an unknown passenger who took the photograph. As I sit here thinking about the funeral I attend of Jermaine Carter of Greenville. Jermaine was lynched in Greenville, Mississippi in 2010. My mind started to go back to the lynching site of Raynard Johnson in 2000,  in Kokomo, Mississippi,  and the lynching of Roy Veal in April of 2004 in Woodville, Mississippi.

Most recently a little boy biracial in New Hampshire received injuries from an attempted lynching by a teenager. They called the little boy racial names and threw sticks and rocks at his legs. Now the teenage boy said it was an accident. 

MAJOR BIOGRAPHICAL  RESOURCES

hammondstar.com

http://www.hammondstar.com/lynch-mob-hangs-history-book-says/article_7667b422-a66b-58c2-9384-729a2b94a518.html

Ponchatoula, Louisiana

https://www.southeastern.edu/acad_research/programs/csls/historical_collections/photo_collections/n_q_photos/ponchatoula.html

Altruist Civic Organization An African American Organization in Tangipahoa Parish

Mrs. Ella Mae Badon: Sitting on the left
Laura Knighten sitting on the right end.

On July 12, 1956, a group of women met and formed the Ladies' Mystic Club, with the idea of encouraging, through community support, "Finer Womanhood," and education. It adopted the name it now bears, the Altruist Civic Organization." The Charter members were: Mmes, Christine Greenup, President; Ella Mae Badon, Vice President, Esterlee W. Spain, Recording Secretary; Lizzie Mae Seals, Financial Secretary; and Venola Simmons, Treasurer.

The original Club members were comprised of Mmes, Bessie Johnson, Mildred Davis, Elena Martin, Dorothy Reeves, Ruby Lowe, Willie Mae Williams and Helen Parker. Later Mary D. Carter, Lillie Muse, Elizabeth McCray, Ceola Clark, Ola M. Porter, Gladys Denhan and Ms. Ora L. Jackson joined the group.

The idea of sponsoring a Debutante Cotillion was presented by Mmes, Mildred Davis, and Elena Martin. All agreed, and on March 8, 1958, the first Debutante Cotillion was held at the Greenville Park Gymnasium. At this Cotillion, twelve charming young ladies were presented to society. Over a period of 35 years, with the cooperation and support of all concerned, they presented over 500 outstanding, talented and beautiful young ladies not only in our parish but in neighboring parishes and states. Many are making remarkable contributions throughout America.

They have given many academic scholarships that have helped hundreds of debutantes further their education, and find themselves a respectable place in our society. They received outstanding support from the parents, debutantes, escorts, sponsors, friends, relatives and business firms. They help the civic organization accomplish their goals. It took many hands, hearts, and minds, working together t in love to get the job done. Thus the Altruist Civic Organization is like a little acorn which grew into a mighty oak in our little city.

Not only did they present debutantes with scholarships. They gave donations to charity organizations and help those in distress.  God had wonderfully blessed them throughout 1989. They gave four scholarships this year, Queen Altruist 1989, Miss Siltanise McCraney received a $2,040.00 scholarship; First maid, Wauthisha Wells received a $1,730.00 scholarship; Second Maid Yolanda M. Davis won a scholarship for $1,086.00; and Third Maid, Miss Wondearia Foster got a $500.00 scholarship. 

Mrs. Lizzie Mae Seals recieved the Award of Appreciation for 35-year consecutive years of dedicated services. Mrs. Ethel Douglas White of New Orleans received a plaque for having presented three daughters throughout the years.

Oueen Altruist 1990, Miss Alkena Rene' Alford received a $2, 468.00 scholarship. It is their desire that the Altruist Civic Organization will live on: and make an even greater contribution to a changing and challenging society. 

Sources: Altruist Civic Organization " Through the Years"

Religious Services for the late Mrs. Ida B. Temple

Mrs. Ida B. Temple

On March 12, 1880 born to Benton and Mary Anne Butler was a daughter, Ida. She attended the public schools of St. Helena Parish and completed high school in Magnolia, Mississippi. She also attended high school in Magnolia, Mississippi. She also attended Straight University in New Orleans.

On May 14, 1972 at 4:00 p.m. at Hood Memorial Hospital. The Death Angel visited our community and summoned a wonderful mother. Sunday School teacher for over 70 years, for 40 years was Public School teacher of St. Helena and Tangipahoa Parishes, a neighbor and above all, a Saint. Mrs. Temple was a person with a wealth of Scriptorial Wisdom and intellectual knowledge. She served her Lord and her people with a beautiful christian life. Her influence will always be felt in the lives of those she taught and served.

Her life was full of good works in the church. She was founder of the Women's Council which was dear to her. During her career as a teacher, she met and married the late John Temple. to this union was born three sons who were given educational     and religious training.  She leaves her three sons, Felton of New Orleans, Oscar of Houston, Texas and Collis of Kentwood, six nieces, four nephews, ten grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends. A life lived as Mrs. Temple's cannot die, but will live in the hearts and memories o those who knew and loved her.

Notes: Mrs. Ida Butler Temple funeral services was held on May 17, 1972 at Gordon Chapel Church of God In Christ. Rev. Alex Richardson, Pastor.

This obituary was part of the obituary collection of the late Coltidle Aaron Zanders and the late Deloris Levy. Submitted by Rev. Raymond Foster.

Order of Service

Pallbearers

West Side High Girls Basketball Team of Amite, Louisiana

West Side High Girls Basketball Team

Kneeling( Left to Right) Edna Jackson, Julia Siber, Ola Mae Fleming, Amanda Bush, Gracie Bean
Standing ( Left to Right) Norma Jean Ricard, Yvonne Collins, Ethel Bell Steward, Toni McGee Mason, Marsha Ann Johnson, Audrey Vinig, Augustine Perry.


Source: Reprint from Gracie Walker's Legacies of Color Scrapbook, Amite Genealogy Library Archival Room

                                                   Tangipahoa African-American Online Newspaper
                                                       http://tangipahoaafrican-americannews.com