Bertha Green Coleman Remember the Day Her Brother Hammondee Green Was Killed

Bertha Green Coleman
Photo Credit: Dr. Antoinette Harrell

Bertha is one of nine children born to Aldophus and Ella Corean Jackson Green in St. Helena, Louisiana, in 1931. She recalled a specific event that happened to her brother in 1956 in Amite, Louisiana. Bertha was at her mother's house when she received the news about her brother Hammondee Green's death. The tragedy is encoded in her memory forever. Eighty-nine years old Bertha can't erase how her brother died in Amite, Louisiana. 

"He was home on a furlough when it all started, " said Bertha. My brother wouldn't say yes'mam and no' mam. He went into the cleaners to get his clothes, and this is where it all started, she said. It wasn't until he came home from the services that things got worse.

For the first time sent, he was killed in 1956, his only living sister Bertha, his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and nieces and nephews gathered to commemorate this death. They placed flowers on his grave and talked about some of the things they heard some of the older folks in the community said. 

His family members were dressed in royal blue tee shirts with white carnation flowers to lay on his grave. Some with tears rolling their eyes and other faces that reflect the pain they feel just knowing that their ancestors were brutally murdered. His grandson said my grandfather put his life on the line for this county, only to come home and be killed.

We never said anything because mama told us to be quiet and not  to say anything because she was afraid that others in her family would be killed,  said Bertha. Mama didn't want to lose any more of her children. When the funeral home called his mother to come and identify his body, his mother Ella didn't go. She sent her two sons and grandson Aldophus to go to the funeral home.  Aldophus was only eleven years old at the time, but he recalled seeing his uncle lying on the table with a bullet hold in his forehead and burned marks on his body. Hammondee had been castrated and his testicles stuffed in his mouth, according some of the older people in the community.

"I didn't get a chance to meet my grandfather," said Robert Jackson. He did a chance to meet his great-grandchildren. Robert and his nephew wrote a poem for their grandfather. Everyone was silent and listened to what was being said.  Major Colman, Jr. noted that people in the community told him how they were told the story. We're here today because of what some of our family members had to go through said Coleman. 

Finding Family Pictures in the Community Where They Live

Big Zion Basketball Team
Photo Courtesy: Danielle H.  Morris

Frequently we look within the family for pictures of our ancestors and family members. Just imagine the excitement you feel with you find a photo of your ancestors or family member. What about finding a military, social organization, or sports pictures of your parents playing basketball? Family pictures help me to explored and learn more about my family history. 

My mom told me she played basketball at Big Zion School in Roseland, Louisiana. She didn't have any photographs of her playing basketball and her team. When searching for community history, there are so many treasures you will find. Just keep looking and tell others what you are looking for and why.  There are someone out there that may have pictures of your family. Don't be  afraid to ask? Out there in the community somewhere, there are photographs in places you would have never thought to look.

Using social media to locate photographs is another method to finding pictures, go ahead and try it, after all, what do you have to lose? I called my mother and asked her about the picture. She was excited to know that I had found a copy of the photograph. Out there somewhere is the original. In the Class Reunion booklet, they listed her sister Catherine Harrell. My mother said it was a mistake and she played basketball. Well, it just one more picture to add to our collection. 

From left to right: Gloria Anderson, Isabell Harrell, Rosa L. Curry, Edna Jackson, Augustine Perry (Captain), Amanda Bush, Deloris Harrington, Irma M. Givins, Lexine Anderson, and Coach Leona Morris.

The above nine girls, along with their Coach Morris of Big Zion School in "Roseland, Louisiana, can smile jubilant over the fact that are the " Champs of Tangipahoa Parish."

Source: Big Zion Class Reunion Book

           

Tangipahoa Parish Library African American Honorary Service Award

I'm so proud of my granddaughter Jo'elle for so many reasons. First, she is a very kind and sweet young lady who really enjoys learning. Whatever she embarks upon, she gives it her hard. She enjoys cooking, shopping, traveling, and hanging out with her friends. She is a born leader and enjoys taking the leadership role if necessary. 

When she was a student at Spring Creek Elementary, her teacher gave her an award for being very knowledgeable in history and current events. She is an honor roll student at Sumner Jewel Middle School, and she takes her grades very seriously. Jo'elle was on the Student Council at Spring Creek; she volunteers her time in the community for clean up days. She helps me organize items for giving away. When it comes down to graphics and video editing, she has excellent skills. She wants to become a Pediatric Doctor when she grows up. 

She and six other girls traveled to the 50th Anniversary March on Washington. There she met Julian Bond. She and the girls were featured in an article on BET for being at the 50th Anniversary. Their poster delivered a message, and the young advocates' voices were heard. 

Jo'elle had traveled to many museums, libraries, and state archives to assist her grandmother with genealogical research. Her future is bright, and most importantly, she understands how important it is to stay focus and work hard at her studies. Yes, I'm a proud grandmother and will support her and her brothers to become the best they can be in life. 

She was surprised that I nominated her for this award. My heart was delighted to see her recognized for her outstanding work. Not because she is my granddaughter, but because she works so hard and look for nothing in return.

Time Spent with My Great Uncle Palmer Harrell

Palmer Roscoe Harrell

Me and my brothers called him Uncle Buddy like everyone else in the family. Palmer Roscoe Harrell was born on Oct 28, 1900 and died in 1977 in Amite, Louisiana  He and I share the same birthday. I grew up in Amite, Louisiana, for the first twelve years of my life and got to spend sometime with Uncle Buddy drove an old green pickup truck to the  family homestead to do his farm work. He farmed on the land that his mother Emma Mead Harrell had purchased in 1896. 

Uncle Buddy drove so slow that my oldest brother Reginald would jump on and off the back of the truck. Boy! If my mother would've seen that we all would've been in big trouble. And especially me because I'm the oldest. He took out so much time with my brothers and me, we all loved him dearly. 

Sometimes I would sit in front of the truck with him. I had to push all the stuff he had on the front seat over so I would have a place to sit. I remember the old mason jar with frozen ice water and a bag with vanilla wafers and cheese in it. After we helped him with his daily chores, we took us to Bell's store to buy some treats with the nickel he gave each of us. Now, those nickels with far back in those days. Uncle Buddy walked as slow as he drove his truck. He'll always hold an extraordinary place in my heart. The lessons of planting vegetables came from him. Whenever I'm working in my garden, I think of him. I called my youngest Michael and asked him what he remembers most about him. 

I remember after school, he would give us time to change our school clothes and put on some work clothes, and he'll come and pick us up to help him pick peas, beans, and load the hampers on the back of the truck, said Michael. Sometimes we just walked across the road and help him.

Michael had me laughing so hard; he remembered when  our brother Thomas took two watermelons and put them in a sack and put them in the pond to stay cool so he could eat them later. Uncle Buddy said I know how many watermelons I had. If I find out who got them, you would be in trouble. 

He told us if it was raining and start lightning don't stand under the trees. "We soon found out why he said that," said Michael. We did just what he told us not to do, and the lighting stuck the tree we were standing under a tree that struck by lightning. We ran as fast as we could all the way home. 

He always gave our mother fresh vegetables for us, helping him. Little did we know we were buying our groceries. "Not only did we help harvest the crops," said Michael. We had to clean the vegetables and help mama freeze them. One thing is for sure it taught us good work ethics, he said. 

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.

Etta Davis Hall of Greensburg, Louisiana

Etta Davis
Photo Courtesy: Quick 3
Ancestry 

Etta Davis Hall was born on March 4, 1900 in Greensburg, Louisiana to Cornelius Relius Davis and Elizabeth "Lizzy" Davis. She was married to Oscar Lawrence "Sedom" Hall between 1918 and 1925. She died on June 24, 1976, in St. Helena, Louisiana, at the age of 76. She and Oscar had four sons and one daughter. John Henry" Johnny" Hall, Charles D. "Bunch" Hall, Percy Leroy Hall, James" Jim" A Hall, and Lola Hall Ard.

The Temple Men of Amite, Louisiana

Photo Courtesy: Edwin Temple

The Temple Men of Amite, Louisiana. From Left to right; Bernard, Robert, Walter, and Hollis Temple. They are the sons of Jim and Othell Butler Temple.

Hollis was born about 1908. According to the 1910 United States Census. Walter was born around 1911. Robert was born about 1910. 

Source: 1940 United States Federal Census

Mariah Hall the Wife of Hollis Wicker of St. Helena, Louisiana.

Mariah Hall Wicker, the wife of Hollis Wicker. They had four children; Mable, Ulyess, Reynold and ? Wicker. She was the daughter of Joe Hall and Ada Dudley. She died as a young mother on April 7, 1927 in Hammond, Louisiana, at the age of 32.

Source: JHoliday4045

Berlin Gorman of St. Helena Parish, Louisiana

Berlin Gorman was born on March 30, 1861, in St. Helena, Louisiana. His parents were Henry and Julia Ann Huff Gorman. He had four brothers and seven sisters. He lived more than 100 years old in Kentwood, Louisiana, at the age of 106 and buried in Greensburg, Louisiana. 

His siblings were; Louisa, Frank, Henry, Jr., Emelia, Safa, Isaac, Nancy, and Harriet.

Source: Holiday4045

Elizabeth "Lizzy" Davis

Left: Elizabeth "Lizzy" Davis and her daughter
Etta Davis Hall

Elizabeth " Lizzy" Davis was born November 17, 1875, in Greensburg, Louisiana to Enoch and Mary Kendrick Wicker. She was married to Relius Davis. She died in April 1962 in Tangipahoa Parish.

Augustine Crier A Great Leader in Our Community

Augustine Crier
Photo Courtesy: Augustine Crier facebook

I had the pleasure of meeting Augustine Crier some years ago. I heard so many beautiful things about her. There are so many things I truly admire about her, for one, her commitment to preserving the history of "Grant Chapel AME Church" in Amite, Louisiana. She is a caring woman who does so much for her community. She updated the church facebook page faithfully with upcoming events, church announcements and other news.  She pays tribute to the accomplishments of local people on the pages.Preserving the church history is one thing that is lacking in the African American community all across the United States. She writes a column for the local newspaper.

Mrs. Crier is a Woman of Valor, a woman of character, and standards. Some of her former students from Westside Middle School told me how great of an educator she was. She is the administrator of "Lost and Missing Children's Road  Home" you can learn more about this informative at the link provided below. 

She is a former teacher for 36 years in the public systems of Tangipahoa Parish and St. Helena Parish. Degrees: BS in secondary education, major in social studies with minor in English. Master's Degree in Supervision and Administration, and Plus Thirty in Supervision and Administration, Certification our elementary school principal and Certification for Teaching Supervision Training. Served in training teachers for Southeastern University for two years. 

Mrs. Crier is a Icon in Tangipahoa Parish and is certainly appreciated for her many contributions in improving the community and empowering the youth in the community. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MissingChildrenRoadHome/about/

Women Servants of Tangipahoa Parish

Mrs. Christine Harrison was my neighbor in Amite, Louisiana. We all called her Ms. Tina in the community. A beautiful woman with a beautiful smile is how I will always remember Ms. Tina. She was married to Governor Harrison.

Photo Courtesy: Glynis Vernon Gordon

Left to Right: Mrs. Buckhalter, Mrs. Brooks, Mrs. Harrison

Tangipahoa Parish Civil Rights Icon Bobby Cyprian

Bobby Cyprian
Photo Courtesy: Antoinette Harrell

Civil Rights Icon Bobbie Cyprian was a member and secretary of the Sweetwater Voters League. He was born in 1940 in Independence, LA. His parents were Andrew Cyprian, Sr, and Beatrice Alexander. Sweetwater was known for syrup making, and sugar cane raising. 

He joined the 1967 Bogalusa Civil Rights March for the 105 miles march to the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol. "I went down to Greenville Park High School to fight injustice," said Cyprian. I was young, and I was working for a white man who was mistreating me. I knew I had to stand up for my rights, he said. The marchers were met by the KKK when they reached Hammond, Louisiana.

During the night while attending a meeting at Greenville Park School, the KKK came and started shooting. No one was shot or killed. We resolved the meeting, and a day later, we gather to start marching again. I picked it up where the overpassed in on 1-55. When we got to Walker, the KKK was waiting for us; they were hollering, "niggers, you will never make it to the State Capitol. "Under pressure from the U.S. Civil Rights Divison, Governor John McKeithen agreed to dispatch nearly 700 National Guardsmen and 500 state trooper to protect the demonstrators as they walked down the center of Highway U.S. 190.

I asked him to give me the history behind the name Sweetwater. The wagon felt through a crack, and all the syrup fell into the creek, and they call the community "Sweet Water" according to the folk tales, it just one the many stories behind the name of Sweet Water. 

Mount Olive School was the first African American; Mount Olive Baptist Church started the school. Bobbie attended school there and from Burgher Elementary School. 1n 1955, he went to West Side School in Amite, LA.

Uncle Alex and Aunt Melissa's Golden Wedding Anniversary

Alex Richardson and Melissa Wheat Richardson
Photo Courtesy: Glynis Vernon Gordon

Uncle Alex and Aunt Melissa celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in this picture. His sister Alma Richardson Gordon and her husband, Willie K. Gordon, Sr., celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary with them. The wedding took place at Gordon Chapel Church in Amite, Louisiana. Sorry, I don't have the date that the event took place. 

I love the eyeglasses they're wearing. Aunt Melissa's parents were Saul and Corrine Wheat and Uncle Alex 's parents were Thomas and Emma Vining Richardson. 

Good Times Spent with Cousin Walter

Emmitt Richardson, Sr. and Walter Richardson, Sr.
Photo Courtesy: Glynis Vernon Gordon

My mother and her maternal cousin Walter Richardson, Sr., had an extraordinary bond that developed after her father, Jasper passed away in 1962.  "Walter told me that he couldn't take the place of my daddy, but I will be here for you," said Isabel. My mother would get so excited when she got the news that  cousin Walter was coming to  Louisiana to visit his parents, siblings, and extended family. My mother was on that list of people to visit in Amite, Louisiana. To this very day, she still talks about Cousin Walter and his children. She often reminisce on  Sunday's  after church Walter, Jr, and her cousin Freddy jumped in the car and headed home with us. Aunt Melissa would call the house and asked my mother If they were with her. "My mom just knew they had asked her!" It didn't matter because it was alright with  my mother and Aunt Melissa. My mother always had Sunday's dinner ready on a Saturday night. We took our Sunday clothing off and had dinner before running outside to play.

We were just as excited as my mother to hear that cousin Walter was coming to Louisiana. He had such a big heart for everyone. He was just a handsome and kind person. I remember one time when he came to visit, his brother Earl Lee brought a busload of cousin to my mother's house. We had fireworks and all the candy and cookies we wanted. My mother had cooked their favorite meals. One thing I remember her cooking was her delicious tuna casserole and baking her homemade yeast rolls. I guess that was one of Cousin Walter's favorite meals. They sat around the table, laughing and reminiscing on their childhood days. I only wish that the genealogy bug at bit me then. 

Fireworks, snacks, and cousins was a great combination for all the kids. Cousin Earl Lee and Walter had so much fun watching all of us play together. It wasn't a holiday or a special occasion, and it was just family coming together to spend time with each other. While writing this blog, it's taking me back to those beautiful evenings spent on my grandparents' place. I want to record those sweet  moments before they slip away from me. Family was very important back in those days. Not just your immediate family but all family. Cousin Walter and Earl Lee was those kind of people. They loved all their families and treated everyone with love. 

Cousin Earl Lee laugh and smile would light up any room. When he parked the bus and let everyone off the bus, he would smile, watching the kids run off the bus and started playing and screaming with laughter. 

The Richardson and Gordon Clan of Amite, Louisiana

Photo Courtesy
Glynis Vernon Gordon

This picture is truly a treasure for the Richardson and Gordon family. They're all first cousins and the offsprings of  sister and brother; Alexander Richardson and Alma Mandy Richardson Gordon. They all was at the fifty wedding anniversary of their parents. Uncle Willie and Aunt Mandy celebrated their golden anniversary with Uncle Alex and Aunt Melissa. Eleven of them as now past on. Only one person in this photograph is living. 

First Row: Left to Right

Barbara Gordon, Helenstine Richardson Williams, Earl Lee Richardson, James E. Gordon, Joseph Richardson

Middle Row: Left to Right

Man in the black suit unknown, Pete Richardson, Frank Gordon, Samuel Richardson, Darnell Richardson

Back Roll: Left to Right

Willie K. Gordon Jr., Walter Richardson, Sr., Nathaniel Richardson.

Celebrating Their Golden Anniversaries Together

Mr & Mrs Wille K. Gordon, Sr.
Photo Courtesy: Glynis Venron Gordon

"How often is it that a brother and sister celebrate their golden wedding anniversary together with their spouses" My maternal aunt Alma "Mandy" Richardson Gordon and her husband Willie K. Gordon, Sr did. Her brother Alexander Richardson and his wife, Melissa Wheat Richardson.  The two anniversaries brought their two families together for this joyous occasion.  I was so happy that Glynis  Vernon Gordon shared the photographs with me. The golden anniversary is one of the most celebrated wedding anniversaries.  Our family have a large number of family members whom have been married over thirty years.

Just recently, my Uncle Henry and his wife Aunt Sarah celebrated their golden anniversary. It's so beautiful to see our family celebrating the jubilee of their marriage. Surrounded by their children, grandchildren, family members, and friends. Anyone who had been married knows without a shadow of a doubt that it can be challenging.  These couples raised their children, they laughed, and they cried together. No matter what they weathered the storms to remain faithful to their vows. 

Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Richardson
Photo Courtesy: Glynis Vernon Gordon

Not everyone gets an opportunity to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary for two reasons; divorce and the death of a spouse. "I know if anyone would've asked them what was the key to their marriage?" The first thing they each would've told us is; put "God" first, to listen and respect one another.  It's so beautiful to see my great aunts and uncles. 

I can only imagine what this beautiful day was like for them. "Looking at their beautiful children and grandchildren, daughters-in-law,  and sons-in-law fifty years later. Aunt Mandy's smile said it all. She was just as happy as she was fifty-years ago when she married her handsome guy.  This is the kind of love that we need to see. Both couples fell in love fifty years old and kept loving each other to death did them apart. My grandfather  Jasper Harrell,  Sr., died in 1962; he and my grandmother married in 1931. After my grandmother didn't remarried after my grandfather passed away, she remained a widow until her death. Most of my uncles on the Harrell side of my family passed away before their wives. Their wives remain widows until this very day. All of my uncle's wife is living except for my Aunt Primose Bennett Harrell. 

I certainly want to thank Glynis Vernon Gordon for sharing these photographs with me. I told her that I would post them in one of my blogs. I hope that other family members would share photographs with us. 

Who is This Unidentified Soldier?

I'm sitting at my desk going, through my many files this morning with a fresh cup of peppermint tea and a stack of pictures on my desk. One of the pictures on my pile of unidentified images is a picture of a very handsome African American soldier.  I know that the photo came from Tangipahoa Parish because 100 percent of the photograph that I have in the files came from Tangipahoa Parish. 

It was Roy Curtis who shared the photograph with me? Roy lives in Fluker, Louisiana. Roy had forgotten the name of most of the people in the the pictures except for his relatives. Most of the images he gave me were pictures of people he couldn't identify. 

If I knew his name, I could look him up on Ancestry or Family Search.  Well, I hope that someone can identify this soldier. If anyone has any information, please contact me by email at; afrigenah@yahoo.com

Questions:

1. What is his given and surname?
2. Where was the picture taken?
3. Do he have relatives in Tangipahoa Parish?

The McCoy Family of Tangipahoa Parish

U.S. Freedmen's Bank Record
Horace Mccoy

Lewis Chas McCoy was born in 1848 in Louisiana. According to the United States Census, his father was born in Mississippi, and his mother was born in Virginia. Lewis was a Freight Hand. He was married to Alice Braehill Lawson (Daggs)  McCoy. Their children were; Joe, Rosa, Rachel, Fred, Ester, Alma, Manilla, and Thomas McCoy.

Manilla married Palmer Roscoe Harrell in Amite, Louisiana. They were the parents of Ellis, Doris, Helen, Theodora, Arthur, Bobbie, Audrey, Vera, Joseph,  Elbert, and Yvonne Harrell.

Alice was living in the household as a domestic with Esaw Lawson in the house of Ambrose D. Henkel in 1870. Alice was sixteen years old. She was born in 1854 in Louisiana and died at the age of sixty-two in 1937.

Lewis had an account with the Freedmen Bank. On September 30, 1872, he opened his account. He said this father named was Horace McCoy, and his mother's name was Estabella Harrison McCoy.  Horace and Estabella Harrison married in 1884 in Tangipahoa Parish. Horace was born in 1818 in Mississippi. 

Manilla McCoy Harrell

Lewis donated land he owned to his son George in 1880. The land was near his father Horace. The scanned document can be found in the Louisiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1756-1984 Tangipahoa Parish for Lewis Cass McCoy.

I haven't yet connected the dots were Alice is concerned. How did Alice become a Daggs? Where did the name Braehill come from? Was she a Lawson by maiden name?  What was her relationship to Esaw Lawson? In the United States,  Esaw was a laborer in the Henkel household. Ambrose was a merchant born in Tennessee around 1815. Living in the same house with the Henkel was a woman named Harriet Wells, she was thirty years old.  It appears that Harriet had a daughter named Elise Wells. 

Ambrose Henkel was a slaveholder in St. Helena Parish.  He owned eight enslaved people according the 1860 U.S. Federal Census-Slave Schedules. 

The Old Jim Temple Homestead

Jim and Othell Temple Homestead

The old Jim Temple homestead is located in Amite, Louisiana. Jim and his second wife Othell Butler Temple their children in the home; Walter, Hollis, Robert, and Bernard. Near the old house is the Temple Cemetery. 

The house was well built. In the back of the house is the old barn and the smokehouse was near by. Jim and his wife lived in the house until they died. The house was surrounded by lots of farm land. Jim and two sons; Walter and Robert Temple continue farming until they could no longer farm. Their son Hollis was a blacksmith in Amite, Louisiana. Hollis was born in 1908 in Amite, Louisiana  and died in 1983.  

James "Jim" Temple was born around 1845. Jim was first married to Margarette Amacker Temple. They had several children in their marriage; Mary, John, James, Margaret, Charles, Amelia, Victoria  Mattie, Delia, and Ellen.