Genealogy

In 1982 and 1984, I participated in North Carolina’s History Day District Contest. I even received a Certificate of Achievement for participating and an award of excellent. That should have been a sign to me, but I was a teenager. What did I know? Who would have thought that one of those awards, which was based on an interview with an older family member, would foretell the many family interviews to come.


Following the Trail from Jacksonville, NC to Kinston, NC to Greenville, NC
My father had often told me that his father came from around Jacksonville, North Carolina. At some point, he made his way to Kinston (and that’s the short version) and then to Greenville. Mostly, though, I had focused on his maternal side, I suppose because I’d found relatives still living who’d been more than willing to talk. This year I gave in…seduced, I should say by the prospect of the 1940 census being released. Last month, some of that work came together rather quickly. Click below to see the descendant tree I put together.

Descendant Tree of Nathan Huggins


Of course, it was not as easy as the tree makes it look…not when birth years don’t match, the names aren’t always spelled the same way, and how was I to know that Willie was my father’s aunt and not his uncle. Things got very interesting, and I stayed up past my bedtime on several occasions. Anyone who has done any genealogical research will agree that once you get in the zone, you stay there unless you are pulled back out.

My uncle Ed Jr. was not always forthcoming with details. He’d say things like “all of the Randolphs were related, black and white.” I can’t say that I never got the chance to ask him about the Huggins side. It would be more correct to say that I never made the time. The picture is dated 1999. Like the crops growing next door? Me too. What I didn’t like so much was the outhouse behind the house. I made certain to use the bathroom before we went to visit. The little boy is my nephew.


As we hung out on the front porch, people drove by. I think it was Old Belvoir Highway. They honked. We waved. You can’t tell me you don’t love country living and hanging out on the front porch with family.

 

 My great-grandma Nora Norris is shown here with two of her grandchildren, my father on the left and his brother on the right. My father says that his grandmother was a stern woman. Somehow I can see that in the way she’s sitting and the look on her face.