Memorial Day Tribute

JEWEL ALPHONSO BURNEY October 2, 1928-February 13, 1973

Korean War Veteran

In honor of Memorial Day, I would like to salute my father, Jewel Alphonso Burney who served in the United States Army during the Korean War. My father was born and raised in the Collinsburg area of Louisiana. He was the son of William and Bessie Hines Burney. He was one of 5 of their children but also had 3 other siblings.

He was very bright as a young child. Many tell stories of how he was an early reader and how he taught younger siblings to read as well. He also had an early interest in "tinkering" with electronic gadgets, fixing and putting things together.

He was educated at Egypt Hill School which doubled as a santuary on Sunday which was pastored by his grandfather, Reverend Anderson Burney.

As a young man, he decided to join the U.S. Army where he fought in the Korean War. He served his country well and was very proud as were we of his service up until his death in 1973. He is buried the Veterans Cemetery. I went to put flowers on his grave today. So in honor of Memorial Day, I would like to salute my father for his service to his country.

African American Genealogy Seminar

Hello all. I know its been a long time since we last talked. Sorry for my absence but life has been really busy. Since my last blog, I conducted a workshop at the annual African American Genealogy Seminar hosted by the Latter Day Saints. I taught a class entitled, "USING DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING IN YOUR FAMILY HISTORY."



The purpose of the class was to teach individuals how they could combine the art of Digital Scrapbooking and graphic art with their genealogy research to create a Family History book. I illustrated how they could personalize their pages by combining family photographs, clipart and backgrounds with your genealogy research "finds" and family biographies to create a Family History Book that represented their family’s unique personality and heritage.



The information that I presented was very well received. As I had a lot of people come up to me after the class and tell me how much they enjoyed the class and that I had given them some ideas that they planned to utilize in creating their family books.



Below is a short outline of the information and steps that I presented for using digital scrapbooking in your Family History book. Hopefully, it will gives you some ideas and valuable tips on putting together your family history.



USING DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING IN YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

1. BENEFITS
a) Adds personality and interest to your Family History Book and helps to better present and display your ancestors and their stories
b) You can print out multiple copies of your Family History
c) You can display in the form of a web gallery and/or send to your family and friends electronically so they can print their own copies
d) It is less costly than traditional Scrapbooking since you spend less on supplies

2. EQUIPMENT/SOFTWARE NEEDED (There are lots of software programs you can use. Here are some examples. Some contain pre-made templates and elements that allow you to create beautiful pages for your Family History)

a) Nova Development Photo Explosion
b) Nova Development Scrapbook Factory Deluxe
c) Adobe Photoshop
d) Jasc Paint Shop Pro
e) Microsoft Word
f) Online Scrapbooking Sites

3. STEPS: (Please note that there is no particular order that you need to perform steps a through e. You can choose all or one step. It’s up to you what you want to do to create your own unique designs)

a) Choose photograph(s) of people, places, things.
b) Upload photograph(s) from computer file, scanner or digital camera
c) Select background, borders, frames, photo corners, embellishments, clipart, maps, charts
graphs, family trees or any other items you want to include
d) You can add genealogy documents such as birth and/or death certificates, marriage license.
e) Enter your genealogy text such as a individual biographies or other information pertaining
to the page that you are creating
f) Arrange Items on page as desired
g) Once a final layout and design is completed, you can save, print, email or post to a webpage
h). Finally, you can have your pages bound to create your Family History Book

A Salute to Private JKB

This week was filled with mixed emotions for me. On Monday, October 13, 2008, my nephew, Private J.K.B. was deployed to Iraq. My heart was heavy but at the same time I felt proud because of his obvious dedication and invaluable contribution to this country.

Part of my sadness was due to the realization that the little boy that was once the "apple of my eye" has suddenly become a man.

I talked with my nephew a couple of days before he was to embark on his mission and related to him just how proud I was of him. I also reminded him that he joins the ranks of the many ancestors and other relatives who have served this country. He was surprised to know that we have had ancestors and/or relatvies who have fought for this country since the Revolutionary War but it is true. Heres is just a few:

Joshua Braveboy - American Revolution (Revolutionary War)
Great-GG Grandpa Henry Johnson - Civil War
G-Uncle Johnnie Johnson- World War I
Uncle Huey Lee-World War II 8 Mar 1943
Jewel and Herbert Burney-Korean War
Clyde Lee-Vietnam War
D.Burney and T. Carter-Desert Storm
JKB-Iraqi War


Again, these are just a few. There were so many others. I plan to do a special tribute in another blog to salute ALL those who served this country so valiantly.

I encouraged my nephew to keep his faith and to be prayerful and to remember that he is not going alone, that God will be there every step of the way.

You would have to know my nephew and the journey he took to get where he is today. Even as a tot, you could see that God created someone very SPECIAL. He is one of the most spiritually beautiful people you would ever want to know. He is a man full of
eloquence, grace and honor. He is the type of person that finds friends where ever he goes.


I know that God will accompany him on his journey and ensure his safe arrival back home to his family that loves him.

Please keep him in your prayers

Lamberton Genealogy Project

The following is a Press Release from a gentleman connected with my Brayboy line.

Press Release
May 28, 2008
George Geder


Lamberton Genealogy Project



November 2007 was the beginning of a wonderful and productive relationship for me with the Robert E. Lamberton Elementary school of Philadelphia, PA. Their principal, Marla Travis-Jones declared the 2007-2008 school year's theme as 'Family History & Genealogy'. My wife, Cynthia and I flew from Santa Fe to present and speak to the students about ancestry.

We showed the kids the PBS program 'History Detectives' that featured my 2nd great grandfather John Stevenson, an African American Civil War soldier and veteran. Then we gave a PowerPoint presentation of my ancestors, telling stories and explaining genealogical research along the way. We had a delightful and illuminating Q&A session with the students and their parents. After two days, we returned home.

For the next six months, the students had genealogy projects to develop. In order to graduate from middle school to high school, they had to create a family history presentation. And create they did! Booklets, posters, computer discs, oral histories on audio tape, and even a dance interpretation of three generations of women in one family!

I returned to the school in May to witness - and judge - a collection of genealogical treasures that just blew me away. I could tell that many of the students had help from their older siblings, parents and relatives. No points were taken off for that. In fact, that was the big 'Gotcha' moment. The whole family got together on a genealogical project! Folks, it doesn't get any better than that!

The top ten students had to present to me. There was the typical talking too fast, too low, not facing the audience, stumbling, fumbling, etc. There was something else, also. There was pride, improved self-esteem, and an awareness and upliftedness that comes from learning and knowing your ancestry. One student learned that there are skilled tradesmen on his father's side and college graduates on his mother's side. Another student had prominent ancestors from Haiti. Others had world class boxers, jockeys and footballers to point to. One student could trace his ancestors back to the 1700's. All of the students couldn't wait to tell me what they found out about their families. We also digressed a lot, talking about hippies, yippies, Black Panthers and all kinds of things. We had big fun.

At this juncture, I want to report that the school has all the attributes of an inner city facility in crisis. I could tell that they were probably near the bottom of the list for resources. One of the security personnel drove me between the school and the hotel. He explained to me what a tough job he and the teachers had in keeping the children safe and providing an education at the same time. Their saving grace came in the form of their progressive and dedicated principal, Marla Travis Jones.

It was Mrs. Jones, inspired by the PBS program, who figured that one way to make a difference in her students' lives was to shine a light on their family histories and have that reflection be part of their academic well being. And they got it; the students, parents and teachers! Mrs. Barbara Feracco, an eight grade teacher with a passion for genealogy, assisted the students throughout the year and was surprised by and proud of the students' efforts and parental participation. I was more than appreciative of her help in narrowing down the field to the top ten projects.

Well, I am the Lamberton school's official genealogist. That's an honor I'll cherish and respect for a long time to come. I'm already planning my next visit!

George Geder

Peace,
"Guided by the Ancestors"
http://george-geder.blogspot.com

Congratulations to my nephew Jonathan Anene

Press Release
by Carla Anene

On Friday, January 24, 2008, Jide was crowned Third Grade Spelling Champion at his school. Jonathan, an eight-year-old scholar/athlete, bested all of his third grade peers and one formidable second grader to take the third-grade title in his school's spelling bee. Audience members hung on the edges of their seats as the third-grade competition went into overtime with the final two spellers, Jonathan and second-grader Madi, dueling it out. Earlier that morning second-grade spelling phenom Madi had captured the second-grade title, then thrilled audiences by out-spelling all third graders except Jonathan. Jonathan and Madi matched each other word for word until all of the words on the official third grade list had been exhausted. The moderator then went to an auxiliary list. The break in the match came when Madi misspelled "furniture." Jonathan stepped to the microphone and correctly spelled that word, and then spelled "muscle" to capture the title.

Jonathan's accomplishments are all the more remarkable when you consider his route to the championship. Just one week prior to the spelling bee, all third graders were required to participate in a "pop" spelling bee, without any opportunity for preparation. From that competition, Jonathan and 5 other classmates emerged as the top spellers. They were given the task of studying 522 frequently misspelled words, in addition to their regular homework assignments and extracurricular activities.

Following Jonathan's win, his mother beamed with pride as she congratulated Jonathan with a bear hug. She was overhead telling the school principal, "I barely made it here. This morning I awoke to a flat tire and a bent rim, but I pleaded with the guys at the repair shop to expedite the repair because my son was in the spelling bee. I also persuaded my boss to change the time of our staff meeting so I could get here. Then, there was heavy traffic due to the pouring rain, but nothing was going to stop me from getting here." Jonathan's mom arrived just as Jonathan's close friend and basketball teammate was eliminated. That ouster left Jonathan and Madi to duke it out for the title.

Over a celebratory dinner on Friday evening, Jonathan's parents reminded their children that Jonathan's victory, as well as his buddy's third-place finish, sends a powerful message that African-American students in general, and African-American males in particular, are an academic force to be reckoned with. Jonathan and his buddy are the only two African-American students in third grade. Jonathan's parents also noted that the only two African-American males in the fourth grade class also advanced to the finals in their division, although they did not place in the top three. Jonathan's parents shared with their son a favorite quote from the late, great Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. "There are three keys to success- preparation, preparation, preparation." Jonathan has already learned to put that motto into action.

Congratulations, Cousin Kelvin Cochran

I would like to send out a hearty congratulations to my cousin, former Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran of the Shreveport Fire Department. He has accepted a new position as Fire Chief of the Atlanta Georgia Fire Department and will head a department of 37 fire stations and 1,045 employees (sworn and non-sworn) as of January 2nd, 2008.

The City of Shreveport recently gave him a wonderful celebratory send-off and the Mayor declared it, Kelvin Cochran day!

He is also First Vice President of the International Fire Chiefs Association.

I just want to say how proud we are of you Kelvin. I know all your family in Shreveport will miss you but we are all so proud of you.

Thank you for representing the Brayboy, Jefferson, Hines, Pressley lines so well!