Maudy Adkinson Johnson remembers walking across cow fields and busy roads as a child to get to her one-room schoolhouse in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

It was the 1950s, and Johnson said the Lee-Buckner School was teaching her how to read, write and do math problems. She was also making friends with other Black children.

Never once did she question why there were no White students at her school – instead, she said students were more focused on their education and building a sense of community.

“We never even talked about it being a difference in the races,” Johnson said. “We didn’t understand it.”

But whether the students knew it or not, Lee-Buckner was part of the Rosenwald Schools project — a broad effort to educate Black children in the rural South at a time when segregation prohibited them from attending White schools.

Julius Rosenwald, a philanthropist and president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, launched the project in partnership with Black American orator and president of the Tuskegee Institute, Booker T. Washington.

Rosenwald, his nonprofit, The Rosenwald Fund, and members of the Black community raised funding for the construction of more than 5,000 schools, teacher homes and shops between 1912 and 1932, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

You can read more in an article on CNN by Nicquel Terry Ellis at: https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/01/us/rosnewald-schools-legacy-preservation-reaj 

I normally publish 2 to perhaps 5 new articles per day, occasionally even more. That may change in the next few weeks as I am moving.

Starting next week, I am flying to Maine to finalize the purchase of a new home. I will then return to Florida to pack up my present home, load my furniture and personal belongings onto a truck, and begin the move.

COMMENT: How many people do you know move from sunny Florida to snowbound Maine in the middle of February? Well, I am moving in order to be near close relatives, especially my grandchildren. I was born and raised in Maine and spent the first 20 years of my life there so I think I know what I am in for weather wise.

My new home presently doesn't even have an internet connection (which I hope to change before I move in) and there will be several days I may be incommunicado as I will be driving from Florida to Maine. I have no idea what the internet connectivity will be like during those days.

The exact dates of my physical move have not been determined just yet. However, please don't be surprised if there will be no new articles published for a few days during the next few weeks.

How often has Punxsutawney Phil (a groundhog in Pennsylvania) accurately predicted whether there will be 6 more weeks of winter or not? According to a video on CNN, Punxsutawney Phil hasn’t been very accurate.

You can view the video at: http://tinyurl.com/muswneca

It takes 270 Electoral Votes to win the Presidential Election. One web site shows the projected electoral votes for the 2024 election, updated daily as the various public opinion polls release their findings. However, I found the history of electoral votes shown on the site to be much more interesting than today's projections.

For instance, in the first U.S. national election of 1789, George Washington won 69 electoral votes, John Adams won 34 electoral votes, and 35 electoral votes were cast for various other candidates. If my math is correct, that shows Washington as winning only 50% of the electoral votes.

Washington didn't fare any better when he ran for reelection in 1792, winning 132 Electoral Votes. Once again, that's 50% of the electoral votes. John Adams gained 77 votes while George Clinton received 50. Five electoral votes were cast for independent candidates in 1792.

Does the Electoral College system result in America always picking the best candidate? We could argue that forever, but I will point out the 1972 landslide reelection of Richard Nixon seems interesting. Nixon won 96.8% of the electoral votes (520 votes to George McGovern's 17), only to resign a few years later in disgrace.

The 270ToWin.com site provides statistics as well as maps showing which states voted for each candidate throughout history. This is an interesting site for history buffs. Go to http://www.270towin.com to learn more about American history.

The following announcement was written by the organizers ofThe Family History Show:

We are excited to welcome you to The Family History Show, Online next week!

With talks and all the features of a physical family history show, this virtual event can be easily accessed from wherever you are in the world without having to leave home.

The Family History Show, Online organised by Discover Your Ancestors magazine, will give participants the opportunity to put their research questions to an expert, watch free talks and speak to family history societies, archives and genealogical suppliers by text, audio, video chat or email from the comfort of their own home.

Make a date in your diary and snap up an early bird ticket now for only £7! You'll also get a downloadable goody bag worth over £10.

Featuring a range of interesting talks

This year’s show features the following talks:

• Donna Rutherford – Get the most out of your DNA test using GEDmatch. 

• Nick Barratt – Behind the Scenes of Who Do You Think You Are?

• Jackie Depelle – Out and About - In the Name of Family History.

• Keith Gregson – Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors.

• Nick Thorne – Tracing the History of a House through Time. 

Book a free one-to-one session with one of our speakers or AGRA experts

With hundreds of bookable slots available, get your ticket today and have one of our experts help you break down a brick wall.

Societies, Archives and Companies

Visit exhibitors, societies, archives, and companies in our virtual exhibition hall. You can talk to some of the stallholders by text, audio, or video from the comfort of your own home.

Early Bird Ticket Offer

Buy your tickets in advance and save – tickets to attend The Family History Show Online are available from the website at just £7.00 each. You will also get a FREE virtual goody bag on the day worth over £10. thefamilyhistoryshow.com/online/tickets/

For those who are looking forward to our in-person events. See us at the 2024 Family History Shows in the Midlands(March 16th), York (22nd June) and London (5th October).

Visit thefamilyhistoryshow.com to find out more.

MyHeritage has just refreshed the data for Theory of Family Relativity™, adding millions of new theories that can help explain your relationship to your DNA Matches.

Theory of Family Relativity™ is a powerful feature for genetic genealogy that helps to streamline your research by explaining how you and your DNA Matches might be related. It utilizes MyHeritage’s huge database of 46 million family trees and 19.8 billion historical records to offer plausible theories about how you are related to your DNA Matches.

Since the last update, the MyHeritage DNA database has grown, and with it the number of family tree profiles and historical records have increased. This has led to substantial growth in the overall number of theories.

Still haven’t taken a DNA test? Now is the perfect time to order a MyHeritage DNA kit!

Theory of Family Relativity™ by the numbers

Thanks to this update:

The total number of theories has grown by 22%, to 166,168,357.

The number of DNA Matches that include a theory has grown to 116,865,576, representing a 22% increase.

The total number of paths has increased by 21%, to 1,204,841,247.

The number of DNA kits with at least one theory has grown by 7%, to 2,528,969.

You can read a lot more about this new update in the MyHeritage Blog at: https://blog.myheritage.com/2024/02/theory-of-family-relativity-update/.

This year, the Digital Library of Georgia will be adding a variety of new newspaper titles to the Georgia Historic Newspapers (GHN) website (https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/).  Below is the list of titles currently slated to be added to GHN in the Spring and Summer of 2024.

Titles funded by the Chattooga County Historical Society

Summerville News, 1980-2000

Titles funded by the Georgia Public Library Service

Alamo News, 1912

Baker County News (Newton), 1939-1947

Bryan County Enterprise (Pembroke), 1924-1927

Bulletin (Irwinton), 1912-1954

Clayton County News and Farmer (Jonesboro), 1936-1955

Enterprise (Pembroke), 1913-1923

Forest Park Free Press and Clayton County News and Farmer, 1955-1967

Forest Park Free Press and Clayton County News and Farmer and Forest Park News, 1968-1969

Forest Park News, 1956-1967

Irwinton Bulletin, 1907-1911

Pembroke Journal, 1927-1970

Wheeler County Eagle (Alamo), 1913-1972

Wheeler Herald (Alamo), 1913

Titles funded by the Lucy Hilton Maddox Memorial Library Trust

Early County News, 1967-1983

Titles funded by the Monroe County Historical Society 

Monroe Advertiser, 1910-1930

Titles funded by the Newton County Library System

Covington News, 1942-1969

Titles funded by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta

Georgia Bulletin, 1981-1990

Titles funded by the University of Georgia Libraries

Athens Banner-Herald, 1929-1965

The oldest and largest fraternal organization in the state, The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, was founded in 1771 and has maintained an active presence in the state since then. We are excited to add new issues of The North Carolina Mason on the site to help represent this long history. These latest additions include 1973-1993, a significant update to our preexisting collection and a valuable resource for anyone interested in the membership, activities, and philanthropy of North Carolina Freemasons in the late twentieth century. To learn more about the North Carolina Masons today, you can visit their website.

New and Updated