I remember when "Roots" came on television. I, like most Black people watched with great angst and anticipation. Man! That movie moved me from horror to happiness. I remember not wanting to believe an ancestor of mine survived a horrific voyage across the sea, with such ridicule, degradation and dehumanization forced upon them. None the less, what African American didn't want to find their roots when Alex Haley found his?
So, my inquiry began. I remember asking my Mother about her family tree. The most she knew at the time was that her Great-grandfather was a white man (Tom Warner), who also had a half black son named Tom Warner and there were rumors that one of her Grandmother's was Seminole (Native American). I remember thinking, "What? No slaves?". After seeing "Roots", my white Great-great grandfather didn't impress me much.
Fast forward about 20 years to 1997. We're now in the Internet age and information flows on and off the World Wide Web faster than you can blink. A commercial about Ancestry.com is running a lot and I thought, "What can I lose?". I search on "Tom Warner" and find a couple of possible matches. I run and tell my mother, "I think we're Irish!" although I wasn't sure. Off and on over the past 10 years, I have searched and searched attempting to put the pieces of my own heritage together. I ran into dead ends, false leads (one false lead was that someone in our family was Mexican) and a road block of sites that wanted $$ for information. Finally, I bit the bullet and paid for my Great-grandmother's social security application. When I received it, sure enough...it had her Mother's (Recta Jones) and Father's (Tom Warner)name on it. Finally! Some proof that validated what my Mother remembered.
That really got me excited! My excitement turned into frustration when I realized the Ancestry.com database was filled with misspellings and customer-added family trees filled with errors. Never the less, I trudged on...then off...then on..then off for a period of years.
In February 2007, one early morning (about 1am), we were in the midst of a horrible snow storm and I knew no one would be going to work. I jumped on Ancestry.com (AGAIN), found this button that said something like, "Click here to see if anyone else is looking for Tom Warner". I clicked on the button and lo and behold, there were 2 family trees out there with the same name. I immediately emailed both people and went to bed. The next morning, I checked my email and couldn't believe my eyes. BOTH people had emailed me back. One was actually referring me to the other person I emailed. The referred email said, "My name is Grace...I think I can help you...here's my number...what's your number so I can call you?" I was shocked! The fact that I said I was African-American, looking for a half black Tom Warner and a white Great-great Grandfather named Tom Warner, didn't seem to scare her away. Wow! I emailed "Grace" my number and went about my day.
Later that day, I was on the phone talking to one of my sisters when my caller ID showed someone named "Grace" calling me. What? Could this be her? So soon? I hung up from my sister and answered the phone. I was greeted with a heavy southern drawl that would rival "Elly Mae" on "The Beverly Hillbillies". This lady knew about the half Black Tom Warner and knew his Father was her Great-grandfather Thomas Warner. Ahhhh...but the mood shifted a bit when I told her I was indirectly related to the half Black Tom Warner but I was directly related to Big Tom Warner's (her Great-grandfather) daughter. "Daughter?" she said. I then began to explain that my Great-great grandmother was her Great-grandfather's daughter. "Do you have any proof?" she said. "I sure do." I said. "Mail it to me." she said. Next thing I know we're exchanging addresses. I sent Grace a copy of the SS application as well as some pictures. Grace, in turn, sent me LOTS of the Irish family history and family trees. This began a great new relationship between me and a long distant "cousin".
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