Georgia Backroads: “We Are One People”

Georgia Backroads, Autumn 2013

I am delighted to announce the publication of my latest article in the current (Autumn 2013) issue of Georgia Backroads. “We Are One People” explores my ancestral ties to slavery, focusing specifically on the Armuchee Valley and Dirt Town Valley regions. My original photography, as well as antique images I curated, illustrate the piece. So much research and thought went into this article, and I feel this is one of my best pieces ever. Georgia Backroads has done a fantastic job putting together the issue with excellent writing, photography, and design. You can pick up a copy at newsstands or order the issue online.

If you haven’t seen my previous work for Georgia Backroads, check out the Winter 2012 issue as well!

For the other researchers out there, I thought I would share my bibliography for the “We Are One People” article (the sources are not printed in the magazine itself). Enjoy!

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Suttle’s Mill [video]

This week I am proud to bring you the first video for Jordan’s Journey since the original book trailer. This video is about Suttle’s Mill in the area known as Green Bush in the West Armuchee Valley of Walker County, Georgia. This is a very short film, a quickly digestible experiment to get things started if you will. You’d be amazed at how much work goes into creating something so brief. Ah… the things we do for art and genealogy!

A special thanks goes out to Michael Harren for working with me on this project. He provided the beautiful score cues. You can look forward to more original scoring from Michael in future Jordan’s Journey videos. I know I am!

The photo of Suttle’s Mill, taken in about the 1940s, was contributed by Kim Hendren. Ken digitized the image from the collection of Frank Shaw of Davis Crossroads, Georgia. Both Kim and Frank are descendants of the Suttle family.

The photo of the Puryear & Hunt general store is from the collection of Evelyn Morgan Shahan, generously shared by her daughter Judy Blackstock. This particular photo seems to be somewhat widespread in collections of Armuchee Valley families as I have encountered at least two others who have antique copies of the image. It’s a wonderful shot and I am grateful it has survived the generations.

To learn more about Green Bush be sure to read Jordan’s Journey. If you have any photos or other information to share, please leave a comment and get in touch.

Forever Young: Mapping Connections Between Armuchee Valley Families

Young Cemetery, West Armuchee, Walker County, Georgia, Feb 2012

This past week, I visited Young Cemetery in West Armuchee in Walker County, Georgia. I always enjoy old cemeteries, particularly those in the Armuchee and Dirt Town Valleys. Young Cemetery is overgrown. It’s challenging to navigate through the graves, and I got stuck by more than my fair share of briar branches… but hiking through the brush makes it that much more my kind of adventure.

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Maids-A-Milking: Suttle Women in West Armuchee

Suttle Dairy Farm
The old Suttle family dairy barn in West Armuchee, January 2012

Digging up stories throughout the process of writing Jordan’s Journey is one of the most interesting aspects of the project. I discovered many little details about my ancestors that helped me gain insight into their lives and personalities. I particularly enjoyed learning about the women. Women often don’t get their due in genealogy because we live in a patriarchal society. Sometimes, maiden names get lost, and you may not even know the family any given female ancestor comes from (I have several of these in my tree). I was, however, lucky enough to uncover quite a bit about some of my women ancestors, such as Caroline Pracilla Young (a brave pioneer who lost a husband and five children but kept going for her two surviving sons) or Margaret Lawrence (a rare matriarch whose children took her name–not that of their father). You can read about both of these women in Jordan’s Journey. But now I want to talk about a more distant female connection.

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