The Magic of Collaboration (and Wikitree)
Have you ever had this experience? You've recently learned about something you previously knew nothing about, and then someone asks a question about exactly this subject? I find this happening all the time, and love it. The Black Genealogy Research Group of Seattle recently gathered information about an ex-slave, Mary Jane Green of Everett, Washington, for a program. In an effort to gather more information, contacts and help with this research, a Wikitree profile was created for her. I soon found that there is a project within Wikitree helping gather information about enslaved people in the US, using sources such as deeds, wills, business receipts, ledgers, even letters and oral testimony, called the US Black Heritage Project . I joined it, since I have other ex-slaves and at least one slave-owner to research. Then there was another connection. In the International Society of Genetic Genealogists (ISOGG) online group , there was a discussion of ...