When And Where Did My Journey Begin? In The Beginning

 On Friday, November 7, 1975, my maternal Grandmother Mary (Allen) Lankford / Lankfard. passed. She was the only grandparent I had the honor to met face to face. And during the following year, photos were discovered in her home and were later given to me.. I held on to those photos and began to wonder about my ancestors.

As I look back on my quest, I wouldn’t have imagine that my grandmother’s house being one of the stepping stone in my journey. And those photos, I still wonder about today. Who were these people?

The photo is of the Lankford / Lankfard House in the 1960’s.

As I pondered about my genealogy journey: I was wondering. What really sparked my interest? I believe that it happened well before I began my six grade class assignment at Mark Twain Elementary School. Each student had an oral presentation to present to the class about our family history.

It was a special thing. I even remember wearing red. I told my audience that I was one of nineteen children; we have the same mother and father. And that we had Indian blood in us. (I recall that the principle came to listen in.)

In 1976, I was watching TV and I heard about the book “Roots” written by Alex Haley was going to be made into a mini series in 1977. I was excited and wanted to see that. And so I did.

I started asking my mother Lula and my father David questions about their ancestors. I started looking at old family photos. I started reading books about how to search our roots. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.

In my beginning years, I didn’t know what I was searching for. I didn’t about the facts nor dates of my ancestors. As I continue to keep searching and compiling what I could, I obtained information . This data was showing me who my relatives were. And since the beginning, I’ve been uncovering more about my ancestors as I go along the way…

Thanks for reading.
When And Where Did My Journey Begin? In The Beginning
… a seed was planted and it began to grow and grow and grow into something amazing.

God bless
S.A. Blakley

.
Week 1 ~ Amy Johnson Crow’s #52Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge for 2025

This week’s theme is “In the Beginning.” (According to “The Sound of Music,” the beginning is a very good place to start.) Who was the first person you wanted to find when you started your genealogy journey? Was there a family member who sparked your interest, maybe by giving you a bunch of genealogy “stuff”? This would be a great week to write about them!

Who was the first person you wanted to find when you started your genealogy journey?

Isaac Blakey, because he was in the Civil War. I received his pension records in the early 1980’s. What a treasure this is. 

Was there a family member who sparked your interest, maybe by giving you a bunch of genealogy “stuff”?

I wrote about this in my last blog for December of  2024. I believe it was what my parents told me and that I wanted to know more about what they knew.