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| Uncle George, Me, Grandma Willa @ 1964 |
Date: 11/21/2003, 2:30 am.
I just came back from a visit, with my sister, to our Uncle George, in Martinsburg, West Virginia. He's a proud, albeit modest man of 90 years.
I was prepared to interview him with recorders, cameras, notebooks at the ready. He's the last of the branch on my mother's (his sister) side. Lucid, candid, and engaging, Uncle George still remembers many of the episodes surrounding his family and his growing up. Prior to our visit, he had shared some stories with my 'new cousins' in a video interview recorded in 2000.
[Some of you are aware of my meeting these same 'new cousins' for the first time, earlier this year]
On that video, he appeared frustrated as he couldn't answer their questions fast enough. They were rushing him. They also tried to lead him, in the hopes of enlightenment or clarification, down the paths of stories they had heard all their lives. He was gracious and generous in sharing what he knew. After all, they were family and had traveled considerable distances, from PA, SC, and FL, to see him.
His first sentence to me was an appeal for a pledge of confidentiality. Uncle George wanted to share the family history with me; but he felt that these stories were not up for family contesting.
"Don't tell anyone about this". Per his request, my recorders, cameras, and notebooks never came out of my suitcase.
[Some of you are aware of my meeting these same 'new cousins' for the first time, earlier this year]
On that video, he appeared frustrated as he couldn't answer their questions fast enough. They were rushing him. They also tried to lead him, in the hopes of enlightenment or clarification, down the paths of stories they had heard all their lives. He was gracious and generous in sharing what he knew. After all, they were family and had traveled considerable distances, from PA, SC, and FL, to see him.
His first sentence to me was an appeal for a pledge of confidentiality. Uncle George wanted to share the family history with me; but he felt that these stories were not up for family contesting.
"Don't tell anyone about this". Per his request, my recorders, cameras, and notebooks never came out of my suitcase.
Many of the things he told me were on that 2000 videotape. I sat in rapt attention. This was all new stuff to me. Unfortunately, this was debatable oral history for my cousins and they challenged him on practically everything he said. When you watch the tape, you can easily point to when Uncle George decided to shut down, as his answers got shorter and shorter.
Uncle George is decidedly 'old school'. The son of a sharecropper from Williston, SC, he has seen many things including whippings and murders. He'd rather leave these things in the past, feeling that nothing good can come of recounting these stories. However, he was obliged to tell me something; to satisfy my genealogy/research cravings and to let me know what the real deal was for our family, warts and all. In his liberation (getting some things out and off his chest), also he handcuffed me. He swore me to confidentiality.
That Sunday, we visited his church. The pastor asked us visitors to stand up and speak. Uncle George advised me and my sister to keep it brief. I wanted to shout how much I love my Uncle and that everyone should know of the depth of his experiences and what an embodiment of history they have in this member of their congregation - but I kept it short.
Uncle George is decidedly 'old school'. The son of a sharecropper from Williston, SC, he has seen many things including whippings and murders. He'd rather leave these things in the past, feeling that nothing good can come of recounting these stories. However, he was obliged to tell me something; to satisfy my genealogy/research cravings and to let me know what the real deal was for our family, warts and all. In his liberation (getting some things out and off his chest), also he handcuffed me. He swore me to confidentiality.
That Sunday, we visited his church. The pastor asked us visitors to stand up and speak. Uncle George advised me and my sister to keep it brief. I wanted to shout how much I love my Uncle and that everyone should know of the depth of his experiences and what an embodiment of history they have in this member of their congregation - but I kept it short.
"I'm the proud nephew visiting from California".
This Genealogy is hard stuff in more ways than we think. We encounter brick walls even before we get to 1870…. with so much to tell and so much kept in confidence.
This Genealogy is hard stuff in more ways than we think. We encounter brick walls even before we get to 1870…. with so much to tell and so much kept in confidence.
