Daughter Dialogues

Announcing the end of season two, Daughter Dialogues will return on Thursdays in September (postponed until February 2022). This episode includes observations in review of season two, listener comments, podcast statistics, announcements of live virtual events to interact with the Daughters, and a season three preview. Hear the status of breaking the series into seasons and pace of the research project; common shared experiences among the Dialogues, new! from season two: bold women, connecting with African ancestors, American Indian heritage, universities built on labor of ancestors, influence of Roots by Alex Haley on Daughters, setting records straight, mismanagement of records, Daughters not believing they would have a Revolutionary War ancestor, Civil Rights and segregation struggles, letters to military men who then became a husband, Daughters breaking color and gender barriers, Daughters as survivors, Confederacy insensitivities, being nervous about joining the DAR in the South, Daughters being voted upon with black balls and white balls, election and health and racism pandemics in 2020 causing some Daughters to not record oral history, chance encounters; additional experiences in common with season one: white men with black women who were often enslaved in 1700s and 1800s providing a different narrative of how white men took care of their black families and passed down their property to them, white women with black men in the 1800's, colorism and complex struggles with racial identity because of color of skin, rejection or denial by white descendants of ancestors, black Daughters connecting with white descendants of their ancestor’s former enslavers, dual family, or shared common ancestor, members of the U.S. Colored Troops, people of color owning slaves, free people of color; season 2 publicity on Chicago and Quincy, IL radio, NM radio, Cheddar TV, ABC & NBC News Washington D.C., Washingtonian Magazine, geeking out on numbers; Daughter Dialogues downloaded nearly 17,000 times, placing it in top 40% of podcasts among 30+ million episodes available; listeners on every continent except Antarctica; top cities and countries in which listeners are located; announcing season 2 Dialogue with the Daughters Live! in August 2021 during which listeners will be able to meet the Daughters and ask questions live; season three preview: meet a black Jewish member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a descendant of a American Indian female patriot. August 5, 2021 update: Season 2 Dialogue with the Daughters Live! is postponed until January 2022 and the subsequent return of Daughter Dialogues for a Season 3 is postponed until February 2022 due to the passing of Robert Raney, on August 3, 2021, father of the host Reisha Raney.
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Charlotte shares stories about her white great-great-great-grandmother who had a child with a black man and descended from Revolutionary War patriot William Lindsey Durham whose grandson is the namesake of the city in North Carolina; and her Welsh ancestry, descending from free people of color of Chatham County, North Carolina who trace back to patriarch Moses Myrick of Wales. She talks about growing up in the small close-knit community of Pittsboro, North Carolina; dropping out of NC A&T and enrolling in a pharmacy technician program at Durham Technical Community College; joining the U.S. Navy where she learned air traffic control; the strain of being in the military on her marriage; earning a bachelor's in Computer Information Systems; her career in clinical trials working as an associate director at a major pharmaceutical firm managing reported adverse events; meeting her second husband in the Navy; traveling to Anglesey, Wales with white American genetic cousins, after having only met online, that descend from Moses Myrick; Welsch townspeople assuming her white husband was a Myrick instead of her; visiting Bodorgan Hall, where the Welsh hosted a garden party for descendants at the Myrick estate; wanting to know more about her European H1 haplogroup and her hair since she was always questioned about her unusual combination of having brown skin with long silky hair; discovering three Revolutionary War patriots starting with her great-great-grandmother Luevinia’s death certificate, that named her mother Mary Pendergrass, who was white, and father Abe Horton, who was black; Mary's mother Martha Durham, descendant of Revolutionary War patriot William Lindsey Durham; not learning in school that there were free people of color prior to the American Revolution and instead only learning about slavery and the Civil Rights movement; joining DAR to document her family history; her patriots Matthew Durham (William's father) and “Chatham John” Pendergrass, ancestor of Mary's father; her frustration due to the individual submitting her DAR application not including her supporting documentation explaining the nuances of being a black applicant with the unusual circumstance of Luevinia being the child of a white woman and a black man, causing a delay in approval; Luevinia marrying a black man Rob and the couple residing on Pendergrass property in Orange County, North Carolina; Rob holding a great deal of land; enjoying DAR's outreach to veterans; the importance of representing people of color to which DAR is also of service; accepting DAR amends with Marian Anderson; her DAR membership providing validation since her family was here before the American Revolution, “I cannot be told to go back to Africa, our history is messy but that's what makes us Americans"; serving as a chapter officer; having a different outlook knowing she descends from a white woman; having a "Reese Witherspoon chin" like Luevinia; connecting with a white Pendergrass relative but descendants of Luevinia's white half siblings not being interested; searching for Luevinia's black brother Madison; "it's funny how we are at each other's throat with the unrest...we are all related". Read Charlotte's biography at www.daughterdialogues.com/daughters
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Yolanda discusses her Croatan Native American Revolutionary War patriot Ephraim Manuel, son of 7th great grandfather Nicholas Manuel who was enslaved with his wife Bungey, both being of African descent in Elizabeth City County, Virginia; Nicholas migrating to Croatan territory in Samson County, North Carolina after he was freed from slavery in 1718; the Daughters of the American Revolution listing her patriot as Native American since his great grandson Enoch Manuel was Croatan and listed Ephraim as Croatan in his records; Enoch having several wives; 2nd great grandfather Herbert, Enoch's son, marrying an African American because he didn't want to intermarry; being proud of her patriot ancestor regardless of whether he was African American or Native American because the American colonies were losing the war, including people of color turned it around. Recording her oral history a mere two hours after the historic conviction of a white police officer for murdering a black man, Mr. George Floyd, Jr. Yolanda shares “my ancestors fought for freedom, equality, social justice, and democracy for everyone and every generation has to fight to preserve it”; being born in Ocala, FL, a 5th generation native Floridian; her childhood being centered around church and school; attending predominantly white schools; earning a bachelor's degree in psychology from Emory University in Atlanta, GA; completing an internship at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas; earning a PhD in clinical psychology at University of Georgia; working at Savannah State University to get the black college experience she missed out on as a student; running a private practice as a clinical psychologist; returning to Tallahassee to work at her “family’s school” of Florida A&M; discovering an online family tree leading to her patriot; being floored she could trace her ancestry to 1680, not believing she could join DAR; being unaware of free people of color and Croatan ancestors; impressed at how well documents were preserved, joining DAR to continue their preservation; Millie Manuel, widow of patriot, never getting paid for Ephraim's service; seeing how records of people of color were given less care than those of whites, grandmother's marriage certificate not listing parents' names, but instead just showing "willing"; her father being supportive of her joining DAR and her husband calling her "black royalty"; supporting the military since two of her sons are Navy officers; her 94 year old grandmother's birth certificate only listing her as "baby" Manuel; having attended universities in which individuals paved the way, same with DAR, people of color fought and sued to become members; representing patriots of color as a DAR member, telling the full story of the victory of the war; serving as a chapter officer, Librarian; being a DAR member in the South, not being ready to record oral history in 2020 with individual members' social media pages feeding into inequality and oppression of the racism pandemic, also disturbing they were ignoring the health pandemic that disproportionately impacted people of color; “I represent diversity in DAR, not just by my skin color but also by my patriot”; “not everyone who fought in the Revolution was European, this country is not just for Europeans”; enjoying time with members of color in DAR; being scared to attend first meeting, but it being very pleasant; anyone can join if they can prove lineage, and education or socio-economic status not mattering so DAR is an extremely diverse organization; being proud that women had the forethought to purchase DAR headquarters land while not forgetting her grandmother couldn't join; committing to continued membership and service in DAR.
Read Yolanda's biography at www.daughterdialogues.com/daughters
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Gabrielle shares how towering over her family at 6’2”, she struggled to overcome nervousness about joining the Daughters of the American Revolution in which she discovered new-found black and white relatives who were members that share descendancy from her Acadian Revolutionary War patriot Pierre Richard whose descendant Telismar Richard, a Frenchman from Arnaudville, Louisiana, had a son Joseph Richard with Elizabeth John, a mulatto possibly working as a maid for family; their never marrying but Telismar having two wives; and her childhood shaping her to be committed to keeping her marriage together for her children by her being made to live with her father, after her parent’s divorce, and then having to move in with her maternal grandmother since her mother no longer wanted her to stay with him, all while her younger sister lived with her mother five hours away. She talks about being born in Beaumont, Texas and living in Lafayette and Broussard, Louisiana; learning archery and participating in band and track in school; her mother currently living with her; marrying the father of her child and their having two more children; working at a hair salon; modeling; studying Journalism and Arts in college; wanting to prove all of her paternal grandmother's stories about family photos; her grandmother meeting white great-great grandfather Telismar Richard and his siblings who would come to see them; Pierre Richard’s Revolutionary War service in the Galvez Expedition in Opelousas and him appearing on an Acadian memorial in Louisiana; DNA testing matching her with individuals on family trees of Pierre Richard; assuming in history class that she wouldn't have a Revolutionary War patriot because she was not white; approaching a DAR booth at a San Antonio, Texas genealogy conference and learning the attending Daughter knew two members whose patriot was Pierre Richard, finding out that one was a new found white cousin, who was trying to help women of color join DAR and went on to help her apply through her papers and find a chapter; proof of Telismar and Elizabeth's union from their both claiming son Joseph, on his marriage records; joining DAR as a person of color to have a place in history and provide a way for other family members or people of color to join; discovering white cousin Michael Richard, who went to a DAR school and is in Sons of the American Revolution, through meeting his wife on Ancestry; being nervous about joining DAR, going to the first meeting with a friend of the Daughter she met who belonged to a chapter in San Antonio; later, transferring to get away from opinionated members, particularly involving comments about the Obama presidential election; working in property management with the owner of a ranch, also in DAR, whose chapter was more diverse having younger and Hispanic members, getting up the nerve to walk into her first meeting alone; acquaintances wondering why she was in DAR since it is majority white and their thinking DAR represents hatred towards people of color; correcting them, encouraging them to join, and letting them know that DAR does good things; thinking that she was the only member of color in all of Texas state DAR then, on a virtual Daughters of color gathering discovering a black member that was a relative living in Houston and that a member of color just joined her chapter; feeling more relaxed having other DAR members of color; DAR is a sisterhood and a love of history; braving shyness despite being uncomfortable recording her oral history since it is important for her children and family to know their past and that someone like them descends from a patriot that fought in the American Revolution.
Read Gabrielle's biography at www.daughterdialogues.com/daughters
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Pazetta shares oral history about growing up in Boyce, Louisiana on a former plantation, living in the caretaker’s home with slave cabins on the property; her Choctaw Indian great grandmother Milly being traded by an Indian chief, possibly her father, for a horse as a child; her great grandfather, Revolutionary War patriot descendant Captain Henry Newton Berryman, and his first wife, Helena, a white woman, raising Milly then, him having an affair with her, resulting in a child, Many, neither being slaves; her grandfather Many's warm relationship with Helena; Capt. Henry also having children with an enslaved woman, graduating from West Point in 1817, protecting a black boy from being lynched, giving his enslaved blacks his Natchitoches, Louisiana plantation; Helena protecting slaves; her Choctaw Indian and white father and black mother both from Natchitoches; her father and his brothers marrying black since it was unacceptable for a white woman to marry a mixed race man but his sisters marrying white; her father selling high value paper shell pecans as a farmer; WWII soldiers on family farm for maneuvers, having a lonely soldier at the table every night wanting to talk; attending a four room schoolhouse; being the darkest in family; her father accepted in Creole community as "the old Indian"; being bullied in Marshall, Texas because black kids were jealous she had hair to her waist; relation to Sir Isaac Newton; earning a gold medal in the Texas AAA division public speaking contest and graduating in the top ten in high school, voted Best All-Around Girl by faculty; attending Wiley College, majoring in mathematics, voted Most Beautiful, a Kappa Alpha Psi Sweetheart, joining Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, selected as Miss Junior, Homecoming Queen, graduating Cum Laude; her Creole mother in-law wearing a black dress to wedding in mourning because her son was with a chocolate girl; sister in-law being bothered by her being accepted into the DAR; deciding to identify as black; keeping her Native American heritage a secret; working as a research assistant at Penn State Physics Dept; working at Tennessee State University teaching math and in the Computer Center; her daughter born with club feet, placing them in casts, enrolling her in ballet, resulting in her studying at the School of American Ballet and dancing with Dance Theater of Harlem all over the world; giving talks about the effect of nutrition on disabilities; hunters gathering wild deer, rabbits, squirrel and turkeys for her daughter's dietary needs; giving talks about the contributions and culture of Native Americans; lifting weights five times a week; her maternal ancestors enslaved on George Washington's plantation; feeling a sense of pride discovering her Revolutionary War patriot William Berryman serving in Virginia; for those who suggest we go back to Africa "my lineage was here before you arrived and we fought for the freedom of this country"; father saying to maintain the race, marry someone darker skinned so the descendants can have an identity and be accepted by blacks; tracing oral history by writing a sheriff in Texas who delivered her letter to a white cousin who in turn recommended she join the DAR, then her children's pediatrician's wife, also a DAR member, suggesting she join; giving DAR a try despite the society's history of racism, joining to be a part of what she was entitled to; serving as chapter regent in Nashville, Tennessee, a couple of members transferring out because she was black but the rest embracing her; seeing more blacks in the society and members used to seeing them; "Blacks, Whites and Native Americans, we are all a part of this and we have to work together if we want to make a difference".
Read Pazetta's biography at www.daughterdialogues.com/daughters
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