Dad and I had a great day at the Eastern Kentucky Genealogy Conference. A certified genealogist gave a talk about how to trace your female ancestors. She gave us a handout with a bunch of resources listed so Im going to have to check those out. We also had a man from Wayne County, WV give a talk about Milton Jameson Ferguson who was a Colonel in the Confederate Army. He was also prominent in politics before and after the war. Oddly enough, he moved to Louisa, KY (which had been a Union outpost) after the war because he had such problems in his home county. The best part was the Jenny Wiley talk. There was a lady who is a professor and psychologist who pretty much gave the version written in William Elsey Connellys book, which I own and have read. But she added some insights into Jennys probable state of mind from a psychological perspective. She also used power point to illustrate the journey Jenny took and had pictures of some descendants, Jennys grave, and some of the geographical places she would have been. Then, a professional storyteller named Octavia Spencer (Google her, she has a website) came out dressed up as Jenny Wiley and told the story from her point of view. It was very powerful. I had to get a tissue out because I was totally tearing up. I think Dad might have had a little bit of a watery eye problem, as well. She isnt relation to Jenny that she knows of, but some of us women ran into her in the ladies room and told her how good she was. I said that as Jennys fifth great-granddaughter, I thought Jenny would be proud of the way she told her story. Dad and I wandered outside to stretch (and so I could take butterfly pictures) and when we came back there was a lady giving an unscheduled speech about DNA testing and how she found her biological father that way. One interesting thing she said in regard to Jenny Wiley is that it has long been rumored that Jennys mother was an Indian. This lady was descended from Hezekiah Sellards (Jennys father) and her DNA showed no Indian ancestry. Neither does mine. So I think that is just a legend. I think everyone in the U.S. wants to believe they have some Indian ancestry in them. I know Ive heard stories on both sides of my family, but apparently if there was any Indian DNA, it didnt get passed on to me. Tomorrows talk was supposed to be from Marlitta Perkins who is an expert on the 14th KY Infantry, but she had to drop out. So instead Judge John David Preston will be speaking. Hes quite a prominent man in politics and Ive bought a book he wrote as he is an historian, too. His biography says he went to Harvard so Im going to wear my UPenn shirt tomorrow so we can get in an Ivy League fight!
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 00:04:18 +0000
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