When Clans Collide: The Germination of Adam’S Family Tree Through Surname, Life Experience, and Dna

By Wayne Rudolph Davidson

When Clans Collide: The Germination of Adams Family Tree through Surname, Life Experience, and DNA tells the story of author Wayne Rudolph Davidsons surname and its ancestral connection to individuals and events that have shaped the world in which we live. When Davidson set out to discover the ancestral history of his surname, he had no idea what he would encounter. On his journey, he discovered that people with the surname of Davidson have contributed to government and politics, business and economics, social sciences, religion, education, science and technology, music and entertainment, sports and recreation, and military history.

The research included here illustrates events ranging from the evolution of the English Crown and the building of North America to the American Revolution and the American Civil War. He also discovered quite a few events linked to African American history, including the period of Reconstruction, Buffalo Soldiers and the Great Plains, and the Great Migration. Davidsons have also contributed to the popularity of sports and entertainment, the growth of the office of the president of the United States, both World Wars, and the sacrifice of heroes.

Interesting and informative, When Clans Collide explores the history of one surname and provides a foundation and plan for making the connection to your own ancestral heritage through your surname.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abbott Press
• Release date: Dec 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781458212436

Wayne Rudolph Davidson

Wayne Rudolph Davidson, a research analyst, earned a doctoral degree in management and organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix. He is also the author of Manufacturing African American Self-Employment in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. He and his wife, Bertha, have four girls with four-year college degrees and one granddaughter. They currently live in Michigan.

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Copyright © 2013 Wayne Rudolph Davidson.

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ISBN: 978-1-4582-1245-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-1244-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4582-1243-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013920272

Abbott Press rev. date: 12/02/2013

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

Acknowledgments

Timeline

Touchdown, Davidson!

Framework

The Birth of the Surname: Davidson

The Seed of Adam

1870 African American Family

Chapter 1  Clan Davidson, the Paternal Surname

Life in the European Middle Ages

Fear of Famine

Subsistence and Poor Diet

Education, Shelter, and Poor Hygiene

Disease

Medical Practices

Religion in the European Middle Ages

Life in the Clan System

The Role of the Male

The Role of the Female

Children

Matrimony: a Strategic Alliance in the European Middle Ages

The Surname takes a Journey

Clan Davidson

Banishment for the Homeland

Ulster Plantation: Precolonial Migration/Handpicked Recruits

Life in the New World: Jamestown and Roanoke

The First Census and the Statutes

Religion in the Colonies

Like George: The Colonial Man, Citizen, Property Owner in the New World

The Role of the Father

The Role of the Female

Children in the Colonial Family Unit

Matrimony: a Strategic Alliance in the New World

Alexander The Immigrant Davidson of Virginia

Life in the New World for Chattel and Orphans

The Ancestral Line of Alexander Davidson, the Colonial Man and Property Owner

The Revolutionary War

The War of 1812

Barren County, Kentucky

Alexander Davidson’s Legacy

The Davidson Estate

The Line of Thomas Davidson/Davison from Ireland

Matrimony: a Strategic Alliance in Colonial Times

The Marriage Protocol

Thomas Davidson/Davison, Citizen/Property Owner

The Heritage of General George Washington

The Heritage of Brigadier General Alexander Spotswood

The Heritage of Captain Meriwether Lewis

Growth of the Clan Davidson in the New World 1790–1860

Summary

Chapter 2  Clan Davidson and the Seed of the Negro Boy Named Adam and the Negro Woman Named Venis

Slavery

Slavery in Antiquity

Assimilation

African Slavery

Slavery in America

Life in the New World

Military Service in the Revolutionary War

Military Service in the War of 1812

Across the Canadian Border

Dual Social Structure

Black Codes

Tithable

The Slave Tree of Reverend Alexander Davidson 1744–1865

The Slave Tree of Thomas Davidson/Davison from Ireland 1784–1865

Mt. Tabor Baptist Church

Slave Membership

The Personalities of Slave Church Members

Personal Habits

The Surname and Legal Property

The Slave Community

The Slave Family Unit

The Slave Quarters

Human Conditions

For Sale

Resistance

Matrimony: a Strategic Alliance in the Slave Community

The Role of the Male Slave

The Role of the Female Slave

Children of the Slave Generation

The First Negro Migration: 1815–1910

Race-Based Legislation in the North

Northeastern States

The Northwest Region

Target of Violence

Protecting Rights

Religion in the Slave Community

The Negro Church in the Antebellum Period

Building Congregations

The Pre–Civil War Preacher

Pre–Civil War Formal Education for Negro Ministers

Negro Leadership in the Antebellum Period

Black Slave Owners

Summary

Chapter 3  Clan Davidson and the African American Families of the 1870 US Federal Census

The Recruitment of United States Colored Troops

The Black Confederate Soldier

The Engagement of the Black Confederate Soldier

The Engagement of United States Colored Troops

The Surname Davidson and Colored Soldiers

Barren County Colored Soldiers

Post–Civil War: The Buffalo Soldier

Life in the Reconstruction Period

Freedmen’s Bureau

Matrimony: a Strategic Alliance in the Reconstruction Period

The Negro Family in the Reconstruction Period

The Role of the Father

The Role of the Mother

Children

Coe Ridge: A Mulatto Community

Jim Crow Laws

Corporal Punishment

The 1870 US Federal Census

The Surname Davidson and the New Citizen

The Line of Harris/Harrison Citizen Davidson: Citizen/Property Owner in the Reconstruction Period

Presumption and Recognition

Rocky Hill Baptist Church

The Fire

Religion in the Reconstruction Period: the Negro Church Post–Civil War

Self-Determination

Leadership Training and Politics

The Transformation of the Negro Church in the Post–Civil War

The Traditional Negro Church versus the Progressive Negro Church

The Baptist Church: The Middle Ground

Progressive Negroes

Social Benefits

The Education Foundation

Organizational Structure

The Negro Church of the Early Twentieth Century

The Pastor

Religious Census

The 1880 US Federal Census

The 1890 US Federal Census

Capital Punishment in Kentucky 1780–1900

Buffalo Soldiers: Spanish-American War/Philippine-American War

The 1900 US Federal Census

The 1910 US Federal Census

The Negro Migration: 1910–1940

Growth of the Clan Davidson African American Branch 1870–1930

World War I Selective Service

Barren County World War I Soldiers

The 1920 US Federal Census

The 1930 US Federal Census

The 1940 US Federal Census

World War II Selective Service

Barren County World War II Soldiers

The Negro Migration: 1940–1970

Summary

Appendix

Reference Sources

Epigraph: Notes

Introduction: Notes

Introduction: Biblical Notes (New King James Version)

Chapter 1: Notes

Chapter 2: Notes

Chapter 2: Biblical Notes (New King James Version)

Chapter 3: Notes

Chapter 3: Biblical Notes (New King James Version)

Appendix

Bibliography

To my Savior, Jesus Christ;

To my parents and my siblings;

To my wife, Bertha;

To my daughters,

Treasure, Lydia, Lynette, Jeanne, and Kalyn

Epigraph

It is about who you are, and not knowing who you are, leaves a very, very empty space.

¹

Patricia Lee, lost then found half-sister of Oprah Winfrey.

List of Figures

Figure 1-1:   Children of Alexander Davidson and Ann Bridges Davidson

Figure 1-2:   Children of Alexander Davidson and Mary Ellis Jones Davidson

Figure 1-3:   Children of Thomas Davison and Ann Alexander Lewis

Figure 2-1:   Mt. Tabor Baptist Church: slave membership

Figure 3-1:   Family members of Harris/Harrison Davidson, 1870 US federal census, extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Figure 3-2:   Rocky Hill Baptist Church: Negro membership

Figure 3-3:   Family members of Harris/Harrison Davidson, 1880 US federal census, extracted from US Census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Figure 3-4:   Family members of C. C. Davidson, 1900 US federal census, extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Figure 3-5:   Family members of Ernest Davidson, 1930 US federal census

List of Tables

Table 1-1:   Revolutionary soldiers and participants (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 1-2:   Revolutionary War pension/bounty-land warrant (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 1-3:   Surname Davidson, Davison and Davis Participants in the War of 1812 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 1-4a:   Select population with the surname Davidson (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 1-4b:   Select population with the surname Davidson (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 1-5a:   Select population with the surname Davison (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 1-5b:   Select population with the surname Davison (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 1-6a:   Select population with the surname Davis (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 1-6b:   Select population with the surname Davis (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 2-1:   Surnames Davidson, Davison, and Davis, who served in the militia between 1651–1776 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-1a:   US Civil War draft registration records, 1863–1865 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com)

Table 3-1b:   US Civil War draft registration records, 1863–1865 (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-2a:   US Civil War, Union and Confederate soldiers with surnames Davidson, Davison, and Davis, census records (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-2b:   US Civil War, Union and Confederate soldiers with surnames Davidson, Davison, and Davis, census records (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-3a:   US Civil War, US colored officers and soldiers with surnames Davidson, Davison, and Davis, census records (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-3b:   US Civil War, US colored officers and soldiers with surnames Davidson, Davison, and Davis, census records (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-4a:   Ministers by denomination in 1906 census (statistics estimation), extracted from US census 1910 database

Table 3-4b:   Ministers by denomination in 1906 Census (graph estimation), extracted from US census 1910 database

Table 3-5a:   Negro church membership 1900–1910 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census 1910 database

Table 3-5b:   Negro church membership 1900–1910 (graph estimation), extracted from US census 1910 database

Table 3-6a:   Church establishments in 1906 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census 1910 database

Table 3-6b:   Church establishments in 1906 (graph estimation), extracted from US census 1910 database

Table 3-7a:   Church membership by sex and race in 1906 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census 1910 database

Table 3-7b:   Church membership by sex and race in 1906 (graph estimation), extracted from US census 1910 database

Table 3-8a:   Clan Davidson African American Branch for Davidson, 1870–1930 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-8b:   Clan Davidson African American Branch for Davidson, 1870–1930 (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-9a:   Clan Davidson African American Branch for Davison, 1870–1930 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-9b:   Clan Davidson African American Branch for Davison, 1870–1930 (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3:10a:   Clan Davidson African American Branch for Davis, 1870–1930 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3:10b:   Clan Davidson African American Branch for Davis, 1870–1930 (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-11a:   World War I draft registration records, 1917–1918 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-11b:   World War I draft registration records, 1917–1918 (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-12a:   World War II draft registration and death records, 1938–1946 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-12b:   World War II draft registration and death records, 1938–1946 (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-12c:   World War II draft registration and death records, 1938–1946 (statistics estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Table 3-12d:   World War II draft registration and death records, 1938–1946 (graph estimation), extracted from US census database as compiled by Ancestry.com

Preface

T his qualitative case study examines the genealogical roots of the author to identify an ancestral tree and its associates branches. The relationship between surname, personal experience, the scientific study of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and a Negro boy named Adam formed the theoretical foundation for this study. Six historical events were found to be important in the ancestral timeline of the author: African slavery; the colonization of Virginia; the antebellum period; the American Civil War; the thirteenth United States census, taken in 1870; and the Negro Great Migration that emerged in 1910.

The most astonishing discovery was the ancestral relationship to:

the male progenitor of the surname Davidson;

the English crown as well as five prominent Virginian families;

a soldier dead on the battlefield of Rottenton;

a sailor on duty to Roanoke;

a ship’s captain racing to save the Jamestown settlement;

a father in service to the queen of England and a son in service to Jamestown;

a Jamestown widow;

an English pirate who forgot to name a famous island after himself;

an accused man whose illicit tryst shaped the colonial slave codes;

an Indian interpreter contracted to a surveyor and future president;

a wounded British soldier at Bunker Hill;

two military heroes of the American Revolutionary War;

a signer of the 1799 Kentucky state constitution;

a Negro sailor in the War of 1812;

the freed slaves and war veterans in the Negro settlements in Nova Scotia;

three United States presidents;

a free Negro who owned slaves;

the coining of the Underground Railroad;

a pioneer black Baptist preacher during the 1830s antislavery movement;

the confederate leader of a seceded nation and his benevolent brother;

a model self-sufficient slave community in Mississippi;

the existence of black Confederate soldiers;

four military heroes of the American Civil War;

the first black lieutenant governor in the period of Reconstruction;

the patriarch of the wealthiest family in the world;

a leader of the Buffalo Soldiers;

two decorated soldiers of the western Great Plains;

five Medal of Honor recipients;

the wife of the most distinguished educator in the Negro community;

two eminent biblical scholars;

an international men’s tennis event and championship cup;

three brothers and friend creation of the most beloved motorcycle company;

the archbishop of Canterbury;

a brother-in-law and partner of a famous watchmaker;

a young hero and Carnegie bronze medal winner who sacrificed his life to save others;

the first urban depressed freeway in the United States;

the wealthiest woman of color in Kentucky;

a semipro Hebrew baseball team;

a military father and son of African descent appointed to the rank of general;

the world’s greatest entertainer;

a political icon of the 1960s and Black Power movement;

a jazz great;

a local billionaire in the Detroit metropolitan area;

a music mogul;

the number one draft pick in the National Basketball Association in 2012;

the matriarch of the most adorable performing boys and girl in entertainment;

the most visible sports trademark in the world;

the police commissioner during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings;

a massacred World War II Negro soldier;

and the union of the Barclay and Davidson families that may have yield two presidents of the nation of Liberia in Africa.

Arguably the most important event in the matter of genealogy is the thirteenth United States census, taken in 1870, when the African American family unit was first recorded as a vital statistic. In comparison, historians calculate that many African Americans have lost twenty generations to African slavery over a period of four hundred years. Genealogical research strategies employed by this author to date reestablished five generations of lost ancestors and provided interested African Americans with approaches to help fill gaps in research of their own ancestral heritage.

One distinguished historian of the nineteenth century theorized that genealogy is the mathematical application of human life, in which the outcome is the preservation of the human life cycle, and that the lineage of General George Washington is the most important ancestral tree in the establishment and preservation of the United States of America. If that statement is true, then all of its diverse branches should be included.

Acknowledgments

T o almighty God, who revealed my ancestral heritage to me. To my wife, Bertha, who gave her everlasting support to this time-consuming project, and my father, Reuben, who shared countless stories and memories of growing up on a rural farm in the Bluegrass State. To the Davidson family tree and all the folks who shared their own personal experiences along with inspiration and expertise for this endeavor of love: June Cline, Pamela Mitzelfeld, Mitchell Cross, Jennifer Wagner, James T. Williams, Deonte Bell, Rosalina Mitchell, Latoya Hobson, Cheryln McCann, Yousra Fouani, Dustin Hardin, Mary Ashley, Dennis Sands, Carl McDaniels, Robert Scheltema, Jim West, Ken North, and Rick Brown. A special thanks to the research of Ms. Anita Wills, Ms. Earlene Davison Giglierano, the Gorin Family of Barren County, Kentucky, Detroit Public Television-90.9 WRCJ, African Ancestry.com, and Ancestry.com.

Timeline

The Creation

Biblical Times

Ancient Times

Medieval Times

African Slavery

Colonial Times

Antebellum

Reconstruction Period

Twentieth Century

Twenty-First Century

Touchdown, Davidson!

A popular game founded in the heart of nineteenth-century America is football. Since that time, the game of football has been generally associated with the fall season. But a football in the form of a physical object can be tossed around at just about any time or any place or anywhere. The distinctly measured field in which the game is played often is referred to as a gridiron. With yardage markers and scoring areas, the gridiron gives the playing field scale. The scoring areas typically are identified as the goal line or end zone. The object of the game called American football is to advance a football, an oblong-shaped ball, past the yardage markers and to the scoring area.

During the game, a player maintains legal possession of the ball as the player breaks the plane of the opponent’s goal line of the end zone with both feet in bounds. The official dressed in a striped shirt raises both arms and fingertips straight up into the air to indicate that the score was legal, while simultaneously yelling out the word Touchdown! At that point, the game scoreboard is officially changed to reflect the new score. As a result of this scoring play, the player making the score is immediately transformed into hero or celebrity status. In this liberated moment, both envious and jeering spectators cast accolades in celebration or aspersions of desperation on the player who scored the touchdown. Few know that such a moment of accomplishment was the result of long hours of mental and physical training and, of course, a little good luck as far as chance and opportunity.

Now, this particular day was not the fall season but the month of June, and I was the player on a gridiron, just returning from a stint on the medical disabled list after beating the big C. I was positioned calmly in the corner of the end zone at Ford Field—home of the Detroit Lions, a professional football team in the National Football League—in position to make a legal score. Ironically, this scoring area was the very same end zone that the Detroit Lions rarely entered during their dismal winless season of 2008. I found it ironic because in my research I learned that I am a limb on the grim ancestral tree of an African slave formally listed as legal chattel of a Scottish immigrant in 1748. This day I can bring glory to both my hometown football team and my enslaved family tree.

This time, the traditional football was replaced by a sheepskin. For this game, the sheepskin represented academic achievement and provided the possessor with a scholarly opportunity to gain accolades or aspersion from both cheering and jeering spectators, if and when the possessor scored. The sheepskin was now in flight. I reached out to catch it while simultaneously keeping my feet inbounds. An official for the University of Phoenix, dressed in cap and gown with hands and fingers raised, yelled out, Dr. Wayne Rudolph Davidson! signaling the catch was good. Prior to this day, the only time I heard my middle name was when my mother wanted to scold me. She would scream Wayne Rudolph!

The crowd’s thunderous applause rocked the dome, showing great admiration and appreciation for the accomplishment. They yelled out, Boy, you know you’re bad! Go on, brother! My man, good job! Way to go, dude! Many could see the emotion in my face, which was held back by my need to be in a controlled state, and they shouted, Go ahead! It’s okay to cry! What the crowd did not know was that some thirty-nine years previous, I made an immature gesture and did a clumsy two-step on the auditorium stage when I graduated from high school at the bottom of my class. Now was the time to make it right. No tears today. I’d worked too long, too hard, and learned too much over the past thirty-nine years to weep and blubber in front of thousands of people; this moment called for quiet professionalism and dignity.

What the crowd did not know is that I had already cried a river of appreciation to my Creator and my family before the big game ever started. Yes, it was an emotional moment, but this monumental feat was well earned. Like many people who have experienced more than their fair share of failure, I found out that I was using the wrong rule book. I had been using the rules of baseball, my favorite pastime, on a football gridiron. When I finally understood that I should be using football rules on a football field, I adjusted to the discovery of new knowledge. Then, before long, success on the gridiron came.

Although this academic touchdown reflected a new score in my life experience, and a moment of great personal accomplishment that others could emulate, if they chose to do so, I was still ignorant. I was ignorant of those who provided the ancestral roots to my family tree.

What follows is the thought process in detailing my journey, to which a few people might take exception for whatever reason. That’s okay. I began with the idea as described in the next three sentences. I wanted to know my ancestral history. I wanted to meet the people of my ancestral family tree and learn of their life experiences. I wanted to understand the events they encountered—both as a collective group and as individuals—that led to the lifestyle that I currently enjoy. I too have had unique life experiences that I wish to share to keep my ancestral roots strong for those who are here now and for those who will follow.

The cinema creates movies that depict a particular story line, but nothing is better than researching one’s own story. This book was written because there was a story that needed to be told. Historian David McCullough, in Minzesheimer’s article David McCullough’s Ode to Americans in Paris, confessed that he wrote books that he wished existed but did not exist. He had a desire to read a particular story on a notable figure or interesting event, so ultimately, he researched the topic and then wrote the story.¹ I feel the same way regarding my own desire. Few books exist that informed me of where I, Wayne Rudolph Davidson, came from, where I had been, and where I should be going.

As a featured profile in celebration of Black History Month, a maternal relative named Henry Davis proclaimed to Anne Ingle, a reporter for the Bolivar Bulletin News, a Tennessee newspaper sometime during the 1990s, that he was proud of his children: We gave them an education!² As a result, those children could put the words and stories on paper from the point of view of both their free and enslaved ancestors and never lose sight of their journey. A similar sentiment is reflected in Booker T. Washington’s 1901 autobiography, Up from Slavery, where during a fundraising effort for Negro children, there was an encounter between Washington and an elderly handicapped former slave woman in the nineteenth century. The former slave woman wanted to help the cause desperately, so she handed over six chicken eggs toward the education of young Negro boys and girls. It turned out that the six eggs she gave to the cause were all she had to give,³ just as in the gospel of Luke 21:1–4, when the poor widow placed two mites in the treasury to further the works of Jesus the Christ. Beside my own educational accomplishment, it was world-renowned motivational speaker and my success mentor, the late Zig Ziglar, who provided inspiration at a critical time in my journey when he replied to my thank-you note, suggesting that it was a good time as any to tell my own story.

The Greek philosopher Plato contended that knowledge began with an assessment of self-knowledge.⁴ As a result of that assertion, I began to ask questions that provided the literary spark in writing this book. Initially, I posed reasonable questions to my parents, mentors, and friends in an attempt to gather satisfactory answers.

For example, prior to starting my academic research, Manufacturing African American Self-Employment in the Detroit Metropolitan Area, I posed the question What is up with black people in business? to my academic mentor at the time, Dr. Lloyd Williams, a financially independent person of African and Caribbean heritage. He responded, Wayne, why are you so angry? I was not angry. I was puzzled; I simply asked a question.

I posed the question about family history to my parents, who were both born and raised on small farms in the segregated South. They later moved to the industrial North as a young married couple during the Negro migration. The typical answer I got from my father, Reuben Alfred Davidson, from the backwoods of Kentucky, was I don’t know.

I thought for many years that this hollow response was not far from the truth, for my father had limited opportunities to complete a formal education and was regulated to work blue-collar labor jobs all his life. For him, the move to the industrial North was based on natural instinct, or in his words, I moved to where the gettin’ was good! As a physical laborer, he did not have a great deal of time, personal interest, or skill to conduct extensive research about his heritage from anything other than personal stories handed down to him through paternal family members. Over the years, I realized that my father is not very cosmopolitan, but in reality, my father is a cache of grassroots knowledge pertaining to life and times in which he was raised. However, his declaration that he was not a public speaker greatly influenced family growth. It was libation or a sharp prod from my mother that encouraged him to speak in a public forum.

Conversely, my late mother, Lydia Beatrice Cheshier Davidson, loved the limelight when it came to speaking, singing, cooking, or taking care of children. She was a headstrong gal from Bolivar, Tennessee, and a staunch believer that going to church was the absolute solution to every problem. However, when it came to the latest in family news, she always seemed to provide an apathetic remark to the inquirer’s need to know, implying that she knew more than she was willing to share. I learned from my own research that my mother never responded well to direct questions solicited from inquisitive family members. Without a doubt, my mother was a firm believer of the old adage that children [of any age] should be seen and not heard, as I understood it was written in the Bible, because she was always quieting down my siblings and me with an abrupt Shhh! often accompanied with a stern Y’all don’t need to know! Forever, leaving me with a feeling of suppression.

In contrast, her enthusiasm, cooperation, and participation increased a great deal when she provided unsolicited answers to all forms of the informal social chat line. In the matter of family history, I believe she perceived herself to be the network interface knowing all the intimate details or, in reality, knowing absolute nothing at all. No matter. I received sufficient detailed and objective replies from other members of my maternal family who may have been more knowledgeable, interested, and willing to share. In fact, my maternal family tree has been formally recorded in books written by a distant cousin, Ms. Katie Brown Bennett: Soaking the Yule Log: Biographical Sketches of the Brown, Cheshier, Sain and Allied families, 1749–1995 and Grace’s Family, Jones and Allied Families of West Tennessee, 1820–1920. These served as an inspiration for my paternal undertaking.

However, my mother did provide me with a warning about looking into the family closet. She said, You might not like what you find! She was right. One of the first things I unearthed was that the perceived adage of children being seen and not heard did not originate from the Bible. I researched and learned that the quote originated in the male-dominated fifteenth-century England as an inference to the young women of the day, instructing that they, the women, should be seen, not heard.⁵

Why do these adages persevere and then get passed on to subsequent generations? In the television show Cold Case,⁶ set in the city of Philadelphia, Detective Lilly Rush interviewed a young woman about the circumstances concerning a murder. The murder happened approximately ten years earlier, when she was a young girl at the age of ten. Frustrated, the young woman swore that her parents never told her anything. Detective Rush replied firmly, Your parents just wanted to keep you young. It could be perceived that the adage provides an additional layer of parental protection for a child of this world.

Regardless, I got resolutions to both questions through the framework of persistent academic research and my subsequent interest in the basic form of all living things, the common seed. A seed is representative of physical existence, and for man that physical existence is acquired through recorded genealogy. The Old Testament of the New King James Version of the Bible provides the most prolific illustration of man’s creation in the first chapter of the book of Genesis. Subsequently, there is the knowledge of family heritage, with the genealogy of Adam through Jesus as inscribed in the fifth chapter in the book of Genesis and the first chapter of the book of Matthew in the New Testament.

Relative to family heritage, it is my belief that a person’s life experience mirrors that of the common seed and its germination process.⁷ From an agricultural perspective, the common seed has internal construction designed to germinate or become active and subsequently provide a harvest according to the environmental conditions to which the seed had been exposed. In conjunction with the prevailing environmental conditions, the germination process is repeated again and again.

For this story, the life cycle of a tree can provide a vivid example of internal construction of the seed. Typically, the seed is planted in the season of spring and grows through the summer season. Over a cycle of time, the seed develops into a mature tree, with a trunk, limbs, and leaves in the distinct nature environment. As the season turns to fall, the leaves change colors and then fall to the ground, leaving bare limbs in the winter. Conceptually, the four principal cycle