The Natchez Democrat: Natchez Monument Committee offers tips for identifying descendants of U.S. Colored Troops

“It’s not as hard as they may think”

BY ROSCOE BARNES

SPECIAL TO THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT

Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021

#VisitNatchez

#NatchezUSCT

#NatchezColoredTroops

Denise I. Griggs discovered in 1978 that she was a descendant of Peter Hunt, who served with the 6th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery. After years of research, she wrote about his life in her book, A Mulatto Slave: The Events in the Life of Peter Hunt, 1844-1915 (Glass Tree Books, 2012). Griggs is a member of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee. She said Hunt still has generations of great-grandchildren who are his descendants in Natchez.

NATCHEZ -- When Deborah Fountain began searching her roots in 1990, she was not a scholar, researcher or genealogist. But several years later, she could proudly say that she has learned much about her family history. She found that she’s related to nine members of the Colored Troops who served in Natchez.
 
“Discovering your ancestors who may have served with the U.S. Colored Troops may seem overwhelming to some people,” Fountain said. “But it’s not as hard as they may think. I’m just your average person, and if I can do it, anyone can do it.”
 
Fountain serves on the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee, where she heads the History and Research Sub-committee. The USCT committee was formed to create a monument to honor and bear the names of the more than 3,000 African American men who served in six regiments at Fort McPherson in Natchez. The regiments include: 6th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, 58th U.S. Colored Infantry, 70th U.S. Colored Infantry, 71st U.S. Colored Infantry, 63rd U.S. Colored Infantry, and the 64th U.S. Colored Infantry.
 
The monument will also bear the names of the Navy servicemen who were born in Natchez.
 
The USCT committee wants to identify the descendants of the Colored Troops who served in Natchez, as well as those who served in the Navy. Many of the soldiers were also from the surrounding counties.
 

Deborah Fountain, a genealogist and researcher, is a descendant of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops. She is pictured holding the Companion Teacher’s Guide of the ANCESTORS PBS miniseries in which she appeared. ANCESTORS aired in January 1997 and was the first national television series dedicated to family history and genealogy. 

Committee Chairman Robert Pernell said that many in the local community may be surprised to find they are actual descendants of the Colored Troops. Fountain outlined the following steps for anyone who wants to know if they are descendants of the Colored Troops:

 
Step 1: Check your family tree.
 
Start with what you know. Begin with yourself and work backwards. Check your resources such as: A) records at home which may include obituaries, family reunion booklets, and even the family Bible. Take pictures / make copies of the pages. B) Talk to family members by phone, Zoom, or personal visit. C) Online websites, such as Cyndislist.com, Afroamcivilwar.org, FamilySearch.org, and Ancestry.com, as well as genealogical society websites, are helpful resources.
 
Step 2: Make a list of names.
 
Identify the men in your family who were old enough to have served in the military in the 1860s.
 
Step 3: Visit the National Park Service (NPS) website.
 
The following steps should take you directly to the information that’s needed in the search for USCT soldiers.
 
Search for soldiers
 
On the “Search for Soldiers” page https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm, scroll down to the left side of the page, beneath “FILTER YOUR RESULTS.” Under the word “Side,” click on “Union.” Under the word “State,” scroll down and click “United States Colored Troops.” Then, using the “Start A New Search” box above “Filter Your Results,” insert the person’s full name and click “Go.” Next, review the result listing for the name search.
 
The names can be similar or the same as someone else and the result is, there are soldiers with the same name in other regiments. From this point, you should check to see if the ancestor’s name is listed in one of the six above-mentioned Natchez regiments.
 
Search for sailors
 
On the “Search for Sailors” page https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-sailors.htm, scroll down to the left side of the page, beneath “FILTER YOUR RESULTS.” Under the words “Birth City,” scroll down and click “Natchez.” On this page, insert the person’s full name in the large “Start A New Search” box above “FILTER YOUR RESULTS” and click “Go.”
 
Using Natchez as the birth city results filter provides the entire list of those sailors (56) in alphabetical order by last name.”
 
The committee encourages all descendants to join the “Descendants of Natchez (USCT)” Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/descendantsofnatchezusct

Note: For a look at the printed version of this story as it appeared in The Natchez Democrat, please visit here or follow this link: http://roscoereporting.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-natchez-democrat-natchez-monument.html

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Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., is the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Manager at Visit Natchez.

The Natchez Democrat: Natchez Monument Committee offers tips for identifying descendants of U.S. Colored Troops

Note: To give you better access to the links in this story, I have shared it on my blog, Roscoe Reporting. You can see it here or by following this link: http://roscoereporting.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-natchez-democrat-natchez-monument_31.html

#VisitNatchez #NatchezUSCT #NatchezColoredTroops

John Spann of the Mississippi Humanities Council Visits Natchez, Miss.

 He meets with staff of three local museums

John Spann of the Mississippi Humanities Council meets with staff of The Dr. John Banks House.

Yesterday (Aug. 24, 2021) I had the pleasure of meeting John Spann (not pictured), the program and outreach officer of the Mississippi Humanities Council. He and I visited with representatives of three museums in Natchez: The Rhythm Night Club (On Site) Memorial Museum, The Dr. John Banks House, and the Natchez Museum of African American History & Culture. It was a great day.

#VisitNatchez

While touring the museums, Spann praised the museum staff for the work they’ve done and assured them that MHC is ready to “partner with them” for the long term.

My review of Christopher J. Richmann’s book, 'Living in Bible Times: F.F. Bosworth and the Pentecostal Pursuit of the Supernatural'

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind “Christ the Healer”
Copyright © 2021

#FFBosworth
#BosworthMatters 

This is my review of Christopher J. Richmann’s book, “Living in Bible Times: F.F. Bosworth and the Pentecostal Pursuit of the Supernatural” (Pickwick Publications, 2020). It was published as a blog post on August 2, 2021, by the South African Theological Seminary (SATS). The review can be viewed on the SATS Blog by visiting the link below. It opens with the following statement:

Christopher J. Richmann has written a book on F.F. Bosworth and pentecostalism that far exceeds all previous research on the healing evangelist, who is widely known for his classic, Christ the Healer    (1924). The book, which is titled, Living in Bible Times: F.F. Bosworth and the Pentecostal Pursuit of the Supernatural (Pickwick Publications, 2020), is a timely biography that shows in convincing terms how Bosworth played a major role in the Pentecostal movement of the early 1900s and later in the post-World War II healing revival. The 291-page volume is grounded in solid research that uses valuable documents, rarely seen reports, and an abundance of primary sources. In addition to tracking Bosworth’s life history, Richmann offers a fresh review of his contributions to Pentecostal church history.

To read the full review, visit here or follow this link:
https://www.sats.edu.za/blog/2021/08/02/living-in-bible-times-by-christopher-j-richmann-a-book-review-by-roscoe-barnes-iii/

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Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased

here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code: bosworth25.

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Want to know more

about F.F. Bosworth?

 

Follow the Bosworth Matters blog!

Start here:

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For more information:

Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMention #BosworthMatters

MTC: Resident at Wilkinson Facility Presents Academic Paper About Civil-Rights Activist

#AnneMoody
#MTCChangesLives

Glen Conley II
(Photo by Dale Bradshaw)

This wonderful video was produced by Dale Bradshaw of Management & Training Corporation (MTC) of Utah. It presents the story of Glen Conley II, a resident of Wilkinson County Correctional Facility (WCCF), who presented an academic paper on Anne Moody in April 2021. At that time, I was the chaplain at WCCF, which is located in Woodville, Miss. This was my final history project at the facility. I am really proud of Conley and his work on Moody, who was a civil rights pioneer and the author of "Coming of Age in Mississippi." Kudos to Dr. Leigh Ann Wheeler, who invited Conley to participate in the conference.

The MTC video and story can be viewed here.

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For more information:
See the Anne Moody page here. Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D. via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississipp

Anne Moody: 'I thought Bob Moses … was Jesus Christ in the flesh'

 A Tribute to a Civil Rights Icon

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2021

#AnneMoody

#BobMoses

Bob Moses

Photo taken from YouTube video, "Robert Moses (2015) Remembers," an interview by Greg Peterson.

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I was deeply saddened by the recent news of Bob Moses' passing. But at the same time, I was pleased to see the many tributes and well-deserved recognition that poured in from many sources as a result of people hearing the news.

Indeed, Moses was a special man and a powerful leader who made many sacrifices in his fight for freedom, justice, and civil rights for all. Like many of the civil rights pioneers, he literally placed his own life on the line in the struggle for freedom, and he reportedly did it without any hesitation. Moses' passion was well-known and his love for humanity was legendary.

The Washington Post described him as “a towering but self-effacing leader of the civil rights movement who” endured “beatings and jailings to register Black voters in Mississippi in the 1960s.” The New York Times said he was a “crusader for Civil Rights” who “developed a reputation for extraordinary calm in the face of violence as he helped to register thousands of voters and trained a generation of activists.”

The press used many colorful words to describe the man. Whereas CBS called him a “champion of civil rights and math education,” CNN presented him as a “civil rights legend.” Esquire said he “deserves a Statue in the United States Capitol.”

I believe it is safe to say that all of those descriptions are probably fitting in one way or another. At the same, I’m sure, he was more complex and much bigger than the words used to describe him. Whichever way we choose to honor him, one thing remains clear: He was a civil rights pioneer who made a difference in the state of Mississippi, and his indelible impact was felt by a whole generation of voters, which included Anne Moody, author of Coming of Age in Mississippi.

Moses died on Sunday, July 25, at his home in Hollywood, Fla. He was 86. When I learned of his death, I immediately thought of Moody: Moses was one of many that she immortalized in her classic memoir. When she began working with him in the 1960s, she was a student at Tougaloo College. She wrote about her first impression of Moses with these words:

I really got to like all of the SNCC workers. I had never known people so willing and determined to help others. I thought Bob Moses, the director of SNCC in Mississippi, was Jesus Christ in the flesh. A lot of other people thought of him as J.C., too.

Moses was a strong and confident leader who led by example. He instilled hope in those who followed him. By many accounts, he confronted the evil of racism with strength, intelligence, and commitment. He was fearless and  disciplined. In the face of threats and beatings, he remained focused, calm, and determined. Moody apparently saw him as a leader who was not easily rattled by turmoil.

It seemed that for once in the history of civil rights work in Mississippi something was actually going to be accomplished. I was so carried away that until Bob Moses came walking through the door, I had almost forgotten that I planned to see him to talk with him about the killings in Woodville. Somehow, with all of the excitement going on about the Summer Project and Bob directing it, I had expected a change in him, but I could see he was still the same quiet, slow-walking, eyeglasses-wearing Bob, I quickly cornered him and we talked for about an hour. He had been well aware of the killings. However, he hadn’t known that my family was involved.

From Bob, I learned that the man who had been killed in Liberty, Mississippi, 

was Louis Allen.

 

Moody was also careful to mention Moses in the final chapter of her book. She saw him as she was preparing to leave her home state of Mississippi. She recounted:

Parked right in front of us was a Greyhound bus. The motor was running and smoke was shooting out of its exhaust pipe. It looked and sounded like it was about to pull off. Getting out of the car, I saw Bob Moses holding the door open waving goodbye to the people inside. I ran up to him and asked:

“Hey Bob, where’s this bus going?”

“Oh! Moody, I’m glad you came. Can you go? We need you to testify,” he said.

“Testify? What do you …?”

“Hey Moody! C’mon get on, we’re going to Washington!” It was little twelve-year-old Gene Young, leaning his head out of the window. As the bus began to pull out, Bob grabbed the door and held it for me. I just managed to squeeze in. The bus was packed.

 

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 #CivilRights #ComingOfAgeinMississippi #BlackHistory

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Want to know MORE about Anne Moody? 

Visit here to see the timeline of

important events in her life history!

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For more information:
See the Anne Moody page here. Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D. via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississipp

Natchez Monument Committee Makes Progress Toward Tribute for U.S. Colored Troops

Efforts are being made to locate and identify descendants of the troops
 

#NatchezColoredTroops

#NatchezUSCT

Leaders of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee say they are pleased with the work being done to honor the black men who served with the U.S. Colored Troops at Fort McPherson in Natchez. Committee Chairman Robert Pernell, left, and Vice Chairman Carter Burns, are pictured here with an image of the colored troops in battle.

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NATCHEZ, Miss. -- Local community leaders are making progress on the monument project to honor more than 3,000 African American men who served with the U.S. Colored Troops at Fort McPherson in Natchez, according to Chairman Robert Pernell of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee.

Pernell, who formerly served as chair for the “Proud to Take a Stand” monument committee, said that he is pleased with the efforts being made by the committee volunteers.
 

“We have an army of volunteers, and they are working hard to make this tribute possible,” he said in a recent meeting. “We are moving forward with great expectations. I’m excited about the interest in the project and the support we’re receiving from the community.”

Pernell is working with Carter Burns, who serves as the vice chair of the USCT committee. Burns is also the executive director of Historic Natchez Foundation.

Since announcing plans to erect a monument, the committee has recruited volunteers for the following five sub-committees: History and Research Sub-committee, Monument Design Sub-committee, Marketing/PR Sub-committee, Site Sub-committee, Finance/Fundraising Sub-committee.

The committee is currently seeking to identify the descendants of the Colored Troops who served in Natchez, as well as those who served in the Navy, who were born in Natchez. These men served with six regiments, which included: 6th U.S. C Heavy Artillery, 58th U.S. Colored Infantry, 70th U.S. Colored Infantry, 71st U.S. Colored Infantry, 63rd U.S. Colored Infantry, and the 64th U.S. Colored Infantry.

“The men left their plantations and served for their own freedom and the freedom of their families,” said Deborah Fountain, a researcher and descendant of one of the Colored Troops. She also serves on the USCT committee.
 
Fountain noted a listing of the names of all the men who served is currently available through the National Park Service website and the National Archives. Each name will be included on or around the monument, depending on the design, according to Pernell.

Pernell said the committee wants to help descendants discover their relationship to the Colored Troops. He said there is a strong possibility that many of the local families are related to the soldiers.

Anyone who wants to know if they are related to the Colored Troops, may use a few simple steps to determine their relationship, according to Fountain.

She said one should start by checking his or her family tree. “Look for the names of the men who were of age to have served in the 1860s,” she advised.
 
Next, one should visit the website for the National Park Service: Soldiers and Sailors Database (Link: https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm). That is where a search can be made of the person’s name, which should be listed in one of the six regiments noted above.

During the Civil War, about 200,000 black men served with the U.S. Colored Troops, who fought to preserve the United Sates, according to the National Archives. That number included roughly 179,000 in the Union Army and about 19,000 in the Navy.

More than 3,000 black men from the Natchez area joined the U.S. military. Prior to the Civil War and their enlistment as colored troop soldiers, some of them had been forced to walk to the notorious Forks of the Road, where they were sold.

It is believed that the colored troops made up about 10 percent of the manpower in the Union Army.

Additional information on the Colored Troops in Natchez may be found on the Facebook page: “Descendants of Natchez (USCT).” Any and all descendants of the Natchez Colored Troops are asked to become members of the Facebook page.
 

 #VisitNatchez #USColoredTroops #CivilWar #BlackHistory