Alexander Cleage’s Last Will & Testament – 1860

January 4, 2014African-American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research, Cleages#Athens, #Juda Cleage, #Lewis Cleage, #slaveryKristin

Athens, Tennessee about 1919. Probably taken by my grandfather Albert B. Cleage, SR. Men unknown.

I hadn’t planned yesterday to go to Family Search and look for the Will of Alexander Cleage, but I did.

“I give and devise to my beloved wife Jemima Cleage for and during her natural life the following described Negro slaves – to wit: … Juda and her five children to wit: Charles, Angelen, Lewis, Laura and Frank… I also give and bequeath to her for her natural life a negro man called Frank the husband of Juda…”

30th day of May 1860 Alexander Cleage

Juda and Frank Cleage were my two times great grandparents. Their son Lewis Cleage was my great grandfather, my own grandfather Albert B. Cleage’s, father. I have several other documents that trace them through slavery – a letter to the overseer in 1838 and a bill of sale that mention Frank in 1852, a marriage record for Frank and Juda Cleage in 1866 and the 1870 census, Lewis’ death certificate in 1918.

By the time the will was probated 1 March 1875, my people had been free for 10 years.

These records give me a bare bones outline of their lives. I have no photographs, no stories. Nobody’s memories. These bones and their names. I read the will over and over until I felt it inside of me. I saw my cousins faces, my children’s faces. All descended from these two people – Frank and Juda Cleage and their son, Lewis Cleage. I wish I could see their faces. I wish I knew their stories. I wish someone had shared memories. One thing I know is that I will tell the parts of their stories that I can piece together and I will say their names. Frank Cleage born 1816 in North Carolina. Juda Cleage born 1814 in Tennessee. Lewis Cleage born 1852 in Athens Tennessee and died 1918 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

You can see a copy of the will here: Last Will and Testament of Alexander Cleage

You can see a copy of Elijah Hurst’s Will leaving my enslaved great great grandmother Juda Cleage to his daughter, Jemimah Hurst Cleage Elijah Hurst’s Will-1848

Dr. Albert B. Cleage – A Speech for Dunbar Hospital Nurses

January 2, 2014CleagesKristin

Dunbar_Memorial_Hospital_1930 — Dunbar Memorial Hospital’s medical staff, trustee board and corps of nurses standing on the steps of hospital. Handwritten on front: “Medical Staff, Trustee Board and Corps of Nurses, Dunbar Memorial Hospital, Detroit, Mich., Sept. 14, 1930, [Jackson Photo].” Handwritten on back: “1. Henderson, 2. Dr. John Thomas, 2. Cleage O. [two people identified as #2], 3. Greene, 4. Henry Owen, 6. Greenridge, 7. Burton, 7. Osby.” Top left corner cut off. Stamped on photo back: “Harvey C. Jackson, photographer, 2614 Beaubien St., Detroit, Mich. OLIF 1431 J.” – See more at: http://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora:162372#sthash.GhieIUUZ.dpuf Note: My grandfather, identified as 2. Cleage O. is not in the picture. Do not know what the O. stands for.

My cousin Jan recently sent me a copy of the speech below. It was given by my grandfather, Dr. Albert B. Cleage, Sr on the occasion of the graduation of the first class of nurses from Dunbar Hospital. Dunbar was founded by a group of 30 black doctors in 1918 because they were not allowed to treat their patients at white hospitals in Detroit without special permission, and sometimes not even then. The hospital also served as a training school for nurses. My grandfather isn’t pictured in the 1930 photo of staff above, but you can see him in the header photo which was taken in 1922. He is seated on the steps of Dunbar Hospital – first row, far right.

Click on the pages below to enlarge.

Sign on side of former Dunbar Hosptial. Photo by Paul Lee, Sept 2014.

Births, Deaths, Doctors and Detroit

1967 – “Year of Transition from Action to Organization”

December 31, 2013Cleages#Albert B. Cleage Jr, articleKristin

This is a copy of an article my father, Rev. Albert B. Cleage aka Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman, wrote, I believe, for a column in the “Michigan Chronicle” for January 1967. You can read the sermon notes for his New Year’s Day sermon that year here “The Faith of a Mustard Seed”.

Click on these pages to enlarge.

Kwanzaa – Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)

December 30, 2013KwanzaaKristin

Yesterday was the 4th day of Kwanzaa. The principle of the day was Ujamaa (oo-JAH-mah) = Cooperative Economics. This time last year my husband, my brother-in-law Michael and I decided to use Ujamaa and start a savings program. At that time Michael was sharing our home. We didn’t want to save large amounts of money, just to show that by small, consistent saving together we would have some money on hand at the end of the year. We decided to each put $5 each Friday into the can pictured below. It sat on a table in the living room. We didn’t have any plans beyond saving a small amount and watching it add up. At the end of the year we had $780 in the can. We divided it up and each had $260. It isn’t a lot, but it was totally painless to save that amount each week. Michael has moved to his own place. Jim and I are going to continue the experiment for another year. We are also going to talk about it with during our New Year’s Eve family sleepover. Maybe it’ll catch on.

Counting Kwanzaa – Ruff Draft 1994

December 28, 2013KwanzaaKristin

In 1994 we reprinted the following story from Ebony Jr. Unfortunately, I did not keep the magazine and don’t know the date. Click on the pages to enlarge for easier reading.

Kwanzaa – Kujichagulia 1992

December 27, 2013KwanzaaKristin

"Atlanta Kwanzaa Table — Our Kwanzaa table from several years ago.

Today is the second day of Kwanzaa 2013, Kujichagulia, which means self-determination in Kiswahili. The article below was written in 1992 for a newsletter I published for several years for homeschoolers of color. It was written by my daughter Ayanna and describes a home celebration. My family has celebrated Kwanzaa in various ways through the years since the about 1970. Sometimes we celebrated with just our family but often we participated in community celebrations. When we lived in Idlewild, MI we were part of a small group that started the Lake County celebration that was held for one night in the Baldwin and the Yates Township Senior Centers and sometimes people hosted additional nights in their homes.

Click the pages below to enlarge for easier reading.

“A Sumptuous Christmas Dinner”

December 23, 2013Allen, ChristmasEdward McCallKristin

montgomery_jail — Photo from “Montgomery, the Capital City of Alabama”

Edward McCall was the husband of my great grandmother’s oldest sister, Mary Allen McCall. He worked as cook at the City Jail for 30 years, according to the article below. He was also listed as “turnkey” at the jail in several censuses. Edward’s wife, Mary was a talented seamstress, a skill she learned from her mother, Eliza (who I named this blog after).

They were the parents of 7 children. Six of them survived to adulthood. One of their sons, James Edward McCall was a blind poet and publisher first in Montgomery and later in Detroit. Their other children were Annabelle McCall Martin, Leon Roscoe McCall, William Gladstone McCall (who died as an infant), Alma Otilla McCall Howard and Jeanette McCall McEwen.

Edward McCall died in Montgomery, Alabama on February 2, 1920 and is buried there in Lincoln Cemetery. For many years this cemetery was horribly neglected and vandalized. Several years ago the Lincoln Cemetery Rehabilitation Authority was formed and has been working to clean it up and put the graves in order. I hear that it is in much better shape.

Only Fifteen Will Enjoy the Hospitality of the City on Christmas Day

Twenty-six city prisoners whose sentences originally ranged from thirty days to six months, and who had a balance of time of from one to thirty days yet to serve, were given their liberty Saturday at noon as a Christmas present, upon an order to Chief Taylor of the Police Department from Mayor W. A. Gunter, Jr., this being, the annual custom in vogue for a number of years in Montgomery with reference to the city’s prisoners.

The release of the twenty-six left a remaining number of twelve, which together with three convictions at the Saturday session of the Recorders Court, who were unable to pay their fines, aggregate fifteen who will be given holiday Monday and a sumptuous Christmas dinner, which is being prepared today by Ed McCall, the negro (sic) who for thirty years has served as chef at police headquarters.

The dinner will be served in the regular dining room at headquarters and will consist in a menu of camp stew, bread, cakes, fruits, coffee and other good and tasty articles of substantial foods.

Camp stew is similar to Brunswick stew. You can learn more about it here “How Camp Stew Became A South Alabama Icon.“

Carol Of The Bells – Blog Caroling 2013

December 22, 2013Christmas#blog carolingKristin

For the past several years I have done We Three Kings as my carol for the Blog Caroling event hosted annually by footnote Maven. I was looking for something different and found this version of Carol of the Bells. You can find a short history at Carol of the Bells – Wikipedia.

Carol of the Bells

Christmas is here, bringing good cheer
To young and old, meek and the bold
Ding, dong, ding, dong, that is their song,
With joyful ring, all caroling
One seems to hear words of good cheer
From everywhere, filling the air
Oh!, how they pound, raising the sound
O’er hill and dale, telling their tale

Gaily they ring, while people sing
Songs of good cheer, Christmas is here!
Merry, merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!
Merry, merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!

On, on they send, on without end
Their joyful tone to every home
Hark! How the bells, sweet silver bells
All seem to say, “Throw cares away.”
Christmas is here, bringing good cheer
To young and old, meek and the bold
Ding, dong, ding, dong, that is their song
With joyful ring, all caroling.
One seems to hear words of good cheer
From everywhere, filling the air
O, how they pound, raising the sound
O’er hill and dale, telling their tale

Gaily they ring, while people sing
Songs of good cheer, Christmas is here!
Merry, merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!
Merry, merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas!

On, on they send, on without end
Their joyful tone to every home.
Ding dong ding dong…

Merry Christmas – 1920

December 21, 2013Christmas, Grahams, sepia saturdayKristin

This is another card from the collection of my maternal grandparents, Mershell and Fannie Graham. Unfortunately there is no name and no address so I have no way to find out who she is. Because it is dated 1920, the first Christmas after their marriage in 1919, I believe she was an old friend from Montgomery, Alabama sending them a card in their new home in Detroit. I will echo their unnamed friend by saying “Merry Xmas!”

For more Sepia Merry Christmas', CLICK! — For more Sepia Merry Christmas’, CLICK!

“The Star and The Stable” Dec. 11, 1966

December 18, 2013Christmas, Cleages, Detroit, Sermon Notes#Bulletin, #SermonKristin

As Christmas approaches, I remember my father’s sermons from that time of year. Here is the Sunday Bulletin for Sunday, December 11, 1966, the sermon notes, a flyer for an evening program held the same day and one of the songs sung by the Choir that day at Central United Church of Christ, Detroit. And right beneath this paragraph, the audio of the actual sermon.