Tracing My African American Ancestors

The African-American Civil War Memorial was unveiled and dedicated, July 1998, in Washington, DC. In August of that year, I had an opportunity to attend the Banks Family Reunion in Ohio. My family dedicated that years reunion to my great-great grandfather Oscar Daniel Banks. He was in the Civil War, 1864, and a member of the 100th Regiment, Company I, of the Colored Volunteer Troops. This Volunteer Troop fought for the Union during the Civil War. His name is on the African-American Civil War Memorial.

He gave his life in 1864, so that his descendants might have better lives. At the time of his death, the Company was posted near Kinsel Springs in Tennessee I am very proud of my great-great-grandfather, and was especially thankful for the opportunity to honor him at the reunion. Over 100 family members attended our reunion that year. That particular reunion brought us all closer together, and we encouraged families to talk to their children and tell them about their heritage

On September 26, 1998, the Day family members (my fathers family) held a reunion at the Cleggs Chapel Baptist Church, of Timberlake, North Carolina. After the Reunion, Dora M. Day-Parks (who is a cousin) and I talked about doing a research project for the Day family. After notifying other family members of our idea, we began our research.

After searching through the entire 1820 census for Person County, North Carolina without finding anyone by the name of Day, I came to the recap-page. You can imagine the sense of disappointment I felt while viewing the recap-page. There were 2,817 white males and 2,615 white females for a total of 5,432. There were also 1,890 male slaves, and 1,804 female slaves listed, for a total of 3,694. I noticed the absence of names for the slaves. There were no slave names given, just numbers listed in columns-for males and females. I imagined that my great-great-grandfather Scott had disappeared into one of these columns, and was now one of the unnamed slaves. My first thought was that I would have to start searching through the Slave Schedules. I realized this would be a challenge, but I knew I had to try to locate him.

I did feel very fortunate that I had been able to go back 180 years, and discover so much about my ancestors in such a short period of time I started planning my strategy, and thinking about what to do next. I was ready to start rewinding the film when I noticed there was more information. I was overwhelmed with joy upon turning the Reader. There, on the last page of the 1820 census were the names of 16 Free Colored Persons, who were heads of households. There was a Thomas Day, a John Day, and a George Day included. Also listed, were the wives and children of the 16 households. There were a total of 80 free people in Person County, North Carolina in 1820. Out of the 80, there were 16 with the last name of Day.

I had mixed feelings for the next several moments. It was a very emotional experience for me. I was very happy to find the three Day family households. It was, however, very sad to think about the 3,694 slaves who were listed in this census with no names, just numbers in the male and female slave columns. I was unable to do any more research that day. I kept thinking about those unnamed slaves.

Now I needed to find out if Thomas or George was my great-great-great-grandfather. The three previous reports gave me no clues. From Caswell County Apprentice Bonds by the noted historian, Katherine Kerr Kendall, I found Court records involving Thomas and George. The records indicated that Thomas, son of Rachel Day, and George, son of Ann Day were bound out as indentured servants to a Samuel Winstead on June 20, 1780. Thomas was three years old at the time, and George was four. I had now discovered the mothers of Thomas and George another generation.

At the Day family reunion in 2000 in North Carolina I was visiting the North Carolina Museum of History and discovered a statue and a picture of the famed Thomas Day in front of the museum. Thomas Day was a 19th-century African-American cabinetmaker. Some of his works were included in the exhibit The Past in Progress at the museum.

The statue of Thomas was one of three that is located at the entrance to the Museum. There is one of Colonel Fred A. Olds who is the founder, and Father of the North Carolina Museum of History. He traveled to every county looking for objects and their stories to teach the public about the states past.The other statue is of The Sauratown Woman, a member of the Saura Indian Tribe, who lived along the banks of the Dan River in North Carolina in the late 1600s.

During my research to see if George or Thomas was my great-great-great-grandfather, I had located Thomas Day (the cabinetmaker) who lived in Caswell County, North Carolina. I originally mistook him for the Thomas that I was looking for, who was from Person County, North Carolina. Through court records, I found that the mothers of George and Thomas, were possibly the sisters of a John Day. John Day and his wife Mourning Stewart, were the parents of Thomas Day, the Free Cabinetmaker.

The August 1998 Banks family reunion honoring my great-great-grandfather, Oscar Daniel Banks changed my life tremendously. I now realize the importance of preserving family histories for future generations. With my family members, (Banks and Days) I am now doing my part to learn about our ancestors. This information will be passed on to our descendants so that they will know their heritage. Hopefully, you have been inspired, and will want to learn more about your family heritage, so that you may pass valuable information on to your descendants.