The Coleman’s Christmas Story

Coleman Women

Sister Ruby, Ruthie Lynn, Mom and Me Lela

I was born in Winnsboro Louisiana in 1954; my parent Ed Coleman and Ruby Cameron Coleman had ten children.  

My father was a Sharecropper. Webster’s defines sharecropping as “A tenant farmer who is provided with credit for seed, tools, living quarters, and food, who works the land, and who receives an agreed share of the value of the crop minus charges”. My father worked in the fields from dawn to dust, with my older siblings helping him after school and during school break. The plantation owner would never pay him correctly for all his hard work and he knew if he made waves he would run the risk of not getting paid at all.

We were very poor, so poor that during the Holiday Season my parents could not afford to buy gifts for ten children. Living on a farm had its advantages; my mother had a big garden and grew all the greens, sweet potatoes, onions, etc. We also had chickens and hogs.

The night before Christmas my mother and all the children would read the Bible Christmas story in Luke the 2^nd chapter of how Jesus was born.

On Christmas Day our gifts were Apples, Oranges, Nuts and Peppermint Candy, we all look forward to these tasty delights each year. Christmas afternoon we enjoyed a wonderful dinner prepared by my mother.

Although I did not receive gifts, I always felt loved which is the greatest gift of all.

The true meaning of Christmas is love. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love.

Barriers to African American Family Research

Learning about your family origins is a wonderful journey. But, for black families with Southern States slave ancestry, there are many stumbling blocks that enter into genealogy research. African American genealogy research for Southern families goes well back to 1870. But, earlier than 1870, the research becomes really hard for most amateur researchers. This can be very frustrating and  places barriers on learning who our true relatives are.

Thanks to technology and oral history researching has become much easier.

Edgar Washington

B. 1892 Franklin County Mississippi

As a child in Winnsboro Louisiana I had heard of Edgar Washington, he and his wife Myrtis O'Steen Washington lived next door to my mother's sister Annie Bell Cameron Washington, who was married to Edgar and Myrtis's youngest son Louis Washington. I always thought of Edgar and Myrtis as in-laws and of no real relation.
Researching family history beginning in the 90's has allowed me to learn many things about my family and family I did not know I had. I have learned that Edgar is the brother of my Grandfather Henry Coleman Mother Florence Washington Coleman. Edgar is my great grand uncle.

Myrtis O'Steen Washington

B. 1892 Franklin County Mississippi

D. 1977 Winnsboro Louisiana

Myrtis O'Steen Washington and Edgar's wife is the daughter of Rosa Stewart O'Steen born about 1874, Rosa is my 2nd great grand aunt.. Rosa is the sister of Augusta Stewart Coleman who is my 2nd great grandmother.





Elizabeth "Lizzie" McDaniel Bryant: Midwife Union Church, Jefferson County Mississippi

Elizabeth "Lizzie" McDaniel Bryant Headstone

Lizzie was born a slave April 1812 in Virgina. Lizzie was purchased about 1834 by John McDaniel of Veto, Mississippi, probably at the Fork of the roads slave market. Lizzie was the mother in law of my 2nd great grandfather Dock Coleman born about 1858.

In a affidavit Lizzie gave on behalf of Amanda Mack on March 4th 1889, she stated that she had been a Midwife for over 20 years, and had attended the birth of  Amanda's children's, Twins Read and Luverta on the 15th day of May 1871, John on the 5th day of May 1873, Preston April 15, 1877, Cameron on the 1st day of may 1878 and Melville on the 1st day of September 1880 all whom were living when she gave the affidavit.

Lizzie was a midwife for her children and for other neighboring families. She lived to be 100 years old.. She was a very STRONG women. Buried at Hickory Block in Union Church. Her headstone inscription reads "She died as She lived, Trusting in God"

Lizzie was one of many African American women in the souths post Civil War era whom provided a much needed service in the African American communities. Thank you Lizzie for your dedication to your community.

Remembering September 11, 2001

Remembering September 11, 2001 This page is a simple tribute to the many innocent people who lost their lives the day the world changed. It is a remembrance of what was taken away from us and of the many heroes that it created. I can still remember that day very vividly, September 11, 2011. I was at home in bed; I had surgery and was to stay in bed for a few weeks. My phone rang at approximately 6:00 am Pacific Standard Time, it was my baby brother Michael, and he said they are bombing New York. I said right Michael, he then said "turn the TV on"; I did and sat for days, watching the scenes that was unfolding, not believing what I was seeing and this was happening in America. Terror in the Sky The day was Tuesday The year 2001 The date 911 Silent was the Hudson And Lady Liberty stood tranquil in the foreground For she did not foresee the terror in the sky The terror that would strike her city and Nations would pity! As loved ones kissed each other goodbye They had no idea of the terrible fate coming their way And would forever alter many lives and placed them at bay! This terror from the sky would be like no other When other looked on they would shudder At the force this terror from the sky would bring Causing some nations to dance and sing This terror from the sky would forever change the Destiny of all our lives! Lela R. Coleman Copyright© September 21, 2001

A Tribute To Mertis O’Steen-Washington, " Midwife Of Winnsboro Franklin Parish, Louisiana"

Mertis O'Steen-Washingotn

1892-1977

I was born in Winnsboro Franklin Parish Louisiana in the year of 1954, The Jim Crow laws were well enforced at this time

Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, including hospitals, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans. In reality, this led to treatment and accommodations that were usually inferior to those provided for white Americans, systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. In the southern states white nurses could not tend to a black patient in hospitals.

In the small town where I was born, Mertis O’Steen-Washington was the Midwife that assisted thousands of African Americans families in delivering their children for over forty years. She worked to ensure that women received high-quality and dignified care before, during and after childbirth, and experience safe, healthy deliveries.

Aunt Mertis was born in Meadville, Franklin County Mississippi on May 25, 1892. Mertis was the daughter of Benjamin O’Steen and Rosalie Stewart-O’Steen. She was married to Edgar Washington my great-great uncle and died in Winnsboro Franklin Parish Louisiana in 1977.

Aunt Mertis delivered all ten of my parents children. The first one of my parent’s children that Aunt Mertis delivered was my oldest sister Ruthie Lynn Coleman born in 1949 and last was my youngest brother Michael Glenn Coleman born in 1962; I am sure she faced many challenges, in the end, she delivered fine healthy children and would often remain in the home with the family for days after the children were born. Had she been born at a different era or time, I am sure she would have gone to college and become a Pediatrician or a Gynecologist.

I would like say thank you Aunt Mertis O’Steen – Washington for assisting in bringing myself,  my siblings and thousands of others into the world. You provided a service that was much needed during the Jim Crow Era.

A Tribute To My Aunt Ruth

Ruth Elizabeth Cameron

January 6, 1929 - July 13, 2011

Ruth E. Turner, 82, of Las Vegas, passed away Wednesday, July 13, 2011. She was born Jan. 6, 1929, in Gilbert, La., and was a 52-year resident of Nevada. Ruth retired from the Clark County School District. She was preceded in death by her parents Bryant Cameron and Carrie Bell-Cameron husband, Mack M. Turner, sisters, Lula R Cameron, Josie Lee Cameron-Washington, brothers, Enoch Cameron, Bryant Cameron Jr (BC), Julius "Jack" Cameron. Ruth is survived by her stepdaughters, Bertil Turner of Henderson, Lucy J. Turner of Las Vegas, and Alice Dockery of Baltimore; sisters, Ollie Mae Cameron-Bass of Las Vegas, Ruby Cameron-Coleman of Seattle, and Annie Bell Cameron-Washington of Winnsboro, La.; brother Willie Blockson Sr. of Chicago; and many loving nieces, nephews and friends. Visitation will be 3-7 p.m. Friday, July 22, at Palm Mortuary, 1325 N. Main St. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 23, at Pentecostal temple, 1117 N. F St. Burial following at Palm Memorial Park.

Ruth Turner "The Phenomenal Woman"

My aunt Ruth was in my eyes The Phenomenal Woman.

She was beyond what is ordinary or usual.

She was exceptional and remarkable.

Her extraordinary achievements made her a standout.

Her Beauty inside and out was beyond measure.

She enjoyed extraordinary popularity.

Most all she puts God first, took care of her family and did not live with a selfish focus on herself. Proverbs:31

A Phenomenal Woman is not determined by a woman’s beauty or whether a woman looks like a model, but whether she has her head on her shoulders, confidence, grace and the ability to not let anything bring her down and most of all she keeps her eyes on the prize which Jesus Christ in Heaven.

Aunt Ruth you have achieved the prize.

Your Loving Niece

Lela R. Coleman

2011

To Our Aunt Ruth

As we count our blessings we can't help but think of you

Dear to us in childhood days and all our whole lives through!
Everything seems sweeter just in knowing that you were there
Always feeling you were sincere in showing that you care.
Remember all the happy times, remember all the laughter?

A fairy tale of never ending happily ever afters.
Until we meet again, we know we're always close at heart
No one else could take your place, we knew that from the start
Together we hope all the dreams you've dreamed all have come true

God blessed us with a special gift
because He gave us
you.

Your Nieces and Nephews

By Lela R. Coleman

2011

My Aunt Ruth had no birth children, however, she had 46 nieces and nephews whom she assisted in their upbringing. She was the most wonderful aunt you could imagine. Goodnight aunt Ruth.

African American Mothers Day

Ruby Cameron-Coleman on her 83rd birthday 2010



Mothers are iconic in African-American culture because it ain’t easy being a black women trying to get an education (if you can), hold down a job and raise up children in this culture. The deck is stacked against black moms, statistically speaking, and yet most black people can tell you at least one story with tears in their eyes about their momma makin’ a way outta no way. Sacrificing, scrimping, saving — performing miracles on a regular basis, all too often on their own. Being the child of a black mother in America gives you a front row seat to some of the worst discrimination America has to offer a segment of her citizens. Black moms are stereotyped as lazy welfare queens yet work harder for longer for less money than most. Today is the day African-Americans come together to appreciate those whom society mostly under-appreciates.

I would like to take a moment to show apprecation to my wonderful mom. My mom is now 83 years old and I think the Lord God she is still here with us. Below is poem I wrote for her many years ago.

A MOM LIKE YOU

A MOM LIKE YOU

IS  A DREAM COME TRUE

WHAT WOULD WE HAVE DONE WITHOUT YOU?

A MOM LIKE YOU WHO WAS AND IS ALWAYS THERE

AND ALWAYS WILLING TO SHARE

HOW DID YOU MANAGE YEAR AFTER YEAR

TO GIVE US SUCH TENDER, GENTLE

AND LOVING CARE?

A MOM LIKE YOU WHO AROSED EACH MORNING BEFORE DAWN

MOVING AROUND IN THE KITCHEN WITH THE SPIRIT

OF A GENTLE FAWN

HOW DID YOU COOK ALL THOSE MEALS

AND MADE SURE ALL OUR WOUNDS WERE HEALED?

A MOM LIKE YOU WHO MADE SURE WE ATTENDED

CHURCH ALWAYS IN OUR SUNDAY BEST

ON THIS DAY YOU DID NOT REST

HOW DID YOU ENJOY THE SERVICE

WHEN WE ACTED UP, YOU DID NOT

SEEM AT ALL NERVOUS?

A MOM LIKE YOU I WILL ALWAYS CHERISH

FOR YOU GAVE ME A PURPOSE FOR LIVING

YOU WERE THERE

WHY DID YOU NEVER TIRE OF

GIVING?

Dedicated to my mom the love of my life.

By LELA COLEMAN

Copyright 1998

BY LELA R. COLEMAN

Women History Month Celebrates "The African American Woman"

In 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) co-sponsored a joint Congressional resolution proclaiming a national Women's History Week. In 1987, Congress expanded the celebration to a month, and March was declared Women's History Month.Women History month is too recognized and celebrates the diverse and historic accomplishments of women,

In honor of this historic and yearly event, I would like to honor and celebrate the strong African American women in my family in pictures.

Coleman Women

From left to right my sister Ruby, Oldest sister Ruthie Lynn, Mom in the white and myself Lela

Grandmothers

Sallie Mae Thomas Coleman

Carrie Bell Cameron 1900-1991

My aunt Alyce Coleman 1936-1958

My beautiful sister Edna Faye Coleman July16, 1956 - April 27, 1999

Cousin Hazel Reed - Anderson 1935-2008

Great aunt Frances Cameron - Washington 1906-1960

Aunt Josie Lee Cameron-Washington 1923-2006

The Beautiful African American Woman

I am the great, great, great, great granddaughter of the slave,

I am of African decent

And have not always known

What that meant!

I am derived from the great African

Kings and Queens

And I am all of that it seems!

I have been told that we were sold

For no less gold than it takes to pay

Your toll!

My women ancestors were strong, bold, and intelligent.

They worked from sunup to sundown, raised their families, dealt with racism on

A daily basic, fought to keep their jobs but in the end

They were robbed.

Robbed of years of happiness and years of pay

And now here they lay, the beautiful African American woman in God's hand.

By Lela R. Coleman @2011

Researching and Technology

As a family history researcher, I have often said researching family history is a “Labor of Love”. I began researching the Coleman’s and Cameron’s of Mississippi in 1994.

It is personally rewarding to know your roots. each time you discover another piece of family history you uncover a piece of American history from the human perspective.

Genealogy addiction comes with frustration. I am sure every family history researcher shares the frustration of wondering if there was something else that could have been uncovered, or some record missed.  This is a frustration that all genealogy researchers learn to live with but it never diminishes the curiosity of looking for more.

For the serious genealogy researcher, strong dedication is needed a true love of the past and even a zealous pursuit of genealogy clues and leads.  As ancestors become real people in our minds, there is a sense of fulfillment.

Thanks to technological development which includes the internet and software programs which has simplified family history research.

Thanks to technology and the internet, I have located long lost relatives and some I did not know I had.

In a previous blog, I introduced Sterling “Robert Ford” Cameron who had ran away from home at 12 years old was never seen again for close to 40 years. By the miracle of the internet, I have been introduced to Sterling's son.

In early February 2011, I received an email from a lady by the name of Ruth Oates in Los Angeles California. Ruth had found the picture and story I had written on Sterling “Robert Ford” Cameron attached to his name on Ancestry.com. Ruth had been married to Sterling’s son Robert who had died in 1982. She was also present at the funeral of Sterling “Robert Ford” Cameron in 1969.

Robert Oates, son of Sterling "Robert Ford" Cameron

The story above is an example of how technology has opened up a whole new world for family history researchers.

Genealogy Records

Because the passing down of history through oral narration is not occurring as much anymore, genealogy records serve an even bigger importance in today’s society. Genealogy records provide insight into family history that people of this generation could not obtain otherwise.

My maternal grandparents Bryant Cameron was born (1895) in Franklin County Mississippi and Carrie Bell Cameron born (1900) in Liberty, Amite County, Mississippi.

I located my grandfather Bryant Cameron’s Draft Registration Card, dated June 5, 1917. He was 22 years old. My grandfather seemed to be very aware of who he was, he listed his race as African on the registration. The record also reflected he was employed with the Central Lumber Co. as a laborer. He later became a barber and owned his own shop.

Bryant Cameron's Draft Registration dated June 05, 1917

In the 1920 census my grandparents Bryant and Carrie Cameron are residing in Amite county Mississippi along with first child Enoch Cameron born in 1919. The census record also show that my grandmother Carrie could not read or write and my grandfather Bryant was able to read and write.

My mother the oral Historian, told the story of my grandfather Bryant father Alec working as a sharecropper on the property of Dr. D.P. Butler and as a child Bryant worked for the Butlers and was taught to read by one of Dr. Butler childrens. I located Dr. Butler and his wife Willena and children in the 1900 census living next door to the Cameron family.

I was very sadden that my grandmother never learned to read and write, the situation for African American were dire and some were not given the opportunity to learn to read and write. However, she  was a outstanding seamstress.

By the 1930 census they have moved to Franklin Parish, Winnsboro, Louisiana, this is where they raised all eight of their children and where they lived their remaining years.

Carrie Bell Cameron (Mama Cameron) born 1900 died 1991

Genealogy records provide a public service by allowing us to remain connected with our past and continue to learn about our ancestors.

Black History Month

Black history month commemorates the significant events and achievements of the African-American population of the United States. This tradition marked its beginning officially from 1976. It is celebrated in the month of February in the United States of America. It celebrates all the historic events from 1865, wherein the thirteenth amendment of the American constitution abolished slavery in the US.

A Tribute To Military Ancestors 



George Washington Thomas

George "Washington" Thomas born in 1837 and died in 1912 in Brookhaven  Mississippi.. George was my great-great-great-grandfather. He served in the 56^th Regiment Infantry of the United States Colored Troops Infantry.

George Thomas was the father of Butler Thomas my great-great grandfather and the grandfather of my grandmother Sallie Mae Thomas Coleman.

Julius “Jack” Cameron”

Born 09/18/1922 Died 03/30/2010

My uncle Julius “Jack”Cameron enlisted in the United States Army and was honorable discharged in 1945. He received the following medals: World War II Medal, (1941-1945) Medal of Good Conduct, Japan's Army of Occupation Medal, Heroic Meritorious Achievement Medal, and Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal (1941-1945).

Uncle Julius is buried at Rest Haven Cemetery in Winnsboro Louisiana.

Edward L Coleman

Born 06/13/1951 Died 12/21/2001

My brother Edward L Coleman served in the US Amry as A PV2 from 1976 and was honorable discharge in 1977. He is buried at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington.

Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship."

-- Frederick Douglass