My Ancestry & Research Interests

Maternal Side:

My late mother’s family is predominantly rooted in south Louisiana. My maternal grandfather had ancestral links to Assumption and Ascension parishes along the Bayou Lafourche; and St. James, St. John the Baptist, and Iberville parishes along the Mississippi River. Some of the surnames are Honora/Honoré/Nora; Braud/Breaux; Dominique/Dominick; Alexander; Rhodes; Amirati; Moulard; Marchand; Vicknair; Babin; Oliver. My maternal grandmother had ancestral links to Lafourche and St. James parishes. Some of the surnames are Penelton; Winston; Ambrose; Armant; Cantrelle; Bazile; Cleveland. There are also links to Kentucky (Eliza Oliver), Tennessee (Minerva Cleveland), and Mississippi (George Penelton).

Paternal Side:

My late father’s family is rooted in southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama. While still working at identifying my paternal grandfather, he definitely had ties to the Morgan and Blakeney/Blakely families from DeSoto, Clarke County, Mississippi. My paternal grandmother has ancestral links to Choctaw and Marengo counties in Alabama. Some of the surnames are DuBose; Williams; Turner; Compton; Ezell; Ridgeway; Hopkins; Barney.

In addition to the genealogy of my family lines and those of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region, I also have several areas of historical interest, including:

Fraternal History – Especially historically African American fraternal orders and benevolent societies

Black Catholic History