Happy February Family!

Hello family! I pray that you are all well. I can’t believe that we are coming up on a year of lockdown. I will be so glad to get a vaccine and begin to bring this plague to an end!

February Spotlight

This month I wanted to highlight Aunt Kate Holman. Unfortunately, I really don’t know a lot about her. I know that she passed a few years before I was born, that she had a son named Kendrick who moved to NYC and that she raised Uncle Leroy’s daughter Betty Jean after he passed. Beyond that, I don’t know a lot. That is a reason why I do the genealogy research, to gather information, stories, pictures and video of family so that they are not forgotten.

I have spent a lot of time online, in the library, courthouse, churches & cemeteries looking for documentation and clues to piece together our history. What I have not done enough of is interview those of you that know and have lived the family history. I am going to reach out to some of you very soon to see if I can interview you through Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meet or whatever way that you feel comfortable.

Family Research

Speaking of family history, it’s been a while since I have given an update on the family research. I am still trying to find a date of death for John Wesley Hickson who is the family patriarch. He was the father of Ike, Cyrus, Mabel, Kate and the other brothers and sisters. I have been told that he passed in 1929 and all of the evidence that I have found points to that but I have not been able to find documentation. South Carolina began to require death certificates in 1915 but I have not seen his in the archives.

I am pursuing other ways to get the information, but I have not had any success yet. I have spoken with 2 of the last three church secretaries (and the son of the third) of Fairbranch Baptist Church in White Pond, where most of our family attended. They have not seen where the church documented births, deaths and marriages in the records that they have seen but I am hoping that we can come across older records.

My next path is with the funeral homes since they usually keep detailed records. I have been in touch with one in Barnwell and I am going to contact one in Williston this week or next. Hopefully I will be able to convince one of them to take a look and send me a picture, otherwise it will have to wait until we can travel there again.

I have another update, Thurman Jr’s daughter put me in touch with a cousin who is a descendant of Enoch Hickson, who was John Wesley’s brother. She has information on Cyrus Wesley Hickson who was John Wesley & Enoch’s father. Cyrus Wesley was a slave who was born in Africa and it has been told that he landed in Richmond, VA. Uncle Enoch’s great-granddaughter has the bill of sale of Cyrus to the Dick plantation (he was later sold to the Hickson plantation) and the name of the boat that he came over on from Africa! She also has a Hickson family crest that she will share! And finally, she told me that there is a historian council where they share research. Thanks Kim L. Kim Holman-Stancil, I will be in touch!

Save the Date! Family Get Together #6

Alright family, we have not gotten together for a while so let’s plan on a Zoom call on Sunday February 21st from 3pm – 5pm eastern time. In addition to saying hi, I am going to ask again that you bring any family pictures or documents that you have. Including funeral programs. We really need to make a point of saving this information for future generations. I am also going to give a little family history lesson and share some of the info that I have! I will send out the details this week and reminders so that we can get as many as possible to join.

February Birthdays

Here are this month’s family birthdays and anniversaries. I should have everyone’s birthday and some anniversaries and they should be correct. If I am missing anyone or have wrong info, please let me know.

4 February	Zamyra Brown	Wayne’s daughter, Jean’s granddaughter, Aunt Ruth’s great-granddaughter
4 February	Cyrus W. Ellison	LeJeune’s son, Uncle Cyrus’ grandson
6 February	Millicent Florence Bailey  (deceased)	Phillip’s wife, Uncle Dan’s daughter-in-law
7 February	Ruth Jackson (deceased)	Aunt Mable’s daughter
7 February	Saiti Michelle Neal	Aunt Winnie’s daughter
10 February	Cole Scott	Charlisa’s son, Charlie’s grandson, Aunt Ruth’s great-grandson
14 February	Lillian Anne Hickson (deceased)	Uncle Cyrus’ daughter
14 February	Hysuan Nelson	Shanequa’s son, Brigitte’s grandson, Betty Jean’s great- grandson, Uncle Leroy’’s great-great grandson
16 February	Kate Truly Hickson (deceased)	Aunt Kate
16 February	Ronald Jackson	Aunt Mabel’s son
17 February	Ezekiel Frails	Eddie’s son, Betty Jean’s grandson, Uncle Ike’s great-grandson
18 February	Helen Hickson	My mom, Uncle Ike’s wife
22 February	Emmitt Luellen Jr.	Shanette’s husband, Ba-Ba’s son-in-law, Uncle Cyrus’ grand son-in-law
23 February	Betty Jean Hickson (deceased)	Uncle Leroy’s daughter
23 February	Bobby Andre Bates	Vicky’s son, Betty Jean’s grandson, Uncle Leroy’s great-grandson
26 February	Skip Harris	Sylvia’s son, Junior Stallings’ grandson, Aunt Laura’s great-grandson
28 February	Kira Stancil	Kim’s daughter, Vicky’s granddaughter, Betty Jean’s great- granddaughter, Uncle Leroy’s great-great granddaughter

February Anniversaries

February 13, 1981	Reginald & Michelle Sati Neal	Aunt Winnie Son-In-Law, Aunt Winnie’s Daughter
February 21, 1998	Leonard and Marcy Bradley	Junior Stallings’ daughter, Aunt Laura’s granddaughter

As always family, please share any family news with me and I will send it out. Take care of each other and please be safe!