Precious Memories

Back in mid 2005, around the time I started the Descendants of Mandi website, my grandmother Elnora Evans and her husband Mr. Cleave Evans were living in the downstairs apartment of the house I own. My two daughters Chelsea and Lindsay are among those rare people who got the chance to live with their great-grandparents.

My youngest daughter Lindsay, who was two at the time, was a frequent visitor downstairs, and I can honestly say that my grandmother really enjoyed having Lindsay (one of her three great-grand daughters) so close that she could see her almost every day.

Lindsay would often disappear downstairs for hours at a time, sometimes falling asleep in grandmas bed, other times hijacking one of their TVs to watch Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel. Another trick was to go downstairs and have another breakfast, lunch or dinner with grandma and grandpa after eating a complete meal upstairs with us.

On this particular day, we had just finished breakfast and Lindsay was waiting to get her hair combed (which she hates by the way). All of a sudden, she ran to the door and disappeared downstairs, calling up “I’m going down to see Grandma and Cleave!”

I’m not sure what made me do it, but something made me grab the camera and follow her down. It didn’t take me long to figure out why she had decided to come down… the smell of pancakes and bacon was wonderful, and Lindsay had decided that it was a good day for a second breakfast. I turned the camera on just as Lindsay was settling onto the little red stepping stool that all of us in the family call “Grandma’s kid chair.”

What followed were three magical minutes of Lindsay, who could barely talk, eating and chatting with her great-grandparents, with the two of them understanding every word that she said…

I took the video and then filed it away, giving digital copies of it to a few members of the family, but otherwise not really giving it a second thought.

My grandmother, Elnora Evans passed away about two years later, in 2007 at 92 years of age. Her husband Cleave Evans, passed away this past summer (August 2009). When Grandpa Evans passed, I remembered the video of them with Lindsay and became obsessed with finding it. The problem is that four years and three hard drive crashes later, I had no idea if it even existed any more. I also had forgotten what the exact name of the file was and I had no idea where I had stored it. I searched for it last summer to no avail. I got busy in the fall and decided to postpone my search until Christmastime when I’d have the time to do a thorough search.

When Christmas came, I re-started my search by loading and viewing all the burned CDs of miscellaneous pictures, digital images and saved files that we’d stored away in the past few years. Nothing. I searched the hard drives of my father’s and my mother-in-law’s computers because I’d given them digital copies. Nothing. I looked on my own external hard drives…NOTHING!

I did, however, find a clue on my dad’s computer, a shortcut icon that contained the actual name of the file: MVI_1960.AVI –which was the object of my quest. My dad had saved a shortcut, but the original file had long since been deleted so the shortcut now pointed at nothing. I took that bit of information and did a more thorough search of the thousands of files stored on my external HD… eventually VOILA! It popped up. It brought a tear to my eye when I finally got to view the scene of Lindsay’s breakfast with grandma and grandpa again.

To protect it for posterity, I uploaded a copy to YouTube, and made additional copies on my other computers as well as my online digital storage space mobileme.com.

Here’s my advice. Digital files are very vulnerable to disk failures, hard drive crashes and all manner of technical calamity, not to mention fire or other natural disaster. Be sure to provide multiple backups for ALL of your digital pictures and videos; fires, floods and earthquakes DO happen when you least expect them, not to mention the dreaded hard drive or system failures that we all experience every once in a while.

I got lucky… and I learned my lesson. The result of my luck is that Lindsay will one day be able to look back as an adult, and see the video images of herself smiling and laughing with her great grandparents in video taken by chance on a Saturday morning in 2005 when she was 2 & ½ years old.

That’s A PRECIOUS MEMORY.

Something I found while looking something else up on Google

I was doing a random search on Google today and found something of great interest to anyone who is a Descendant or Mandi or has roots in Brownsville / Haywood County. I stumbled upon an index for the Graveyard at Prospect Church #2 just outside of Brownsville Tennessee. Many of the names of the elders for our family are there listed among those resting there. Check it out when you get a chance. I was told that Mandi herself is buried there in an unmarked grave, although there is no mention of her in the index. One of these days, I will have to make contact with the groundskeepers and see if they have any information about where her final resting place may be.

Juanita "Dean" Brown

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Juanita "Dean" Brown, our cousin in Detroit Michigan on Sunday December 21, 2008. It is the second loss for the Descendants of Mandi in a week.

She was born Juanita Jones and is the daughter of Albert Jones and Catherine McGhee (1916-2006). Her siblings were Ruthie Mae Jones, Aurthelia Jones.

She had five children named Llewelyn Brown, Michael Brown, Roy Vincent Brown (1956-2001), Phillipa Brown, and Malcolm Brown.

Catherine (Ted) McGhee was the daughter of Jesse McGhee and Luevester Williams and Luevester was the daughter of Dennis Williams and (first wife) Ella Woodson. Dennis was the son of Harriet and Harmon Williams and Harriet was the Daughter of Mandi Williams

My dad was contacted yesterday by cousin Ruth. He had visited with Dean just last week when he made a trip to Detroit. We don't have any other details yet.

Please join us in praying for the family.
 

Samella Caldwell Coates

It is with great sadness that Descendants of Mandi announces the passing of Samella Caldwell Coates on Sunday December 14, 2008 in Saint Louis, Missouri. Samella was the daughter of Samuel Caldwell and Albertine Williams, Samella Caldwell Coates was the wife of James Baron Caldwell and the mother of Nadine Coates and Marlene Coates.

Samella was the grand daughter or Dennis Williams and first wife Ella Woodson, the great grand daughter of Harriet and Harmon Williams and the great great grand daughter of Mandi Williams.

We received the folowing note from her grand daughter Rachel Washington (which I exerpt here)...

"Thank you so much for your prayers. My grandmother passed last Sunday (December 14, 2008). She had been diagnosed with demensia and cervical cancer. She told the doctors and her daughter, Marlene that she was tired and wanted to go home to be with her husband and daughter. She was in hospice only two days. Cervical cancer is very painful. We are happy she didn't suffer too long. The only other info to give you is the location of the celebration. Her daughter, Marlene Simmons can be reached at (Phone numbers in St Louis, Mo.)

The service and burial will take place all in the same day, Monday, December 22, 2008. Viewing is only from 10am- 11am with the service immediately after.

Murchison Tabernacle Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
7629 Natural Bridge Road
Saint Louis, MO 63121

Services intrusted to:
GRANBERRY MORTUARY
8806 Jennings Station Rd
St Louis, MO 63136"

Please keep the family in your prayers.

Lucille Caldwell, 1916-2008

Descendants of Mandi are saddened to announce the passing of Lucille Caldwell, 91, of St. Louis, Mo., on March 1, 2008. Lucille was the wife of the late Elvis Caldwell (JUL 16, 1912 - DEC 23, 2001). Her service was held on Fri., March 7, 2008, 11 a.m., Murchison Tabernacle C.M.E. Church in St. Louis. Arrangements were by Wade Funeral Home.

Elvis Caldwell was the son of Samuel Caldwell (?-1986) and Albertine Williams (1889-1971). His siblings were Samella Caldwell, Minnie Lue Caldwell, Cullen Caldwell (1917-1998), Mattie Bell Caldwell, Alfredia Caldwell, Joe Dennis Caldwell, Richard Caldwell.

They had two children named Marvin Caldwell and Elvis, Jr. Caldwell.

Elvis' mother Albertine Williams was born NOV 1889 in Haywood County TN. She died 1971 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of Dennis Williams (1862-1947) and Ella Woodson (?-1899). Her siblings were Luevester Williams (1881-?), Jim Williams (1882-?), Minnie Williams (1884-?), Ella Williams (1887-?), Burl Thomas Williams (1888-?), Annie Williams, Rozelle Williams (1893-?), Magnolia Williams (1894-?), Mattie Ester Williams (1896-?).

We ask that you all join us in prayer for the members of the Caldwell family at this loss.

The Williams-Rivers Family Reunion 2008

The notices have gone out to selected family members announcing the 2008 Williams-Rivers Family Reunion. I am reproducing it here at the Descendants of Mandi webiste for those of us who are not on the official family mailing list. It will be held in Nashville, Tennessee on August 1, 2, and 3 2008 at the Marriott Hotel (Details about the host hotel are forthcoming).

It has been 30 years since the first family reunion in 1978 and the theme of the reunion is "30 Years Later". According to the initial announcement, the reunion will include a get aquainted night with videos of years gone by and a tour of Nashville as well as a formal banquet on Saturday night.Sunday will include church with our Nashville relatives at the Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church where Julius Williams and Cloreace Williams Eppinger are the assistant pastor and associate pastor, repsectively.

Registration fees are as follows: $100.00 for adults 16 years olda nd up, $50.00 for children 6 to 15 years old, and children 5 years old and under are free. Registrations are being sent to the following Family Members: Lenford Carr, 94 W. Maple Street, Humboldt TN, 38343 (731-784-5565); Bunice Robinson, 16714 Kentfield, Detroit MI, 48219 (313-538-8673); Julius Williams, 1182 Mt. Vernon Lane, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122 (615-754-9978). The Reunion Committee is asking everyone to register by March 15, 2008. They are also asking that photos be sent to Bunice Robinson by April 1, 2008. T-shirts are being offered at $10.00 or youth sizes and $12.00 for adult sizes (cotact Julius Williams for t-shirts).

The Family Reuinion Commitee consists of the following members: Lenford Carr, Chairman, Bridgett Hill, Marquita Patterson, Bunice Robinson, Julius Williams, Cloreace Williams Eppinger, Costella Williams, Alphonso Williams, Clinton Williams, Curtis Williams, Eric Dickerson, William Carr, Vincent Carr, Nana Kweku Carr Asante.

African American Lives 2 on PBS

One of the more fascinating and inspiring shows to appear during the Black History Month cycle on PBS is AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2, a show which focuses on African American Genealogy from the perpective of a dozen black celebrities. We saw an earlier version of this show in 2007 and were struck with how similar the stories are to those within our own family. Genealogy is not everyone's bag, but we highly recommend this show.

AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2, a new four-part PBS series, explores roots, race and identity through the ancestry of remarkable individuals. Premiering February 6th and 13th.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/aal2

Joining Professor Gates in the new broadcast are poet Maya Angelou, author Bliss Broyard, actor Don Cheadle, actor Morgan Freeman, theologian Peter Gomes, publisher Linda Johnson Rice, athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, radio personality Tom Joyner, comedian Chris Rock, rock 'n' roll legend Tina Turner and college administrator Kathleen Henderson, who was selected from more than 2,000 applicants to have her family history researched and DNA tested alongside the series' well-known guests.

Calvin Willie Claxton, Sr. 1924-2008

Most of you have probably heard the very sad news of the recent passing of Calvin Claxton Sr. in Memphis Tennessee on January 26, 2008. With the passing of Mr. Claxton, the Descendants of Mandi mourn the loss of another cherished family elder. The past year has seen the transition of several precious family elders, each loss has been felt with deep feelings of loss and sadness. Calvin Willie Claxton Sr. was 83 years old, he was the son of William Claxton, Jr.

He had 10 known children named Immogene Claxton, Calvin Claxton, Jr., James Claxton, Melvin Claxton, Deborah Claxton, Michael Claxton, Mary Claxton, Rosie Lee Claxton, Kimberly Claxton, and Carolyn Claxton.

His father, William , Jr. Claxton was the son of William Claxton and Liza Jane Williams. William Jr.'s siblings were T. J. Claxton, Robert Claxton.

Calvin Claxton Sr.'s connection to Mandi Williams came through his grandmother Liza Jane Williams who was born in Haywood County TN. She is the daughter of Jerry Williams (1848-1923) and Sallie Miller. Her siblings were Nellie Williams, Melissa Williams, Emmaline Williams, Anna Williams, Mary Helen Williams, Lucy Harriett Williams, Sam Williams, Eugene Williams, Jerry Williams, Roger Williams, Jasper Williams.

Cousin Calvin's family is very special to us because they are one of the few families that we have contact with that descend from Uncle Jerry Williams...who was, of course one of the son's of Harmon Williams (1825-?) and Harriet Elizabeth Rayner (1827-1918), Mandi's daughter.

Below are the final arrangements which were relayed to us by Kimberly Claxton through the Descendants of Mandi mailing list.

Saturday 1pm at Antioch Baptist Church @ 4715 New Allen Road, Memphis, TN 38128. The wake will be from 10:30am-12:30pm. The burial will be on Monday (February 4th) at National Cemetary on Jackson Ave. (in Memphis). The time has not been set as of yet.

---

BELOW is a reprint of the notice which was published in the Memphis Commerical Appeal:

---

Claxton, Calvin
CALVIN CLAXTON, 83, of Memphis, TN died January 26, 2008.
Services by: J. E. Herndon Funeral Home Golden Cross Chapel | 901-346-1291
Published in The Commercial Appeal on 1/29/2008.

Claxton Sr., Calvin Willie
MASTER SGT. CALVIN WILLIE CLAXTON, SR., 83, died January 26, 2008. Service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, February 2 at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 4716 New Allen Road, Memphis, TN. A veteran of the U. S. Air Force, Mr. Claxton leaves to cherish his memory children, Imogene C. Jones, Pastor Calvin W. Claxton Jr, Ronnie Murrell, Devat Umbles, Cherie Smith, Marilyn Smith, James, Deborah, Michael, Mary, and Kimberly Claxton, Rosa Cline, Aziz Shakoor, Karen Holmes, Eric Meeks and Mickey Falls; mother-in-law, R. Mary Meeks. sisters-in- laws, Fannie Langford, Frances Frazier, Omega Murrell, Permethia Washington, Rosie Murrell. 39 grandchildren; 59 great-grandchildren; and nine great-great grandchildren and a host of loving relatives and dear friends.

J. E. Herndon Funeral Home Golden Cross Chapel | 901-346-1291

Please join us in prayer tonight and during the coming weeks for the entire Claxton family.

Holidays: Time to build yourself a History

With Christmas time upon us, I'd like to urge all Williams-Rivers Family members to take a few minutes and talk to your parents and grandparents... our family elders. You never know what you might discover.

A good chunk of the information in this website was sourced through conversations with family members at birthday celebrations, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, as well as Christmas and Thanksgiving Dinners. For me, one of the most valuable sources of information was my grandmother Elnora Evans. She was born Elnora Fouse in Haywood County near Brownsville Tennessee in 1914 and she married into the Williams-Rivers Family in 1935 when she married my grandfather Lemuel Williams. Although their marriage only lasted a few years, she remained close with the family and kept up with births, deaths, marriages and relocations of many family members. Although the family reunion booklets provided the structure that this website's family tree was built on, it was my grandmother Elnora's stories and recollections that gave much of it life for me.

She provided me with explanations for many of the links in the family where her family (the Fouse-Lee Family of Haywood County / Borownsville) had married into the Williams-Rivers Family producing "double cousins" who we see at reunions on both sides of the family. Her insights were invaluable to me as I began to piece things together and to fully understand the magnificent richness and heritage that we all share.

I thank God now for the many hours that we spent talking in 2005 and 2006...and I am sad that I did not have the presence of mind to engage a tape or digital recorder during our conversations. Her insights, wisdom and knowledge are silent now--we lost her earlier this year after a brief illness, at 92 years old.

Strangely enough, though, I feel her presence in the pages of this website, in some of my notes and recollections about family members. It was always her hope that I would one day make a website for the Fouse-Lee Family as well. I still hope to do so one day...and when I do, her stories, recollections and humor will all be waiting, stored in these gedcom files...waiting for one of her great neices or nephews or perhaps one of her great-granddaughters to stumble across it and want to know more about the woman whose memory was so sharp, well into her nineties that she could, with her words bring her two sisters, who died as children, back to life, so that we would all remember them, and know that they had once walked and played upon this earth.

Talk to your elders this holiday season, ask them to tell you about a family member who you never met. Don't forget to write it down...or better yet grab a tape recorder.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Early Caldwell, Jr 1919-2007

Early Caldwell, Jr.
April 19,1919-November 14, 2007

This year the Thanksgiving season has been tinged with sadness for the Williams-Rivers Family, at the Passing of another elder among the Descendants of Mandi, Early Caldwell Jr.

Early was born on April 19, 1919 in Haywood County Tennessee. He made his transition on Wednesday November 14, 2007 in Gary Indiana where he had lived for more than 30 years.

Early married Celestine Carney in 1951. They had four children named Ronald Caldwell, V-Ester Caldwell, Sisilla Caldwell, and Toni Caldwell.

Early Caldwell, Jr. was the son of Early Caldwell and Minnie Williams (1884-?). His siblings were Joel Caldwell, Veatrice Caldwell, Theola Caldwell, Mattie B. Caldwell.

His mother Minnie Williams was the daughter of Dennis Williams (1862-1947) and his first wife , Ella Woodson (b?-1899). Dennis Willams was the son of of Harmon Williams and Harriet Elizabeth Rayner (1827-1918). Harriet Elizabeth Rayner was the daughter of Mandi Williams.

We had the honor of attending Early Caldwell's funeral (with full military honors) earlier today along with nearly a hundred other family members. The service was very moving and the warmth of freinds and family for the man they called "the Master Story Teller", "Early Bald," "Little Early" and dozens of other terms of endearment was evident throughout the many tributes and remarks.

---

The following text is from the obituary produced for the Saturday's Services at Carter Memorial CME Church, 635 West 49th Avenue, Gary Indiana, 46408.

---

On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, Early Caldwell, Jr., (the master story teller), went to sit at God's table wit his parents, the late Minnie Williams Caldwell and Early Caldwell, Sr., his sisters Veatrice Brown, Theola Caldwell and Mattie B. Jackson and his brother Joel. He was born on Aril 19, 1919 in Haywood county Tennessee.

Early professed hsi belief in Jesus Christ at an early age, and was an active member of Carter Memoial CME Church until his failing health prohibited him form attending. During hsi early tenure at Carter "Chapel" CME Church he served as Sunday School Superintendant, Sunday School Teacher, Chior member and member of the Male Chorus.

Early served his country in the Korean conflict where he was stationed in the Solomon Islands and recieved an honorable discharge with the rank of Sargeant. Early was the recipient of the War II Victory Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, Wrold Conflict Infantryman Badge-First Award, American Defense Service Medal, Honorable Service Lapel Button-World War II, and the Good Conduct Medal.

After his discharge, Early enrolled in Lane College in jackson Tennessee, where he recieved his BA in History, and went on to become a teacher in the Haywood County School System, where he met his future wife.

With his bride Celestine, he relocated to Mansfield OH, and later moved to Gary Iniana to be closer to his brother Joel. He retired after thirty-three years of employment at the Coke Plant at U.S. Steel.

He leaves to Cherish his memory, his wife of 56 years, Clestine (Carney) Caldwell, one son Ronald (Gary IN), three daughters, V-Ester Caldwell (Coasta Mesa, CA), Sisilla Yolanda Rucker (Gary IN), and Toni Denise (Chris) Grant (Riverside CA), three grandchildren, Juanita J. Caldwell (Las Vegas NV), Vancell V. McClinton (Dubuque, IA), and Taylor B. (Keith) Arnold (Moreno Valley, CA), five great grandchildren, one aunt, Albertha Williams (Stanton TN), five sisters-in-law, Mattie Cannon, Mildred Sweet, Annie Miller, Cosetta Miller and Varah Caldwell, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Interment
Oak Hill Cemetery
4450 Harrison Street
Gary IN

Pallbearers
John Johnson
Anton Titus
Russel Williamson
REginald Carney
Michael Cannon
Troy Washington

Honorary Pallbearers
carlton W. Brown
Joel Caldwell, Jr.
Willie Titus
Jules Carlos
Billy Carney
Charles Hardiman

Join Descendants of Mandi on Facebook

Descendants of Mandi now has a presence in the popular social networking site Facebook.

Facebook is a site that launched a couple of years ago as a place for high school and college aged people to join, link up and socialize. It became very popular among those who are 13 to 25 years old as it allowed people to stay in touch while they fanned out from high school to different parts of the country for college, and then moved again into their post-college lives. Earlier this year, Facebook was opened up to older people and it has become one of the fastest growing social networks on the web, reportedly growing at a rate of nearly 250,000 people a day.

I joined the network during the first week in October and immediately found several of our younger cousins already among its members. It did not take long for me to hatch the idea for a Descendants of Mandi group-- the idea being that as more and more famlily became Facebook users, they would have a "family place" among the clubs dedicated to fraternities, sororities, colleges and universities, etc. I was encourged by my wife, Kelly McCoy Williams, who had joined Facebook several weeks ago and had begun a group for her family, the Tyler Family Legacy Group. Within a few days, younger members of the Tyler Clan had begun linking to the group, and they intend to use it as a communication tool as their next reunion approaches.

I'd like to encourage the cyber saavy Descendants of Mandi to do the same thing. So, if you are already member of Facebook, check out the Descendants of Mandi Group and join--leave us a message on the group's discussion board. If you are not yet a member, then join Facebook and then the Descendants of Mandi Group. We hope this can be a way for younger family members to interact, get to know each other, and stay in touch all year long and between family reunions. Also, I'd like to thank cousins Intisar and Hanifah Abioto for accepting my nominations to the posts of membership co-chairs for the group.

Check us out at the Descendants of Mandi Facebook Group. All family members are encouraged to join.

PEACE!!!

Alversa Williams Lee, 1911-2007

This is a time of sadness and reflection for the Williams-Rivers Family. We have lost one of our most beloved family members, Alversa Williams Lee made her transition on Tuesday October 9, 2007, in Memphis, Tennessee. Mother, sister, wife, cousin, aunt, sister-in-law, grandmother, great-grandmother--She was a matriarch of our family. Aunt Alversa was a driving force behind the Williams-Rivers Family Reunion which has occurred every even numbered year since the late 1970s. She was also one of our Family Griots, who shared her vast knowledge of family history with us all, through her writings in the family reunion booklets and many personal conversations. Her insights are among those that have made the Descendants of Mandi website possible.

She was born near Brownsville Tennessee in 1911, into a very large family. She was the forth child, and oldest girl born to Dennis Williams and Luella Short Williams. Luella was Dennis’ second wife and at the time of her birth, Alversa had 15 older siblings. The family would later grow to a total of 21 siblings. She later married Robert Lee, and they had a large family of their own, 14 kids in all. Over the years she became a kind of mother to us all. It always amazed me that she knew and could remember all the names of members of our family—as I could scarcely imagine keeping up with the names of 14 kids, much less all the cousins, etc. that she had stored in her brain. She was a sharp woman, and remained so, right into her 90s.

With her passing, I was reminded of a quote on the importance of elders and ancestors in our families. The quote is from Alex Haley's commentary in the acknowledgements of his best selling novel “Roots.” Haley said, "Today it is rightly said that when a griot dies, it is as if a library has burned to the ground. The griot symbolizes how all human ancestry goes back to some place, some time, where there was no writing. Then, the memories and the mouths of ancient elders was the only way that early histories of mankind got passed along...for all of us to know who we are."

I think it is fitting that we honor Aunt Alversa with a quote from Alex Haley, as he was an acquaintance of hers, from nearby Henning Tennessee, and he helped inspire her to pursue her quest for a family reunion in the late 1970s after the phenomenal success of his book. I imagine that now, the two of them will be enjoying deep conversations about the importance of history and family to this ongoing journey we’re all traversing.

Our related sister website, The Short Austin Family Tree has also placed a Memorium to Aunt Alversa on it's Elders Page: (the page was up until October 31 2007, it has now been removed)

It can be found at http://www.shortaustinfamilytree.com/elders_page.html

Another tribute, written by her Granddaughter Intisar Abioto, can be found at the PEOPLE COULD FLY Website Blog.

Pray for us in the days ahead.

Trim the Tree and Fill in the Family Tree

The Holidays are here and it is time to gather together sharing gifts and fellowship. It is also the perfect time to begin or add to the information on your family tree. Why? Because everyone is there-- usually several generations of family members are present at once and Christmas also puts many people in the mood to talk about memory and family members from "Christmas' Past." Take a digital recorder with you to your holiday gatherings and ask a few questions. You never know what clues you may discover, clues that may set the direction of your genealogy searches for the new year.

It's also a time when estranged family members think about reconnecting. How many times has that call come in from a distant cousin wishing "holiday cheer" or wanting to "get back in touch." These are perfect opportunities to get more information on a part of the family tree that hasn't been updated in ages. We had the web version of one of these "getting back in touch calls" happen just a week ago when a descendant of uncle Jerry Williams found us on the web and made contact through our family email list. Her letter to the egroup began:

---

Hello All:

I am happy to say that I am truly in awe that I "stumbled" upon the
site which traces my family history. I want to tell everyone hello
and that I look forward to speaking to you all and keeping in touch as
our family should. I am Kimberly Claxton (32 years old), daughter of
Calvin Claxton Sr. (82 years old)-Memphis, TN.

---

The response was immediate as family members reached out to welcome her and to find out where she fell in the Descendants of Mandi Tree. Here's a sample:

---

Hello Kimberly! Glad you connected! Keep in touch. SMILE!

Rachel D Washington

---

This is so great...and demonstrates the improved power of modern technology to help us re-connect and stay connected. And to think, Kimberly's family is in/from Memphis - the geographic nucleus of the family and where I was born and raised. Until now, the only descendents of Uncle Jerry I knew were the Jones', from Memphis, too. This proof that we can no longer take for granted that traditional modes of communication are the best and most effective ways for us to keep in touch. We're too large a family for that.

Great to meet you Kimberly,

Your cousin Nicole

---

"Who is your fathers immediate descendant? I take it you didn't make it
to St. Louis for the famiy reunion this summer."

Donna Washington descending from Dennis Williams

---

I asked cousin Kimberly to take a look at her family's branch of the tree and tell us if it needed updating. She said that it was very outdated, as her siblings now had children, meaning that there were probably a dozen or more family members missing from their part of the tree. She has promised to get all the details as her family gathers for Christmas this year. We will all look forward to the additions to the family tree.

I hope we all are able to have a wonderful Holiday and to gain more wonderful details about our family's rich heritage. Remember all the Descendants of Mandi in your Christmas prayers. Peace on Earth and to you all.

The Family Tree is Back

Well I've finally updated the Williams-Rivers Family Tree. Last May (2006) I took down the Family Tree portion of the site due to concerns over personal information contained there about living family members. As the World Wide Web has progressed and gotten more popular, identity theft has become a real concern, and I'd noticed that other sites no longer listed much information on living people.

This realization came at a point when my plate was fairly full, so rather than risk it, I decided to take the tree down, and repost it when I could output a more "private" version of the Family Tree. Well it is done, and now as with most other genealogy sites on the web now, the Descendants of Mandi respects living family members by not sharing personal information.

Just for information sake, I had not received any complaints about anything, but I decided why wait for a problem to occur?

Hope you all enjoy the revised site.

Eric J.

A Biography for Mandi Williams

One of the oversights that we have been meaning to fix since the launch of this website, was the lack of a biographical sketch for Mandi Williams, our family matriarch and our ultimate common ancestor. We have now corrected this oversight. See the new biography for Mandi Williams.

Updating the Family of Cullen Caldwell

This month at Descendants of Mandi, we have done extensive updates to the family records of the descendants of Cullen Caldwell, son of Albertine Williams, who is the daughter of Dennis Williams and Ella Woodson. We have added spouse information for all three of Cullen's daughters (Marilyn, Sharon and Vera Caldwell) and adusted offspring names to reflect the correct surnames. Thank you very much to the Caldwell Family for taking the timeto fill out the genealogy worksheet...as cousins fill in the gaps and return the information, the family tree continues to grow in accuracy. Check out the new family info page for the Cullen Caldwell Family.

Tributes to family members

As we continue the process of gathering information on the Williams-Rivers Family, and filling out the branches of our family tree, we'd like to ask everyone to think of a family member for whom you can write a tribute or provide a three or four paragraph historical biography. It can be detailed or based memories and recollections. It can be someone living or someone who has passed on...but contributions like these will help our family site come to life--and stress our family's many contributuons.

Searching and Finding

With our new search engines, it's easier than ever to find yourself or your branch of the family in the Descendants of Mandi Website. If you are trying to remember that cousin you met at the last reunion, try putting in whatever information you know about them and watch the results-- you'll be surprised.

We are a featured link on Afrigeneas.com

The Descendants of Mandi website continues to gain attention on the web. The African American genealogy website, Afrigeneas.com has featured Descendants of Mandi on it's Family Reunion Links page. Afrigeneas is one of the well-known comprehensive sites for African American Genealogy on The Internet. It has been around since 1999. Click the link above to check out the link.

Making contact with distant cousins

While I was creating the Descendants of Mandi Genealogy Website, I did some searching on the Web based on key family names. One day as I entered some family names and browsed the results, I was stunned to find an exact match on what appeared to be someone else's family tree site. I made a mental note that as soon as I got our site up and running, I would contact the other site's webmaster and let him know that there was family on the Web.

Today, three days after lauching the new website, I kept my promise to myself. I sent the following note to Lamont Beauregard of the Short/Austin Family Tree Website-- Subject Line: My Website, Your Website, Our Family:

---

Hello cousin Lamont!

Your website-- http://www.shortaustinfamilytree.com/The Short Austin
Family Treeis fantastic!!! ...and I am your distant cousin. Our Common relative is Silla Short.

My name is Eric J Williams and I live in Chicago IL. I came upon your
website a while back, and realized that our families overlap to a
considerable degree. I am the great-grandson of Luella Short and the
great-great-great-grandson of Silla Short.

I also have a family tree website charting the Williams and Rivers
Family of Haywood County Tennessee. Our website
( http://www.descendantsofmandi.com/ ) is very new...just
launched last week...though I have been building the Gedcom files for
several weeks from paper charts the family has done for family reunion
booklets and conversations with family members. I would love to hear
what you think about our new website.

If you click the link below, you can see and trace my relationship to
the Shorts who appear in your Short/Ausitin website.

http://www.descendantsofmandi.com/Records/INDIs/II0965.html

My grandfather, Lemuel Williams was the son of Luella Short. I was
very happy to find your webite as I was in the process of launching
our Williams-Rivers Family Tree website-- called Descendants of Mandi.
Your site will allow me to fill in many blanks about my
great-grandmother's family.

In the spirit of your message on the Short Austin website, I've
included a few notes which point out some missing or inaccurate spots
in your family tree--specifically charting our branch the Henry Short
family.

Here is a family record for Luella Short and Dennis Williams--my
great-grandmother and great-grandfather... notice the third child (my
uncle Donald), who your family tree identifies as Darner...which was
his nickname, click Donald's link for the note on his nickname).

http://www.descendantsofmandi.com/Records/FAMs/FF010.html

your page is:

http://www.shortaustinfamilytree.com/lueellashortpage.html

Here is a family record for Alversa Williams and Robert Edward Lee
(you'll find there are two missing children for them in your page for
Aunt Alversa). Click the link and you will find them here---Sandra
Faye and Lewis Edward) the correct place for these two is between
Wesley Gene and Brenda Aleece.

http://www.descendantsofmandi.com/Records/FAMs/FF279.html

your page is:

http://www.shortaustinfamilytree.com/alversawilliamepage.html

You'll also find that our new site contains considerable additional
info on offspring for the children of Dennis Williams and Luella
Short...enough to keep you busy for quite some time.

I would, however, be open to sending you a gedcom file which you could
merg into your existing file to pick up the additonal info...but we
can talk about that later. I will be picking up considerable info from
your site as well. Maybe we could swap files at some point and save
each other considerable typing.

Anyway, Lamont, I was glad to find you, and I hope to meet at some
point in the future.

Sincerely

Eric J. Williams
http://www.descendantsofmandi.com/
ericjw33@gmail.com