This is a guest post by Mila Hill, a junior fellow in the Office of Communications.
When I started my summer fellowship at the Library, I knew that it would be a catalyst for professional development — but I never expected to learn so much about myself and my family.
One night, while scrolling through my friends’ Instagram stories, I noticed one had reposted an incredible family tree that would soon be on display at the Library’s new Treasures Gallery. The tree’s size and artistry alone made me want to know more, but I soon saw that the tree documented the Blackwell family. Now I was especially intrigued.
Blackwell is a family name on my mom’s side. An even better clue was the presence of tennis legend Arthur Ashe’s name. My family has always known that Ashe is our cousin, so his name, inscribed on a gold-painted leaf, confirmed that this wasn’t just any Blackwell family from Virginia: It was ours.
My direct connections to the tree are Minnie Blackwell and Thomas Reese, my great-grandparents. Minnie and Thomas had two children, Willie and my grandmother Dorothy. I’ve always known Minnie’s name because I’m named after my great-grandmothers: Minnie, Ida, Lazelle and Audrey. Their first initials spell my name, Mila. After conferring with my mom and grandma, I knew to look for my great-grandfather Thomas Reese as well.
The Library has great scans of the tree, so from my tiny phone screen I was quickly able to find my great-grandfather Thomas above the Ashe branch of the tree; he is listed with his parents, Carrie and Edward Reese.
Finding my family on the canvas was quite a shock. No one in my branch of the family knew of the tree’s existence, but we were all quick to embrace our newly discovered extended family. My mom has since reminded me that there can be only so many African American Blackwells in the Virginia countryside.
I was also emotional at the tangible connection that I’d been given to my family. The tree is accompanied by a book of family history going back to the 1730s. Knowing your ancestors’ names is one thing but seeing them on a piece of folk art, really knowing that they existed and mattered in the world, is entirely another.
To fully appreciate the tree, I think it’s necessary to appreciate Thelma Short Doswell, a renowned genealogist and my newfound cousin, who took on the massive project of making the tree. She did most of her research in the 1950s, when records could only be accessed in person at courthouses or at various record keepers across Virginia. She worked on this tree, and others made later with even more names, for more than 25 years. The tree is not just a memory of her life’s work but also of her life’s passion.
A mark of a good genealogist is the desire to understand the people beyond the names who are found in records. Thelma created the Blackwell’s Kinfolk Tree to show her family history using oral histories, slave records and other documents to get a fuller picture of the people whose names she found.
Thelma’s work and methods made me think harder about my ancestors and the lives they lived. I’ve always known that my family is descended from kidnapped, enslaved and displaced people. But it’s rare to know African American family history prior to 1865, when the Civil War ended and the 13th Amendment officially abolished slavery. Before then, enslaved families had been separated since they were forced onto slave ships, so much so it’s nearly impossible to track a family line back to their arrival in the United States. But because of Thelma’s incredible work, I know the names and stories of the women who created the Blackwell family.
Amar and her daughter Tab are those matriarchs. In 1735, Amar and Tab were among 188 Africans who sailed from the Gold Coast of Africa to the colony of Virginia. Upon their arrival, Amar and Tab were purchased in Yorktown, Virginia, and given the Blackwell surname.
Learning Amar and Tab’s names, seeing the tree in all of its glory, and sharing it with my immediate family has been an incredible experience. Before seeing the tree in person, I didn’t fully understand how impressive it was. Its sheer size (9 feet tall and 6 feet wide) was enough to make me emotional. Another personal touch: My family history is on display in a major cultural institution, alongside Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s first Spider-Man comic, the item that made me want to be a librarian.
My family history is also hanging alongside so many important items from across the Library’s collections and across thousands of years of history. It’s enough to make me feel like I’m important too. Now that I know so much more about where I come from, I feel so much more certain of my place in the world.
My family is my favorite thing in the world and this summer, my favorite thing has grown exponentially.
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Comments (12)
How cool!
I used to teach at Blackwell Elementary in Richmond named for JH Blackwell, is he your ancestor?
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/blackwell-james-h-ca-1864-1931/
Hello,
I am a Volunteer Worker at the City of Ottawa, My name is Ashley Chabot, and I need to let you know that I am seeking a Full Time Employment with the Library of Congress in Ottawa, Ontario, via Washington DC.
Sincerely,
KH
Wow – this is an amazing story, Mila! You were already important, and this tie to family legacy confirms it! May you build on and enrich that legacy.
July 15, 2024
Dear Ms. Mila Hill:
What an extraordinary story with such detail about the findings of your Family history! I can only imagine how shocked you were as the facts about your loved ones began to unfold.
I always wanted to learn more about the beginnings of my own Family tree. Perhaps one day I too will be fortunate enough to discover the true “roots” of my existence.
Congratulations to you! Never forget that “you are living the dreams of your Ancestors”, and I am sure they are very proud of you. All the best!
Sincerely,
Rachelle Warren, Ed.D.
rw
Ms. Mila Hill,
I just read your post, and it fills my heart with much joy to WITNESS “magik.” In God’s eyes, we are all family… Kin… I am truly fortunate to have come across your story; YOUR heritage. Thank you for sharing.
xXx
C/M
Mila, I truly enjoyed this blog
So well done and I learned so much about your other grandmas family. What an awesome find. Well done granddaughter
So happy about your experience at LOC this summer.
What a wonderful story, and how special to be able to place yourself in it. You will be a wonderful librarian with all these connections (enjoy Spiderman!)!!
What an amazing story– thank you for sharing! It’s always so great when you can find a personal connection between a historical document and a person today, and to find it with this particular document…wow.
You are probably related to me through Morris K Blackwell (1888-1953). I can send an image of his WWI soldier picture if you like.
I have just finished reading about the Blackwell Family Tree and found it very, very interesting. I am a ninety-year-old black man born and raised in a little town in Arkansas named Hope. This family tree interested me because my maternal grandmother married a man whose name I have just learned was Ulysses Blackwell. This did not come from the Blackwell Family Tree. I found it through my own research.
My maternal grandmother was born in a little town outside of Hope, Arkansas named Ozan, Arkansas. Her birth name was Pearl Snow Muldrew. Before marrying Ulysses Blackwell, she was married to John Edward Monroe for whom she bore four children. After about fifteen years of marriage John died and she later married Ulysses Blackwell. My grandmother died with the name Pearl Snow Blackwell.
Therefore, my question to whoever reads this comment is, does the Blackwell Family Tree contain all Blackwells in the colonies or just the Blackwells in Virginia? Has anyone looked into the relationships between all Blackwells or only the ones in Virginia?
I know from my little research that this is a sticky wicket, and I will appreciate any information that you may give me.
Thank you,
Bernard Moses, Jr.
Mila, I am so proud of you and your family. I have been a friend of your Mom and Grandmother, Dorothy Croslin for so many years.
I will always remember where I was on the night President Barack Obama won the election as the First African American to be President of the United States of America – it your home in Hampton, VA.
I also remember when you played violin at our Red and White Cltillion when you were a little girl. You have always been creative and special. May this assignments at the Library of Congress continue your “Flight to Success”. Fly high my young friend. That’s where you are supposed to be.
Goldie A. Malloy
I married into the Blackwell family from the boarder of N and S Carolina although I don’t approve of the purchase of people for slaves I do know the family owned several people as slaves. Where they were purchased from I am not aware but…. we could be in laws. Take care and keep up the good work.