Hutchinson Point

Standing: Joe Merrivale; Young Spotted Tail; my relative, (Joseph) Antoine Janis. Seated: Touch-the-Clouds; Little Big Man; Black Cool; and another man. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Image is in the public domain.   *****  Joseph Antoine Janis (hereafter referred to as Antoine) was born in 1824 at St. Charles County, Missouri to Antoine St. Charles Janis and Marguerite Thibaut of French and blended French-African ancestry respectively - Marguerite's grandmother having been born a slave and described as mulatto. Antoine was a successful fur trader and traveled to Colorado where he was the first white settler and founded the town of Laporte in 1858. He married First Elk Woman, who was Oglala Sioux, and they have many descendants today in this and related Sioux tribes.  Ancestry.co.uk member Nushalee posted a document in 2012 entitled "Statement of Henry Cottier Concerning Eleonitte Iott", dated 20 Novembe...

Arriving in New York Harbor at the end of a voyage from Europe, 1919 with troops crowding her deck. The Statue of Liberty is in the left distance. Photo by Robert Enrique Miller (1881-1921). Photo in public Domain. Our relative, March E. Ford (1893-1972), grandson of March Ford, who was born in bondage in 1822, was a crew-member of this ship during WWI and is likely to be one of the sailors in this photo. He was a sailor of Company "B" 804th Pioneer Infantry. Ship Name: USS Matsonia.

Image is of a tintype photograph and might be dated anywhere between 1865-1900. However, in researching the mat/frame, I have discovered one that is identical that dates without question to 1873. Similar frames/mats can be found from the early 1860s to the mid 1870s. This may be the image of Judia Russell, a possible ancestor of ours from Linneus, Linn, Missouri. It might also be of another woman who may have known Judia or was related to Amanda Russell a direct ancestor of ours. Both Judia and Amanda had been slaves of Thomas Russell in Linn County. There were only three adult women on the slave schedules of Thomas Russell and all three were discussed by name in his will. They were Judia, Katy (believed to have died in late 1861 to early 1862), and Louisa who had two children by 1861 named Maria and Jordan. Judia and Katy may have both been of mixed European and African heritage. Louisa's ethnicity and coloring has not been described in any documents I have seen to-date. Ju...

Nicolas Janis House / The Green Tree Inn (c 1790) 244 Old St. Mary's Road, Sainte Genevieve, Missouri Nicolas-Francois Janisse (Janis), my 6th-great-grandfather, was a French-Canadian fur-trader, born in Quebec City in 1720. He traveled much during his life, ultimately settling in what was then Spanish Territory, now known as Sainte Genevieve, Missouri. During his life he was a French, British, American, and Spanish citizen due to territories changing hands many times. I do not yet know the names of those whose labor and skill built this house in 1790, but they were enslaved men. This was the Janis home and was also used as a tavern for travelers. An outstanding work of construction, the home still stands today and is open seasonally for tours. It is believed to be the oldest verified vertical log building in Sainte Genevieve. The home can be see on the television series Who Do You Think You Are?, Season 6, Episode 8, featuring another descendant, Melissa Etheridge. ...

I’ve discovered a very interesting piece of information to help in the Hutchinson/Walden/Russell area of the tree. It’s the name of a church in Linn County, Missouri and a list of its founding members (some of the names match our tree). I am over the moon. Like many other genealogists, I have had more difficulty finding our African-American ancestors in the 1800s and before. In fact, beginning with my grandmother and going back 150 years, each of the mothers/grandmothers in her line was a housekeeper of a “private family”, and only one of the women has a documented father for her children. Each of the others raised and cared for her children, seemingly alone, and worked her entire life while remaining very loyal to the families they worked for. It's been an interesting journey, and I'm often reminded of the strength and independence of my grandmother, as I can see now that those qualities are present in a long line of women. I am proud to be part of that line. ...