Our Genealogy ResearchWelcome to The
|
|
In the early 1990's, I started the genealogy research for the family. At the time, I wanted a deeper understanding of various family connections. Moreover, I knew of my grandmother Aretha's wish and wanted to help fulfill it. Due to the on-again and off-again nature of the research, the project "has a long way to go" before it is completed. However, to think about it, perhaps the nature of genealogy research is that it is never completed. We gathered all the information on this website through the oral process. We published the first website in 2003. I used the program Family Tree MakerŪ by Ancestry.com to organize the information and create the PDF files on this website. To continue the legacy, at least two other family members should become familiar with the program. They should have their own Family Tree MakerŪ program to upload the data file. Joining a genealogy group in their locale would help, greatly. We continue our genealogy research for this website. However, we leave it to future generations to finalize the process. I ask all family members to view carefully this website. There are, no doubt, errors and a lot of missing information. Please click here to report errors and provide missing information. Do not assume someone else will do it. It is OK if we get the information more than once. That will provide a sort of double check. Thank you, Samuel Elijah Thompson (July 2010 - Website Rebuilt) |
A Little Background:
Among the last wish of Aretha (White) Roberts was that the families from the two marriages of her mother (Sylvia) stay united. Therefore, our genealogy research started with Aretha Roberts and her mother Sylvia.
Sylvia's maiden name is Campbell.
Sylvia first married Alex White and they produced two children. It is not clear that they, in fact, had a second child. However, if they had a second child, we believe they named him "General", and that he died as a baby.
Of course, Aretha was the other child. She later married Elijah Roberts.
(At this time, we know of no descendants of Alex White bearing his name.)
Sylvia's second husband was Clark Moorehead. They produced six children. The one male from this union had no children.
(At this time, we know of no descendants of Clark Moorehead bearing his name.)
Please click here to provide missing information.
Our Genealogy Research Reveals
A Name for Our Family Reunion
At the start of our genealogy research, there was no written documentation of pedigrees. However, we wanted to stay with the basic idea that our family gatherings was for the purpose of the two families of Sylvia to stay united.
Therefore, Aretha and her mother (Sylvia) was the starting point for deciding on an official name for our family gatherings.
Keep in mind that all children of a male descendant become the heir to his name. This is also true of female descendants even though their civil name may change due to marriage. Also, keep in mind that genealogists use female maiden names in genealogical records.
{If known, this website shows maiden names in parenthesis when used with a married name.}
When Aretha White married Elijah Roberts, all of their children (male and female) bore the last name of Roberts, and became part of the "Roberts" family.Of course, those same children were also part of the "White" family.
All children have two sets of grandparents. They have grandparents on their mother's side of the family in addition to their father's side. Edward & Mary Roberts (the parents of Elijah) is one set of grandparents for the children of Elijah & Aretha. The other set of grandparents is Alex & Sylvia White.
Likewise, the children of Sylvia and Clark Moorehead have two sets of grandparents.
All of their children became heir to the names of Campbell and Moorehead.
One set of grandparents is Dan & Nicy Campbell, the parents of Sylvia. The other set of grandparents are the parents of Clark Moorehead. We currently have no information on the parents and other possible relatives of Clark Moorehead.
There were six females and one male born to the union of Sylvia and Clark.
The five daughters of Sylvia & Clark all changed their names after marriage. Their last names (surnames) became:
- Cooper
- Worley
- Hymon
- Gillians
- Townsen,
- Boddie
Therefore, none of the grandchildren, or descendants of those five daughters, of Clark & Sylvia Moorehead bear the name "Moorehead". There only son had no children.
Roberts - Moorehead:
The official family reunion name became the Roberts-Moorehead Family Reunion.
The family decided to follow the recommendation of the family's Historian, Sam Thompson. Sam based his recommendation on the genealogy research cited above.
However, Sylvia's birth name is Campbell. Therefore, this website includes the name of Campbell to honor her ancestors and siblings, and their descendants.
Choosing the name Moorehead was controversial for some family members. Currently, we have no record of other family members with the last name of Moorehead. Perhaps, however, there would have been no controversy if Sylvia and Clark had had sons who also had sons.
As faith would have it, all the offspring of the children of Clark & Sylvia Moorehead received last names different than Moorehead, due to marriages.
In the end, we did choose the name Moorehead because that was the birth last name of all of Sylvia's children from her second marriage.
Remember that early on, our family gatherings started as an effort to keep the two families of Sylvia united.
Today, we continue our yearly reunions in order to celebrate our ancestry; and, to maintain the ties that bind all family members.
Eventually, through our genealogy research, we hope to find information on other family members of Clark Moorehead, as well as family members of Alex White (the father of Aretha).
Return to The Roberts - Moorehead Family home page
Back to Top - Our Genealogy Research
SBI!
