Ancestral Connections: How Oral History and Land Records Revealed Homestead Connections in Alabama with Mary K. Clark, Ph.D.

Today's episode will explore what happened when genealogist and family historian Mary K. Clark, Ph.D. set out to answer a simple question, "Who are Fannie's people?", she uncovered a remarkable story of family, land ownership, and community connections in the Wiregrass region of Alabama. Drawing upon oral history shared by elders, vital records, land patents, National Archives records, courthouse documents, and modern mapping tools, Mary reconstructed a network of Black homesteading families whose lives were intertwined through kinship, faith, and landownership. In this conversation, she shares how family stories led to unexpected discoveries, including ancestral homesteads, community connections spanning generations, and a deeper understanding of the legacy left by her ancestors. 

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