Thomas S. Murphy Clubhouse Genealogy Project

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Thomas S. Murphy ClubhouseGenealogy Project

• Aryea Ebanks
• Marc Poinson
• Allen Eugene
• Kiara Mason

• Meshach Smith
• Rachel Poinson
• Kendell Francis
• Tiffany Hutchinson
• Christopher Polonia
• Tyquan Davis

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Learning About Our History

• One aspect of this project was to study the
  history and origins of our ancestors.
• We also went on two trips to study the history
  and changing culture of our community.

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A Family Tree

• This is an example of a pedigree chart or family
  history chart.

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Other Family Trees

• This is another example of a pedigree chart.
  There are many different types.
• For people of African descent it is often
  difficult to find records.

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Beyond Family Trees

• So we also did research on the African roots of
  our countries of origin.
• We studied our roots from the Caribbean island to
  West Africa

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Important Definitions for Studying Our Genealogy

• Genealogy
• Stereotype
• Leo Africanus

• Syncretism
• Gunpowder

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Our Roots

• The majority of our group members are of
  Caribbean descent.
• We found out that most people of African descent
  found in the Caribbean originally came from West
  Africa.

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Fourteen African Countries

• There are 14 Countries in West Africa whose
  culture, traditions, and customs can be seen
  throughout the Caribbean society today.

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14 AFRICAN COUNTRIES

1. Benin
2. Cote de Ivoire
3. Togo
4. Sierra Leone
5. Gabon
6. Guinea
7. Cameroon

• 8. Rep. of Congo
• 9. Senegal
• 10. Ghana
• 11. Nigeria
• 12. Angola
• 13. Liberia
• 14. Guinea Bissau

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Where We Come From

• As a person of Haitian descent, Rachels
  ancestors probably came from Benin, Nigeria, and
  Congo.
• As a person of Jamaican descent, Tiffanys
  ancestors most likely came from Nigeria, Ghana,
  and Angola.

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The Triangular Slave Trade

• The European trade in African people involved the
  continents of Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
• Raw goods and people were taken from Africa to be
  sold in the Caribbean, and then the U.S.

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Survival of Our Cultures

• One of the worst aspects of slavery was that it
  wiped out our original names, and almost took
  away the memory of our pasts, and culture.
• What we found out is that in some instances our
  African ancestors were able to keep their way and
  beliefs alive.

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Syncretism

• Here are two pictures from Haiti that show the
  survival of African culture. (top) Haitian people
  practicing the Vodun ceremonies of their
  ancestors. (bottom) An Haitian altar to African
  gods.

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Our Community History and Landmarks

• As part of this project we also visited two
  institutions in our community to learn about the
  history of our neighborhood.
• Our research took us to The Dutch Reformed
  Church, and Erasmus High School Campus.

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The Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church

• The Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church is one of the
  oldest in our community, and was founded in 1654,
  shortly after the settlement of Kings County.

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The Flatbush Dutch Reform Church (FDRC)

• The Flatbush Dutch Reform Church, only two blocks
  from our Clubhouse have a wealth of history that
  we discovered on our visit there.
• It was really an Adventure!!!

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The Church Structure

• The beautiful stained glass windows of The
  Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church were made by
  Tiffanys, the famous jewelry company.
• In this series of windows each glass represents a
  different European country.

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Segregation

• There are also beautiful
• balconies in the main
• sanctuary but we discovered unfortunately
  that our ancestors were made to sit in the upper
  balcony. Slaves we not permitted to sit in the
  mezzanine section.
• Racism and segregation was not only apart of the
  South but right here in our Flatbush community.

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The Cemetery at Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church

• The FDRC has a cemetery that is like a time
  capsule.
• The quality of the headstones and the materials
  used to make them tell us about the wealth of the
  person buried there and sometimes the situation
  surrounding their death.

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Changing Face of Flatbush

• Here we see old and new side by side.
• Flatbush was once mostly farm land, now it is a
  busy urban shopping area

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The Church House

• The Church House of the Dutch Reformed Church.
• The house was constructed in 1924 and serve as a
  unique place for community events and recreation
• .

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Erasmus Hall Campus
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Erasmus Hall Today

• Erasmus Hall is the oldest operating school in
  the country.
• It was established in 1784.

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A view of the original Seminary Building

• Erasmus Hall was originally formed as a seminary.
• This building was the original structure of the
  school still standing in the middle of the court
  yard.

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The original Seminary

• This plaque is in recognition of the seminary
  first established in 1786

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Our trip to Erasmus Hall

• A statue of Desiderius Erasmus stands right in
  front of the original school building. He was a
  Dutch scholar.

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Erasmus

• Here are two examples of the excellent stained
  glass windows at Erasmus Hall.

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Erasmus

• Here we observe a collage of some of Erasmus
  Halls many famous alumni.