Lorna, Henry, Aldwin and Ynolde Granderson, Children of Henry Sr and Violet

From:	andersonw@theorchard.org	(Fri Jan 30 13:14:26 2004)
Where did you get this picture? This is my father and his family!!! My father, Henry Granderson, Jr. is the oldest son in the dark suit. You can't believe how incredible this is. We are really family!!!!!
From:	Lisa Granderson (LGRAND@worldnet.att.net)	(Fri Jan 30 23:33:09 2004)
I'm Lisa Granderson living in New Jersey (Wanda's sister). We were so delighted to see the picture of our father Henry Granderson, Jr. and his siblings. My dad was happily surprised as well when he saw the website photo!
From:	Grandersonassoc@aol.com	(Sat Jan 31 21:47:10 2004)
Dear Ayanna: Please let me introduce myself as Henry A. Granderson, the young man standing in the rear of the picture. Let me also give you some names for the others in the photograph. On my left is my sister, Lorna, deceased and on my right is my younger brother, Aldwin, also deceased. Seated is my baby sister, Ynold, who was absolutely delighted to hear about this "old family photo" being on the internet. We were born and raised in Harlem, N.Y., USA. Our parents were Violet and Henry A. Granderson Sr., who were immigrants from Trinidad. I would like very much to hear from you and to get acquainted with a cousin from my parents' birthplace. Sincerely, Henry A. Granderson
From:	ken@granderson.com	(Sun Feb 1 21:16:14 2004)
Hi Ayanna. This is Ken Granderson, youngest son of Aldwin, on the right of the photo. My mother just told me about this and yes indeed we must be family. I have read several of your articles and find them to be both thoughtful and thought-provoking, and well-documented, which is a welcome change from much of I find in the online literature of the diaspora. I will return to this site often and recommend it to friends.-Ken
From:	ayanna	(Tue Feb 3 15:14:42 2004)
hi all! it is lovely to connect with you!! i have set up a message board/forum at http://www.rootswomen.com/Inner_Reasoning/ for us to message and get to know everyone.There is also a direct link right below the picture above. I look foward to getting to know everyone :)
From:	Grandersonassoc@aol.com	(Thu Feb 5 20:33:40 2004)
Dear Ayanna: This is in response to our conversation on the General Board. I was having difficulty responding to you via logging in. I must admit I am having a time logging in. Henry and I are not experts at the computer but we do our best.(smile) As for the steps I took in tracing my family lineage, it was rather easy because it occurred at a Family reunion in the beautiful mountains of Dublin, Virginia where my maternal family came out of slavery. Neisha,(her African name I was told by my people there) was my greatgrand mother and was also the family historian. She carefully recorded in the family Bible all of the births, marriages and deaths of the family since the 1800s. One of her daughters kept all of the photos with the names and dates on the back. The oldest relative,a cousin, who was in her 90's had a sharp clear memory and told me many things which I recorded on a tape recorder. I also spoke to another cousin and an uncle. One of my Aunts did a profile on Neisha and her husband,George Russell. I met Neisha once when I was 8 years old. She was formidable and I still remember her. She had 12 children and many grandchildren. She died a couple of years later and no more information was recorded after that in the Bible. Another cousin told me that Neisha and her mother (Whose name was Bethinia Wright and was the first known of the 7th generations) were sold from Knoxville, Tenn to Dublin, Virginia. Two brother were left behind. Neisha never forgot them and went looking for them in her latter years and found them and brought them back with her to Virginia. My elderly cousin told me about that in a very moving account. It saddened me and reminded me how terrible the institution of slavery was in that it separated families as if they didn't love each other as all kinfolks do. There is a lot to tell about the history of the Russell family. What would be exciting is to trace the family from Knoxville to see if this is where their slavery began and to see where in Africa did they originate. Have you heard that at Howard University, you can through the DNA techniques ascertain which tribe in Africa you come from? Isn't that exciting? So, really I was able to go back to 7 generations because a group of my relatives stayed in one town and kept records. I only put it together. I hope one of my children will complete the job. I wish you much succes in your endeavor in tracing your people. Lisa is looking up the Smart family here in the United States. The mother, a Granderson, I believe is Camella and Arnim's sister and had 12 children. They may be a good source of Granderson history. In that women usully keep good records. Well please forgive this very long account. Sincerely, Irene