Still Writing about Nellie

Today is Day 14 of the Family History Writing Challenge posed by The Armchair Genealogist. The month is half over and my progress in writing the life story of my Grama Nellie (below) has been fair. While I am not writing everyday, I am trying to make up for that on other days.I am, of course, finding that the more I write, the more I don’t know. My "notes for further research” is getting quite long.

While the writing is centered on Nellie Louisa Scott Toney, much of her life story intertwines with her family. All but her uncle, Charles Scott (the first African-American council member in Worcester, Massachusetts), appear quite ordinary – until you get to know them. Grama Nellie’s paternal side were land owners and farmers in Vermont until they pulled up roots in the mid-to-late 1800s and moved (along with nearly every other person of color in Vermont) to Massachusetts. What precipitated this move en masse you ask? Stay tuned to find out!

Grama Nellie’s maternal grandparents were born into slavery in Virginia and emigrated to New England (yes, I think that New England is a separate country) with a Methodist missionary group. Which may explain why some years later Grama Nellie founded – with her husband- a Methodist church in Worcester.

8lsanten ak8oi (Make Peace),
Cheryll

Technorati Tags: genealogy,Worcester,african-american,vermont,history