The Power of Connecting to Researchers in Your Ancestor's Area

Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi to Walls, DeSoto County, Mississippi, <https://www.bing.com/maps?q=google+maps+directions&cvid=2e246d402f32424a9633d7e42c9b78ba&FORM=ANAB01&PC=HCTS>.

If you have never lived near the place where your ancestor lived, it is a great idea to make friends with researchers who know the area. There is so much you can learn about the area where your ancestor lived making it possible to increase what you know when it comes to your ancestor. I had Nelms ancestors who were enslaved on plantations in Walls, DeSoto County, Mississippi and Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi.

Remember a little bit ago when I did a blog post about Finding Grandma Ora Nelms Foster (1895-1971) During the Jim Crow Era 1876-1965? Well my sister, Gloria Foster, joined Mississippi Genealogy! Just Ask! to ask if anyone knew about the Nelms plantation in Walls, Mississippi. This was where Ora Nelms Foster's parents were last enslaved.

She showed me that members had messaged her back. I was so ecstatic!

Gloria Foster, Mississippi Genealogy! Just Ask!, <https://www.facebook.com/groups/MississippiGenealogyJustAsk/permalink/2581139145510034>

One of the things that a member, Te-Arow Newsome, told her to do was to check out the memoir by Charlie Nelms, "From Cotton Fields to University Leadership: All Eyes On Charlie, A Memoir." I noticed that common name, Charlie Nelms.

Te-Arow Newsome also mentioned the Charlie Pressley Nelms, grandfather of Charlie Nelms, was written about in the book. I was speaking to Gloria on Facebook Messenger, when the next thing that I knew she was ordering the book - one for both of us! I would get my copy in three days. Just imagine that in the coivd-19 pandemic.

From Cotton Fields to University Leadership: All Eyes on Charlie, A Memoir (Well House Books), Charlie Nelms.

I just sent Dr. Nelms an e-mail through his site: CharlieNelms.com. I also followed him on Twitter and LinkedIn. I am anxious to know if he can name any resources that I have not already tried seeing that he too had an ancestor enslaved by the same people.