Mae Louise Walls Miller and Deacon Can Walls, Sr.: funeral programs, obituaries and meeting agenda, 2008

The Genealogy Research files consist of primary documents pertaining to Harrell’s research on family history as well as collected research resources. Materials provide a broad prospective on Black family history, Black plantation life, peonage history, church records, obituaries and other genealogy-related topics. The files are arranged alphabetically by subject, encompassing correspondence, articles of incorporation, brochures, flyers, funeral programs, newsletters, school census records, succession records and other materials related to Harrell’s genealogy research.

The bulk of the series are the African American Genealogy Connection, Inc. files (2000-2005). Materials document the establishment of the nonprofit organization committed to educating African Americans to research and record their personal family history. Included within the files are correspondence, articles of incorporation, brochures, business agenda and meeting notes, newsletters, a scholarship application and sign-in sheets for workshops. Of note is a project summary for the organization (circa 2000).

Of interest is the Ballground Plantation file (1934-1981) documenting the Jeffery family and their relationship with the plantation. Five generations of the Jeffery family lived on this plantation in Warren County, Mississippi. There’s a card from B.N. Simrall in which he runs for Sheriff of Warren County. The Simrall family is the third owner of Ballground Plantation. Another ephemeral item within the file is a 1981 card to elect Clifton "Cliff" Jeffery as alderman. Included are hand script lists of names of cotton pickers along with a list of mules and horses on the Algodon Plantation, which once served as a shipping point for cotton. Additionally, a 1944 financial statement conveys the activities of ginning and bagging cotton, along with the cost of purchasing seed for harvesting the crop.

The Black Boys of Dozier Reform School file (1996, 2013) mainly contains correspondence from Richard Huntly, president of Black Boys at Dozier Reform School, addressed to community NAACP leaders of Marianna, Florida, civil rights organizations and educators. The letters informed members of a press conference welcoming the opportunity for survivors of the reform school to seek closure and to talk about their horrific experiences. The press conference was held on August 3, 2013. Other items in the file include a press release and flyers for a memorial service for the Black boys who died at the school.

Harrell’s genealogical research revealed that many emancipated people were kept on southern plantations nearly 100 years later. Included in this series are the Peonage files, which cover peonage cases in the South from the 1920s to the 1960s, documenting evidence of families held in the system of debt servitude. The files comprise booklets of newspaper clippings, peonage complaint letters on involuntary servitude/slavery, and FBI character of case files. All materials were heavily researched and compiled by Harrell in 2008, with the assistance of Walter C. Black, Sr.

Of interest is the Mary Louise Walls Miller and Deacon Can Walls, Sr. file (2008). Included within the file are funeral programs and obituaries for Deacon Can Walls, Sr. and a meeting agenda. Mae Louise Walls Miller of Mississippi revealed to Harrell that she didn’t get her freedom until 1963 from the Waterford Plantation. This file contains a meeting agenda for a 20th century slavery "peonage" documentary; Mae Louise Miller was one of the attendants. Nine color photographs of Mae Louise Walls Miller are preserved in the Photograph Series of the papers.

Harrell's emphasis on genealogy and ancestry research of two Louisiana parishes is well-documented within these files. She compiled and published Records of African American Veterans of World War I and II of St. Helena and Tangipahoa Parishes (2001), filling in the historical gaps of Black military servicemen who served and fought in these two wars. Harrell researched, compiled and indexed these records, abstracted from the Clerk of Courthouse in Greensburg, Louisiana in St. Helena Parish. Of note are a list of names honoring Harrell’s family members who served in World War I and II.

Harrell developed and held several genealogical workshops and seminars across Louisiana, mainly focusing on the rural parishes. In particular, Harrell offered African American genealogical workshops at the Tangipahoa Parish Library Genealogy Department. Files within the papers include sign-in sheets that document attendance to the seminars, as well as flyers and other ephemeral items.

The series concludes with several succession records and documentation of a civil case for reparations. The succession records are certified copies and include informational materials regarding the transfer of property to the heirs of the Hart, Miller, Randolph, Reamer, Richardson and other Louisiana families. The class action lawsuit details a list of Louisiana plaintiffs who filed a judicial complaint for slavery reparations.