Roots of Cypress: An Afro-Diasporic Familial Tapestry

Today is the 132nd birthday of one of the most important recent ancestors in my family, Emma Rouse (aka Grandma Emma) Emma Jean Jenkins was born on April 29, 1893 in Hertford, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Berry Jenkins (1867-1932) and Fannie F. Winslow (1875-1954). Her mother married Wright Rouse two years later and Emma was adopted by him. Grandma Emma had 8 children; Josephus/Joe (1909-1959), Anna (1911-1989), Roy (1914-2006), Irene (1915-1949), Clarence (1918-2006), Ruby (1924-1941), Rufus (1926-2019) and Harriett (1929-2024). The father of Emma's children remains unknown/unconfirmed. Many documents list Wright Rouse or Rufus Rouse as a spouse or the father of her children, however this is assumed to be a placeholder, and the latter a made up name as Wright Rouse was Emma's stepfather and there's no records of a Rufus Rouse from Hertford other than her son. She has no records of being married. The father of her daughters, Anna (my great great grandmother) ...

Today is another important birthday in my family. One of the most important ancestors I had the privilege of meeting; my Great Aunt Harriett Rouse. Harriett at around the age of 30, ca. 1959 Harriett Nixon Rouse was born on April 4th or 5th, 1929 in Hertford, Perquimans County, North Carolina. She was the eighth and youngest child of my third great grandmother, Emma Jean Rouse (nee Jenkins, 1893-1967) and the younger sister of my second great grandmother, Anna Beamon (nee Brown, 1911-1989). She spent part of her childhood in Virginia Beach before returning to Hertford around 1940.  Young Harriett, ca. 1940s-50s She attended school up to around 7th grade, where she dropped out to begin working. She worked as a housekeeper for a local family for many years, the granddaughter of the woman she once cared for would bake sweets for her and send them to her later in life. She had a son, Gary, who unfortunately passed away young after moving to New York, and grandchildren and great gra...