Archive for the ‘Introduction & Personal’ Category

My Story in June Issue of Ebony

Monday, May 11th, 2009
Ebony Article

Ebony Magazine Article

Check out my story in this month’s Ebony. “Telling our Stories: Relaying family history to children can keep our heritage alive.” On page 94, Shirley Henderson describes my story. A photograph of my ancestors and the Wessyngton Plantation slave cemetery memorial illustrate the article.

How Can We Honor Our Mothers on Mothers Day?

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

 

What better way to honor our mothers and our maternal ancestors than to tell our children about the sacrifices made so that the lives of future generations could be lives well lived.  When I think of what our great-great-grandmothers  endured in the times of slavery and early emancipation I know that their sacrifices should not be forgotten.  Please take a moment on Mothers Day to honor our ancestors.

Portraits by [Maria] Howard Weeden

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

wessyngton-portraits

In the 1890s the Washington family contracted the famous artist [Maria] Howard Weeden to paint portraits of several African Americans.  These portraits hung in the plantation mansion.  In this photograph Preston Frazer, a Washington descendant, is seen with the portraits.  The portraits remain in the Washington family.

Would you share a photo of  a portrait of your ancestors with others?  Please send a photo to me with a short e-mail telling me about it.  Also please let me know if I could post the photo and the information on my blog.  I would not post your name or e-mail address. Thank you. john@johnbakerbooks.com

The Founding of Wessyngton Plantation

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
1785 Land Grant to Moses Winters

1785 Land Grant to Moses Winters

{Deed}

Stories of the founding of Wessyngton Plantation have been passed down through generations of the Washington family.  These stories were corroborated by deeds and other documents I found in the Washington Family Papers in the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville.  In this deed, we learn that Moses Winters was granted 640 acres of land for military service in the Revolutionary War. Joseph Washington later bought this land which became part of the Wessyngton estate.

John Baker Presents Mrs. Ann Nixon Cooper with The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation-Video

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

Baker-Presents-His-Book-to-Mrs-Cooper

While in Atlanta for a presentation and book signing at Auburn Research Library for the National Black Arts Festival in February I had the honor of presenting Mrs. Ann Nixon Cooper a copy of my book; The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family’s Journey to Freedom.  I also had Mrs. Cooper to sign a copy of the book for me on the page she was pictured on.  Mrs. Cooper is now 107 years old.

Native Americans on Wessyngton Plantation

Friday, May 1st, 2009
Native American Arrowheads found at Wessyngton

Native American Arrowheads found at Wessyngton

Based on arrowheads found on Wessyngton Plantation, Native Americans lived in the area thousands of years ago.  Arrowheads and other Native American artifacts have been found at Wessyngton by farmers plowing the fields for many years.

During the Cherokee removal known as the Trail of Tears during the 1830s, hundreds of Native Americans passed through Robertson County, Tennessee.   Descendants of the Washington family and African Americans who lived at Wessyngton told their descendants that Native Americans came to the Wessyngton mansion to get food and water enroute to Port Royal.  They were marched from Port Royal  to Hopkinsville, Kentucky where they spent the winter of 1838-39.  From Hopkinsville they were forced on to the reservations in Oklahoma.

Baker Interview on the Plus Side of Nashville

Friday, May 1st, 2009

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=5373517&nav=menu374_9

On March 31st I was honored to have Tuwanda Coleman interview me for the Plus Side of Nashville about the release of my book The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family’s Journey to Freedom.  I really enjoyed being on the show.  Mrs. Coleman asked how my research started more than thirty years ago, how I got a book deal with Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster and my future plans.

How Did Your Story Begin?

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
Your Tennessee Social Studies Textbook

Your Tennessee Social Studies Textbook

My story began when I was in the seventh grade. While flipping through my social studies textbook I spotted a photograph of four former slaves, entitled “Black Tennesseans.” For some reason I kept being drawn to the photo and would look at it each time I went to class. Soon afterwards my grandmother told me that the two people seated in the photograph were her paternal grandparents, Emanuel and Henny Washington, who were enslaved on Wessyngton Plantation. That discovery led me on a thirty year journey of researching my family and all the others connected to the plantation.

Would you share a story of how your research began with others?  Please send a short e-mail telling me about it.  Also please let me know if I could post the story on my blog.  I would not post your name or e-mail address. Thank you. john@johnbakerbooks.com
 
 

 

Ann Nixon Cooper, President Obama, and Washington Descendants

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Personal connections between the descendants of the Washington family and Ann Nixon Cooper  have been renewed thanks to President Barack Obama’s speech on the night of his historic election. You may read the complete story:

http://thebocanuttelegraph.wordpress.com/2009/01/16/a-%E2%80%98pearl%E2%80%99-from-obama-personal-history/

Sirius XM Radio Interview with John F. Baker Jr.

Friday, March 13th, 2009

I invite you to listen to an indepth interview: On with Leon Presents John F. Baker Jr.  with host Dr. Leon Wilmer.

http://www.wilmerleon.com/shows/022109-JB.mp3