How My Nephew Reconnected with Our Family’s Past

One thing I have learned on this genealogy journey is that you never really know who is paying attention, who is quietly reading my blog posts, scrolling through my Facebook posts, or listening when I talk about my research and my findings. I must admit that I give my family a very hard time because I don’t think they are always really listening when I talk about my research. They may not be able to tell the facts like I can, but they are listening indeed.

I know they are listening because last week out of nowhere my oldest nephew, Allen, sent me a text asking where our ancestors were enslaved in Virginia. He added a screenshot of a Facebook post from four years ago. I replied that they were enslaved in Fauquier County, Virginia in the late 1700s until they moved with their enslaver to Limestone County, Alabama in 1840. Allen now lives in Washington DC. He said that he thought of that Facebook post as he was driving and realized that maybe that the plantation our enslaved ancestors lived on was within driving distance of him.

I told him that I hadn’t done much research of them while they were in Virginia. Most of my research consists of their lives in Limestone County, Alabama and Jackson County, Arkansas, but to give a few days and I would look for some information for him. The next day I took my Hatchett Book with me to work, so I could do some research on my lunch break. I was able to locate the house of Martin Pickett in Fauquier County, Virginia. Martin Pickett is the grandfather of the man that enslaved my 3X great grandfather, Robert Hatchett. According to what I had already researched W.H. Pickett, Robert Hatchett’s enslaver was born in Fauquier County Virginia. I found Martin Pickett’s probate papers. He left his plantation, Paradise Plantation, to his son Steptoe Picket, W. H. Pickett’s father in 1804.

I then used my trusty friend, Google, and looked up Paradise Plantation in Fauquier County, Virginia. The third search result was National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. It was the application that was submitted to add this house to the Virginia Historic Land Register. In it, I read that the first owner was Martin Pickett, when it was built, description of the property in 1784, and history of the land, including that Martin Pickett owned 298 acres and his father William Pickett owned the 398 acres to the left of his son. This application was completed in 2015, and there is no mention of enslaved people, enslaved quarters, or a slave cemetery. But I know that Martin Pickett enslaved people according to his probate records, oral history, and my family history research.

I called to give Allen the information that I had found including the address of the only house still left standing that is now a part of the Virginia Historic Landmarks. He said that is about 45 minutes from where he lives, and he would be making a trip to see this place that weekend. He said he would call me when he got there. He FaceTimed me that Sunday afternoon to tell me that according to his GPS he was five minutes away, and he wanted to be on the phone with me when he saw the house for the first time.

He turned the corner, and I recognized the house from the internet. We both just stared at it in silence taking in this moment. He parked in front of the house and told me that someone lived there, and he didn’t want to get out of his car. I told him that those trees looked big enough to be old enough to have been there when our ancestors were there. It was while sharing this moment of family history with my oldest nephew that I reminded myself why I do family history research. I am researching more than names, dates, and locations. I am researching the lives of our ancestors that I didn’t get to meet, and that allows me to share their stories. My nephew and I were able to share this family history moment all because he has been listening to me talk about our family history, and he asked me a question about our family history.