The House in which my Enslaved Ancestors Lived – maybe.

On a recent trip to Fishkill, NY, we visited the Garret Storm house. Rumor has it that our ancestor, Primus Storms, was enslaved by the Storm family. There is even a “Storm Slave Cemetery” in Fiskkill said to contain about 100 free and enslaved African-Americans connected to the Storm family and their neighbors. You can read about our visit to the cemetery here. Garrit (the … Continue reading The House in which my Enslaved Ancestors Lived – maybe.

Cheryll Toney HolleyApril 3, 2023April 2, 2023Leave a comment

Black Indigenous History & Genealogy

Fishkill, NY Trip – The Storm Slave Cemetery

The beginnings of the known story about my 5th great-grandparents originates in Fishkill, NY. Fishkill is a town in the mid-Hudson River part of New York state. The records we have show that Primus and Parmelia Storms traveled to Vermont with Parmelia’s enslaver, Platt Rogers. Platt – with the help of Primus – founded the town of Basin Harbor, Vermont. But we don’t know much … Continue reading Fishkill, NY Trip – The Storm Slave Cemetery

Cheryll Toney HolleyMarch 13, 2023March 13, 2023Leave a comment

Black Indigenous History & Genealogy

Check out my Omeka Site!!

I’ve had this site for some years but never promoted it. Omeka is a free, open-source platform that allows you to display collections as well as stories that explain the collections. I use it in the opposite manner – I tell stories and add documents or videos to support the stories. If you visit ‘We Never Left’, you can download the photos and documents that … Continue reading Check out my Omeka Site!!

Cheryll Toney HolleyFebruary 28, 2023February 28, 2023Leave a comment

Craft

My New Dolls

I recently attended two doll workshops at an exhibit with the National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture at the Jean McDonough Arts Center in Worcester, MA. Both dolls are still unfinished but I hope to complete them soon. Here are my dolls made at the – Spirit Doll-Making Workshop The Art of the African Wrap Doll Workshop . Continue reading My New Dolls

Cheryll Toney HolleyFebruary 28, 2023March 13, 2023Leave a comment

Community

Black Dolls

The Worcester Black History Project recently sponsored “Black Dolls Matter: Representation and Resistance,” an exhibit and workshop series that focused on the history and the importance of Black dolls in society. The exhibition was installed at the Jean McDonough Arts Center in downtown Worcester, MA, for two weeks in early February 2023. The exhibitors, the National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture, has more … Continue reading Black Dolls

Cheryll Toney HolleyFebruary 28, 2023March 13, 2023Leave a comment

Black Indigenous History & Genealogy

The Root Doctress

Susanna Toney was born around 1789 in Barre, MA to Abraham Toney and his wife Mary Harry. She was commonly known as Susan. Barre was and is a small rural farming community just northwest of Worcester. Her mother, Mary Harry, was part of the Narragansett tribe and her father, Abraham, was a Black man born free in Upton, MA to free parents. Upton was another … Continue reading The Root Doctress

Cheryll Toney HolleyJune 23, 2021February 28, 2023Leave a comment

Black Indigenous History & Genealogy

Mother Jefferson

Sunday nights as a teenager was spent watching “The Jeffersons” on CBS. The show premiered in 1975 and lasted 11 seasons. But never, until a few short years ago, did I know that the actress that played Mother Jefferson was born and raised in the same town as me. Zara Frances Cully was born on 26 Jan 1892 to Nora Gilliam and Ambrose Cully both … Continue reading Mother Jefferson

Cheryll Toney HolleyFebruary 26, 2021January 2, 2022Leave a comment