March 18, 2007 — Arnold Golden has a diverse work history, and he has spent a lot of time learning about his family history.
He is a former senator, former Public Works commissioner and former commerce (now tourism) commissioner who once ran for lieutenant governor.
On Sunday, the Golden family name and other well-known V.I family names — Hendricks, Roebuck, James, Vanterpool, Vialet and Plaskett — were part of the V.I. Family Tree and History Exhibit hosted by the V.I. Ancestry Discovery Group at the Educational Complex. Hundreds crammed the cafeteria to talk to exhibitors and take in the nearly 60 exhibits on display.
Golden got interested in genealogy after a relative, the Rev. F. Kenneth Barta, published a book in 1983, The Genealogist, with Henry B. Hoff. In 1995 Golden began tracing his family tree and found that his great-grandmother, Louisa Eliza DeWindt, 1818-1870, came from Ireland.
In addition to DeWindt, Golden had other surnames to trace on Sunday. The list included the family names of Krigger, Whitehead and Heyliger. Through his search, Golden said, he found out that the DeWindt House — a national shrine preserved in memory of President George Washington — was owned by John DeWindt, brother to Louisa Eliza DeWindt.
"The reward, to me, is learning the history of St. Croix," said Golden. Along with others, he spared no trouble in pasting hand-written historical information and photos — some of which dated back to the 1850s — on gigantic poster boards or spread out on tables with colorful arrows linking the names. In some cases, when a death or a family link could not be found, it was noted with a dash.
Winifred Hardy and others hoped that someone viewing her exhibit would help her fill in the blanks.
"You start within yourself — documenting your parents, aunts and uncles — as far back as you can remember," Hardy said, indicating she got started five years ago. The retired pharmacist then went to research information on her ancestors at the Whim Museum. That search led her to ancestry.com, and soon she found family members under the names Plaskett, Clarke, Gomes and Vialet.
All of the names were posted on three panels fashioned from four-by-four slats of wood. She traced her family as far back as England and Ireland.
"It's a hobby," she said. "The older generations are going, and you begin to realize that there is a lot of information about the family that you don't know, and this is one way to find out."
Tracing her family tree is a rewarding experience, she said.
"You find, for example, that even though back then there were not many ways to travel other than steamships, people traveled a lot. Imagine coming from Ireland and England way back in the 1800s to St. Croix."
The afternoon heat did not deter exhibitors or those who came to view the phalanx of items, which included photos and newspaper clippings of birth and death announcements and award ceremonies. Attendees answered and posed questions about how to begin tracing their roots.
Some of the exhibitors found time to walk around and take in the other exhibits. Cheryl Mason, for example, drew a blank when asked about family members with the surname Stevens. Someone told her that Hardy also had family members named Stevens, and that she too had drawn a blank. The two soon met to brainstorm.
Mason said she was raised with her mother's last name, which was customary at the time. She learned that her father was Esau Vanterpool. Though she knows some prominent Vanterpools, she has not discussed the connection yet, she said.
"Sometimes you have people who will tell you, 'You look like so-and-so,' and when enough people tell you that, you begin to wonder," Mason said. One day she began tracing her roots and found that her father is originally from the British Virgin Islands.
Tracing a family's roots isn't for the faint of heart, Mason said. People have found that they are the product of extra-marital affairs, for example.
"It's also time-consuming, and it could be expensive depending on how you want it to go," she said, noting that she went as far as California to meet a nephew while researching her family tree.
Mason said she subscribes to ancestry.com, and so did many of the others, including Karen Thurland, Maren Roebuck, Maurice Donovan, Myron Jackson, Olaf "Bronco" Hendricks, Wayne James, Vicky Henry, Douglas Canton, May Cornwall Adams, Andre Galiber, Hortense Sackey Milligan and Ruby Simmonds Esannason, all of whom were exhibiting their family trees on Sunday.
"You can get information worldwide," she said, adding she has also gotten information from the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is conducting its own investigation "to see how the world is related."
Mason and others credit Veronica Phillips, who founded the V.I Ancestry Discovery Group in 2001 because of researchers' desire to have a forum where they could discuss family history and develop their research skills. The group meets the last Saturday of each month. For more information, check out the group's website.
Phillips was all smiles Sunday, even while fanning herself with a brochure because of the excessive heat. Many people crammed into the room, which had a few windows but no fans or air conditioning.
"I am pleased with the turnout and the interactiveness of everyone," Phillips said. "This was much better than I expected."
Nearby, Roebuck and Hendricks were caught up in a heated conversation about who might be related to whom.
"Some people are coming here to find out about their history and if I can't tell them, then someone else here will know something," said Roebuck, an employee with the mental health and substance-prevention division of the Department of Health. "They're connecting. This is helping people with the connection of families."
Hendricks, a psychiatrist, described being at peace doing research on his ancestors.
"It's a very healing experience," he said, pointing to a photo of an ancestor he traced back to the 1700s in Africa. The man was his great-great-great-great grandfather, and came from the Kingdom of Dahomey, Africa, which is now Benin and Togo.
"You are able to now understand by tracing your roots," he said, adding that he may travel to Benin and Togo to research his roots further. "If you've never had concrete evidence, the family tree is concrete proof."
"It's better than just going on a cruise ship and coming back just as lost," he said. "This to me is the next phase of my life. It gives me a sense of pride like I never had before. They were slaves, and I now know what they went through so that I can have the life that I have now."
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