Hey Folks, I just got in from another Trip to Missouri...no story yet, I'm still recovering. Next week.....?? However in the interim, I do have a few goodies for you. My Missouri cousins gave me a rather old set of sketches of family members... the date penciled on the backside is 1787... but we don't know who they are yet.<http://www.rootsweb.com/~moafram/grays.jpg>; If anyone recognizes this artist or rendering please let me know. These are most likely my Pamunkey relatives from Virginia.. and I assume there is some connection to the CHILTON family of Farquier County, Virginia. My ancestor Aggie Gray was brought from VA with the Chilton family and was apparently abducted from her tribe... these sketchings may be the last remnants of her family. This is a large file... please be patient will it loads.... On my recent visit I met new cousins; one of whom blessed me with the most beautiful creative writing piece about our family on Ravenswood and her thoughts on Emancipation; see the Color of Emancipation <http://www.rootsweb.com/~moafram/kamara.html>. Thanks cuz Kamara Jones for your wonderful and most beautiful writing!!:-) More thanks are due to Art Schneider Director of University Extension Services in Boonville, MO. He transcribed both Howard and Cooper County Black Marriage records. <http://www.rootsweb.com/~moafram/Document.html>; scroll to the bottom of the page for the last two entries. These transcriptions are both very large documents; so please be patient. I look forward to your feedback before I load them to my mirror site at: <http://usgennet.org/~ahtopaag/index.html> and this is a new link to post wills, probate records and family histories: <http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/topic/afro-amer/> Art said he had difficulty reading the handwriting... so I will be double checking the entries with the digital transcriptions I have received already and reviewing the files as time permits for additional input. If you are still interested in transcribing please let me know. I know some of you volunteered already.. but I am behind schedule in assignments. Chasing the kids, getting ready for my trip and the trip itself was a major undertaking. I am in the process of applying for permission to put the slave ledger of John R. White online with a search engine; as soon as a few more transcriptions become available, I can start building the database for online use. If you haven't picked up the book Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Ante-Bellum Slave Market, by Walter Johnson; please do. You can purchase it any online bookstore; including the link I have on my site at the African American Literature Book Club. Professor Johnson's book makes many references to the slave ledger and the Little Dixie slave market in Central Missouri. If you would like to send me a reminder notice for transcribing... please do..I'm juggle so many tasks...stay tuned... Traci Wilson Kleekamp African Americans In Missouri <http://www.rootsweb.com/~moafram> <http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/topic/afro-amer/>